Persuasive Essay:

The Ultimate Guide on

Writing It

Presented by: Miss Grace Dial

Reference:Vos, L. (2019, October 31). Persuasive Essay: The

Ultimate Guide on Writing It. On College Life and Writing |

Bid4papers Blog. https://bid4papers.com/blog/persuasive-essay/

A persuasive essay is a type of academic

writing where you use logic and

arguments to convince readers of your

point of view, using solid evidence such

as research, stating facts, examples,

and quotes from experts.

 TODAY'S GOAL: choose a topic, outline your essay,

structure it step by step, represent strong arguments to

convince readers of your position,

and see examples/additional resources to check for

better essay writing.

Persuasive

Essay Topics
Your topic needs to be polemical rather

than expository. Do not argue about

common knowledge such as “People need

air to breathe.” But something like

“People need marijuana for better health”

might work.
Persuasive

Essay Topics
The best polemical issues to use for a

persuasive essay include spheres like

culture, politics, climate changes, gender

issues, animal rights, and religion.

Kids under 10 shouldn’t use social media.
Revenge is a way to destroy evil.
It’s time to approve one currency for the whole world.
The power of kindness is in its weakness.
The President must pay attention to climate change.
Marijuana should be legalized throughout the country.
It is necessary to cancel the mandatory exams in schools.
All people should become vegetarians.
Single-sex schools improve the quality of education.
We need better sex education in schools.
Freedom of speech should be restricted.
Persuasive

Essay Topics
Make sure to choose a persuasive essay

topic that inspires but also gives you

materials to research. If you can’t find any

strong arguments to support your

statement, your persuasive essay will

hardly get an A.
How to Use

Arguments in

Persuasive Essays
Given that you need to get others to accept

your point of view, your arguments in the essay

should be reasonable, verifiable, and credible

enough. More than that, you need to appeal to

human logic and emotions. The right combination

of emotional and rational elements is what

makes your essay persuasive.

Ethos
(appealing to a writer’s character and

credibility): use authoritative resources to

prove your arguments.

Example:
“I’m a Doctor of Dental Surgery, and I

recommend this toothpaste to keep

your teeth white.”

Ethos
Ethos—is this writer trustworthy?
What are their credentials? Are

they an expert in the field?

Use reputable sources
Make sure to have considered all

sides of this issue?

Pathos
(appealing to emotions): focus on a
reader’s morals, values, and beliefs.

Example:
“You just can’t be cool in high school

without a white smile! How to

communicate with peers if you worry

about your teeth and freshness?

That’s where a good toothpaste will

help.”
Pathos
Use individuals’ stories to “put a face”

on the problem you’re exploring

Use charged language or words that

carry appropriate connotations? For

example, if a writer describes a gun as

a “sleek, silver piece of sophisticated

weaponry,” they are delivering a much

different image than if she writes, “a

cold hunk of metal, dark and barbaric

and ready to kill.”

Logos
(appealing to reason): use logic and

evidence to persuade others to agree

with you.

Example:
“Recent studies conclude that this

toothpaste removes 40% more plague

and makes our teeth 20% whiter than

all other types of toothpaste.”

Logos
Logos—does the writer appeal to the
rational mind by using logic and

evidence?

Do they include facts and statistics that

support their point? It’s more convincing

to tell the reader that “80% of students

have committed some form of

plagiarism,” than simply saying that “Lots

of students have plagiarized.”

Do they walk us through the logical

quality of their argument? Do they show

Logos
Logos—does the writer appeal to the
rational mind by using logic and

evidence?

Include facts and statistics that support

their point.
It’s more convincing to tell the reader

that “80% of students have committed

some form of plagiarism,” than simply

saying that “Lots of students have

plagiarized.”
Logos
Logos—does the writer appeal to the rational

mind by using logic and evidence?

Do you walk your readers through the logical

quality of their argument? Do you show how

ideas connect in a rational way? For

example: “English students have been able to

raise their overall grade by meeting with

peer tutors, so it’s safe to assume that math

students could also benefit from frequent

tutoring sessions.” This example points out

that logically, if the result has been seen in

one situation, then it should be seen in a

different but similar situation.

Five Elements of

Persuasion in Your

Essay
1. Your clear position. Make your thesis

narrow in focus. It can be a claim, a

fact, a definition, a solution, or a call

of judgment.
Five Elements of

Persuasion in Your

Essay
2. Effective communication. Hook the

audience’s attention with some

background information on the topic. You

can start with a question, inviting them

to keep on reading to find out your

opinion.
Five Elements of

Persuasion in Your

Essay
3. Your solid (+ credible) argument.

Make it logical, consistent, and fact-

based.
Five Elements of

Persuasion in Your

Essay
statistics
definitions
research
quotes from experts
examples to illustrate your point of

view, including your personal

experience
relevant emotional appeals
Five Elements of

Persuasion in Your

Essay
4. Clear structure. Organize your persuasive

essay so every argument would relate to

the thesis. Start with the weaker argument

and build your essay up to the stronger

point for readers to remember the most

convincing information. Pay attention to

transitions and connections between

paragraphs to show the relationships

between arguments in the essay and make

it easy to follow.
Five Elements of

Persuasion in Your

Essay
5. Strong conclusion. Restate your

thesis in the light of the evidence

you’ve provided in the essay. Make

your conclusion logically draw from

your arguments.
How to Write a

Persuasive Essay: Step

by Step
Step 1 – Choose Your Position

A persuasive essay is called so because

the issue you describe there is

polemical. It means you can argue both

for and against it. But it’s crucial to

decide which side you are going to support

before writing your essay. In other

words, you need to know the purpose of

your persuasive essay.

How to Write a

Persuasive Essay: Step

by Step

But:
Make sure you can find enough evidence

to support it. For a persuasive essay, it

should be based on solid research and

credible arguments.
How to Write a

Persuasive Essay: Step

by Step
Step 2 – Do Research

To convince readers of your position,

you need to know the topic inside out and

understand it from multiple angles. And

given that your persuasive essay should

provide convincing evidence for your

claims, you’ll have to do research to find

them.
How to Write a

Persuasive Essay: Step

by Step
Step 2 – Do Research

It’s not only about your personal

experience and knowledge but also

academic studies, historical examples,

relevant media news, and expert opinions.

How to Write a

Persuasive Essay: Step

by Step
Step 3 – Identify the Strongest Evidence

Once the research is ready, you may have many

different aspects to cover the topic. But you

can’t write about all of them. Choose the one with

the strongest evidence that will help to support

your position, and concentrate on it for stating the

thesis of your persuasive essay.

How to Write a

Persuasive Essay: Step

by Step
Step 4 – Write a Persuasive Essay Outline

Before you sit and start a persuasive

essay, write its plan. It’s a map for you

to understand how your essay will look,

and it helps you make sure you don’t

miss anything from its structure.

Persuasive Essay Outline

I. Introduction

a) Hook (quote, question, anecdote)

b) Lead/Hook explanation
c) Thesis Statement
II. Body. Paragraph-1

a) Topic Sentence (the first main point in the

thesis)
b) Quote (to support the point)
c) Explanation of the quote
d) Explanation of how this quote relates to the

thesis
V. Conclusion

a) Summary of all main points

b) Thesis restatement
c) Call to action or what you want readers to do

after reading your essay

How to Write a

Persuasive Essay: Step

by Step
Step 5 – Write a Draft of Your Persuasive

Essay

Finally!
Once the outline is ready, just sit and

write your essay. Don’t concentrate on

spelling or grammar mistakes, and don’t

get distracted from the process of

writing itself. Just let your thoughts

flow, don’t hurry up to edit.

How to Write a

Persuasive Essay: Step

by Step
Step 6 – Proofread and Edit

It’s not about spell check only. When

editing a persuasive essay, you need

to re-check arguments once again,

make sure your language is

appropriate (avoid pompous or jargon

phrases), and the overall essay

structure isn’t too complex.

How to Write a

Persuasive Essay: Step

by Step
Step 6 – Proofread and Edit
Did I answer the question given in the

assignment?
Did I structure my essay right?
Did I make all paragraphs clear and coherent?
Did I use the appropriate language throughout

my essay?
Did I cite and reference all resources in the right

way?
Did I exceed the word limit?
Did I proofread my essay forspelling and

grammar errors?
Did I present the assignment. well?