Persuasive Writing

One of the Many Fine Arts

[per-swey-siv, ziv] adjective

Intended or having the power to induce action or belief.

In other words, a writer takes a position FOR or AGAINST an issue, product, opinion etc. and writes to convince the reader to believe or do something.

Persuasive

Think about a time in your life when you have been persuasive.

Why or why not were you affective?

T-P-S

Just as the power of speech is persuasive, writing works in much the same way.

Persuasive writing is used in essays, articles, documentaries and even movies to get the reader to accept the writer’s point of view.

Can you think of other places you see persuasive writing?

That’s right folks!

Persuasive writing is EVERYWHERE. When you think about it, nine times out of ten, the writing you see IS persuasive.

IT’S EVERYWHERE

Most all stories, narratives, poems, articles etc, follow a particular format (an introduction, body, and conclusion). Let’s review these parts together.

FORMAT

A lot of times a persuasive essay has something to grab their audience’s attention. This could be done in several ways by: beginning with an exaggeration or outrageous statement, a strong statement, quotation, anecdote, question, statistic or fact, unusual detail.

INTRODUCTION

Your introduction should also include a thesis or focus statement. When you includeyour thesis, you are saying:

“I’ve thought about this topic, I know what I believe about it and I know how to organize it.”

INTRODUCTION CONT’D

Since almost all issues have solid arguments on BOTH sides, remember that a good persuasive writer has already thought about the good, bad and ugly and is able to provide counter-arguments to strengthen his/her view.

BODY

Persuasive writing usually ends by summarizing the most important details and restating what it is that the reader should believe, feel or do. Remember that you are simply restating your thesis, summarizing your main points and writing a personal comment or call for action.

CONCLUSION

Have a firm opinion that you want your reader to accept.

Begin with a “grabber” or hook to get the reader's attention.

Offer evidence to support your opinion.

Conclude with a restatement of what you want the reader to do or believe.

OVERALL GUIDELINE