Persuasive Essay
1. A good persuasive essay is like a charming person: It wins readers over to a particular
viewpoint without offending them. To do this, it must present arguments or show evidence
that will sway its audience. Appealing to an audience’s emotions is also an effective way to
persuade, as long as such appeals are responsible and don’t stir up feelings that are harmful.
2. Guidelines for a persuasive essay – A persuasive essay…
a. begins with a concise statement of position on an issue that will interest the
audience.
b. supports this position with valid evidence and logical arguments (facts,
statistics, examples, reasons, expert opinions) and responsible appeals to
emotion.
c. addresses an audience whose views may differ from the writer’s.
d. anticipates opposing arguments.
e. ends in a way that prompts readers to change their thinking or to take a certain
course of action.
3. Thesis Statement – You must a thesis statement for this assignment. The thesis statement
should follow the prescribed formula Subject + Direction + 3 reasons and should be in the
introductory paragraph of your letter.
4. You should begin your essay by defining the issue you will address. Then, use facts,
dialogue, description, and ideas from the novel to defend your position in the body
paragraphs. In your conclusion, be sure to restate your argument and then summarize the
main reasons for that argument.
5. Be sure to provide logical proofs for your argument. You may also want to appeal to your
readers’ emotions; however, you should not use such appeals in place of good arguments.
The proportion of logic to emotion that you should use will depend entirely on your
audience, your purpose, and your subject.
6. Establish common ground. When you are addressing an audience that disagrees with your
thesis, search for a common ground, or area of agreement. If you want to ban smoking in
restaurants and all other public places in your town, and you are addressing an audience of
smokers, you might argue that town government has a responsibility to safeguard public
health. Since most readers would agree with this statement, they might be more inclined to
consider your argument that smoking, as a public hazard, should be banned in public places.
7. Distinguish facts from opinions. Facts are statements that can be proved or verified. When
citing a fact to prove a point, ask yourself: Is this fact accurate? It is relevant? Opinions are
personal judgments. Do not use opinions as the sole basis of your argument.
8. Set an effective tone. Your tone, or attitude toward your subject, can help you to win
readers’ respect. Tone is revealed through the connotations of the words you choose and
through the care with which you develop your arguments. Establish a tone that shows you
are confident, reliable, and committed to your position.
9. Organization. Often in a persuasive essay, one organizes the reasons according to least
important to most important. Therefore, your first body paragraph should be about your least
important reason and your last body paragraph should be about your most important reason.