Argumentative/ Persuasive

EssayMahwish Abid
maha_wish30@yahoo.com
 Argumentative Essay
An argumentative essay is one that attempts to
persuade the reader to the writer's point of view.
The writer can either be serious or funny, but
always tries to convince the reader of the validity
of his or her opinion.
Examples: An argumentative essay may persuade a reader
that . . .
* he or she should use public
transportation instead of driving
* cats are better than dogs
2
 Argumentative Essay

• In persuasive or argumentative writing, we try

to convince others to:
– agree with our facts,
– share our values,

– accept our argument and conclusions, and

– adopt our way of thinking
 Elements toward building a good
Argumentative/Persuasive essay
include…
• establishing facts
– to support an argument
• clarifying relevant values
– for your audience (perspective)
• prioritizing, editing, and/or sequencing
– the facts and values in importance to build the argument
• forming and stating conclusions
• "persuading" your audience that your conclusions
– are based upon the agreed facts and shared values
• having the confidence
– to communicate your "persuasion" in writing
How to Write a Argumentative/Persuasive Essay?

• A persuasive essay is a form of essay writing that is built around a

certain argument.

• Persuasive essays are thus also called argumentative essays.

• In this type of essay, the writer aims to persuade the reader to

accept the writer’s point of view, using certain persuasive techniques

to prove the point and convince the reader.

• Therefore, a successful persuasive essay requires following certain

rules and omitting common mistakes that students often make,

when writing their persuasive essays.

Steps for Writing a Argumentative/Persuasive Essay

Step # 1: Decide upon the issue you will

discuss. It needs to be something you
have a solid opinion on, and also
something people disagree about.
Step # 2: Research the issue, to be aware of
how to best prove your point.
Consider what your possible opponents can
object to with every point you make.
Steps for Writing a Argumentative/Persuasive Essay

Step # 3: Make an outline, listing your strongest

arguments that will help you prove your point. Look for
statistics, factual data and quotes of famous people to
support your arguments.
Step # 4: Write an introduction, stating how debated the
issue is and why it is important to reach consensus on the
matter. Finish the introduction with a thesis statement,
indicating your personal position on the discussed matter.
Steps for Writing a Argumentative/Persuasive Essay

Step # 5: Argue your point, introducing a new

reason or fact in every paragraph.
There should be no less than three strong
arguments to support your point of view.
Steps for Writing a Argumentative/Persuasive Essay

Step # 6: Draw a conclusion. Here you may

express your understanding as to why
the matter is so hard to agree on, but
conclude that the position you support is
the best possible (or most likely to be
true) variant based on the evidence you
provided earlier in the essay.
Step # 7: Thoroughly proofread your essay
 Topic Selection
• There are limitless opportunities for good topics, since there
are a lot of debated issues you can discuss in your persuasive
essay.
• Here are just a few examples of good topics for your
argumentative essay:
– Is boarding school a good idea for your child?
– Should there be a division between boys’ and girls’ sports?
– People should not be allowed to keep guns at home
– If we want to stop the global warming process, we need to stop
driving cars
– Is school uniform a good idea?
– Children should not be allowed to play computer games
 Key Points to Consider
• There are various persuasion techniques that
have been proven to be the most effective in a
good argumentative essay. Three basic
persuasion techniques are:
– appeal to emotions,
– appeal to facts and evidence
– appeal to logic
• Try to combine and mix them to make a
stronger point.
 Key Points to Consider

• Always build your argument based on your

audience and its qualities.

– Think of whom you are appealing to

– envision your audience’s main characteristics

– build your arguments based on what your audience

most values.
 Key Points to Consider
• A very good approach to persuasion is when the writer is
aware of the point of view of an opposing side, and then
argues about its weakness.
– Use parenthesis clauses, like:
• “however”
• “nevertheless”
• “despite the fact that”
• “on the other hand”, etc.

• to link the two sentences together.

 Key Points to Consider

• Combine main points with minor points that

also contribute to the general idea.
– Start each paragraph with the major point, then
go on to explain it, and introduce a minor point
closer to the end of the paragraph to support your
initial major point.
 Dos
• Do always prove your point with factual data.
– Just stating something as a fact is considered a
weak point
– a successful essay should have quotes that serve
as good supporting evidence.
 Don'ts
• Don’t be too flat and immovable in trying to
prove your point.
– Recognizing the fact that a lot of people might not
agree does not mean that you expose your
argument’s weak side.
 Don’ts
• Don’t choose a topic where you are hesitant
about which side to take.
– You should be solid and steady in what you are
trying to prove, otherwise it will be almost
impossible to persuade your reader.
 Common Mistakes
• Overloading your essay with facts and
arguments without a clear structure or a
general logical idea.
– This is why you need to make a plan or an outline for
your persuasive essay before you start writing it.
– If you just randomly list arguments and quote
relevant data, but fail to organize your essay, then
the paper will not be effective in persuading your
readers, no matter how good your evidence is.
Example of Argumentative/ Pesruasive
Essay

Why People Should

Read Books?
 Introduction Paragraph
It is quite a disappointment that people have stopped reading books.

Books used to be the only kind of intellectual entertainment just a hundred

years ago, but, with the invention of radio, television, cinema, and, most

recently, the Internet and computer games, it seems that reading books is

no longer an option of a leisure activity, at least for the younger

generation. However, I believe that books are an irreplaceable part of our

lives, and the role that good books play on the personal growth and

development of a particular person throughout one’s life, is a remarkable

one. Books can hardly be replaced with movies, music and interactive TV

shows, and there are several reasons for that.

 1. Supporting Details
First of all, books expand our knowledge and conception of the world around

us. You may argue that movies and TV documentaries do just that too, but I

believe that books are a much better alternative, since they allow each reader

to experience the same story using one’s own imagination. When a hundred

people watch a movie or a TV show, they see the same thing – whatever the

director and the operator wish to show. Books are very different. The

experience achieved through reading is richer and more personal, since the

same description and the same word choice will result in as many different

interpretations as there are readers. We are all unique, and books allow us to

experience whatever is narrated, in the light of our own personal values,

through our ideas and our imagination.

 2. Supporting Details
Secondly, books enrich our vocabulary, introduce us to new notions and offer us a

wider choice of words. With every book you read, you become more intelligent. Even

reading one seemingly more primitive pulp fiction book per month, can enrich one’s

personal vocabulary with dozens of new words, help build more concise sentences and

express oneself better, make one’s speech more intelligent and sophisticated. Watching

certain TV programs and documentary movies can also widen one’s vocabulary, but

hardly as effectively as books do, since when reading, we operate with both visual and

audial (if reading aloud) receptors, so our perception becomes more effective and our

memory works more efficiently. In addition to that, our imagination reproduces mental

pictures of what we are reading about, so a new word automatically links to a certain

image and a certain feeling that it relates to. Therefore, reading books is a great tool

when it comes to learning and developing one’s vocabulary at any age.

 3. Supporting Details

Finally, books are a great source of inspiration. Unlike fine art,

architecture or travelling, books help us create our own mental

illustration for everything we read on paper. So, in a way, books make

us all artists and creators of our own mental cartoon, movie or

illustration collection. Every image we create ourselves is

automatically allotted a certain emotion, whether a simple or a more

complicated one. So, every mental image that a written word causes is

vibrant with feelings and emotions. This is what makes books so

powerful and so memorable. Books are an endless source of

inspiration and motivation to become a better person.

 Conclusion
I am certain that creating a system of symbols and eventually an alphabet, words, and

books was the greatest invention of humankind. Of course, the books I am talking about

are classics, those that do not have an expiration date and will be priceless for any

generation. Books like that stay forever, they cannot die and cannot become outdated.

They will keep sparking new ideas, inspiring new deeds and enriching the lives of every

generation to come. Therefore, I am positive that books will eventually regain their

popularity for today’s youth, since, unlike the popular kinds of entertainment in fashion

today, books are those roots to which people will always go back, in search of the

motivation, inspiration and aspiration, to find the meaning and value of things in life.
 Summary
• How to Write an Argumentative/ Persuasive Essay?
• Well Written Argumentative/ Persuasive Essay
• Steps for Writing a Argumentative/ Persuasive Essay
• Topic Selection
• Dos and Don’ts
• Common Mistakes
• Example
• General Essay writing Tips
 References
• http://academichelp.net/academic-assignmen
ts/essay/write-persuasive-essay.html
• http://academichelp.net/samples/essays/pers
uasive/people-read-books.html
• http://www.studygs.net/wrtstr4.htm
• http://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Persuasive-
Essay