Writing Assignment #4: Writing a Persuasive Letter
A persuasive letter is written to express your opinion or feelings about something that is
important to you. It is written to get the reader to think, believe or feel the way you do
about something. You must sound as professional and as passionate as possible. You do
not want to belittle the reader or they won’t finish your letter and you won’t be heard.
You always need to know the facts, reasons, and examples to support your position.
Always address the issues that your reader would have in their argument. Knowing both
sides of any argument is what strengthens your opinion. Always make sure you offer
solutions to the problem or offer assistance in solving the problem.
General Step-by-Step Instructions to writing a persuasive letter
1. Using a computer, or in certain situations a blank piece of paper, type or print your
address in the top left corner followed by the date. This is called the heading or
return address.
2. Skip two lines and then print or type the address of the person or corporation you
are sending this letter. This is called the inside address.
3. Skip two lines and start your note with a formal greeting. For example, “Dear Mr.
Richard Brown:” Make sure you put the colon after the greeting. This is called the
salutation. (Skip two lines)
4. In the first paragraph, start with something positive about the company or item.
Make sure you grab the reader’s attention right away. Next you need to identify
what you want them to do, believe, think, or feel. You want them to keep reading so
make sure you keep it interesting. (Skip two lines)
5. In the second paragraph, state exactly what you have in mind and give legitimate
reasons for your idea(s). The more reasons you can give the better chance you will
have at swaying your reader’s opinion. Make sure you repeat the problem and your
solution at more than one place in your letter to drive your point home. (Skip two
lines)
6. In the last paragraph make sure you restate the problem and your solution. Make it
sound like it’s the “only way” to see things. This will also leave the reader with no
doubt about what they should do. Make sure you give any contact information such
as your phone number or email address, as needed. (Skip one line)
7. Use an appropriate closing: Sincerely, (Skip four lines)
8. Type or print your name. In the space between the closing and your typed or
printed name, sign your name as it appears, in cursive.
Assignment
Step 1: Think about the last candy bar you ate. What did you like or dislike about it? Is
there anything you would change to make it even better? More appetizing? More
appealing? Write your ideas down on your scratch paper.
Step 2: Write a persuasive business letter, asking the president of one of the following
candy companies to change the candy bar you thought about in Step 1 to make it even more
enjoyable.
Mars, Incorporated
Paul S. Michaels, Presidents & C.E.O.
6885 Elm Street
Hackettstown, NJ 07840
The Hershey Company
David J. West, President & C.E.O.
100 Crystal A. Drive
Hershey, PA 17033
Products
Mars Bar, Milkyway, M&M’s,
Twix, Skittles, Snickers
3 Musketeers, Starburst
Products
Hershey bar, Almond Joy, Milk Duds,
Reese, Heath Bar, Krackel, Whoppers,
Kit Kat, Twizzlers
Writing aPersuasive Letter Rubric
Criteria
Heading/Return
Address and Inside
Address
Salutation and
Closing
Body of letter
Neatness
4
3
2
1
No errors in
capitalization and
punctuation. All
information
included.
Few errors in
capitalization
and
punctuation.
All information
included.
3 or more
errors in
capitalization
and
punctuation.
Heading
/Return
Address
and/or Inside
address are
missing.
Salutation and
closing have no
errors in
placement,
punctuation or
capitalization
Salutation and
closing have
few errors and
are placed
appropriately.
Salutation and
closing have 3
or more errors.
One or both not
correctly
placed.
Salutation
and/or closing
missing.
Three distinct
paragraphs with
clear and varied
sentence structure.
Identify product &
desired change.
Grab reader’s
attention. Detailed
reasons for
improvement idea.
Very organized. No
errors in grammar
and spelling.
Three distinct
paragraphs in a
clear manner.
Product &
desired change
somewhat clear.
Organization
could have been
better. Few
errors in
grammar and
spelling.
Less than three
distinct
paragraphs.
Product &
desired change
not clear. Some
errors in
grammar and
spelling.
Paragraph(s)
do not relate
to the topic.
Many errors in
grammar and
spelling.
Legibly
handwritten with
no distracting
errors.
Legibly written,
easy to read
with 1-2
distracting
errors.
Several
distracting
errors that
make portions
difficult to
read.
Many
distracting
errors making
it illegible.
Sample Layout of Persuasive Letter
1234 Right Street
Anywhere, PA 15678
August 1, 2011
(Heading or Return Address)
John Smith, CEO
Chocolate Inc.
777 State Street
Albany, New York 12345
(Inside Address)
Dear Mr. John Smith:
(Salutation)
Paragraph one: Do not indent. Single-space the paragraph and double space when you
start the next paragraph. For example, “I have been eating your candy my entire life and I
consider myself an expert on your treats. My favorite candy that you make it is…As a lover
of sugar, this bar needs some improvement to keep up with the times.”
Paragraph two: For example, “This candy bar (give name) needs more… and… to appeal to
a wider audience of connoisseurs. Teens believe that a candy bar needs… while adults
want…”
Paragraph three: For example, “Adding… to… is the only way to appeal to both
generations.”
Sincerely,
(Sign your name here)
William Able
(Closing or Signature)