THE PERFECT. PAPER>>. If you've ever read a newspaper editorial, then you've
read a persuasive essay. Editorial columns are a short version of this kind of.
LC7 04-05 p36 PerfPap FC
2/22/05
4:38 PM
THE PERFECT PAPER>>
Page 2
Writing the Persuasive Essay
The Art of Persuasion YOU CAN CONVINCE YOUR READER OF ALMOST ANYTHING IF YOU PRESENT YOUR ARGUMENT WELL. LC SHOWS YOU HOW TO WRITE AN EFFECTIVE PERSUASIVE ESSAY. By Sarah Montante
I
If you’ve ever read a newspaper editorial, then you’ve read a persuasive essay. Editorial columns are a short version of this kind of essay. Unlike other articles in the newspaper, which aim to be objective, editorials express the writer’s opinion and try to persuade the reader to agree. They are biased, subjective, and, if they are well written, very convincing. Like an editorial, a persuasive essay can cover a wide range of topics—from heavy political issues to fleeting fashion trends. The only necessary ingredient is a clear, defensible point of view (i.e., a thesis). In order to persuade someone to agree with you, first you have to know what you think.
> GETANANOPINION OPINION GET Once you have a topic, you’ll need to explore it. If you’re writing about a new proposition to end river dumping in your town, find out exactly what the proposition states. Read what the local newspapers have said about it, or talk to some people around town—maybe those that live near the river—to see what they think. Take good notes along the way, because all of this information will not only inform your position, it will also serve as the evidence for your argument. Even if you have been asked to decide which ice-cream flavor is better, chocolate or vanilla, you will write a more lively and engaging essay if you take time to explore the subject. You may want to visit an ice-cream parlor and ask customers for their opinions. Quotations from those conversations could serve as colorful evidence for your argument. You might also research the cocoa bean and the vanilla bean to see if
36 APRIL 2005 Literary Cavalcade
there are any interesting facts about them that might influence your opinion.
> GET SPECIFIC GET SPECIFIC The biggest mistake that students make in persuasive essays is writing broad generalizations without backing them up. It’s not enough to say, “Chocolate is the best ice-cream flavor.” You have to convince your readers by telling them why it’s the best. Maybe it’s because chocolate is the most popular flavor in the country and accounts for 80 percent of all ice-cream scoops, or maybe it’s because the chemicals in chocolate have been shown to raise people’s mood levels. There could be a dozen other reasons why you think chocolate is the best; the point is that
LC7 04-05 p37 PerfPap FC
2/22/05
4:58 PM
Page 3
you have to share these reasons with your readers if you want to drive home your point.
>KEEP KEEP LIVELY ITITLIVELY You can also bring your argument to life through personal anecdotes. If one of your favorite childhood memories involved eating chocolate ice cream with your grandmother, this could be a nice detail to add at the beginning or end of your essay. The image and the emotional context would give your readers something to connect to, and would likely help win them over. Politicians do this all the time when they tell stories about people in campaign speeches. By connecting a political issue to a real person with a real problem, a speaker engages the people in the audience and uses that emotional connection to sway them.
ILLUSTRATIONS BY CHRIS GASH
>ACKNOWLEDGE ACKNOWLEDGETHE THEOTHER OTHER SIDE SIDE There are many possible views on every topic, and if your essay is going to be persuasive, it has to take them into account. Again, think about a political candidate on the campaign trail. How can candidates win votes from skeptics unless they defend their policies against criticism? How can they win the election if they never say anything about their opponents? Your research should explore both sides of the debate so that your opinion is informed and you can defend it intelligently. For example, some people in your town may be in favor of dumping waste into the river because otherwise the town would have to pay to dig a new landfill, and then the waste would sit there and seep into the soil. To make an effective argument against pro-dumping people, you would need to show that both the cost and the environmental impact of river dumping would be greater over time than would be digging a new landfill. Even better, you might be able to show that there is a third alternative that would eliminate the need for either. A persuasive essay should be clear, logically organized, and easy to read. Begin with a firm point of view and express it consistently throughout the essay. Remember that you have to win the confidence of the readers and that you can’t do this if you waffle.
THE STEPS TO PERSUASION
FOLLOW THESE SIX EASY STEPS TO WRITE AN ESSAY THAT WILL PERSUADE SOMEONE OF YOUR POINT OF VIEW. Pick a topic. If your teacher doesn’t assign you a topic, 1 choose a controversial issue from the news or something that you and your friends disagree about. Remember that a persuasive essay topic has to be debatable. Explore. Read about your topic in the newspaper or in 2 books. Talk to people about it. Gather information and quotes that you can use as evidence in your paper. Form a thesis. This is your statement of opinion. Notice 3 that you form it after you’ve done your research. Your point of view must be informed. Line up your evidence. 4 Choose what information you will include in your essay and put it in a logical order. If you are going to use personal anecdotes, decide where they go. Write it. Then edit it. Make 5 sure that your voice and your point of view are consistent throughout. Test it. Have a friend read your essay and see if it 6 convinces him or her of your point of view.
Literary Cavalcade APRIL 2005
37
