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 ______________and
even ______________ what you have written!
 Be well ________ with all the necessary parts
in their proper place, using correct _________,
___________ and _____________.
 You must be sure that your essay is easy to
understand; that it is ______ and _________.
 The thing you want to avoid most is being
_________________!
From the beginning…
INTRODUCTION (Part 1)
3 Jobs of an Introduction:
 1: ________________________________
 2: _________________________________
 3: _________________________________
From the beginning…
INTRODUCTION (Part 1)
 The most important sentence is the first
sentence of the introduction, __________,
where you __________________________.
 You can ask provide a _________________
or ______________________, or
__________________________!
 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
More about the Introduction…
(Part 2)
 After you have given your hook , you need to
provide ____________________ about your
topic.
 Stop and Think: How can I
_________________________ of my essay and
give the reader necessary information to
understand my opinion?
 Background information ___________ 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 ______________ 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:







_____________________
+
_____________________
+
_________________________________
=
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?
 ________________________________
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: ________________________
 Judgment/Opinion: ___________________
___________________________________
 because…
 Reason 1 : __________________________
 Reason 2 : __________________________
 Reason 3: __________________________
_____________________________________
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
______________________________ and introduce
the _______________ for your argument in the
blueprint.
 The first sentence of your body paragraph is called
____________________________.
 A _____________ + ___________ = Topic Sentence
 HINT: Use the 3F rule for Transitions in Topic
Sentences: __________, ____________, _________

 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. ___________________________
 2. Provide an _____________ to support the Reason
 3. ________ 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 ____________________________.
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 _____________________
A Take Away makes ______________________
The “Call to Action” or “Take Away” is the
_________ 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 _________________.
 Has three different
_________ to support the
 Is well _______________.
main opinion of the thesis.
 Uses proper grammar,
spelling, and punctuation.  Has three well-elaborated
specific reason
____________________.
the right place.
 Saves the best, strongest
 Has a powerful “______”
reason for ___________.
lead-in sentence.
 Concludes by “________”
 Has a well-defined
the introduction by
_____________________
repeating the thesis and
(your judgment/ opinion)
the 3 supporting reasons
which takes a definite
and leaves the reader with
side.
a strong “_____________
or __________________”
to remember.
 Has all the __________ in