The power of persuasion requires not only revealing an ultimate desire to prove something or convincing someone but also having a broad scope of knowledge to support the claim with arguments\facts. Thus, sometimes the definition of persuasive essay contains the word ‘argumentative,’ which means that the author introduces numerous arguments to succeed in inducing the reader to accept a particular concept.
What is a Persuasive Essay and How to Start Writing it?
Before you start writing the essay, decide whether you’ve researched the topic properly. Have you gathered enough information? Do you have an outline to organize your claims one by one in a logic chain? Do you clearly understand the topic or you have to come up with it on your own?
Let’s analyze each component of the essay one by one. It might be a bit boring, but a persuasive essay, as well as any other types of writings, must contain a thesis statement, clear structure, topic sentences, and the conclusion. In fact, you better have an outline to make sure you won’t miss any part of your essay.
In case you are lazy to choose the course for writing, I have selected eight topic ideas for you. Some of these are funny, easy, but interesting (middle school level), while others require more in-depth research (high school, college).
- The Era of Changes: Standardized Testing Is No Longer Effective
- Playing with Barbies Have a Negative Impact on Girls.
- Gender Wars Exist in Each Nation
- 21 Is No Longer an Appropriate Age for Giving the Official Right to Buy Alcohol.
- Abortion: Two-Folded Issue of Civil Rights and Immoral Behavior
- Social Networks Usage Should be Forbidden at Workplace
- Recycling Practices Should Become Obligatory for Each Nation
- Human Practices as the Leading Reason of Climate Change
A Detailed Step-by-Step Plan for Persuasive Essay: the Structure and the Sample
As I’ve already mentioned, persuasive essay includes the same obligatory parts of the writing as any other type. Keep your introduction clear and logic to bring the reader to the thesis statement. Check out the example below.
Basically, the structure of the persuasive essay is mainly a five-paragraph format, where an author tries to prove the claim or oppose it by giving certain arguments. And yes, when you are required to write a five-paragraph essay – simply follow the format below. Each paragraph in the essay is a certain idea\claim\argument which should be introduced, developed, and concluded.
The template for the persuasive essay might be the following:
- Introduction – which includes the main claim and thesis statement
- Paragraph #1 – the first reason and supportive arguments (don’t be afraid to put quotes – but cite them according to the essay formatting style)
- Paragraph #2 – the second reason and supportive arguments;
- Paragraph #3 – the third reason and supportive arguments;
- Conclusion.
I bet you are wondering why I have left the ‘Conclusion’ part empty. I want you to give a closer look at how the conclusion should look like. Usually, students forget about the conclusion; they’re too tired and exhausted after writing to compose a decent ending. I will surprise you, but professors are fond of good introductions and conclusions. In fact, the persuasive essay rubric usually includes the requirements for introductions and conclusions.
The problem of global pollution is a heated debate for specialists all over the world. Entrepreneurs should consider cleaning tools to guarantee the sewage from the plants will not destroy the fauna and flora. Then, as many European nations, all the countries must reduce the gas emissions from cars by switching to more eco-friendly vehicles. Moreover, recycling and reuse should become a daily activity for humanity in order to guarantee clean air for the next generation. People are responsible for preserving the nature in its pristine form and protect the Earth from fatal consequences.
As you can see, the conclusion is not short which means that I have gathered all three claims in one paragraph and included the ending sentence. Make sure your conclusion doesn’t contain any new information – just summarize the claims and arguments.
Oooops, almost forgot, before writing the essay – hypothetically imagine that you are convincing yourself, trying to prove, and giving arguments to yourself. I can assure you that it is the best way to outline your thoughts.
