Writers are often tasked with writing persuasive essays or articles for their clients.  In persuasive writing, a writer’s goal is essentially to convince the audience to agree with the writer’s position about an issue. In many cases persuasive arguments are used to motivate the audience to not only agree, but to do something; take action, buy a product, join the revolution, etc.

For example, ad copy is designed to make you believe that buying Whiz Bang Brain Juice will turn your children into geniuses and not drooling sugar junkies.  Political copy is written to convince the audience that Candidate Bob sells children to slavers, while Candidate Ethel will lower your taxes and selling children has never even *occurred* to her as a budget concept and therefore, the audience should vote for Ethel, who won’t sell your children.

As a rule, advertising and political copy aside, the core elements of a persuasive essay rely on facts and research (reasons why the reader should follow your ideas), transitional phrases (how you lead the reader to your conclusion), and a call to action (what you want the reader to do.)

Facts and Research:

Creating a successful persuasive essay requires that you argue facts, not opinions. In order to write a convincing paper you must first establish your facts and then provide statements to support those facts.  The following is an example of fact-argued persuasive writing: The only good reason to ban a book is if you want every student in the school to read it. Studies by Stanford have shown that banning books only make them more popular and heavily sought after by the students.

Transitional Phrases

Transitional phrases and words are used to show how ideas are connected. Transitions take your reader from one thought to another. More importantly, if you don’t make connections between your ideas, the reader may insert their own counter arguments. In persuasive writing, it’s important that you lead the reader in the direction you want them to go. Transitional phrases are also useful in persuasive writing because you can use them to show both sides of an argument, while subtly arguing your point.

For example, in this phrase; This legislation would ban naturally occurring substances that can be found in extracts and essential oils. However, no toxicity has ever been proven when used as a topical application, the word “however” is the transition between ideas.

Robert Harris at Virtual Salt has written a great table of transitional logic, which I recommend as a refresher on transitional phrases.

Call to action

The purpose of a persuasive essay is to exhort the reader to change their beliefs, or to do something they might not have considered before. As an example, I’ve recently written a persuasive essay on why small bath and body manufacturers across the US should lobby against proposed legislation pending in Colorado. You can read the essay here:  Colorado legislation may derail small manufacturers.  The target audience for this essay is small businesses and boutique manufacturers of soap and other bath and body products which will be impacted if this legislation passes as written.  I’ve included the facts about the proposal, explained why the proposal would be bad for the target audience, and then suggested various courses of action that they can take before the bill is voted upon.

Ok, great…but *how* do I write persuasive essays?

1. Choose your position. Which side of the issue or problem are you going to write about, and what solution will you offer? Know the purpose of your essay.
2. Analyze your audience. Decide if your audience agrees with you, is neutral, or disagrees with your position.
3. Research your topic. A persuasive essay must provide specific and convincing evidence.
4. Structure your essay. Determine what evidence you will include and in what order you will present the evidence. Remember to consider your purpose, your audience, and your topic.

The Following Criteria are Essential to Produce an Effective Argument:

1. Be well informed about your topic. To add to your knowledge of a topic, read thoroughly about it, using legitimate sources. Take notes.
2. Test your thesis. Your thesis, i.e., argument, must have two sides. It must be debatable. If you can write down a thesis statement directly opposing your own, you will ensure that your own argument is debatable.
3. Disprove the opposing argument. Understand the opposite viewpoint of your position and then counter it by providing contrasting evidence or by finding mistakes and inconsistencies in the logic of the opposing argument.
4. Support your position with evidence. Remember that your evidence must appeal to reason. The following are different ways to support your argument:
   • Facts – A powerful means of convincing, facts can come from your readings, observations, or personal experiences.
   • Statistics – Be sure your statistics come from responsible sources. Always cite your sources.
   • Quotations – Direct quotations from leading experts effectively support your position.
   • Examples – Examples enhance your meaning and make your ideas concrete. They are the proof that backs up your point.

(A note here: marketing copy, ad copy, and political copy often do not follow the same sort of academic structure rules like the ones above. Those are persuasive arguments based on emotive triggers and memetic structure. They are not, as a rule, fact based arguments. It is still persuasive, but it is a whole different kettle of fish.)

To Evaluate the Effectiveness of an Argument Essay, Ask Two Questions:

1. Is the opinion based on facts and specific evidence rather than on personal judgments and emotional reactions?
2. Does the method of presenting the opinion have enough impact to persuade the reader to agree?

To sum up, persuasive writing utilizes logic and reason to show that one idea is more legitimate than another idea. It attempts to persuade the audience to adopt a certain point of view or to take a particular action. The argument must always use sound reasoning and solid evidence by stating facts, giving logical reasons, using examples, and quoting experts. Persuasive writing is one of the most effective tools in a writer’s box of tricks, and keeping your skills honed is essential to being able to assess and provide the services your clients need.