Writing WorkshopWriting a Persuasive Essay

Assignment

Prewriting

Choose an Issue

Write an Opinion Statement

Consider Your Purpose and Audience

Gather Support for Your Position

Plan Your Draft

Practice and Apply

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Assignment: Write a persuasive essay on a topic about which you have a strong opinion.

Writing a Persuasive Essay

Do you ever hear yourself saying, “I don’t think that’s right” or “I agree” or “I’d like to see that change”? You probably express your opinion on one issue or another almost every day. Which issues do you care about the most?

To share your views and convince others to agree with you, try writing a persuasive essay.

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• Talk with friends and family members.

Writing a Persuasive EssayPrewriting: Choose an Issue

• Look in the editorial section of your local newspaper.

What situations make you and other people angry, sad, or enthusiastic? What issues do you feel strongly about?

• Think about what’s going on in your community and in your school.

You’ve probably come up with a number of good ideas. Now, choose one issue for your essay topic. Make sure it meets the following criteria:

Writing a Persuasive EssayPrewriting: Choose an Issue

1. You have strong views about the issue.

3. Other people find the issue interesting or have strong feelings about it.

Essay Length

2. You can gather enough evidence about it to defend your position.

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Where do you stand on your issue? Share your perspective, or point of view, by drafting an opinion statement. Clearly state both the issue and your position, or opinion, on it.

Writing a Persuasive EssayPrewriting: Write an Opinion Statement

Clear Opinion Statements [End of Section]

The number of homeless pets can be greatly reduced through spay-neuter programs.

Issue

Position

Writing a Persuasive EssayPrewriting: Consider Your Purpose and AudiencePurpose

In a persuasive essay your purpose is to convince readers to share your opinion or to take the action you suggest.

Writing a Persuasive EssayPrewriting: Consider Your Purpose and Audience

What will make my audience care about this issue?

Put yourself in your readers’ shoes. Think about ways in which this issue affects their lives.

Audience

To persuade your audience, you must first understand them. Ask yourself

Writing a Persuasive EssayPrewriting: Consider Your Purpose and Audience

What concerns might my audience have?

Consider how the issue looks from their point of view, or bias. Some readers may already have opinions about your topic. Take any objections, or counterclaims, into account.

Writing a Persuasive EssayPrewriting: Consider Your Purpose and AudienceWhat will my audience expect from my

essay?

Readers will expect you to provide the information they need in order to make an informed decision. Provide background information if necessary.

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Give at least three strong reasons to support your opinion statement (thesis). Your reasons may include rhetorical devices:

Writing a Persuasive EssayPrewriting: Gather Support for Your Position

• logical appeals—speak to readers’ common sense and logic

• emotional appeals—speak to emotions such as fear, love, and pride

• ethical appeals—address readers’ sense of right and wrong

Making Appeals

Make a chart with your opinion statement and at least three reasons to support it.

Writing a Persuasive EssayPrewriting: Gather Support for Your Position

Opinion Statement: Spay-neuter programs are the best way to reduce the number of homeless pets.

Reasons1. Spaying and neutering attack the problem at its source.

(logical appeal)2. The suffering and death of thousands of animals each

year could easily be prevented. (emotional appeal)3. Humans domesticated cats and dogs, and it is our

responsibility to care for them properly. (ethical appeal)

Provide at least two pieces of evidence to support each of your reasons. Make sure your evidence is relevant, or clearly related to your issue.

Writing a Persuasive EssayPrewriting: Gather Support for Your Position

Citing Sources

Evidence for Persuasive Appeals

Analogies

Comparisons that show similarities between otherwise unrelated facts or ideas

Neglecting to spay and neuter our pets is as irresponsible as leaving a fire unattended.

Writing a Persuasive EssayPrewriting: Gather Support for Your PositionEvidence for Persuasive Appeals

AnecdotesPersonal examples or stories that illustrate a point

When my friend’s cat had kittens, his parents tried very hard to find homes for them all, but two of the kittens had to go to the shelter.

Case studiesExamples from scientific research

Researchers studied one town that implemented a spay-neuter program. They noted a one-third reduction in the number of homeless pets over just five years.

Writing a Persuasive EssayPrewriting: Gather Support for Your Position

Evidence for Persuasive Appeals

Commonly accepted beliefsIdeas that most people share

Most people would like to see the problem of pet overpopulation solved.

ExamplesSpecific instances or illustrations of a general idea

For example, a spayed female dog will never get uterine or ovarian cancer and is also far less likely to develop breast cancer.

Writing a Persuasive EssayPrewriting: Gather Support for Your PositionEvidence for Persuasive Appeals

Expert opinionsStatements made by recognized authorities on a subject

According to Joshua Manning of the Prevent-a-Litter Foundation, “Widespread spay-neuter programs are the only way to bring pet overpopulation under control.”

FactsStatements that can be proved true; facts often take the form of statistics, or numerical information

One female cat and her young can conceivably produce up to 420,000 kittens in just seven years.

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Writing a Persuasive EssayPrewriting: Plan Your DraftOrganize your essay so that it

moves smoothly and logically from one idea to the next.

Readers tend to remember ideas presented at the beginning and end of an essay. Try putting your two strongest reasons in the first and final body paragraphs of your paper.

Body Paragraph 1

second-strongestreason

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Body Paragraph 2

another good reason

Body Paragraph 3

strongest reason

Writing a Persuasive EssayPrewriting: Practice and ApplyChoose an issue for your persuasive essay, write an opinion statement, and gather and organize reasons and evidence to support your opinion.

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