Instruction 5-4

Fictional and Autobiographical Narratives | Responses to Literature | Research Reports | Persuasive Compositions | Career Development and Technical Documents | Summary

A persuasive composition is like a TV commercial: it's written to persuade somebody to do something. In a TV spot, the advertiser tries to persuade you to buy a product. In a persuasive composition, you try to persuade your reader to buy your idea, your position, your plan for action or your point of view.

When you pick a topic for a persuasive composition (essay), you must select an issue with two or more sides to it. You are going to try and present strong arguments for only one side, of course -- but if there's no disagreement, there's no need to persuade anybody of anything. There's an old church saying, "preaching to the converted." In a persuasive essay, that's not what you want to do.

Once you've selected your topic, you need to work on your thesis statement, which is the clearest possible presentation of the position you intend to argue. Don't begin to write your essay until you are happy with your thesis statement. Here is an example of a good one:

Abstinence, and only abstinence, should be taught as the way to prevent AIDS.

Obviously, many people disagree, which is why it's a good topic for a persuasive essay.

Next, gather all the information you need to support your position. Some of the most useful sources include:

1. your own personal experience
2. the experience of others
3. facts and statistics from reputable sources
4. expert opinion from respected authorities

Often, your most convincing arguments will come from combining several of these sources -- which you must be sure to identify. Also be sure that your evidence is accurate -- never try to mislead readers into believing your assumptions or conclusions.

Now that you've gathered your support material, you're ready to prepare an outline and write your essay. But before you begin, it's a good idea to ask yourself a few questions, like these:

• Is the evidence for my argument just and appropriate?
• Is there strong evidence for my argument? (Readers will often aggressively search for a weak line of reasoning in a persuasive essay.)
• What do my readers and I have in common that I can use to
  make my case?
• Does the proper conclusion follow from the assumptions I'm making?
• What are the "hot buttons" in the issue and how I can use them?

In order to effectively persuade your readers, you must firmly establish your own credibility. Tone is important here -- you must sound even-handed, rational and thoughtful. Your readers must feel that you have considered all sides of the issue before coming to your conclusion. Don't overtly try to shape your readers' attitudes; let your evidence do it for you. Organize your communication in a direct manner, moving logically and smoothly from thesis statement through support to conclusion.

Once you've finished your essay, read it over critically. Ask yourself if your arguments would convince you.

Persuasive essays are often written in the five-paragraph essay format. For a thorough discussion of this format, check out our Language Arts Lesson 2 for High School, Instruction 2-1 (Structure and Format of Functional Documents).

Video Instruction
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• IELTS How to write an argument essay thesis (Part 2 of 3)

For more information about how to write a good persuasive essay, go to the following Student, Teacher and Parent links:

Additional links for Students, Parents and Teachers

Now let's do Practice Exercise 5-4 (top).

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