Persuasive Essays: Outline & Introduction

Handout

The main purpose of a persuasive essay is to convince your readers of your point of view. To
that purpose, writing a Persuasive Essay requires you to do intense thinking on a debatable
topic and then communicate your point of view effectively to your readers by presenting valid
reasons and evidence (facts, statistics, examples, testimony from an authority, logical
reasoning, etc.) and a clear explanation.

Therefore, it is very important to follow certain steps to write an impressive persuasive essay.
The 3 major steps of writing a 5-paragraph persuasive essay are listed below, including the
tasks to be done in each step.

Steps to writing a persuasive essay:

Step 1: Prewriting
-Choose a topic and brainstorm for ideas
-Narrow down the topic to formulate your claim and the thesis statement
-Do thorough research to find robust evidence that supports your claim
-Prepare an outline of the essay

Step 2: While Writing

-Write the Introduction
-Write 3 body paragraphs, each presenting one argument from your thesis
statement
-Craft the Conclusion that summarises your essay

Step 3: Post Writing

Polish up your essay by-
a) Revision: Review, modify and reorganise the ideas by rearranging,
adding, or deleting ideas)
b) Editing: Proofread and correct errors in grammar and mechanics

Figure 1: A 3-step process for a persuasive essay

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 Template to Plan your Persuasive Essay

In the Prewriting stage of writing your essay, you should narrow down the chosen topic and write
a thesis statement. Using this thesis statement, you can fill out the template below to plan your
five-paragraph persuasive essay.

Template for an Outline:

Introduction

Grabber:
Connecting sentences (background information):
Thesis Statement:

Reason 1 (Body Paragraph 1)

Topic sentence 1:
Supporting idea 1:
Evidence:

Supporting idea 2:
Evidence:

Concluding sentence:

Reason 2 (Body Paragraph 2)

Topic sentence 2:
Supporting idea 1:
Evidence:

Supporting idea 2:
Evidence:

A concluding sentence:

Reason 3 (Body Paragraph 3)

Topic sentence 3:
Supporting idea 1:
Evidence:

Supporting idea 2:
Evidence:

A concluding sentence:

Conclusion

Restatement of the Thesis:

Suggestions/recommendations (2-3):
Clincher:

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 Figure 2: Outline template for a persuasive essay

Such a template will help you create a detailed outline of your Persuasive Essay.
Notice how the sample template below illustrates the plan of essay development.

Persuasive Claim: COVID-19 pandemic is a curse

Sample outline

Introduction

Grabber:
Connecting sentences (background information):

Thesis Statement: The COVID-19 pandemic is a curse because the virus is collapsing the
world's economy, threatening the lives of all living beings, and increasing violence across the
globe.

Reason 1 (Body Paragraph 1)

Topic sentence 1: To begin with, we have seen a massive fall in the World's economy due to
this COVID-19 pandemic curse as it is limiting international trading and increasing
unemployment.

Supporting idea 1: limiting international trading

Evidence:

Supporting idea 2:increasing unemployment.

Evidence:

Concluding sentence:

Reason 2 (Body Paragraph 2)

Topic sentence 2: Not only has this pandemic hampered economic stability, it has also
put the living beings at great risk by massive death and surge in plastic pollution.

Supporting idea 1:
Evidence:

Supporting idea 2:
Evidence:

A concluding sentence:

Reason 3 (Body Paragraph 3)

Topic sentence 3: Finally, the increase in violence during this pandemic is one major reason

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why COVID-19 has proved to be a curse.

Supporting idea 1:
Evidence:

Supporting idea 2:
Evidence:

A concluding sentence:

Conclusion

Restatement of the Thesis: In conclusion, because of the fall of the world economy, loss of
precious lifeforms and the rapid increase in violence, we can say that COVID-19 pandemic is a
curse.
Suggestions/recommendations (2-3):

Clincher:

Figure 3: Sample outline

Having planned the five paragraphs of the essay, you can now concentrate on writing an
engaging introduction to attract your readers.

Writing the Introduction of a Persuasive Essay

Writing an interesting introduction is crucial to writing an effective persuasive essay. It is

because the introduction presents your claim or point of view to the readers and prepares them
for what you are going to persuade or convince them.

A well-written introduction serves the following three purposes:

1. It attracts the reader’s interest. Using one of the suggested methods of writing a grabber,
and some connecting sentences can help draw the reader gradually into your essay.

2. The introduction presents your thesis statement that clearly states your claim or point of
view in the essay.

3. It also indicates your plan of developing the essay—a preview of the 3 reasons that will
support your thesis statement, listed in the order in which they will be presented as body
paragraphs.

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In many cases, the thesis statement and plan of development may appear in the same
sentence. Your persuasive essay in this course can also have a clearly stated thesis statement
that serves these two purposes in one sentence.

Three parts of the Introduction

An interesting and effective Introduction of an essay has these 3 parts-

1. A grabber or hook or attention-getter (a story, an anecdote, a quotation, etc.)

2. A few connecting sentences (background information)
3. A thesis statement (Claim and 3 reasons in one sentence)

Figure 4: The three parts of the Introduction

Given below is an introduction from a student’s essay. Read the introduction and notice the 3
parts in it.

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 Figure 5: Deconstruction of a sample introduction

Grabber
It is not a good idea to start an essay with a thesis statement directly. Instead, you can start your
persuasive essay gradually by raising the readers’ interest to know your thesis and to read the
rest of your essay. A well-chosen grabber, followed by some relevant background information,
prepares your reader for the thesis statement which is the last sentence of the introduction.

When writing your grabber, you should consider the following aspects:
a) A grabber should be interesting to your readers so that they want to read your essay.
b) A grabber should also be relevant to the topic and the claim of the essay.

Grabbers can be of many types such as an anecdote, a description (of a person or place or
object or feelings), a question or a series of questions, a quotation, facts, or statistics
which can give your essay an impressive starting point.

You will find a discussion on the various types of grabbers on page 8.

Connecting sentences
After your grabber, you can include a few connecting sentences to create a flow between the
grabber and the thesis statement. These connecting sentences can present background
information about the topic to get the reader in the mood to read your persuasive essay. Since
the purpose of the introduction is to prepare the reader to read, understand, and agree with your
claim in the thesis, it is important to provide whatever information is necessary to get the reader
on the same wavelength as you, the writer.

The background information is directed at the reader and should be written in a way to make
them feel interested in your point of view. Therefore, it is important to understand your reader
and use information that will appeal to them.

In general, an essay of five paragraphs should include three to six connecting sentences of
background information. After these connecting sentences, you can write the thesis statement
of your persuasive essay.

Thesis Statement

You can end the introduction of your persuasive essay with a one-sentence thesis statement
that should state an opinion (a statement of belief, point of view, feeling, or attitude that can be
discussed or argued about). The thesis should do the following:

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 A ‘Thesis Statement’-
-clearly states the topic
-specifies your claim
-includes three reasons that support your claim
-is written in one complete sentence

The thesis statement of a five-paragraph persuasive essay should list 3 reasons that express
why your opinion is valid.

***Avoid writing “I believe”, “In my opinion”, “I think”, “In my view”, “In my point of view”,
“According to me” etc. to introduce your thesis statement.

After writing your introduction, it is important to consider the two additional points below to
ensure clarity of the ideas.
a) Use of transition words to bridge the ideas
b) Using parallel structure to present 3 reasons in the thesis statement

a) What transition words can be used to bridge ideas in the introduction?

In your introduction, you may write a story as a grabber and may have to use words such as
initially, to start with, then, finally, etc. to show a sequence of ideas or actions. Also, when
writing the connecting sentences, you may want to add similar background information one after
another using some of these words- moreover, in addition, besides, similarly, in fact, for
example, etc. After these connecting sentences, you may want to use words such as therefore,
hence, indeed, etc. to introduce your thesis statement.

These words are transition words, also called linking words, that link words, phrases, and
sentences. They act as a bridge between ideas. It is important to use such transitional words in
your Persuasive Essay, starting with the introduction, so that your reader can progress from one
idea to the next idea. Given below is a list of transitional words you can use in your introduction.

List of transition words

Additive Transitions Indeed, not only (this) but also (that), also, moreover,
(to signal addition, furthermore, in addition, besides, in fact, additionally, such as, for
introduction, similarity example etc.
etc.)

Adversative Transitions However, in contrast, on the other hand, even more, whereas,
(to signal conflict, while, though, still, instead, etc.
contradiction, etc.)

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 Causal Transitions Because, due to, in view of, hence, therefore, in order to, unless,
(to signal cause/effect and even if, under those circumstances, that being the case,
reason/result etc.) otherwise, etc.

Sequential Transitions To begin with, initially, at first, secondly, afterwards, to conclude,

(to signal a chronology or in the end, as was previously stated, consequently, overall, etc.
sequence)

As you read example introductions in the latter part in this handout, notice the transition
words and phrases that are in bold and the overall effect they have on you, the reader.

b) How to maintain parallelism in the thesis statement?

The list of reasons in your thesis should be parallel, that is, the 3 reasons must be expressed in
parallel structures for a clear understanding of the reader.

Words in a pair or series should have a parallel structure. For instance, if you balance the
adjectives or verbs in a series so that they have the same kind of structure, you will make a
sentence clearer and easier to read. Notice how the parallel Thesis Statement in the table
below read more smoothly than the nonparallel one.

Example:

Thesis statement without a parallel Thesis statement with a parallel structure:

structure:

COVID-19 pandemic is definitely a curse COVID-19 pandemic is definitely a curse

because the virus is a threat to the lives of all because the virus is threatening the lives of
humans, destroying the world's economy, all humans, destroying the world's
and an increase of domestic violence. economy, and causing an increase in
domestic violence.

The verbs in the 3 reasons are not parallel: The verbs in the 3 reasons (threatening,
destroying, causing) have a parallel
Reason 1: is a threat to the lives of all structure (verb+ing) which makes them easy
humans for the reader to understand your claim.
Reason 2: destroying the world’s economy
Reason 3: an increase in domestic violence
(no verb)
A lack of parallelism affects the sentence
quality and hampers the reader’s
understanding of the 3 reasons.

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 Five Types of Grabbers

Grabbers can be of many types. Here are only 5 common types of grabbers for your
Persuasive Essay. Use any one type of grabber to make your introduction interesting and
persuasive. The grabbers in the examples below are highlighted in green.

1. Anecdote as a grabber
An incident or brief story can be a good choice for a grabber because stories are naturally
interesting and they appeal to a reader’s curiosity. In your introduction, an anecdote will grab the
reader’s attention right away. The story should be brief and should be related to your central
idea. The incident in the story can be something that happened to you, something that you may
have heard about, or watched in a movie, or something that you have read about in a
newspaper or magazine. Here is an example of an introduction that begins with a story as a
grabber:

Claim: Covid-19 pandemic is a blessing in disguise

Oliver Loveday is an entrepreneur from the United Kingdom, who started his own
online business of delivering organic fruits and vegetable boxes during the COVID-19
pandemic as he was left from his job without any income when the country went into
lockdown. He got a massive response from the customers within the first four weeks due to
the extreme demand. In December 2019, COVID-19, a deadly virus that transmits through
direct contact with an infected person, was identified in Wuhan, China, and turned into a
global pandemic. To protect the world and to slow down the infection, most of the countries
have implemented some sort of lockdown. Even though it has drastic effects on the world’s
economy and other factors, it also has some positive effects. COVID-19 pandemic is a
blessing in disguise because during this pandemic the environmental pollution has reduced,
children could spend quality time with parents and online businesses have flourished.

2. Description as a grabber
Describing a place, a person or an emotion can also be a wise choice for a grabber.
Descriptions create a vivid picture of an object, person, place, etc. in the reader’s mind and can
effectively keep them hooked in your essay. Read the following example introduction and notice
the impact the grabber has on the reader.

Claim: Covid-19 pandemic is a curse

It was a wobbly, yet solemn little procession: only three masked mourners and a
half-dead elderly father carrying his recently deceased son. Beginning at the local mosque,

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 marching in the spooky barren streets, the grim procession walked towards the local
graveyard. It may seem like a scene from some apocalyptic themed movie, yet it is what we
are enduring for the past 142 days. Why such misery? You might ask. It all started about a
year ago in the province of Wuhan in China when, reportedly, some local folks unknowingly
ate half-cooked bats and fell ill with a mysterious disease. In fact, the rate at which it has
spread across the world is almost equal to the medieval black death pandemic. Within a few
months, WHO declared that the new virus shall be called "COVID-19" but the possibility of
such a disease has been circulating since the mid-1980’s and the SARS pandemic in the
early 2000's. The "COVID-19" or the Corona Virus is a type of influenza virus that affects the
lungs and respiratory system causing it to clog up and lose its function. Close to 1 million
deaths have been recorded till now and 27.9 million are still suffering from it as of today.
Though it may seem a meager amount in contrast to the 7.8 billion world population and
somewhat like a necessary evil to many, it has brought us more misery and pain than
benefits. Therefore, the COVID-19 pandemic is a curse rather than a blessing in disguise
because it poses the greatest threats to the global economy, the healthcare sector in every
nation, and the poor who are faced with the worst humanitarian crisis possible.

3. Questions as a grabber
You can make your readers think deeply or relate to your feelings by asking them one or more
questions. These questions catch the readers’ interest and make them want to read on. When
choosing questions as a grabber, you need to make sure that the questions are thoughtful,
meaningful and interesting and not a simple yes/no seeking question.

Here is an example of an introduction that begins with questions as a grabber:

Claim: Covid-19 pandemic is a curse

Sitting in a public bus amidst deadlock traffic, did you ever wish for not having to go to
university? Have you ever thought that your prayer of not going to university for classes will
come true but you will be sad about it? I do not think any of us have ever thought about this
situation in this way. To begin with, the World Health Organisation (WHO) first declared
COVID-19 as a pandemic on 5th January 2020 and issued a guideline to deal with it on 10th
January 2020. COVID-19 has confined us within four walls as the world is in lockdown for
more than 5 months. Clearly, it is an unprecedented disaster creating a global health crisis
and hitting the world's economy hard. In addition, a significant number of people have died
and more are suffering from this disease. The number of people who have died so far from
this outbreak is around 0.8 Million (AlJazeera, 2020). The world has come to a halt due to this
pandemic as educational institutions, offices, shopping malls- everything became closed.

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 Some countries could control the spread of the virus initially, but another wave is lurking near.
Indeed, the Covid19 pandemic is a curse for mankind as it is hampering the global economy,
causing loss of human lives, and weakening the education system worldwide.

Note, however, that the thesis itself must NOT be a question.

4. Quotation as a grabber
A quotation can be another good choice for a grabber. You can take any meaningful expression
that is relevant to our topic from a book, an article, an interview of someone famous, a dialogue
from a movie, etc. It can also be something that you have heard: a current or recent advertising
slogan (“Just do it”); a favourite expression used by your friends or family (“My father always
says . . .”), etc. Using a quotation in your introduction lets you add someone else’s voice to your
own. Here is an example of an introduction that begins with a quotation:

Claim: Covid-19 pandemic is a blessing in disguise

“Sometimes blessings come in ugly wrapping paper”- it is a famous quote by author

Richie Norton. The author tries to mean that sometimes we may have some good things right
in front of our eyes which we often ignore as they are not the outcome of a good situation.
Covid-19 is one such situation. From a broader perspective, Covid-19 might seem like a
curse as it has suddenly changed everything in the world, but we can also see some bright
sides it has got. All our activities that used to harm the environment have stopped because of
this pandemic. Moreover, before this pandemic, we hardly could manage time for ourselves
and our families. In fact, it is the perfect time for us to revive our environment and reshape
our personal lives. Covid-19 is a blessing in disguise as it has allowed us to enjoy a less
polluted environment, spend time with family, and engage in creative tasks.

5. Facts or statistics as a grabber

Starting a persuasive essay using a surprising fact or statistic can also draw your readers’
attention successfully. Facts or statistics work well because they teach the reader something
interesting and unexpected. These facts and/or statistics should be relevant to your persuasive
claim in the thesis and taken from credible sources such as from renowned organisations’
websites, newspapers, books, articles, etc. Here is an example of such a grabber:

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 Claim: Covid-19 pandemic is a curse

Bangladesh’s GDP which was enjoying an exponential growth of 8.15 percent is slowing
down significantly due to Covid-19, as reported by Khalil (2020). According to the Economist
Intelligence Unit (EIU), the decline of GDP could lower down to 4 percent. To be specific, the
small businesses that contribute 20.25 percent to our GDP growth and account for 35-40
percent of employment are suffering the worst. The continuation of the pandemic beyond 4
months has forced a majority of the small businesses to close down. This sector employs over
50 million people who will lose their jobs. Similarly, many countries around the world have
suffered economic loss and increased unemployment rates ever since the pandemic has
shaken the world. The pandemic gradually took more devastating turns as many renowned
businesses have closed down and new business initiatives have almost stopped. Hence,
there is no doubt that Covid-19 is a curse, especially to the businessmen and workers, as it
has caused financial fragility, increased unemployment rate, and discouraged new business
starters and entrepreneurs.

These 5 types of grabbers are only a few of the many other types of grabbers. As you read
these sample introductions, you will notice the use of transition words (marked in bold) and the
parallel structure of 3 reasons maintained in the thesis statements.

Checklist for the Introduction of a persuasive essay

Once you write the complete introduction, use the checklist below to revise it.
1. Is the grabber interesting? Is it relevant to the topic? Does it engage the reader?
2. Do the connecting sentences (background information) prepare the reader for the
thesis? Are they adequately developed?
3. Does the thesis statement clearly express the main claim and the 3 reasons?
4. Is there a logical transition among the ideas in this introduction? Are the transition
words used appropriately?
5. Are the 3 reasons written clearly in the thesis statement maintaining parallelism?

This checklist will help you ensure that the three parts- Grabber, Connecting sentences, and the
Thesis Statement- serve their respective purposes and make the introduction interesting
enough for the readers to hold their attention throughout the essay and eventually, persuade
them to agree with your claim.

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Tips: do’s and don’ts
1. Narrow down your topic to a debatable claim for a persuasive essay. Avoid a too narrow
or too broad claim.
2. Prepare your outline template to record your plan for developing the essay. See figure 2
and 3.
3. Write an interesting introduction.
4. Use a suitable grabber to begin your introduction. Avoid starting the introduction with the
thesis statement.
5. Write three to six connecting sentences to present relevant background information on
the topic.
6. The thesis statement should be the last sentence of the introduction.
7. Include 3 strong reasons in your thesis statement.
8. Avoid faulty parallelism in your thesis statement to ensure clarity.
9. Add transition words in the introduction to create a logical transition between ideas.
10. Avoid writing “I believe”, “In my opinion”, “I think”, “In my view”, “In my point of
view”, “According to me” etc. to introduce your thesis statement and in the rest of the
essay.

References:
Campbell, G. M, Michigan State University. Retrieved on 02 December 2020 from
https://msu.edu/~jdowell/135/transw.html

Khalil, T. (2020). The Impact of COVID-19 on small businesses. The Daily Star. Retrieved from
https://www.thedailystar.net/coronavirus-deadly-new-threat/news/the-impact-covid-19-s
mall-businesses-1939197

“Hamilton College”, Persuasive Essays, Retrieved on 02 December 2020 from

https://www.hamilton.edu/academics/centers/writing/writing-resources/persuasive-essay
s

Langan, J. (Ed.). (2000). English Skills with Readings. McGraw-Hill Higher Education.

Robitaille, J. & Connelly, R. (2007). Writer’s Resources: From Paragraph to Essay (2nd Ed.).
Boston: Thomson Higher Education.

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