The Persuasive Essay

A Process Approach

PATH

• Purpose

• Audience

• Topic

• Hook

Purpose

• The purpose of writing is what you, the author, intend for your work to do. The purpose of your essay might be to

• Inform

• Persuade

• Describe

• Tell a story

Why is purpose important?

• You must identify a purpose for writing because the purpose determines how you will plan and organize your essay, as well as what your essay will be about.

Audience

• The audience is the person or group of people at whom your essay’s material is aimed. Your audience might be a friend, a teacher, lawmakers, or a group of your peers.

• In prompted writing, your prompt will sometimes specify an audience for your writing.

Why is Audience Important?

• It is vital to consider your audience, because the main ideas of your essay should be created with your audience in mind.

• Different appeals are valid to different types of people, and you must always try your best to appeal to your audience by choosing ideas that this particular audience will most likely consider valid and important.

Example…

• If you are attempting to persuade your teacher to recycle, would the argument “recycling can boost your popularity” be as valid as if you were writing to an audience of your peers?

Topic

• Your topic states exactly what your essay will be about. In persuasive writing, the topic can only be expressed after you have chosen one specific side of an argument or debate to write on.

• Example: The driving age in the United States should be raised to eighteen years of age.

Keep in Mind…

• It is critical to the success of your essay that your topic be firm and that your essay remains consistent with the topic you select. Don’t “straddle the fence” and argue both sides of a debatable topic!

Hook

• The hook (or bear trap) should be the first sentence of your essay.

• The hook is used to grab (and keep) your audience’s attention. Use a(n) quote, strong statement, anecdote, unusual fact, or any of the other hooks described to draw in your audience.

What comes after PATH?

• After you determine your PATH, you must establish the three main ideas (reasons) that will be discussed in your essay.

• Remember to keep the main ideas aligned with your prospective audience.

• Use a think sheet or chart to organize ideas.

Is about why legislators should . . .

An effective persuasive essay convinces someone to …          Change his/her mind about a belief; or          Develop a new belief about something; or          Take some kind of action. 

 

Essential Details

Reason

Essential Details

Reason

Conclusion

  

  

  

   

Increasing the driving age deprives teens of critical practice and experience

  

  

  

  

   

Increasing the driving age creates hardships for families

  

  

  

  

   

Increasing the driving age will cause economic problems throughout the state.

  

Essential Details

Reason

Keep Kids in Cars!

Vote to keep the legal driving age in the state of Alabama at 16 years old.

Title

A local representative Why the state should not raise the legal driving age to 18 years old

A short anecdote about the difficulty of walking to work

Purpose Audience Topic Hook

Describe Explain  

Narrative Persuade

 

 

 

X 

   

 

About Main Ideas…

• Each of your three reasons, or main ideas, will become a body paragraph of the finished essay. Keep this in mind as you work. If you cannot think of enough information to support your reason, it might be a wiser choice to choose something easier to support.

Supporting Main Ideas

• Elaboration – Explain as much as you can about what the idea or reason means, including the reason it is a valid point in your essay.

• Personal Detail – Show your audience that this issue applies to your life in a meaningful way.

• Fact or Statistic – Support claims with numerical data to show significance and/or proof.

Is about why legislators should . . .

An effective persuasive essay convinces someone to …          Change his/her mind about a belief; or          Develop a new belief about something; or          Take some kind of action. 

 

Essential Details

Reason

Essential Details

Reason

Conclusion

The 1st two years of independent driving provide critical practice

  

College will be more difficult for me if I do not know how to drive

  

Research suggests that college success rates will diminish

  

   

deprives teens of critical practice and experience

  

Many families rely on teens for driving responsibilities

  

I am responsible for taking my little sister to school

  

86% of parents of teens say that they depend on their teen drivers

  

   

hardships for families  

Impact on auto sales, gas sales, insurance, taxes, and job market

  

I would have to quit my job if I couldn’t drive.

  

91% of the city’s restaurant owners feel their

business would suffer if the driving age were increased

  

   

economic problems throughout the state

  

Essential Details

Reason

Keep Kids in Cars!

Vote to keep the legal driving age in the state of Alabama at 16 years old.

Title

A local representative Why the state should not raise the legal driving age to 18 years old

A short anecdote about the difficulty of walking to work

Purpose Audience Topic Hook

Describe Explain  

Narrative Persuade

 

 

 

X 

   

 

An Extra Paragraph…

• Make sure that you acknowledge the opposition’s key argument(s) in a brief paragraph right before the conclusion of your essay.

• See PowerPoint for details on acknowledging the opposition.

Wrapping Up…

• Your conclusion is your last opportunity to make an impression on your readers.

• For a persuasive essay, the best conclusion is a restatement of main ideas, followed by a call to action.

Is about why legislators should . . .

An effective persuasive essay convinces someone to …          Change his/her mind about a belief; or          Develop a new belief about something; or          Take some kind of action. 

 

Essential Details

Reason

Essential Details

Reason

Conclusion

The 1st two years of independent driving provide critical practice

  

College will be more difficult for me if I do not know how to drive

  

Research suggests that college success rates will diminish

  

   

deprives teens of critical practice and experience

  

Instead of casting a vote that is sure to disrupt the state’s families, teenagers, and businesses, why not vote to keep the driving age at 16, and use resources to enhance driver education for teens?

Many families rely on teens for driving responsibilities

  

I am responsible for taking my little sister to school

  

86% of parents of teens say that they depend on their teen drivers

  

   

hardships for families  

Impact on auto sales, gas sales, insurance, taxes, and job market

  

I would have to quit my job if I couldn’t drive.

  

91% of the city’s restaurant owners feel their

business would suffer if the driving age were increased

  

   

economic problems throughout the state

  

Essential Details

Reason

Keep Kids in Cars!

Vote to keep the legal driving age in the state of Alabama at 16 years old.

Title

A local representative Why the state should not raise the legal driving age to 18 years old

A short anecdote about the difficulty of walking to work

Purpose Audience Topic Hook

Describe Explain  

Narrative Persuade

 

 

 

X