A persuasive essay is an essay used to convince a reader about a particular idea or focus, usually one that you believe in. Your persuasive essay could be based on anything about which you have an opinion or that you can make a clear argument about. Whether you're arguing against junk food at school or petitioning for a raise from your boss, knowing how to write a persuasive essay is an important skill that everyone should have.
In a persuasive essay, it’s the writer’s job to convince the reader to accept a particular point of view or take a specific action. Persuasive essays require good research, awareness of the reader’s biases, and a solid understanding of both sides of the issue. A good persuasive essay demonstrates not only why the writer’s opinion is correct, but also why the opposing view is incorrect.
Persuasive writing is a fixture of modern life—found in advertising, newspaper editorials, blogs, and political speeches. Often persuasive writing assignments and test prompts concern contemporary issues, for example: “The school board is debating on whether or not to ban cell phone use in school. Write an essay convincing the board to adopt your position.” As shown in this persuasive writing prompt, the main purpose is not to inform, but to “persuade” or “convince” an audience (the school board) to think or act a certain way.
Start with the definition. It is an academic paper that aims to interpret the meaning of a specific topic to prove the author’s viewpoint to the audience and make it accept the same position. Three features are required to succeed.
Most informed point of view
The logical flow of thoughts
Valid perspective on the problem
If you have mastered argumentative essay writing, it will be simpler to get how to write a college level paper. These two are similar. The difference is a student has to state the position without defending it and proving anything in the argumentative essay. It makes another type of assignment more complicated.
The Best Essay Structure: Introduction, Body Paragraphs, Conclusion
This type of work is similar to other academic essays, but it's still recommended to make an outline before composing an argumentative essay. Do it even if the prompt does not require it.
A well-organized document will have three critical elements:
Introduction paragraph
Body paragraphs (tutors recommend 3 of them)
Conclusion paragraph
It depends on whether you are working on an essay or a research paper. How to make an outline if you deal with this essay? It has more sections.
Title page
Abstract
Introduction
Methodology
Results & Discussion
Conclusion
Bibliography
Appendix
Interesting Tips about Persuasive Essay You Never Knew Before!
A persuasive essay is a piece of writing that focuses on persuasion techniques to convince readers about an idea. The purpose of a persuasive essay is to inform readers about validity of an idea so that they can emulate it. It discusses opinions and viewpoints regarding an issue to inform a lowbrow audience about applications and implications of a concept, practice or phenomenon.
A persuasive essay is very much similar to an advertising copy that promotes an idea. Just like an advertising copy, a persuasive essay involves certain motivators that must be taken into consideration for effective persuasion. These motivators help you make your points more effective and stronger. Without much ado, let's discuss them one by one:
Find Your Target Audience: Your audience is a guiding factor in writing a persuasive essay. Without knowing problems of your audience and without knowing their preferences, you cannot write a convincing persuasive essay.
For example, if you want to convince a Central African audience about importance of animal hospitals, you cannot do it because they have different preferences altogether. They would rather be more interested to know concepts and practices of better healthcare system for humans.
Know Needs Of Your Audience: Your audience is defined by their needs. They have certain problems that need to be solved. Unless you identify those needs, you cannot convince them about the validity of your argument.
For example, Americans will be more interested in a persuasive essay that addresses the issue of obesity than one that deals with health and fitness.
Press Emotional Buttons Of Your Audience: A persuasive essay cannot capture the readers if it fails to define possible consequences of going against an argument. Your audience will feel more inclined towards your argument if you can connect them to an issue on an emotional level.
For example, a persuasive essay on 'domestic repercussions of divorce' will be more impactful if it could effectively convey the negative implications of separation on children.
Show the Methods: A persuasive essay should describe procedures to implement an idea. Your persuasive essay must clearly define ways to apply your suggestions so that a result could be achieved.
For example, a paper on an international political issue should pinpoint political practices to settle conflicts and avoid wars.
How to Use Arguments in Persuasive Essays
First and foremost, you need to understand the basic principles of persuasive writing and know the five elements of persuasion.
Given that you need to get others to accept your point of view, your arguments in the essay should be reasonable, verifiable, and credible enough. More than that, you need to appeal to human logic and emotions. The right combination of emotional and rational elements is what makes your essay persuasive.
Choosing Persuasive Essay Topics
Whether you are interested in how to write a clear paper for middle school or college, you have to start with the topic. Analyze the middle school topics and controversial topics to have an idea of the best titles. If you have not found the topic you like, check out some of the others topics online.
When thinking of persuasive essay ideas, it is best to choose a topic with many contrasting opinions. Broad issues such as gun control and abortion rights can spawn novel length essays. These best be avoided unless you’re writing a dissertation.
Say you want to argue in favor of space exploration. It perfectly fits the description of a widely explored contemporary subject. Creating a structure where every body paragraph explores a different planet might be a bit too much. Why not narrow it down and argue in favor of building a base on the moon? This way, you can convince the audience of the benefits of creating a moon base, and giving them a small idea of what can be achieved from space exploration on a larger scale.
Hence, you have persuaded your reader on a small topic connected to a much broader one. This will leave them inspired with plenty of thoughts to feast on, allowing them to dive further into the world of space.
Remember This When Picking a Topic
Persuasive essays are all about the point of view. It is essential to find good topics which you know something about, or topics which you can argue in favor of, or against. The greatest persuasive essays ever written deal with real-life experiences and point the reader towards important social problems most people have ignored. Take Martin Luther King Jr.’s A Letter from Birmingham Jail or Hillary Clinton’s Women’s Rights are Human Rights for example.
Here Are Some Ideas To Write A Convincing Persuasive Paper:
Should Uniforms Be Made Mandatory In School?
Genetic Engineering the Future of Medical Science!
How Does Obesity Psychologically Affect The Children?
What Are The Negative Effects Of Divorce On Children?
Ignorance And Poverty Go Hand In Hand. True or False?
Is Global Warming A Reality Or Fallacy?
Drugs Are A Curse To Society. Do You Agree?
Gun Control Laws: Applications And Implications
Should Human Cloning Be Banned?
Truth Is Stranger than Fiction. True or False?
How To Write A Persuasive Essay (Topics + Outline)
