What is a Persuasive Essay? Right definition!

When a student is asked to complete a persuasive essay, he is often puzzled and stressed, because this type of an assignment has its peculiarities and differences from most of other essays. Imagine that you are a lawyer in front of a jury and you need to make them believe you. You occupy a certain position and build a thoughtful and strong argumentation to persuade the audience.

This is how writing a persuasive essay looks like. Your main goal is to convince the audience to accept your ideas or change their own mind on the topic. Such essay is based on a quality research and understanding of all the pros and cons of the chosen topic. You need not only to present your own thoughts in a clear way but also to explain why your opponents are wrong.

Actually, knowing how to write a persuasive essay is an important skill for students of various specialties. You can find persuasive instruments in speeches of politicians, video commercials, newspapers and all sorts of blogs. That is why mastering such an important type of essay will give you a chance to succeed in a class, forget about the fear of public performances and be able to debate with other students or opponents.

A persuasive essay should follow a common pattern if you want it to be readable and clear. Don’t forget to include the following elements to your paper:

Introduction. When writing the first section, you need to remember that it is the first thing the reader sees, so make sure you are interesting to read. Include various facts, statistics, quotes of famous people or a joke (if appropriate) to grab interest of the audience. Don’t forget to include a thesis statement, which should explain the main idea of the topic and your position on the subject;
Main paragraphs. Depending on the number of arguments you have, you need to form your body paragraphs. They should start with the main argument, which is followed with supportive elements and evidence. Ask your teacher in advance how many paragraphs you need to include, because usually the size of such an essay is strictly regulated;
Conclusion. The final section of your essay should contain all the conclusions you have made along the way. Don’t forget to make predictions for the future and remind the reader why your arguments should be accepted.

Here are the main mistakes students complete, when writing a persuasive essay:

Choosing a wrong topic. If you can select the topic on your own, you have a great advantage! Choosing a topic you like will greatly help you along the way and you will be able to find more information even when you have no energy left;
Forgetting about a persuasive essay outline. Writing an outline is crucial if you want your essay to have a clear and understandable structure. Write a short plan of the future work and make a list of all the elements you want to discuss;
Weak argumentation. Unlike a descriptive or narrative essay, which are based on your subjective opinion, a persuasive essay should be backed with clear arguments and reliable sources. Devote enough time to read all the possible books or publications on your topic and it will make your arguments clear and valuable;
Sounding not reliable. You need to be an expert in the field to be able to persuade the audience. Make sure you devote enough time to completing a research and understanding the subject;
Not spending enough time on reading the final paper. You may remember about your essay the last minute, not devoting enough time to its editing and proofreading. However, this may play a bad joke with you, as your professor can significantly lower your grades if the essay has lots of mistakes and typos. Make sure you have at least a couple hours left to edit and proofread every sentence of the essay.

Following the accepted structure and avoiding all the most common mistakes will guarantee your outstanding performance.

Good Persuasive Essay Examples

Most of the students simply don’t know how to start a persuasive essay, as they lack writing skills or feel puzzled how to catch interest of the audience. Luckily, there are many resources, which offer you to familiarize with persuasive essay examples.

Downloading multiple samples and templates on a given topic will help you to understand the subject, to see how every section should be completed and to find new ideas for your own work!