THE PERSUASIVE ESSAY

Format and Style

Persuasive Essay

When writing a persuasive essay, your purpose is to convince your audience to embrace your idea or point of view. Keeping this purpose in mind is the key to writing an effective persuasion.

Essential steps for writing a persuasive essay:

Identify your main idea or point of view. The purpose will be to persuade your audience to accept your idea or point of view.

Identify your audience. To write an effective persuasive essay, try to understand your audience. For example, are your readers undecided about your issue? Or are your readers hostile to your point of view?

Considering your audience, identify the strongest supporting points for your persuasion.

Identify the most significant opposing view. Explaining and then refuting the opposing view strengthens the credibility and scope of your essay.

How to organize your persuasive essay:

Just like any formal essay, your essay will have three main parts: an introduction, a body, and a conclusion.

Introduction

Your introduction should grab your reader's attention and provide background information on your topic.

The paragraph should end with a clear statement of your main idea or point of view.

The “Hook”

The introduction has a "hook” to catch the reader's attention. Some “hooks” include:

1. Opening with an unusual detail: (Manitoba, because of its cold climate, is not thought of as a great place to be a reptile. Actually, it has the largest seasonal congregation of garter snakes in the world!)

2. Opening with a strong statement: (Cigarettes are the number one cause of lighter sales in Canada!)

3. Opening with a Quotation: (Elbert Hubbard once said , "Truth is stronger than fiction.")

4. Opening with an Anecdote: An anecdote can provide an amusing and attention-getting opening if it is short and to the point.

5. Opening with a Statistic or Fact: Sometimes a statistic or fact will add emphasis or interest to your topic. It may be wise to include the item's authoritative source.

6. Opening with a Question. (Have you ever considered how many books we'd read if it were not for television?)

7. Opening with an Exaggeration or Outrageous Statement. (The whole world watched as the comet flew overhead.)

Thesis Statement

There are three objectives of a thesis statement:• It tells the reader the specific topic of your essay. • It imposes manageable limits on that topic. • It suggests the organization of your paper. Through the thesis, you should say to the reader: "I've thought about this topic, I know what I

believe about it, and I know how to organize it."

Example

Of all the problems facing the environment today, the one that bothers me the most is global warming. (Attention Grabber) Some scientists say that the earth is getting warmer because of the greenhouse effect. In this paper I will describe the greenhouse effect and whether the earth's atmosphere is actually getting warmer. (Thesis Statement)

Your thesis:

In their film, Disney chose to portray The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn differently from Mark Twain’s original version because……..

Body Paragraphs

The body should consist of at least three paragraphs. Each paragraph is based on a solid reason to back your thesis statement.

Since almost all issues have sound arguments on both sides of the question, a good persuasive writer tries to anticipate opposing viewpoints and provide counter-arguments along with the main points in the essay.

Each body paragraph should focus on one point. Be sure to provide evidence or examples for

each point.

Elaboration

Clarifying a position: Think about what needs to be explained and what can be assumed.

Drawing comparisons: Choose something similar to what is being explained. Use one of two patterns: Opposing or Alternating. End with a conclusion. Use cues for the reader.

Making an analysis: You can analyze a problem by looking at the parts and therefore help the reader to understand.

Drawing an analogy: Use an analogy to explain or elaborate and idea by identifying significant likenesses between two objects or ideas when otherwise they are quite different. This is helpful when the comparison is made to something that is familiar to the reader.

Conclusion

A piece of persuasive writing usually ends by summarizing the most important details of the argument and stating once again what the reader is to believe or do.

Restate your thesis or focus statement. Summarize the main points: The conclusion enables your reader to recall

the main points of your position. In order to do this you can paraphrase the main points of your argument.

Write a personal comment or call for action. You can do this: With a Prediction: This can be used with a narrative or a cause and effect

discussion. The conclusion may suggest or predict what the results may or may not be in the situation discussed or in similar situations.

With a Question: Closing with a question lets your readers make their own predictions, draw their own conclusions.

With Recommendations: A recommendations closing is one that stresses the actions or remedies that should be taken.

With a Quotation: Since a quotation may summarize, predict, question, or call for action, you may use a quotation within a conclusion for nearly any kind of paper.

Try to leave your audience even more connected to your topic and persuaded by your main idea or perspective.

Notes

As a general guideline, when writing a persuasive essay:

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

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

3. Offer evidence to support your opinion. 4. Conclude with a restatement of what

you want the reader to do or believe.

Transitions

Transitions are words and phrases that connect ideas and show how they are related.

Examples include:

Types of Transitions

Transitions between sections—Particularly in longer works, it may be necessary to include transitional paragraphs that summarize for the reader the information just covered and specify the relevance of this information to the discussion in the following section.

Transitions between paragraphs—If you have done a good job of arranging paragraphs so that the content of one leads logically to the next, the transition will highlight a relationship that already exists by summarizing the previous paragraph and suggesting something of the content of the paragraph that follows. A transition between paragraphs can be a word or two (however, for example, similarly), a phrase, or a sentence. Transitions can be at the end of the first paragraph, at the beginning of the second paragraph, or in both places.

Transitions within paragraphs—As with transitions between sections and paragraphs, transitions within paragraphs act as cues by helping readers to anticipate what is coming before they read it. Within paragraphs, transitions tend to be single words or short phrases.

Transitional Expressions

Similarity also, in the same way, just as ... so too, likewise, similarly

Exception/Contrast but, however, in spite of, on the one hand ... on the other hand, nevertheless, nonetheless, notwithstanding, in contrast, on the contrary, still, yet

Sequence/Order first, second, third, ... next, then, finally

Time after, afterward, at last, before, currently, during, earlier, immediately, later, meanwhile, now, recently, simultaneously, subsequently, then

Example for example, for instance, namely, specifically, to illustrate

Transitional Expressions (cont.) Emphasis even, indeed, in fact, of course, truly Place/Position above, adjacent, below, beyond,

here, in front, in back, nearby, there Cause and Effect accordingly, consequently, hence,

so, therefore, thus Additional Support or Evidence additionally,

again, also, and, as well, besides, equally important, further, furthermore, in addition, moreover, then

Conclusion/Summary finally, in a word, in brief, in conclusion, in the end, in the final analysis, on the whole, thus, to conclude, to summarize, in sum, in summary 

Sample Outline

I. Introduction:A. Get the readers attention by using a "hook." B. Give some background information if necessary. C. Thesis or focus statement.

II. First argument or reason to support your position:A. Topic sentence explaining your point. B. Elaboration to back up your point.

III. Second argument or reason to support your position:A. Topic sentence explaining your point. B. Elaboration to back up your point.

IV. Third argument or reason to support your position:A. Topic sentence explaining your point. B. Elaboration to back up your point.

V. ConclusionA. Summary of main points or reasons B. Restate thesis statement. C. Personal comment or a call to action.

Peer Revisions

Conferencing with a Peer Ask someone to read your rough draft to see if they understand and can follow your argument. You may want to put your draft up on the Internet for other students to respond also. Ask them to consider the following questions. (copy them and paste them at the end of your essay.) Their answers should show you that your argument makes sense.

1. What is the thesis statement?2. How is the thesis explained?3. What are the main points of the argument? (3) • 4. How did the author back up each point? 5. What are the opposing point(s)?6. What is the writer's solution?

Rubric

Sources

"Persuasive Writing." Orange Unified School District. Web. 05 Mar. 2010. <http://www.orangeusd.k12.ca.us/yorba/persuasive_writing.htm>.

Seldess, Jesse. "How to Write a Persuasive Essay." WriteExpress: The #1 Choice for Sample Letters. Web. 05 Mar. 2010. <http://www.writeexpress.com/persuasive-essay.html>.