How To Write A Persuasive Essay

Three components of a persuasive essay. A persuasive essay is a unique experience compared to a narrative or argumentative essay. Every essay needs to follow a specific format or be organized in a way to achieve the writer’s purpose. Every persuasive essay requires you to do these three things:

• Identify the issue.
• Pick a side.
• Make your arguments.

When properly organized, the three essential parts of a persuasive essay will make for an effective argument for any stance and topic.

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How to build your essay. When properly organized, the three essential parts of a persuasive essay will make for an effective argument for any stance and topic.

• Engage the reader with an introduction. Every essay needs a way to draw the audience in. Create a hook that will encourage the reader to keep reading to learn about the issue, your stance, and why they should listen to your arguments. Your introduction needs to be catchy and decisive. Don’t waffle back and forth about your stance or the issue; your reader might feel like they’re not going to get vital information regarding the topic.
• Write the body paragraphs. Each body paragraph should be its own argument. Use the introductory sentence of the paragraph to introduce the argument, then back it up with the rest of the paragraph. When it comes to forming your arguments, remember that they’re NOT opinions. All arguments should have evidence to support your stance on the topic.
• Wrap it up with a conclusion. Wrap up your essay with a strong final statement about your stance on the subject. Your conclusion should be firm and final in persuading the reader toward your side of the issue without introducing new arguments. If you find yourself introducing a new argument in your conclusion, go back and add another paragraph to the body of your essay.

Tips for making a compelling argument. Formulating a compelling argument takes time and effort. If you struggle with persuasive writing, you can take certain approaches to your writing that will help make your essay more convincing. We’ve put a few of them together to help you learn how to write a persuasive essay:

• Know your audience. You should always know who you’re writing for. It doesn’t matter if it’s your mom, dad, sister, best friend, or worst enemy, have an idea of your audience’s level of understanding of the topic you’re writing about. Having an understanding of your audience makes it easier for you to know where to expand your explanations or make your statement brief. It also helps you be think of counterarguments they might use. Come up with as many counterarguments as you can think of, then address them. Answer questions, respond to arguments, and present new evidence as a way to persuade those of an opposing stance.
• Research more than you think you’ll need. It’s better to have too much water to quench your thirst than too little. Do a deep dive when you research your topic and supporting arguments. The deeper your knowledge base is, the more information you have to back up your stance, and it’ll be easier to skim the top of the issue or dip below the surface as needed. Take your time researching the topic and grow your knowledge as much as you can.
• Edit from a different perspective. Your arguments will always make sense to you. As the writer, you know what you’re trying to say and understand why your arguments make sense. Edit your essay with an opposing perspective in mind. Ask yourself, “Does this argument hold up?” or “What if XYZ happens? Does argument X hold up?” Try to poke holes in your own arguments as a way to strengthen them.

Knowing how to write a persuasive essay isn’t easy. The power of persuasion doesn’t come easily to everyone, but you can work toward writing an effective persuasive essay by following the steps and tips we’ve laid out.