The art of persuasion isn’t easy to master. After all, it isn’t easy to steer long-held opinions, perspectives, and prejudices, is it? Successful persuasion, whether speech or write-up, takes tact & time. It is a hard-earned skill that requires smartness & confidence, excellent communication skills, an empathetic mindset, as well as the ability to deduce thought processes & emotional undercurrents. Seems a bit too much, eh? Well, get down to it, and you will find that it is nowhere as tough as rocket science!
There are two ways to polish and/or apply your persuasion skills – speaking and writing. For students, persuasive essay writing, a particularly common essay assignment in high schools and colleges, is a great way to develop and sharpen persuasive abilities. And that is the subject of this article today.
If you are struggling with a persuasive essay writing task, want good grades, and/or master the art of persuasive writing, then give this write-up a thorough read. It comes to you straight from the experts of AllEssayWriter, a leading persuasive essay writing service. Read on for insightful essay writer help.
Basic Principles of Persuasive Essay Writing
A key aspect of persuasive writing is how you design, package, and present your arguments. The ultimate aim is to persuade readers and convince them regarding the subject under discussion.
Ethos, Pathos, and Logos are three primary strategies employed for persuading an audience.
Ethos → This is all about appealing to the good character as well as the authority of the speaker. Convince the audience about your grasp of the subject under discussion, your reasonable & open-minded nature, morality, and goodwill. Do so, and listeners will place their trust in you & listen intently to what you have to say.
Pathos → This approach is all about appealing to the emotions of the reader. Move your readers through compassion, guilt, empathy, humor, joy, frustration, sadness, etc. However, be careful not to go overboard, as an overtly emotional write-up has a high chance of losing credibility.
Logos → One of the most powerful persuasive paradigms, this approach involves applying logical reasoning and critical thinking to steer opinions and mindsets. Use facts, statistics, rebuttals, and criticisms & craft strong logical arguments after careful consideration. Try to be objective in your analysis as far as possible, and make sure your arguments are free from all forms of logical fallacies.
Depending upon the context and circumstance, you may need to employ one, two, or all three of these tactics to steer an audience.
- A vital thing to note is the difference between argumentative and persuasive essay writing. The goal of an argumentative essay is to make your readers acknowledge and consider your point of view. You have to make your audience accept that your perspective is valid and worthy using credible evidence, logical arguments, and infallible reasoning.
- Persuasive essays, on the other hand, involve convincing the audience about your side through any means necessary. You need to play on emotions, showcase credibility & authority, and use facts & logical reasoning to steer the audience towards your point of view.
- Another vital thing to note is the difference between objective & persuasive writing. Persuasive essays are not entirely unbiased, as your primary aim is to persuade your listeners to accept that your side is the right one.
Many students make the mistake of presenting their persuasive essays from a neutral point of view, presenting the positives of their claims & strengths of their arguments as well as highlighting flaws & limitations. That’s not what you do in persuasive writing; the strategy is to emphasize the validity of your claim while downplaying potential counters as best as possible.
Keep the above pointers in mind when working on a persuasive write-up, and you will surely be able to impress your readers, no matter where they are coming from. Next up, our experts present a step-by-step roadmap for crafting a persuasive essay along with a sample essay outline.
Steps to Craft A Persuasive Essay
Step 1: Planning, Brainstorming & Researching
Planning and brainstorming are essential for crafting a quality essay. This is all the more important for persuasive write-ups as you have the difficult task of convincing your readers.
- Think deeply and carefully about the essay topic as well as the stance you are peddling. Do in-depth, unbiased, & objective research to explore all perspectives and aspects of the subject.
- Understand what makes your stance the best one and determine the factors that make it so.
For example, suppose you are persuading the audience about stricter gun control laws in the United States of America. In that case, you need to gather official statistics, draw attention to rising cases of gun violence, point out flaws in the firearms tracing system, and the like.
- Understand your audience and write keeping them in mind. You will have to determine the best way to reel them in and the tactics you need to employ to convince them thoroughly.
- Engage in free-writing, list down ideas, facts & key points, develop mind-map clusters, design subject trees, etc. There are numerous ways to collate and organize information after you are done brainstorming and researching.
Step 2: Developing Your Case
To develop a strong theory for your case, you must :
- Be well-informed about the topic
- Know what it will take to persuade readers
- Come up with testable claims
- Possess substantial evidence from credible & authoritative sources
- Learn how to meld ethos, pathos, and logos in the right way.
- Counter all potential shortcomings of your perspective and arguments
- Be able to refute opposing claims
The case you present must be grounded in structured theory. Your claims & arguments must be presented systematically and subtly & founded in logic & evidence. Emphasize logical reasoning and facts & make your essay more compelling by stirring emotions, showcasing your competence, & establishing authority.
Step 3: Drafting the Outline
Once your arguments, evidence, and rebuttals are ready, it is time to make an essay out of them. Here’s a tentative outline for you →
The Introduction
- Start by providing concise background information on the subject.
- Talk about the purpose of your essay.
- Present a debatable thesis statement that informs & asserts readers about your stance on the topic.
The Body
- Present the key ideas and arguments for the claims & opinions you are advocating.
- Make sure to design arguments with effective persuasive tactics.
- Provide supporting details wherever possible.
- Beware of circular reasoning, hasty generalizations, and any kind of logical fallacy.
- Pay careful attention to the structural and grammatical aspects of your paragraphs.
- Use active voice, string & vivid verbs, and effective transitions.
The Conclusion
Restate the purpose of your essay and highlight the most crucial arguments & evidence in the conclusion. Remind your readers about the strengths of your case and how you have been able to dismiss major opposing perspectives. Offer suggestions, if applicable, and wrap things up with conviction.
And that’s about it for this write-up. Hope this was an interesting read for one & all. Use this persuasive essay writing guide to refine your essays & skills and, if need be, get in touch with the academic writing experts of AllEssayWriter.com.
