How to Write Persuasive Essay: Steps

January 16, 2020

Every college or university student periodically faces the need to write a persuasive essay. It is a short story in which you share your point of view, confirm it with a clear explanation and weighty arguments. At first glance, it seems that we are all able to express our own opinion. But writing an essay is not the same as writing a post on a social network. Therefore, you will need some recommendations.

Some Useful Tips for Writing a Perfect Persuasive Essay

You need to plan your time and make a clear plan for writing an essay. The following recommendations will help you with this.

1. State your position

All people love exciting stories, but you should remember that you are not writing a fascinating book, but an argumentative essay. It should be unambiguous, without any ambiguities and unexpected moments. Your readers should immediately understand what point of view you hold. If they need to read the entire text, most likely, they will quickly lose interest. Therefore, it is essential to clearly state your position and repeat it several times in the essay.

2. Get organized

If you want your arguments to be convincing to other people, take care of the organization. Create an outline in advance for the entire essay, as well as for each paragraph. Follow this to stay clear and structured. If you don’t have a plan yet, talk to the teacher.

3. Persuade with passion

This rule applies not only to persuasive essays but also to any work that you will encounter throughout your life. Each person is best at what one is sincerely interested in. If you have the opportunity to choose a topic for an essay, choose the one that interests you. And if the teacher has already assigned an issue, try to learn more information to get inspired and interested. It will be easier for you to defend an opinion that you genuinely believe in.

4. Know your audience

You must understand for whom you are writing. Who will read your work? Only a teacher or other students too? The level of your argument depends on this. In any case, try not to be too superficial. Use both simple arguments and more complex ones to show that you understand the topic and are well prepared to write a persuasive, argumentative essay.

5. Do your research

No argument can exist without substantial evidence. You will need to research to find ones. You must study the topic from all sides and points of view, and only then can you be convincing enough. Even if you already have a clear position on the issue and you consider it permanent, the situation may change during the study. Find out as soon as possible that your argument is worthless. Also, use different sources to find confirmation for your thoughts.

6. Support your argument

You must understand that your opinion alone does not matter much. No one will change its point of view if you voice your opinion. Therefore, one thesis statement in the form of an argument is not enough for you. Support the idea with any factors — link to prominent people who count as well. You can use references to studies, books, historical events. Everything that can come in handy to convince the reader. Do not forget about the emotional side. Dry facts sound convincing, but people also pay attention to the form of presentation of information.

7. Write with integrity

Use emotional and rhetorical techniques. It is important not to mislead the audience. Your argument should consist of objective information. Subjective data will only help to decorate it, make it more attractive and understandable to the reader. Ask your friend to read the essay and give your opinion. So you will understand how interesting and convincing it is.

The 5-Step Writing Process for Persuasive Essay

With proper preparation, writing an argumentative essay does not require much time and effort. The Doanassignment offers you 5 simple steps that will help you cope with this task and get a good grade.

1. Prewriting for the Persuasive Essay

It all starts with quality planning. It is this stage that determines how successful the essay will be. Pre-writing is the period a few weeks before the deadline during which you:

Determine your position. Think about what pressing problems are of interest to you, and which side you want to protect.
You understand the audience. To convince people of your point of view, you need to understand their point of view. Why is your audience thinking differently now? What are the reasons for this? How can you change that?
Do your homework. A persuasive essay requires a lot of information. Do not trust only one source. Use different online resources, chat with experts. Talk with opponents of your point of view to understand how they think.
Identify the most compelling arguments you use in your essay and support them with facts statistics.

Organizing the Persuasive Essay: Outline and Structure

The next important step is to draw up a plan. Without it, your paper will be unreadable. You write different arguments without structure, and the reader gets lost in the text. Therefore, a good outline will make life easier for both you and your audience.

Persuasive Essay Outline

The format of persuasive essays is usually quite clear. Your structure will include several important points:

Introduction. This is the moment when you have a chance to attract the attention of the audience. You need to make it clear what position you hold and show people that the essay is worth reading. Do not be too aggressive or intrusive. Otherwise, the audience will not want to get acquainted with your point of view.
Body paragraphs. This part should be the main one in your essay. Use as many sections as the teacher has indicated or as many as you need for convincing argumentation. Each paragraph should fully disclose the argument and refute the corresponding case of opponents.
Conclusion. This is a section for conclusions where you summarize. You can again recall the most convincing arguments, expand the idea, turn to emotions. A very effective method is the use of a call to action at the end of the essay.

Introductory Paragraph

The main task of this section is to attract the attention of the reader. Use intriguing and provocative questions, funny stories, hooks. Also, provide a brief reference that helps people understand why you are writing about a particular topic.

Body Paragraphs

You do not need to give 10 arguments. Use 3 better, but try to uncover them as efficiently as possible. Follow this structure: thesis statement – the proof – a brief conclusion.

Opposing View Paragraph

If your point of view is so good, why don’t other people still support it? Surely they have their own arguments. Think about what thoughts they are guided by. Prepare counter-arguments so that they see that the coin has several sides.

Concluding Paragraph

It’s time to take stock. In this section, you should become soft again. No need to impose your point of view, because you have already listed the arguments and provided evidence. Show how all these points can be brought together. What opportunities does your point of view provide?

2. Drafting the Persuasive Essay

Like any essay, a persuasive essay begins with a draft. These are all your notes, drafts, ideas. Even if you do not sit down yet and do not write an essay, carry a notebook to write down different thoughts. Sometimes insights surround us. Try to pay attention to them. A good draft is half the battle. So it will be easier for you to write a custom paper from scratch.

3. Revising the Persuasive Essay

After you write an excellent persuasive essay, the work does not finish. You need to read it several times. Ideally, ask relatives or friends to read, too, to express your own opinion. You will see that some arguments are weak, while others look too intrusive. Or that you can formulate some sentences differently.

4. Editing the Persuasive Essay

During the revising, make all the necessary changes. It should concern not only the content but also the form. Get rid of any lexical and grammatical mistakes. Check that your language is beautiful and understandable. If the teacher gave some format requirements, make sure you stick to them. Indicate correct references to citations and sources, make a list of references if necessary.

5. Publishing the Persuasive Essay

It is the most exciting moment. Now other people can read your essay. Try to finish it a few days before the deadline to calm down and tune in to a positive wave. If you approach the writing process responsibly and follow our recommendations, you are guaranteed to receive an A-grade and exceed your teacher’s expectations!