Writing a Persuasive Essay 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. Whether you're arguing against the death penalty for school or petitioning for a raise from your boss, the persuasive essay is a skill that everyone should know.

The IntroductionEvery year, thousands of new high school

graduates pack their bags, move to new cities, and sign papers accepting loans they might not be able to pay back. Within weeks, many of these same students are writing home to their families, struggling to understand where their money went. Without a guide, these young people fail to understand how to properly budget or establish a financial plan. The best way to help graduates avoid these risks is to require that every high school student take a personal finance class before graduation.

The Thesis StatementThe best way to help graduates avoid these

risks is to require that every high school student take a personal finance class before graduation.Your thesis statement is a short summary of

what you're arguing for. It's usually one sentence, and it's near the end of your introductory paragraph. Make your thesis a combination of your most persuasive arguments, or a single powerful argument, for the best effect.

Step One-Write the thesis statementInclude your opinion

What is your call to action?Consider what you want to change.What do you want someone to do?

Ex. The United States Government needs to stop using the death penalty.

EX. The Panther Valley School district should change their dress code and uniform policy.

Step Two-Write the Introduction1. Need a topic sentence to introduce the reader

to the topicDo students ever get tired of wearing khaki pants?

Ask a questionIt is difficult finding sneakers that adhere to the

dress code. The emotional and financial stress of buying

uniforms for a family of five is incredible.

2. Include examples of logos, pathos, and ethos here.

3. Include your thesis statement

Structure your body paragraphs. At a minimum, write three paragraphs for the

body of the essay. Each paragraph should cover a main point that relates back to a part of your argument. These body paragraphs are where you justify your opinions and lay out your evidence. Remember that if you don't provide evidence, your argument might not be as persuasive.

When you can, use facts as your evidence. Agreed-upon facts give people something to hold onto. If possible, use facts-logos from different angles to support one argument.

Step Three-Find ResearchBegin research using SIRS 

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Fill out persuasion map as you work You will need research to support your 3

main points –at least one direct quote from a source per paragraph

Use easybib.com to keep track of the possible websites you might use.

Opposing View Points (for advanced class only) Describes and then refutes the key points of the opposing

view.How: state their argument first and then prove them

wrong. It makes your essay stronger. Imagine you have an

opponent who's arguing the exact opposite of what you're arguing. Think of one or two of their strongest arguments and come up with a counterargument to rebut it.

Example: "Some people say that the Bible condones rape, and for that reason, it should not be used for moral reasons or to act against gay marriage. The verses used to say this are in Judges 21:10-24. While it does say that the people in the passage raped people, it didn’t ever say that God condones it. Many passages in the Bible are not things condoned by God, but are historical things that have to do with God’s people. In Judges 21 10:-24, women are raped, however, verse 25 is not mentioned which states that there was no king in Israel at the time, so the people did whatever they wanted."

Example Opposing View Points (for advanced class only)Banning books is an effective way to censor, and

censorship goes against a lot of what Americans believe to be a very important personal right. The right to free speech is sacred, and it is mostly untouched even in circumstances where highly polarizing or hateful words are being used. A work of fiction that integrates dialogue containing the “N” word may seem hateful to some, but it is certainly the intention of the author to use it in a context of satire. Censorship will just close the book when what we really need is to open it up in a different light.

Step Four: Writing the Persuasive EssayIntroduction3 Body paragraphsThe body paragraphs will include

Topic sentence-main idea of that paragraph Examples using either logos, pathos, ethosDirect quote from a source with a lead-inEnder sentence

Opposing Viewpoint paragraph (advanced class only)

Conclusion

Using Sources for Direct Quotes States such as Texas and South Carolina in, "the

South, which accounts for 80% of all executions in the United States, still has the country's highest murder rate. This makes a case against the death penalty working as a deterrent“ (“U.S. Death Penalty Rates”).

Having the death penalty keeps states safer, "Additionally, states without the death penalty have fewer murders. If the death penalty were indeed a deterrent, why wouldn't we see an increase in murders in states without the death penalty?“ (“Reason For the Death Penalty”).

The Ender Use the last sentence of each body paragraph

to transition to the next paragraph. In order to establish flow in your essay, you want there to be a natural transition from the end of one paragraph to the beginning of the next. Here is one example:End of first paragraph: "If the death penalty consistently fails to deter crime, and crime is at an all-time high, what happens when someone is wrongfully convicted?"

Beginning of second: "Over 100 wrongfully convicted death row inmates have been acquitted of their crimes, some just minutes before their would-be death."

Example Body 1 Paragraph The students who go to college right after high school

would benefit immensely from taking a finance course. These students often take out loans to cover the costs of their education. On average, “a student graduating from college today carries over $20,000 in debt, often spread over multiple lenders” (AES Website). Upon graduation, students rarely know exactly how much money they owe, and because even bankruptcy cannot wipe out student loans, these students can spend much of their adult lives paying off the balance, complete with interest. A personal finance course could teach students how to manage debt and could even help reduce the amount of debt students are in by teaching them how to save money and live within their means.

Example Body 2 Paragraph Students who choose to get a job straight out of high

school would also benefit from finance education because they would learn to manage their money. These students, “often go from having no or minimal income to making upwards of $20-$30,000 per year” (“National Income Survey”). Without education on how to manage their finances, many of these young people often make poor decisions, leading them to accrue credit card debt or purchase expensive items—cars, homes, etc.—without fully planning out how they’ll pay for them. Many young people don’t understand the consequences of those late credit card payments can have, and taking a finance course before graduation would help them understand exactly difficult it is to rebuild a credit score that’s been decimated by a foreclosure or bankruptcy.

Does this paragraph use logos, pathos, and/or ethos?

Example Body 3 Paragraph Another group to consider is young people who

wish to start a business or family. Without knowing how to make and stick to a budget, “many recent graduates end up without enough savings” to keep them afloat if they lose their jobs or if their businesses go under (AES Website). For these people, financial education is particularly important because they’ll also be responsible for the financial decisions of the next generation.

Does this paragraph use logos, pathos, and/or ethos?

ConclusionAs a general rule, it's a good idea to restate each of

your main points and end the whole paper with a probing thought. If it's something your reader won't easily forget, your essay will have a more lasting impression.

While not every young person makes financial mistakes, those who do can face years of difficulty trying to get their finances back under control. Rather than help them through these hard times when they happen, we should try to prevent them from happening at all. Making the completion of personal finance coursework a requirement for graduation would ensure that young people are at least aware of the basics of maintaining a budget.

Step Five: Edit and Revise using MLAElizabeth L. Angeli

Angeli 1Professor Patricia SullivanEnglish 62412 February 2014

The Death Penalty is Murder!

Double SpacedTimes New Roman12 fontIndent each paragraphHave a title for your essay that is on top of your essay, centered, and NOT

bolded or italicizedMust include a Works Cited Page

Inside the essay Double SpacedTimes New Roman12 fontIndent each paragraphHave a title for your essay that is on top of

your essay, centered, and NOT bolded or italicized

Works Cited “Infoplease.” Infoplease, n.d. Web. 07 Oct.

2014."Persuasion Map." Persuasion Map. N.p., n.d.

Web. 07 Oct. 2014."Sample Persuasive Literary Essay." -

WikiHow. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Oct. 2014.

Grading Format for a Persuasive Essay•

Each essay will be comprised of the following:a. an introductory paragraph with a thesis statement at the end b. three paragraphs that support the thesis, one for each of the supporting arguments, the strongest presented lastc. one of the paragraphs which concedes to the other point of view by presenting an opposing point and countering it (advanced class only)d. a concluding paragraph that restates the thesis statement and calls for action,e. facts used in supporting paragraphs that are properly cited.