Within a persuasive essay (also known as an argument essay), a debate is waged regarding the central issue, the author arguing either for or against it in order to convince the reader to agree with his opinion. The key to succeeding in a debate lies in the evidence expounded through sound reasoning, examples and facts. Knowing how to write a persuasive essay requires a certain level of skill in persuasive writing, which is the ability to use logic and reason to advocate the legitimacy of one idea over another.
Planning
If you know how to write a persuasive essay, you understand that when planning your argument essay, you need to follow several basic steps:
- Choose a position: are you for or against the central issue or problem presented in your paper? Furthermore, consider the solutions and arguments you are going to present in your debate.
- Mind your audience. Take some time analysing your readership, find out what their opinions and tastes might be and so on. In short, put yourself in their shoes and imagine how they will react to your viewpoint.
- Perform thorough research. When learning how to write a persuasive essay, one must acknowledge the importance of being properly supported by documentation. Any error and inadvertency found within your paper might drastically decrease its convincing power. By gathering the right materials, you will be able to provide more specific and convincing evidence, thus strengthening your point of view.
- Pay attention to the structure of the paper. When learning how to write a persuasive essay every piece of evidence has to be presented at a certain time – in this regard, construct a sketch of your essay, juggling with your ideas until you come up with an order that yields the strongest argument for your opinions.
Essential Criteria for Devising an Effective Argument
You may have heard about debate clubs, in which the members hone their debating skills by discussing controversial issues and participating in tournaments. The main purpose of a debate club is to allow its members to develop a critical attitude as well as good oratory skills; these two elements are essential when learning how to write a persuasive essay. In order to construct a solid argument, you need to:
- Be well informed about the discussed topic, by having thoroughly read information from quality sources.
- Have a debatable thesis. When learning how to write a persuasive essay, your topic has to allow two opposing viewpoints; in this regard, you need to determine exactly the viewpoint which opposes yours.
- Be capable of disproving the opposing argument. The success in a debate lies in the ability to find mistakes and inconsistencies in the opposite viewpoint, and bring decisive evidence against it.
The Structure of the Paper
A student who knows how to write a persuasive essay will use specific techniques to render his or her audience more receptive towards his arguments.
- The Introduction needs to employ some method for catching the attention of the reader, such as opening the discussion with an interesting or surprising fact related to the main issue. Among other such methods is the use of quotations, anecdotes, statistics or even a mild exaggeration of facts. This way, the student who knows how to write a persuasive essay will inspire his readership with a sense of either comfort or concern, manipulating them into being more responsive to the evidence he or she will present. Additionally, the introduction contains a thesis statement acting as a foundation for the whole essay. The statement will briefly explain the specific topic of the paper, impose its limits and act as a guide to writing the paper.
- The Main Body of the text will be used to provide evidence to justify the author's stance on the main issue. Every paragraph within the main body should be based on a solid reason that strengthens the thesis statement. If you know how to write a persuasive essay, you will be able to anticipate the arguments that might be brought to sustain the opposite viewpoint, so that you can successfully counter them with your own.
Remember when learning how to write a persuasive essay, there are several ways to sustain your argument: a) providing facts – facts can be brought from observation, personal experience or bibliographic materials. Note that facts and truths are not the same thing. Truths are ideas people believe in, but which cannot be proven, whereas facts can; b) statistics – always acquire your statistics from responsible and credible sources, citing each one in the correct manner; c) quotes – directly quoting the leading experts who share a similar viewpoint is a very powerful means of convincing the audience; d) examples – examples are used as proof for theoretical concepts and they will enhance your meaning and render your ideas more eloquent.
- The Conclusion summarises the most important details of the argument, recalling the main pieces of evidence brought for sustaining your viewpoint, and restates the focus statement. Within it, you may add personal comments such as predictions, questions that will urge the reader to revise his attitude, recommendations or, once again, quotations belonging to various experts.
To sum up, when learning how to write a persuasive essay, you need to have a very firm opinion that you want to convey to your readers. Secondly, you have to employ some means of triggering the sympathy of your audience regarding your viewpoint, or draw their concern towards certain key issues. Nevertheless, reason and logic need to prevail in your argument, therefore aim to offer the best evidence provided by specialised literature, experts or even your own personal experience.
Lastly, when learning how to write a persuasive essay, remember revise your paper, tending to the structure of your paragraphs and the use of language. A text that is well-written and that exhibits its arguments in a clear and explicit manner can strengthen the student's credibility and consequently have a greater power of persuasion. In this regard, you might employ the services offered by Academic Sciences for editing and proofreading your paper; additionally, our website offers essay-writing services for clients who lack the resources to write their own papers or the time to properly learn how to write a persuasive essay.
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