Persuasive
Essay
Tuyen Phan
1. What Is a Persuasive Essay?
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Persuasive essays, also called
argument essays, are another
common type of academic writing.
The writer’s purpose is to state the
claim (opinion) and persuade the
audience to agree with his or her
opinion about a controversial topic.
2. Convincing the Reader
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Your job is to convince your readers that your opinion about a topic
(thesis statement) is the most valid viewpoint.
Your essay needs to be balanced – it must include an opposing
viewpoint or counter-argument – what someone on the other side of
the issue would argue. As soon as you give your opponent’s point of
view, you must offer a refutation of it. This means that you refute the
other point of view, or show how it is wrong.
Persuasion may make emotional appeals or seek to assert the
writer’s authority on the subject in order to convince the reader.
3. Types of Support
Most of the types of support used for persuasive essays are:
● Facts
● Reasons
● Examples
● Statistics
● Evidence from sources with appropriate citations
 Two types of support that are particularly useful
Predicting the consequence
Counter-arguments
3.1. Predicting the consequence
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Help the reader understand what will happen if something does or
does not happen.
This type of support will be introduced with “If …”
For example, to convince your readers that same-sex schools are
disadvantageous, you might say,
‘If students do not go to mixed schools, they will lose many
opportunities to interact with members of the opposite sex, which
may hurt them in their development of important social skills.’
‘If students do not go to mixed schools, they will be shy and will not
be able to talk to members of the opposite sex.’
 Avoid exaggerating the consequences
3.2. Counter-arguments
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Consider the opposition’s point-of-view, then present arguments
against it. This is often the most difficult type of support.
Counter-arguments are often presented first in a paragraph.
Useful language for this type of support are phrases or transition
signals such as
Opponents claim that … However …
Although …
Ex: Although it has been suggested that same-sex schools make
children more focused on their study, it is generally agreed that
children of the same sex are more likely to talk with each other during
class time.
4. Essay Structure
INTRODUCTION
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Hook – the interesting first sentence
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Background information – give context to your argument/ subject
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Thesis – a clear, concise statement of your main argument, the overall idea
you’ll be arguing.
EACH BODY PARAGRAPH
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Only one point to support your thesis per paragraph
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Topic sentence – reflects the main idea of the paragraph
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Evidence – information from a reliable outside source (not your own opinion)
that supports the main idea of the paragraph.
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Analysis – show how your evidence supports your argument; build your
argument
4. Essay Structure
CONCLUSION
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Tie up the essay – briefly sum up the main point
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Establish significance
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Give a final thought