How to Write a Persuasive Essay

Don't you just love it when you can argue with someone and get him or her to come around to your way of thinking? That's what a persuasive essay is all about! Read on to learn how to write an effective persuasive paper.

The goal of "argument" is to win acceptance of your
ideas when others, for whatever reason, don't agree with you.

(Even good people don't always agree on what is right or fair.) Imagine congress if everyone agreed. Would there ever be true progress in our society if everyone always agreed? The point of a persuasive paper is not to show how mad we are. The argument itself makes us take a closer look at our own and others' ideas more carefully. Writing a persuasive paper helps us to look at evidence, state ideas more clearly, to consider the claims of the opposition fairly, and to justify our own position.

Spend some time thinking about the topic for your persuasive paper. A persuasive paper works best when there is a disagreement of some sort; a wrong that needs "righting". If there is no disagreement, then there is no point to writing the argument!

(What do I hope to accomplish? Why is it important? What benefits would be realized? What problems would be eliminated? What questions would be answered? How would other people be affected? What obstacles must be overcome?)

About you: Why do you want to argue in favor of ________________? What makes your opinion important? How would the decision affect you?

About your reader: I need to convince __________________________. (Who is the person that has the power to change the situation? Why would they not want to listen to your idea?)

In order to write an effective persuasive paper, you must anticipate and overcome objections that the opposition might raise.

     What will they say against my idea?
     How can I defend my idea against their arguments?
     Are there any of my points that they can easily attack?
     Can I see any weak links in the opposition's thinking?

Making a Pro/Con chart will help you identify areas that you can address in your paper. Here is a sample one for "I think the school should serve better lunches"

Plotting your argument like this provides a balanced view of the issues. It allows you to see whether you have a chance of making your case and helps you to anticipate crucial points that may determine your success or failure.

Don't try to look good by mentioning only weaker opposition arguments. When you work on the con side of the chart, try to see the issue through the eyes of the opposition, and draw out the best arguments they could use against you. Then, when you've completed your Pro and Con Chart, look back at your proposition to see if it needs revision. You might also begin thinking about how to refute the opposition's arguments.

Pro (for)	Con (against)

For (Pro)	Against (Con)
Students will eat all of their lunches instead of throwing them away.	Lunches would cost more money.
Students learn better when they aren't hungry.	If more people bought lunches, more people would need to be hired.
Students will want to come to school for the good lunches.	Students only want junk food.