Lecture 13
Argumentative/
Persuasive
Essay
Recap
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
How to Write a Compare & Contrast Essay?
Well Written Compare & Contrast Essay
Steps for Writing a Compare & Contrast Essay
Topic Selection
Dos and Don’ts
Common Mistakes
Example
Exercise
Argumentative Essay
An argumentative essay is one that attempts to
persuade the reader to the writer's point of view.
The writer can either be serious or funny, but
always tries to convince the reader of the validity
of his or her opinion.
Examples: An argumentative essay may persuade a reader
that . . .
*
he or she should use public
transportation instead of driving
*
cats are better than dogs
3
Argumentative Essay
• In persuasive or argumentative writing, we try
to convince others to:
– agree with our facts,
– share our values,
– accept our argument and conclusions, and
– adopt our way of thinking
Elements toward building a good
Argumentative/Persuasive essay include…
• establishing facts
– to support an argument
• clarifying relevant values
– for your audience (perspective)
• prioritizing, editing, and/or sequencing
– the facts and values in importance to build the argument
• forming and stating conclusions
• "persuading" your audience that your conclusions
– are based upon the agreed facts and shared values
• having the confidence
– to communicate your "persuasion" in writing
How to Write a Argumentative/Persuasive Essay?
• A persuasive essay is a form of essay writing that is built around a
certain argument.
• Persuasive essays are thus also called argumentative essays.
• In this type of essay, the writer aims to persuade the reader to
accept the writer’s point of view, using certain persuasive
techniques to prove the point and convince the reader.
• Therefore, a successful persuasive essay requires following certain
rules and omitting common mistakes that students often make,
when writing their persuasive essays.
Steps for Writing a Argumentative/Persuasive Essay
Step # 1:
Decide upon the issue you will
discuss. It needs to be something you
have a solid opinion on, and also
something people disagree about.
Step # 2: Research the issue, to be aware of
how to best prove your point.
Consider what your possible opponents
can object to with every point you
make.
Steps for Writing a Argumentative/Persuasive Essay
Step # 3:
Make an outline, listing your strongest
arguments that will help you prove your point.
Look for statistics, factual data and quotes of
famous people to support your arguments.
Step # 4:
Write an introduction, stating how debated the
issue is and why it is important to reach
consensus on the matter. Finish the
introduction with a thesis statement, indicating
your personal position on the discussed matter.
Steps for Writing a Argumentative/Persuasive Essay
Step # 5:
Argue your point, introducing a new
reason or fact in every paragraph.
There should be no less than three
strong arguments to support your
point of view.
Steps for Writing a Argumentative/Persuasive Essay
Step # 6: Draw a conclusion. Here you may
express your understanding as to
why the matter is so hard to agree
on, but conclude that the position
you support is the best possible (or
most likely to be true) variant based
on the evidence you provided earlier
in the essay.
Step # 7: Thoroughly proofread your essay
Topic Selection
• There are limitless opportunities for good topics, since there
are a lot of debated issues you can discuss in your persuasive
essay.
• Here are just a few examples of good topics for your
argumentative essay:
–
–
–
–
Is boarding school a good idea for your child?
Should there be a division between boys’ and girls’ sports?
People should not be allowed to keep guns at home
If we want to stop the global warming process, we need to stop driving
cars
– Is school uniform a good idea?
– Children should not be allowed to play computer games
Key Points to Consider
• There are various persuasion techniques that
have been proven to be the most effective in a
good argumentative essay. Three basic
persuasion techniques are:
– appeal to emotions,
– appeal to facts and evidence
– appeal to logic
• Try to combine and mix them to make a
stronger point.
Key Points to Consider
• Always build your argument based on your
audience and its qualities.
– Think of whom you are appealing to
– envision your audience’s main characteristics
– build your arguments based on what your audience
most values.
Key Points to Consider
• A very good approach to persuasion is when the writer
is aware of the point of view of an opposing side, and
then argues about its weakness.
– Use parenthesis clauses, like:
• “however”
• “nevertheless”
• “despite the fact that”
• “on the other hand”, etc.
• to link the two sentences together.
Key Points to Consider
• Combine main points with minor points that
also contribute to the general idea.
– Start each paragraph with the major point, then
go on to explain it, and introduce a minor point
closer to the end of the paragraph to support your
initial major point.
Dos
• Do always prove your point with factual data.
– Just stating something as a fact is considered a
weak point
– a successful essay should have quotes that serve
as good supporting evidence.
Dos
• Do be certain about your position.
• Do appeal to the emotions of your readers.
This always has a much stronger effect than
just raw facts.
Dos
• Do make sure to review the points of both
sides of the argument before you start
building your outline.
• Do remain tolerant of other people’s opinion,
even if you strongly disagree with it.
Don'ts
• Don’t be too flat and immovable in trying to
prove your point.
– Recognizing the fact that a lot of people might not
agree does not mean that you expose your
argument’s weak side.
Don’ts
• Don’t choose a topic where you are hesitant
about which side to take.
– You should be solid and steady in what you are
trying to prove, otherwise it will be almost
impossible to persuade your reader.
Don’ts
• Don’t try to introduce another argument in
the conclusion.
– The conclusion should be about summarizing and
making the final point, not about making another
argument.
Don’ts
• Don’t appeal to subjective personal or
religious beliefs – this is crossing the line.
– Try to remain objective and focus on facts.
Common Mistakes
• Becoming too aggressive– while trying to prove your point only shows your weakness.
– A good persuasive essay should be thoroughly based on
cold-hearted arguments, even though it may apply to
emotions as well.
– It is important to stay within the boundaries of academic
writing and not approach the discussion the way you would
in a real-life conversation.
Common Mistakes
• Changing your mind as you develop your arguments.
– This is why you need to get acquainted with both sides of
the issue you are planning to discuss.
– Do not rush into writing.
– Research all of the arguments of the opposing side and
make sure that you disagree with them; otherwise, your
hesitation will weaken the argument you present.
Common Mistakes
• Overloading your essay with facts and
arguments without a clear structure or a general
logical idea.
– This is why you need to make a plan or an outline for
your persuasive essay before you start writing it.
– If you just randomly list arguments and quote relevant
data, but fail to organize your essay, then the paper
will not be effective in persuading your readers, no
matter how good your evidence is.
Example of Argumentative/
Pesruasive Essay
Why People Should
Read Books?
Introduction Paragraph
It is quite a disappointment that people have stopped reading books.
Books used to be the only kind of intellectual entertainment just a
hundred years ago, but, with the invention of radio, television,
cinema, and, most recently, the Internet and computer games, it
seems that reading books is no longer an option of a leisure activity,
at least for the younger generation. However, I believe that books are
an irreplaceable part of our lives, and the role that good books play
on the personal growth and development of a particular person
throughout one’s life, is a remarkable one. Books can hardly be
replaced with movies, music and interactive TV shows, and there are
several reasons for that.
1. Supporting Details
First of all, books expand our knowledge and conception of the world around
us. You may argue that movies and TV documentaries do just that too, but I
believe that books are a much better alternative, since they allow each reader
to experience the same story using one’s own imagination. When a hundred
people watch a movie or a TV show, they see the same thing – whatever the
director and the operator wish to show. Books are very different. The
experience achieved through reading is richer and more personal, since the
same description and the same word choice will result in as many different
interpretations as there are readers. We are all unique, and books allow us to
experience whatever is narrated, in the light of our own personal values,
through our ideas and our imagination.
2. Supporting Details
Secondly, books enrich our vocabulary, introduce us to new notions and offer us a
wider choice of words. With every book you read, you become more intelligent. Even
reading one seemingly more primitive pulp fiction book per month, can enrich one’s
personal vocabulary with dozens of new words, help build more concise sentences and
express oneself better, make one’s speech more intelligent and sophisticated.
Watching certain TV programs and documentary movies can also widen one’s
vocabulary, but hardly as effectively as books do, since when reading, we operate with
both visual and audial (if reading aloud) receptors, so our perception becomes more
effective and our memory works more efficiently. In addition to that, our imagination
reproduces mental pictures of what we are reading about, so a new word
automatically links to a certain image and a certain feeling that it relates to. Therefore,
reading books is a great tool when it comes to learning and developing one’s
vocabulary at any age.
3. Supporting Details
Finally, books are a great source of inspiration. Unlike fine art,
architecture or travelling, books help us create our own mental
illustration for everything we read on paper. So, in a way, books make
us all artists and creators of our own mental cartoon, movie or
illustration collection. Every image we create ourselves is automatically
allotted a certain emotion, whether a simple or a more complicated
one. So, every mental image that a written word causes is vibrant with
feelings and emotions. This is what makes books so powerful and so
memorable. Books are an endless source of inspiration and motivation
to become a better person.
Conclusion
I am certain that creating a system of symbols and eventually an alphabet,
words, and books was the greatest invention of humankind. Of course, the
books I am talking about are classics, those that do not have an expiration date
and will be priceless for any generation. Books like that stay forever, they cannot
die and cannot become outdated. They will keep sparking new ideas, inspiring
new deeds and enriching the lives of every generation to come. Therefore, I am
positive that books will eventually regain their popularity for today’s youth,
since, unlike the popular kinds of entertainment in fashion today, books are
those roots to which people will always go back, in search of the motivation,
inspiration and aspiration, to find the meaning and value of things in life.
Tips
Tips
• Use synonyms– Having the same word over and over will place a
toll on the reader's nerves.
– Mix it up a bit.
• Also, do not use boring words, such as:
– "big" or "nice."
• Instead, try:
– "enormous" or "compassionate."
Tips
• Make sure you know your audience.
– Stick to a certain tone, whether it is:
•
•
•
•
formal,
informal,
funny,
pleading, etc.
• Use persuasive statements.
Tips
• Don't make the essay too long.
– Long papers are not always impressive and can be
plain boring.
• Use similes and metaphors.
– Say things like, "She was as graceful as a butterfly." Or
"He was like a tiger, always hungry." Use 'like' and 'as'
Tips
• Try to hook your audience in your first paragraph.
– then slowly draw them in throughout your entire essay,
until the last paragraph, where you let them go (a lot like
fishing).
• Make each sentence count.
– Adding extra sentences will not drive your point home.
Keep the essay clear and concise.
• When restating, do not duplicate any sentence.
– Your audience will not skip over any part, so there isn't a
need for stressing the same point over and over.
Tips
• Be sure to keep your deadline in mind if
you're having issues brainstorming!
• You can also write three paragraphs for the
body, and instead of minor points, write
logical, supporting reasons for the topic.
• Use facts or statistics.
Tips
• Don't plagiarize people's work.
• Be aware of the possible counter-arguments
that would go against what you are trying to say.
– You need to plan ahead for oppositions.
– Therefore, list some common oppositions and have
counters for them.
Summary
• How to Write an Argumentative/ Persuasive Essay?
• Well Written Argumentative/ Persuasive Essay
• Steps for Writing a Argumentative/ Persuasive
Essay
• Topic Selection
• Dos and Don’ts
• Common Mistakes
• Example
• General Essay writing Tips
References
• http://academichelp.net/academicassignments/essay/write-persuasiveessay.html
• http://academichelp.net/samples/essays/pers
uasive/people-read-books.html
• http://www.studygs.net/wrtstr4.htm
• http://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-PersuasiveEssay