At some point in your education, you will have been set the task to produce a persuasive essay. You could have been assigned a topic by your teacher or have been allowed to choose a topic yourself. Your main goal is to persuade the reader to agree with your perspective.
But, many students, given a topic they know nothing about. You may struggle to build a strong essay and do not know where to build anything likely to persuade anybody.
If you feel you struggle with something like this or need extra help writing an essay, keep reading. You will learn how to create your essay in easy steps. You will be persuading people in no time at all.
Choose a Topic You Are Passionate About
The first stage of writing a persuasive essay is to find a topic you are passionate about. If you pick a topic, you love and are passionate about, researching, writing and arguing about it will be far more pleasurable.
You will also find that you argue with more passion, and therefore create a more persuasive essay. You will also know a lot more about the topic and argue your point more effectively.
This extra knowledge means you won’t have to spend more time researching, and you can spend that time writing. If you have been given a topic to argue, you will have to research your topic first or decide where you stand first.
Research Both Sides of the Argument Thoroughly
When you know what you are writing about, it is time to research your topic correctly. Every argument that you make will have a counter-argument, so you need to know what it is.
To convince any of your readers, you will need to know both sides of the coin. But by identifying the arguments on both sides and thoroughly researching the arguments, you can build a strong essay, an essay that will persuade.
While you are researching, make sure to gather as much information about the topic as you can. All the information will be helpful, so long as it is on topic. Talking about Abraham Lincoln’s underwear may not help persuade someone that he was a great leader.
You should use every single resource as well, don’t just settle on one source and call your topic researched. You have school textbooks, the internet, academic journals, newspapers, journals, diaries and many more.
A wide range of sources will make your argument more substantial, as you are not just looking at it from only one point of view. You will also counter any opposition points and stop any follow-up questions they may have.
Draft the Thesis Statement You Will Argue
The Theis statement is one of the most important things you should include within a persuasive essay. To have any chance of convincing anyone, your statement needs to be well-thought-out, well-formed and coherent.
A well-formed thesis statement is used to summarize the essay for the reader. It makes the main points clear concise. It should be:
- Informative: it needs to highlight what the essay is about without expressing any opinion or views.
- Straightforward and easy to read.
- Appealing: like your introduction, it needs to hook the reader.
It is worth referencing examples online to really understand the style and what should be included.
One of the best ways to construct a thesis statement is to include the ‘What’ or the ‘How’ of the argument. You should always think to yourself:
- What argument am I trying to convince the reader to understand and accept?
- How will I convince the reader to accept the argument as a sound argument?
You should use the Thesis statement as the structure of your essay while you are presenting your argument.
Craft the Outline of Your Persuasive Essay
By outlining your essay, you will see your argument clearly and see how it will develop. You need to think all about the strengths and weaknesses of your argument critically.
A critical view of your essay will mean you can identify where your most vital point would be most effective. Giving your strongest point will also mean giving the most decisive evidence you have. The evidence that is the most likely to persuade your reader.
It is probably not a good idea to leave your best till last and start out with all your weaker points first in a persuasive essay. This is not going to add any strength to your argument.
You should use your outline that you have created to organize all of your points and evidence together. List out all of your claims and arguments before you start writing.
By creating a sound and solid outline, you can break down your argument in the most logical way. This logical breakdown is going to make it easier for you to convince someone.
Start Writing Your Essay
This is obviously the most essential part of writing an essay, so you need to know the basic structure of your essay in the best way. Generally speaking, you should follow this basic construction:
Introduction
What you want to happen with your introduction is to hook the reader’s attention. If you grab their attention instantly, they are more likely to keep reading instead of getting bored.
After you have hooked them, you want to reveal any background information to provide any context to your writing. This part is crucial to your essay as it provides the information that your reader will need when reading through your essay. Then the very last line is where you include your thesis statement.
Main Body
The role of these paragraphs is to support your thesis statement, so you need to make sure you have all the facts and figure you are going to need. Refer to your plan. Also, you definitely need to back up your arguments with evidence.
These particular paragraphs of your essay should consist of three main arguments or points. Any less, then you will not be presenting a solid essay. They also need to flow correctly to make your argument seem sound.
The Conclusion
When you have presented your three main points, you need to move on to your essay’s conclusion. This will help round off your essay, and it will bring you back to the central thesis.
You need to restate the original thesis and offer any of your final thoughts or insights into the topic. It should be done smoothly and allow you to restate the impact of each of your points; this should be brief as you have gone into detail in the main body.
To finish your essay correctly, you need to finish with a concluding statement. It helps your essay by explaining the significance of your points/arguments. It will help your reader understand why your essay has value and how they can apply the information.
It helps them apply it to real-life situations that they may encounter or have already encountered
Finish Off Your Essay
Once your essay has been written, it is now time to move onto editing your work. This stage will turn your work from a good essay into a great one, so it is crucial to get it right.
You want to make sure that it has been organized correctly and that it flows well throughout the whole essay. Just remember that your essay will be far more potent when connecting to the audience or the reader. If you want more information about checking your work, there is a good article that explains everything.
In Conclusion
Writing a persuasive essay can be a lot of fun once you know what you need to do. But, by following this, you are sure to create a fantastic essay.
Now we hand it over to you. Use all these tips in practice and craft your powerful essay.