How To Write A Persuasive Essay

How To Write A Persuasive Essay: Step By Step Guide

Everyone tends to have disagreements – whether it is ‘who is the best cricketer of all time' or 'which political party should win this time.' There will always be an individual or two who will have an opinion that might hugely differ from yours. However, that doesn't prevent us from making efforts to convince each other of our viewpoints. This is where the role of persuasive essays comes into play.

Persuasive essays are used to sway the readers to a certain perspective or opinion of the writer. But how to do that? When penning down a persuasive essay, you must select arguments and evidence carefully so the readers will become impressed and get ready to agree instantly with your perspective.

Seems challenging, right? Fret not. Today’s post aims to walk you through certain effective guidelines to write an incredible persuasive essay and remarkable samples that will enable you to successfully convince your readers by walking them through various logical and ethical arguments.

Let’s dive right in!

Persuasive Essay: A Quick Overview

A persuasive essay is what it sounds like – an essay that 'persuades .'It is a kind of essay that presents logical arguments along with an emotional appeal to sway readers to a certain perspective.

These essays can be both academic writing as well as personal writing. They specifically start with a question that the writer spends the entire paper arguing in favor or in against. While writing a personal essay, making a firm statement backed up by a remarkable mix of research, data, and anecdotal experience is necessary. Then, with the aid of logical arguments and convincing words, you will need to dispel biases and assure readers that there are more accurate viewpoints than yours.

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How To Craft The Perfect Persuasive Essay: Effective Guidelines

Choose a Side You’re Passionate About

The first step in crafting an incredible persuasive essay is selecting a topic and choosing a side. If you believe in a subject, it will make your entire experience of conducting research, arguing your point of view, and writing process more personal. Further, selecting a topic that appeals to you on an emotional or sentimental level will make its defense incredibly easier.

Additionally, it’s highly likely that you are already well-versed with extensive information on the topic, so you won’t be left scrambling when the time arrives to conduct research.

Be Well-Versed with Your Audience

If you aim to persuade your readers to agree and believe with you, it is significant to understand who you are speaking to first. Like, if you are crafting a persuasive essay about why standardized testing must be eliminated from school systems, your audience is most likely to be parents. So, you need to consider that when writing for your targeted demographics.

Research Both Sides Extensively

Each argument should have a counterargument – this is one of the basics of rhetoric. To persuade your reader to agree with you, you should possess extensive knowledge of the opposite side. As crucial as it is to research the topics extensively, determining and studying both sides of the argument will enable you to develop the strongest supporting evidence possible.

During the research process, try to assimilate as much as information about the subjects at hand. When you have an in-depth and lucid understanding of the topic, you can counter the opposition and mitigate any follow-up questions that could cast doubt on the claims.

Outline the Argument

Outlining the entire essay before you start writing will enable you to organize your thoughts, conduct extensive research, and effectively lay out the entire essay structure. Jot down all the key points and combine them with all of the relevant and supporting evidence from your referenced sources.

Formulate the Thesis Statement

One of the crucial elements of your persuasive essay is an incredible thesis statement. It should inform your readers about your stance. If you do not craft a forceful thesis, you cannot create an effective argument. The construction of the thesis statement must incorporate the 'what' and 'how' of the arguments.

Try to answer questions like – ‘What is the argument you want your readers to accept? And, how to convince your readers that the argument is excellent?’  While the ‘how’ will become clear as the essay progress, the thesis statement must set up the organizational pattern of the paper while presenting the position.

Craft Your Introduction

Each excellent essay should start with a strong introduction. Its main objective is to offer the general premise of the essay, offer any necessary background information, appeal to the sensibilities of the reader and captivate their attention. You can also include a personal anecdote or in-depth information from your research. Further, it should also incorporate a thesis statement that articulates the paper's main point in one or two sentences and the rest of the paper to reinforce that point.

Incorporate Body Paragraphs

This is the segment where the 'meat' of the persuasive essay will come. It should include data and enough evidence to back up the thesis and present counterarguments. The body paragraphs of your essay should incorporate a topic sentence, relevant supporting statements, and a closing or transition sentence.

This structure will keep your essay focused on the key idea and offer clear and concise information. It should also incorporate any opposing opinions and why they must be discredited. Hence, ensure to make any claims in the essay that can be backed up by credible or relevant information.

Wrap It Up with a Strong Concluding Paragraph

The conclusion paragraph of your persuasive essay should summarize your entire work. It should restate the thesis, summarize the crucial supporting ideas discussed throughout the paper, and offer a final impression of the key idea. It must also incorporate a call-to-action if you are desperately aiming to convince your readers to swiftly take action over a specific issue.

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Inspiring Persuasive Essay Examples To Help You Stand Out

We thought of providing exemplary persuasive examples so that you have a remarkable visual understanding of the outline, structures, as well as writing style.

Go through persuasive essay samples rigorously to comprehend how to compose a stellar persuasive essay in a compelling way –

The Benefits of Exercise

This essay argues remarkably how exercise is crucial for good health and well-being. It also offers relevant statistics and evidence to support the argument. It also uses persuasive language to persuade the reader of the significance of exercise.

The Dangers of Social Media

This essay puts forth the argument that social media can have negative impacts on mental health. It also uses evidence and personal anecdotes to back up the arguments.

The Leadership Style of Obama and Mahatma Gandhi

This essay has made the point that world-famous leaders have certain innate and distinctive characteristics that make them distinct from the rest of the world. It also evaluates the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi and Barak Obama and argues whose leadership style is more relevant in the present context.

The Importance of Information Processing Theory

The aim of this remarkable sample is to discuss the significance of information processing theory in clinical decision-making in the practice of nursing. Here, the information processing theory will be compared with the expected utility and social judgment theory. Here all these three theories will be outlined with all of their pros and cons and their merits and demerits in their use in clinical practice in nursing.

Wrapping Up,

The academic world thrives and prospers on successful arguments. Academic stalwarts recognize others by how well they can offer arguments and adequate evidence to back them up. This is mainly why it is crucial to comprehend the steps and guidelines to craft a perfect persuasive essay in any style. The better you comprehend the guidelines to draft a stellar persuasive essay, the more exceptional and mind-blowing your papers will be. Good luck!