As students develop their English writing skills, it’s important to give them chances to write in different styles. Students can use persuasive writing to come up with specific reasons for their opinions and research facts that back up those opinions.
When students learn how writing can influence or change someone else’s actions or thoughts, they can start to understand how persuasive writing is used in real life on the Internet, TV, and other media.
Writers use persuasive writing to take a stand on a subject and try to get readers to agree with their point of view. There are many types of persuasive writing in the media, such as op-eds, reviews, and ads. A good persuasive argument uses solid research and clear language to explain the writer’s point of view and convince the reader to agree with it.
First, let’s take a close look at what persuasive writing is.
The goal of persuasive writing is to persuade the reader to agree with the writer’s point of view. A person writing a persuasive essay can use more than just good writing skills to convince readers. They can also use personal experience, logical reasoning and emotional appeals.
The goal of persuasive writing is to get the reader to agree with a certain point of view, while other types of writing are meant to inform or entertain.
Argumentative essays and persuasive essays are both about a serious topic, use logical arguments, and offer clear solutions. The main difference between an argumentative essay and a persuasive essay is that persuasive essays focus more on personal experience and emotional appeals, while argumentative essays focus more on facts.
Also, persuasive essays only look at the author’s point of view, while argumentative essays look at both sides of an issue. Persuasive essays use more conversational language and tone, which is a strategy used in persuasive speeches to make a more personal connection between the speaker and the audience.
Now, let’s look at some strategies and tips that you should remember when writing a persuasive essay:
1. Carefully choose your words
When writing to persuade, the words and phrases you choose are very important for making the reader feel like they know you. You want to use the best words and phrases to convince the reader that your point of view is right.
Because writing that is convincing often uses strong words, says things clearly, and avoids “hedging.” In persuasive writing, words and phrases that describe feelings are also used to get the reader to feel emotionally connected to the issue.
Wordplay like puns, rhymes, and jokes can also be used to help the reader remember important details and your main point.
2. Ask Questions
Questions are a great way to move from one topic or paragraph to the next, and they can also be used to make a point. Your reader will answer every question you ask them in their head, if they can, or at least think about it for a moment if they can’t.
- Authors who want to get their readers to think critically can use questions to do this. First of all, questions can be used to plant ideas and lead the reader to the answers given by the author.
- Second, if your evidence is well-organized and your argument is well-structured, asking the right question could lead the reader to the author’s conclusion on their own. This is the ultimate goal of persuasive writing.
3. Make sure your thesis statement is clear.
A thesis statement makes it clear and easy to understand what the main idea or theme of a piece of writing is. In a persuasive essay, your thesis statement is just the point of view you want the reader to agree with.
To avoid confusion, it’s best to put your thesis statement at the beginning or in the introduction of your essay. If the reader doesn’t know what you’re talking about, it will be hard to convince them of anything.
4. Draw a Persuasion Map
A persuasive map is like a plan for your argument. It was made as a writing tool to help writers organise their thoughts. You can choose from a number of formats, but most of them start with a list of your main points, followed by evidence and examples to back each one up.
Persuasion maps are great for people who have trouble staying organised or who often lose track of their ideas while writing. It’s a great tool to use before you start writing your outline so you know exactly what you want to include before you decide the order.
5. Talk to the reader directly
As was already said, the relationship between the writer and the reader is very important in persuasive writing. One way to do this is to speak directly to the reader, sometimes even calling them “you.”
When writing, it works well to talk to the reader. It makes the writing sound more like a conversation, even if it is only from one person’s point of view. This can encourage the reader to let down their guard and look at your point of view with an open mind.
6. Go over your main points again.
Repetition is to get ideas into the minds of your readers when writing to persuade. If someone hears something more than once, they are more likely to remember it. On the other hand, repetition can change how people think when they read persuasive writing.
Repeating the same idea over and over again makes it seem normal. When paired with strong evidence and logic, repetition can make even the most outlandish ideas seem more reasonable.