How to write a persuasive essay

Let’s start by answering the question “what is a persuasive essay?” and stating its goal. A persuasive essay is considered the beginning of a real writer’s work. It is a type of paper characterized by strong opinion-making arguments aimed at persuading the readers to take the author’s point of view, hence the name. Can a persuasive essay help spread a good idea? Definitely.

As the task is quite a challenging one, it’s important to grasp the concept before you start:

  1. A persuasive essay is, basically, a paper that has to convince the audience you’re right. It’s rather like a lawman presenting a case in court or a salesman advertising his goods, than just a regular “short story”. Your idea will be criticized and argued with, think of it as part of the process.
  2. There is no single rule for the structure, because a persuasive essay has to “work” regardless of arguments, facts or comparisons. If you think you can make the readers accept your point of view without presenting the advantages and disadvantages of its counterparts, you can try omitting those steps.
  3. Everything about the persuasive essay is gathered around your evidence, so research is of the essence. Also, as opposed to other essay types, the thesis statement is crucial here, because it is the base of the whole “convincing”, which is the reason you’re writing in the first place.
how to write persuasive essay

So, how to start a persuasive essay?

If you’re not restricted in terms of topics for your paper, think of an issue you really have a strong opinion about. Without any doubt, it’s easier to convince people in the idea that you believe in. Come to think of it, even if you are wrong, the audience may give you credit for trying to protect what you’ve truly accepted for yourself. Otherwise, for them you will be lying, which is a totally different case and causes a completely opposite attitude. Yes, it really works like that.

After you’ve chosen the idea you’re going to present, it’s time for a short outline for persuasive essay. You can always browse the Internet for a sample outline, or an essay template, but it’s actually very easy to write it yourself. The format is up to you, unless it is specified in the task, and as for the size – a 4-5 paragraph essay is considered a standard. Also, in the outline for persuasive essay, you should pinpoint the jist for every paragraph – the main line that keeps the readers with you.

How to write a persuasive essay introduction and conclusion

Actually, it’s a tricky part, because the introduction is not just how to start a persuasive essay because of the format requirements, but exactly what makes the reader interested in the first place. It is often said that this part should contain a proverbial “hook”, which grabs the audience and carries it further into the essay.

What is a persuasive essay “hook”? It’s what makes people want to read, and your best shot here is the connection between the issue and how it affects the audience itself. Apart from the usual tips of “strong stance” and “powerful wording”, there is one thing that you have to remember – strike the imagination of the reader. The key to getting the message to one’s mind is presenting it in a way that is easy to imagine. At the same time, it should be emotionally colored enough to breed that emotion among the audience.  

As for conclusion, you should remember one thing – people don’t like it when someone thinks for themselves. If you conclude anything they’re not thinking at the moment, there will be consequences. It’s easy to avoid the issue, though, by addressing something extremely obvious at first. While the audience strongly agrees with the first point, they will generally agree with the whole conclusion.

How to write a persuasive essay when there is no time

Well, it happens a lot with the modern inadequate curricula. Sometimes they literally calculate it as if there were 28 hours in day, and that’s when the fun starts – the students get bad grades just because there is physically not enough time to complete the task. Ask yourself “How do I write my persuasive essay with tons of other tasks due?” and think about it for a while.

You should know there are specialized persuasive essay writing services, capable of solving this problem for you. What they do is, well, complete your task and send you the resulting paper. As it is typically done by professionals, the grade is usually high. What you get is called a custom persuasive essay, meaning it wasn’t pre-written, but made from scratch meeting your requirements.

Prepare your persuasive speech using tips developed by Snappy Essays Writers.