Why should you learn how to write a persuasive essay? Have you ever gotten to a point where you felt like “I can’t write my essay?” Learning how to write high-quality persuasive essays is vital for students across different academic levels for various reasons. To begin with, this type of essay allows you to develop logical reasons to support your opinions on a given topic. More importantly, you will develop strong research skills that will help incorporate facts to support your point of view.
Since a persuasive essay seeks to convince your reader to believe your opinion on a given subject, you should be highly prepared to ensure you achieve the objective. Your ideas should be logical and the evidence you choose should be factual, verifiable, and credible.
Tips and tricks that will help you write exemplary persuasive essays
- Select a position that you are interested in and passionate about
One of the secrets to writing an exceptionally high-quality persuasive essay is choosing the position you will take. Ensure you select a position that you are passionate about or one that you believe in since it will be easier to get support for your arguments.
- Research your side and the contrary
Once you have identified your position, research the topic to get quality evidence to support your argument. To ensure your evidence is factual, logical, and applicable, research the history of the topic, previous arguments made, and reactions by commentators among others. Select factual evidence that will convince your audience to believe your argument. You should also research arguments against your topic. Having researched adequately, you will easily counter the opposing position using factual evidence.
- Develop a thesis statement
Like in any other essay, include an appealing thesis statement that clearly communicates your stance on the topic. In drafting your essay, you should consider what the argument you need your audience to believe is and how you wish to do so to ensure your thesis statement is complete and accurate.
- Create an outline
Before you start your persuasive essay, create an outline to guide you through the writing process. An outline is essential in helping you develop the structure of your essay. You will use it to determine where to place each argument, the evidence, and the analysis. Having an outline will help you to write your essay concisely and logically.
- Include a conclusion
A conclusion will reinforce the thesis statement. You should include a call for action to help the readers understand what to do with the information you have provided them. As you summarize your essay, don’t forget to address any query you think the reader might have. However, you should not introduce a new idea in this section.
Understanding the audience: Who are you persuading?
Understanding your audience is one of the most important aspects of writing an exceptionally high-quality persuasive essay. Before engaging in the writing process, you should ask yourself “Whom am I trying to convince?” It will help you shape your argument to achieve optimal results. You will understand the type of information you should offer to the audience and the kind of supporting materials you will use to ensure your readers understand your essay.
Here are a few possible audiences for your essay:
- A generalized group of individuals: Under this category, your readers have similar qualities. For instance, they may be your peers in college, which means they may have as much knowledge about the topic as you do. You may need to include a background, illustrations, and examples to ensure they better understand your essay.
- Professionals in the field: Sometimes, your audience may comprise professionals in the field who have an extensive understanding of the topic. When your audience is professionals in the field, you may assume they are conversant with the vocabulary used in the field. For instance, if your readers are accounting professionals, they will definitely understand terms such as accruals, debit, and financial ratios, among others.
- Academicians: Your audience may comprise an academic community. If your paper is designed for this category of audience, you should use academic language and styles used by experts in the field. Remember, the audience will expect you to cite recognized experts in the field as well as address an existing gap in the topic.
Creating a strong thesis statement: The tips and elements you should consider
- Consider the type of essay you are writing: You should begin by understanding the type of essay to ensure you develop an appropriate thesis statement. The three common types of writing include:
- Analytical essay: It is a type of writing where the writer breaks down ideas into component parts, evaluates them, and presents them to the audience.
- An expository essay: It is a piece of writing where an author explains something to the audience.
- An argumentative paper: A paper where the author makes a claim and justifies it using supporting evidence to convince the readers that the claim is true.
- A thesis statement should be specific: It should encompass everything that you will discuss in your paper.
- Should appear in the introduction: You should place the thesis statement at the end of your introduction, which mostly is the first paragraph of the paper.
- Revise your thesis statement as you write: As you write the paper, your argument may change. It is therefore necessary that you keep on revising your paper to ensure it covers everything discussed in the body paragraphs.
Researching and gathering evidence to support your argument
Gathering evidence to support your argument is not only essential in ensuring your essay is factual and credible, but also creates an opportunity for you to gain an in-depth understanding of the topic. You should evaluate your sources to ensure they meet the following criteria before using them in your essay.
- Currency: Your resources should be current to ensure the information is not outdated. You should consider publication dates and whether the links provided are functional.
- Relevance: The sources should be relevant to your topic. Ensure the resource is appropriate for your topic considering the knowledge level of your audience.
- Authority: Ensure that the author is a reputable organization or a recognized expert in the field.
- Accuracy: Ascertain that the information provided is accurate, reliable, and verifiable to ensure it is factual. Ensure that it doesn’t contain erroneous or biased assertions. The source should contain citations from other sources to ensure it is accurate.
- Purpose: Establish why the purpose of the information provided by the author. Determine whether the author’s standpoint is objective or biased.
Organizing your essay for maximum impact
Writing an appealing essay remains a challenge to many students. May you have told yourself “I need someone to write my essay” because the process seemed a little challenging. One of the main tips for overcoming this challenge is the way you organize your essay.
Here is the structure:
- Introduction: Begin your essay with an introduction to help the reader understand what your essay is about. Include a thesis statement at the end of the introduction. Ensure the introduction is captivating to grab the reader’s attention.
- Body paragraphs: The body contains several paragraphs, with each discussing one idea. For each paragraph ensure you include the following:
- Topic sentence
- Supporting evidence
- Opposing evidence
- Your analysis
- A link sentence
- A closing sentence
- Conclusion: A conclusion should restate the thesis statement. It should also summarize the main points in your essay. Ensure that if an individual reads your introduction and your conclusion, they certainly know what your essay is all about. The reader should clearly understand your standpoint from your conclusion.
Using Effective Rhetorical Devices and Techniques
Sometimes completing a persuasive essay may feel like a daunting task which may lead you to query yourself “Should I pay someone to write my essay? You might find that it is not all that complicated if you understand the following three main rhetorical devices you need to incorporate in your essay.
- Ethos: It emphasizes the use of ethical reasoning in drafting your persuasive essay. You should ensure that your essay doesn’t mislead your readers by manipulating your argument.
- Logos: It highlights the importance of logical reasoning, where your arguments should be factual and progress logically to make sense to the readers.
- Pathos: This rhetorical element requires that you use strategic repetition to compel your audience to believe in your standpoint.
If you are required to write a persuasive essay, you should strive to develop a piece of writing that seeks to convince your readers to believe your standpoint. Therefore, you will need to carefully choose your words and develop logical arguments that are supported by verifiable facts. Examples of persuasive writing include reviews, proposals, editorials, and advertisements. Make sure you check them before you start writing.
