Persuasive Essay: The Rundown

A persuasive essay is much like debating. Your goal is to convince, persuade and make your reader believe in whatever it is you’re trying to say. And much like a debate, this type of writing has basic rules to follow with regards to content and structure.

Elements of a Good Persuasive Essay

• Facts- Support arguments with concrete evidence. You can’t just throw around opinions.
• Conclusions - Summarize and relate everything you’ve written into one final paragraph stating your position and how you arrived at it.
• Organization - Arrange the facts and premises according to significance when buildings arguments.
• Persuasion - convince your readers that what you wrote is based on agreeable facts and shared values
• Confidence - this is how you show your persuasiveness.

Getting Started

• Identify the Key questions of your essay
• When researching, determine the following:
  • Data/Facts
  • references (as well as for further reference)
  • your views on the authors and their work
  • issues that have prejudices about the topic
• Emotional effects of the issues involved>
  Make use of possible emotions brought about.
• List out specifics; organize through importance:
  prioritize, sequence, edit, discard, etc.

Write a Draft!

●Begin with the first paragraph

• Establish the topic
• State your position
• Compel the reader to continue reading
• Center on three major points to build up

●Create a means of transition from a paragraph to the next
●Keep an active voice
●Quote sources
●Don’t lose focus; always keep in mind your main point or thesis.
●Concentrate on logical points
●Develop your arguments; don’t rush to the summary (wait for the conclusion)
●Conclusion

• Summarize and conclude your point.
• Refer to the opening paragraph in the conclusion
  • Is the conclusion consistent with the main ideas?
  • Recall the progress and importance of the arguments
  • Does it rationally wrap up the development of the viewpoints?

●Read your paper again and again

• Answer these questions truthfully:
  Do I make sense?  Am I convinced?
  Will my readers be convinced? 
  Will they recognize my premises and agree with them?
• Edit, edit, edit! As much as possible.
• Have someone else read it.
• Check spelling and grammar!
• Revise. Don’t hesitate to re-write your paper.
• Submit the paper
• Congratulate yourself!
  You did your best. That’s what you call a job well done.

Coping with criticisms -
Always accept them constructively and not personally. If the information you gave is criticized for its merit, then double check!