Persuasive Essays

A persuasive essay is a piece of writing that requires you to investigate a topic; collect, generate, and evaluate evidence; and establish a position on the given topic in a concise manner. This essay type commonly features in many competitive exams. The aim of a persuasive essay is to convince the reader to agree with you on the given topic.

As the name suggests, a persuasive essay is composed of arguments supported by facts, statistics, expert opinions etc. to justify your stand on the topic. You can also cite instances from your personal experiences to reinforce your viewpoints.

The persuasive essays can be organized in the following ways:

INTRODUCTION
BODY:
Paragraph 1: (Argument 1 with supporting examples, facts, etc.)
Paragraph 2: (Argument 2 with supporting examples, facts, etc.)
Paragraph 3: (Argument 3 with supporting examples, facts, etc.)
Paragraph 4: (Counterargument and its refutation)

.
.
CONCLUSION
OR
INTRODUCTION
BODY:
Paragraph 1: (Summary of other side’s arguments.)
Paragraph 2: (Refutation of counterarguments 1, 2 and 3.)
Paragraph 3: (Arguments 1, 2 and 3.)
.
.
CONCLUSION
Another way of organization is to develop a paragraph each with arguments and refutation of counterarguments.

Examples of Persuasive essay topics:

Strategies to write a good Persuasive essay:

Language skills:

Avoid any illogical or unnecessary shifts in tense, voice or discourse (direct/indirect speech). You need to maintain consistency and clarity in the essay. Some of the words or phrases that can be used to present arguments:
To introduce the Persuasion:
Accordingly..
It is true that..
Furthermore..
I concede..
To illustrate..
For instance/example..
On one hand..
 

To introduce the opposing position:
 

At the same time..
Conversely..
Opponents of this idea claim that..
Although it is true that..
Nevertheless..
Some people may disagree with..
Those who disagree may say..

Evaluate your essay in terms of the following criteria:

Coherence:

There should be no off-topic ideas that do not relate to the central theme of the essay. Make sure that your arguments are relevant to the topic at hand.

Persuasion:

Ensure that your persuasion is supported by facts, statistics, expert opinion and relevant examples. You can explain, compare, discuss causes and effects, and describe people, places, events and objects as a part of your argumentation. Also, the opposing arguments should be refuted justifiably.

Structure of the essay:

The arguments presented in the essay should follow a proper logical sequence leading to the required conclusion. Transitional words and phrases used should follow the logic of your persuasion well.

Choice of words:

Use of effective vocabulary to depict your stand in the essay. Also, the language used in the essay shouldn’t be informal. Lastly, check your essay for any punctuation, grammatical or spelling mistakes.