Unlocking the Secrets of the
Persuasive Essay
Hints on How to Write Your
Essay
Ms. B and Mr. Rush
What Really Matters…
 Your audience likes to be interested in and
even entertained by what you have written!
 Be well organized with all the necessary parts
in their proper place, using correct grammar,
punctuation and spelling.
 You must be sure that your essay is easy to
understand; that it is clear and coherent.
 The thing you want to avoid most is being
confusing!
From the beginning…
INTRODUCTION (Part 1)
3 Jobs of an Introduction:
 1: Grab Reader’s Attention
 2: Narrow the Focus of Your Paper
 3: State the THESIS
From the beginning…
INTRODUCTION (Part 1)
 The most important sentence is the first
sentence of the introduction, the hook,
where you “grab” the reader’s attention.
 You can ask provide a surprising statistic or
strong quote, or ask a question!
 Let’s say your topic is “Should the Death
Penalty be abolished?”
 Your hook could be “Right now, in
America, 37% of the convicts on death
row are innocent and will be unjustly
executed for no good reason!”
More about the Introduction…
(Part 2)
 After you have given your hook , you need to
provide background information about your
topic.
 Stop and Think: How can I narrow the subject
of my essay and give the reader necessary
information to understand my opinion?
 Background information connects your hook
to the thesis!
Final Part of the
Introduction…The THESIS
 After you write a hook and background
information, it’s time to say what you think
in the Thesis Statement and give three
reasons to support your point:

“I believe that the death penalty
should be abolished because many
innocent will be unjustly executed, it is
against the Bible’s commandment ‘thou
shalt not kill’ and it is forbidden by the
US Constitution as a cruel and unusual
punishment.”
Final Part of the
Introduction…The THESIS
 Think of it as a math problem:







SUBJECT
+
JUDGMENT/OPINION
+
BLUEPRINT (Reasons 1, 2, and 3)
=
THESIS STATEMENT!
Let’s Practice writing a Thesis
Statement using a sample prompt:
 Studies show that fast food restaurants are
linked to obesity, high blood pressure, and
other ill effects. Should the United States
ban all fast food restaurants?
 FIRST, What is the subject?
 NEXT, What is the judgment/opinion?
 FINALLY, Choose a position (Pro or Con)
and 3 arguments to support that position
Let’s Practice writing a Thesis
Statement using a sample prompt:
 Let’s choose the PRO argument to the
prompt…
 FIRST, What is the position statement?
 Agree that fast food should be banned
 NEXT, What 3 arguments SUPPORT that
position?
 1. Fast food promotes laziness and
inactivity
 2. Fast food contains harmful chemicals
 3. Locally owned businesses lose money
Let’s Practice writing a Thesis
Statement using a sample prompt:
 Let’s do the MATH and put our thesis
statement together…
 Subject: Fast Food restaurants
 Judgment/Opinion: should be banned in the
United States
 because…
 Reason 1 : they promote laziness and
inactivity,
 Reason 2 : contain harmful chemicals and
 Reason 3: locally owned businesses lose
money.
Now You Try With a Partner…
 Write a thesis statement for the CON
position using the following 3 Arguments:
 Busy people need food quickly
 Processed foods sold at supermarkets are
also harmful and
 Local businesses should learn new ways to
market their food.
 HINT: USE THE MATH FORMULA!
 ___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
Now, the Body Paragraphs…
 The purpose of your body paragraphs are to connect
to the thesis and introduce the reasons for your
argument in the blueprint.
 The first sentence of your body paragraph is called
the Topic Sentence.
 A Transition Word + Reason = Topic Sentence
 HINT: Use the 3F rule for Transitions in Topic
Sentences – First, Further, and Finally
 You don’t have to use these specific transition words;
they are just examples!
Now, the Body Paragraphs
 The Format for Writing a Body Paragraph is:
 1. Topic Sentence
 2. Provide an Example/Quote to support the Reason
 3. Analyze the Example/Quote to prove the Reason.
 **There are three reasons in your thesis, so you will
be writing three different body paragraphs with three
different topic sentences!
Let’s Practice Writing Topic Sentences using
the PRO argument from the Fast Food
prompt…
 Write the Topic Sentence for body paragraph 1 using
Reason 1: ________________________________
_____________________________________________
__________________________________________
 Write the Topic Sentence for body paragraph 2 using
Reason 2: ________________________________
_____________________________________________
__________________________________________
 Write the Topic Sentence for body paragraph 3 using
Reason 3: ________________________________
_____________________________________________
__________________________________________
Finally: Conclusion.
 Your conclusion needs to make the person




reading it remember what you wrote.
The Conclusion should be a “mirror image” of
your introduction: restate the thesis FIRST, then
include your “Call to Action” or “Take Away.”
A Call to Action asks your reader to act
A Take Away makes the reader smile or think
The “Call to Action” or “Take Away” is the last
line of your essay and is the second most
important line after the lead-in because this is
where you leave the reader with your final
thought.
Your conclusion continued…
 Your conclusion could be:

“The death penalty has no place in
modern America. It is a throwback to
older barbaric times The death penalty
causes many innocent people to be
unjustly killed, it is against the law of
God given in the Bible, and it is rejected
by the “cruel and unusual punishment”
amendment of the US Constitution. I
strongly urge everyone to write to their
Congressman and demand that the death
penalty be abolished once and for all.
Now remember: A Good Essay:
 Is interesting.
 Is well organized.
 Uses proper grammar,
 Has three different reasons
to support the main
opinion of the thesis.
spelling, and punctuation.  Has three well-elaborated
specific reason
 Has all the elements in the
paragraphs.
right place.
 Saves the best, strongest
 Has a powerful “hook”
reason for last.
lead-in sentence.
 Concludes by “mirroring”
 Has a well-defined thesis
the introduction by
statement (your judgment/
repeating the thesis and
opinion) which takes a
the 3 supporting reasons
definite side.
and leaves the reader with
a strong “Call to Action or
Takeaway” to remember.