How to write your persuasive essay

There are plenty of conspiracy theories circling around the net – aliens in Area 51, or that the Queen is a lizard. Now that’s all wacky and fun, but let’s be honest – the videos can be pretty convincing. This is because the people making these videos use special techniques to mess with evidence and convince you that their ridiculous ideas are valid. In a nutshell this is the goal of persuasive writing.

This article will help you to create a persuasive essay. We’ll discuss the topics and then create an outline and arguments to persuade readers. Keep reading for persuasive essay examples that you can download for your reference.

What is persuasive writing?

Students are taught persuasive writing early in their education. This type of writing is fun and interesting. It aims to spark a discussion on a topic. This writing technique requires students to clearly state their views on a topic or cause, and then use persuasive arguments to convince readers that the author is correct.

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What is a persuasive essay? The persuasive essay definition states that it is an academic writing task. It is often assigned to students at universities, colleges and schools. Its main purpose is to convince readers that a particular point of view is correct.

Students are expected to do extensive research and analyze the topic before forming persuasive essays. With the aid of logic arguments and persuasive words, students are expected to dispel any biases and convince readers that only one point of view is correct.

What is persuasive writing important?

Persuasive papers are a popular assignment at schools and colleges because they keep students involved and engaged in class. Writing this type of assignment can help you develop many essential skills such as critical thinking, research, and the ability to draw evidence-based conclusions.

Argumentative vs Persuasive Essay

An argumentative essay is sometimes referred to as a persuasive essay. It can be confusing to think that both types of work are identical. There is a distinction between persuasive and argumentative writing.

Both writing methods have the same goal: both papers use logic and reasoning to convince readers. However, persuasive papers also rely on emotions in addition to straight facts. You must present convincing arguments while also expressing emotions in persuasive essays.

You may also be interested to learn what an argumentative essay is and how to create one

Persuasive Essay Format

These are the basic requirements of a persuasive paper:

Fonts: Times New Roman, or another easily-read font like Georgia or Arial
Font Size: 16pt in the headline and 12pt in the rest of text
Alignment: justifiable
Spacing: Double, sometimes 1.5
Word count: As a rule, between 500 and 2000 words. Check your teacher’s guidelines for more information.

The List of Topics: How to Choose One

It is best to have contrasting viewpoints when brainstorming persuasive essay topics. It is possible to write long essays on broad topics like gun control or abortion rights. These should be avoided unless your dissertation is in progress.

Let’s say you are a space exploration advocate. This perfectly matches the description of a current subject that is widely explored. It might be too many to create a structure in which every paragraph covers a different planet. It might be more effective to argue for a lunar base. You can convince your audience about the benefits of building a base on the moon and give them an idea of what space exploration can do for you.

You have convinced your reader to focus on a narrow topic that is connected to a larger one. You will inspire them with many ideas to eat, which will allow them to explore the universe of space.

Keep This in Mind When Choosing a Topic

Persuasive essays focus on the point of view. You need to choose topics that you are knowledgeable about or which you can argue for or against. Some of the most persuasive essays are based on real-life experiences. They point to important social issues that many people ignore. For example, Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail and Hillary Clinton’s Women’s Rights are Human Rights.

Topics for High Schools

You might find the idea of space exploration tedious and long-winded. You don’t have to worry, there are many persuasive topics that you can write for high school. Maybe you’ve already discussed some of these topics with friends.

Tablets should be banned from schools as they distract students and make it difficult to learn.
The most influential and important American rock band is the Velvet Underground.
Describe why ads should be removed from social media.
Due to environmental concerns, it is important that meat be stopped within five years.
Businessmen in power are a bad idea.

College Topics

College persuasive essay topics can be more difficult. The most compelling essay topics take into consideration the current events and discuss moral, technological, or environmental issues. Writing can have a profound impact on the world. Students can bring new life to the past by sharing their thoughts. It is best to select controversial topics for persuasive essays in college. These topics challenge the writer’s ability to address relevant intellectual issues. These are some examples:

Teen media is marketed to promote morally and ethically unacceptable messages.
All federal courtrooms should have live cameras to televise the trials.
It is not a good idea to encourage beauty contests.
College education shouldn’t be expensive considering the amount of information that is available online.
Music and art can be used to create a rehabilitation program for prisoners.
Argument in favor of Net neutrality

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Persuasive Essay Outline

An outline is an important step in writing persuasive essays. Writing an outline can help you organize your thoughts and make the writing process easier.

The structure of a persuasive essay is very similar to other types and includes three elements: an introduction and body. Each element plays a different role in the paper. Follow the persuasive essay format. Cite it using one of the most common citation styles such as APA, MLA.

Let’s take a look at each section of the paper and explain its purpose.

Introduction: It includes a hook, background information, and a thesis statement. It should be concise, clear, engaging, and to-the-point. The purpose of the introduction paragraph is to introduce your topic and position, grab attention and provide a glimpse into the background of the topic.
Main Body: It consists of many paragraphs that each focus on a different idea and provide supporting evidence. It should be clear, logical, have valid arguments, and be entertaining. An essay with this format should have between 3 and 5 paragraphs. In the final body paragraph of your paper, you can also state the opposing opinion and provide counterarguments–this will strengthen the persuasive effect of the text.
Conclusion: A brief summary of key points, a retorted thesis and some additional information to give readers food for thought. It should be concise, logical, strong, and clear to reinforce the persuasive effect of your paper.

Here’s a sample essay on “Are Women Weaker than Men Today?” to give you an idea of how to structure a persuasive essay outline.

1. Introduction

Hook: “In 21st Century, women are more important than housewives.”
Background Information: “For centuries, the debate about whether women are stronger or weaker than men has not died.”
Thesis: “The age of male dominance is over.” Women can now do and be almost everything that men can.

2. Main Body

Argument #1: Strength of a woman in a family perspective with supporting facts, stats and evidence
Argument #2: Strength from a Work Perspective + supporting facts stats and evidence
Argument #3: Strength from a society perspective + supporting facts stats and evidence

3. Conclusion

Summaries of all arguments
Thesis Restatement: “Women were viewed as weaker sex for centuries.” Nevertheless, modern examples of women show that this is false.
Food for thought: “Over time, women all over the globe have shown that they are capable of doing anything a man can do. Their success is a good indicator of their strength. Even though they have nothing to prove, women still want to play a greater role in modern society.

How to use Arguments in Persuasive Essays

How to start an persuasive essay: To write a persuasive paper you must first understand the principles of persuasive writing. The goal of your essay is to convince readers that you are a valid and credible writer. You can only do this by supporting your ideas using credible, reasonable and verifiable arguments. You must appeal to the human emotions as well as logic. It is important to have the right mix of emotional and rational elements in your text.

Let’s now get to the core elements of persuasive writing. Aristotle identifies three elements of rhetoric that should be at the heart of your writing.

Ethos is an element which appeals to the author’s credibility. This implies that readers will trust you because they consider you to be credible. You can reference opinions from credible individuals and organizations if you don’t yet have an ethos (meaning that you aren’t a recognized expert in a particular field). Their ethos will make your arguments more solid.

Example: A study by the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America found that women can survive longer under extreme circumstances such as famines and epidemics than their male counterparts.

Pathos An element that appeals emotionally. It is important to pay attention to the values, morals and beliefs of your audience and to use them to: stimulate the desired emotions and encourage agreement with the idea.

Example Although this is a world for men, where would it be without women? A woman is the person who gives birth to us and guides us through our world. She also inspires and motivates. Is it possible to call such a person weak?

Logos – An element that appeals to logic. Logos is the last principle of persuasive writing. It involves using logic and evidence to convince readers to accept your opinion.

Example: Many studies have shown that women are more mentally sharp than men in many areas of cognition.

How to Craft a Persuasive Argument that is Powerful

These are some basic tips that will help you create convincing arguments for your paper.

Research. You must be well-informed about your chosen topic to make convincing arguments. It is important to thoroughly research the topic using reliable sources.
You should ensure that there are at least two sides to your topic. You must include both sides to your thesis: the one that you agree with and the one that you oppose. If the topic chosen isn’t debatable, you won’t be able create a persuasive argument.
Understanding the opposing opinion is key. Understanding the opposing position is a key component in creating powerful arguments.
Use evidence. Remember that persuasive arguments will not look convincing if there isn’t enough evidence to back them up.

How to Support Your Argument

Now that you know how to make a strong argument, let us look at different ways to support it.

1. Statistics – Statisticians can be a great way to support your ideas. Stats are generally convincing when used in a general context. Be sure to only give valid statistics that are credible.

Example Today, women make up 18% of the US’s officer corps and 16% of the US’s enlisted military forces. This reinforces the fact that women can do everything men can.

2. You can trust facts – proven facts in your paper.

Example: Studies show that women are more likely than men to live long and to be able to cope with trauma.

3. Examples – Using examples from your life, literature, and history to support your arguments can enhance the persuasive paper’s effect.

Example: Angela Merkel is an example of real strength in a woman. Merkel was able to compete with men in politics. The world has seen that a woman can become a great politician. She is no surprise that Forbes has listed her as the number one woman in the world’s most powerful women for nine consecutive years.

4. Quotes – Another great way to support your ideas are direct quotes that reflect the opinions and credibility of trusted and credible persons.

Example “To label woman the weaker sex it is a libel; man’s injustice towards woman is it.” If strength is meant to mean brute strength, then a woman is indeed less brute than a man. If strength is defined as moral power, then women are immeasurably superior to men. Is she not better at intuition? Are her selfless acts more effective? Does she have greater endurance and greater courage than men? Man would not be the same without her. The future is with women if nonviolence is the law. Woman can appeal more to the heart than anyone else. Mahatma Gandhi

Step-by-Step: How to Write a Persuasive essay

Many students rush to write persuasive papers after being assigned. However, there are important preparation steps that should not be overlooked.
This guide will walk you through each step of the process.

Make a Statement

You must first define your position. You can decide which side to support by looking at both sides of the subject. Don’t forget research to make sure you have enough evidence backing your opinions.

Research

Once you have established your position, it is possible to dig into the topic further. To make clear arguments, you must be knowledgeable about the subject.

Be careful when researching. Sources must be reliable and valid. Don’t forget to note the most important facts, statistics, examples, or quotes. These notes will be very useful later to support your arguments.

Evaluate and prioritize evidence

You will likely come across many proofs during your research. It is impossible to fit all of them onto one paper. Your next step should be to evaluate the evidence collected and to identify the strongest facts that will most add value to your work.

Make a Statement

To create a clear and detailed outline for your paper, use the examples and tips mentioned previously. A clear outline will allow you to cover all the essential details and ensure that you don’t get distracted while writing.

Draft Your First Draft

Once you have a plan, you can start writing the essay. To get an idea of what it should look like, take a look at some examples of persuasive writing before you rush to write it. Next, you can start to write your paper.

When writing, make sure you follow the outline. This will allow you to keep your points logically and well-organized.

Proofread and edit your paper

Final steps in achieving success are editing and proofreading. To restore your energy, take a break from writing and then go back to proofreading.

Remember that proofreading and editing is more than just fixing grammar errors. This phase is where you should find and fix any problems in your paper.

Tips for persuasive writing

These are the final tips to write a persuasive essay.

Avoid using fancy vocabulary. While it is okay to have some variation in vocabulary, don’t expect your grades to go up because you use fancy synonyms. Write in your own style.
Use logical transitions to move between sections of your paper. Make your paper easy to read and smooth.
Try different methods of persuasion. Although we have listed the main elements of persuasive writing here, there are many more to be found in a variety of mediums.
Triple-check your work! Proofreading is a skill that can be improved by practice. You should check the assignment for clarity, readability, logic and style. Check that the entire assignment flows in line with your thesis. Give your essay to a friend so they can read it!
Ask the right questions. Once you’ve proofread and written your paper, it is time to ask the following questions:

Did I follow the teacher’s instructions?
Did I answer the main question in the task?
How is my essay organized?
Is the text concise and clear?
Are my choices of words in the paper acceptable?
Did I give enough evidence to support my ideas?
Are there any errors in my paper?
What can I do to improve the quality of my paper
Is it convincing?

This checklist will ensure your persuasive essay is perfect.