Persuasive Essay Tips

One of the essays you will be asked to complete for the HSPA is a persuasive essay.  This one you have probably been preparing for for most of your education, but that means that you may have gotten in the groove of bad habits.  Therefore, so as not to repeat these mistakes, follow the following guidelines.

Purpose:  This type of writing assignment provides you with a situation and the task you are being asked to complete.  .A persuasive essay is written to make the reader agree with your point of view. When you write this kind of essay you must decide if you are for or against an issue. For example, on the issue of abortion you would be either for legal abortions or against legal abortions. You should NOT show both sides of an issue.  You will be asked to write a 5 paragraph essay that supports your point of view and persuades your audience.

Outline:  To adequately outline this type of essay, part of it comes by deciding which way is a better argument NOT which side you personally agree with.  To accomplish this, you should first restate the question (for clarity) then create a T chart on the topic and finally break down your major reasons to include specific support.

For	Against
Reason 1	Reason 1
Reason 2	Reason 2
Reason 3

In the above example, you would write for the “for” proposition because it has more reasons for being “right”.  Even if you emotionally believe the opposite, the task here is to write the stronger essay.  We actually tend to argue worse when we are emotionally invested.

Next, take the three reasons listed under “for” and list specific support for them so that writing the three body paragraphs will be simple.

**There is a difference between a reason and support – SUPPORT IS CONCRETE AND SPECIFIC! Reasons are general assertions that require support to prove they are valid.

Structure:

Paragraph 1 (the introduction) must accomplish three things:

         1. Set up the situation as posed by the prompt

         2.      Provide a CLEAR thesis (for/against, agree/disagree, etc.) – AVOID USING I!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

         3.  Frame the major aspects of your argument (the general focus of your 3 body paragraphs)

Paragraphs 2-4 (body) include:

           1.   A topic sentence that includes a transition (First, the most obvious reason, another reason, etc) and the general focus of this paragraph

            2.     AT LEAST two pieces of SPECIFIC support that fall under the umbrella of the topic sentence and prove the point.  Support is NOT OPINION or emotional pleas, it is made up of facts, observations, etc.

Paragraph 5 (the conclusion) must:

          1.     Sum up the major points of the essay

       2.       Restate the thesis (in new words)

       3.       End with a “KICKER” that pushes the reader to end up on your side and concludes the essay suitably