Persuasive Essays

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Persuasive Essays

• And how to write them

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The Persuasive Essay usually includes

• An introduction
• Statement of the facts
• Confirmation
• Refutation
• conclusion

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Arranging the parts is simple

• Introduce the topic of the paper and the thesis
  statement (The thesis statement is almost always
  at the end of the introduction)
• State the facts of the case
• Prove the thesis with your arguments
• Disprove your opponents arguments
• End the essay

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There may be times that you will disprove
opposing arguments before proving your own it
will depend upon the arguments and your readers.
There may also be times when the statement of the
facts will be the introduction to your paper
(with the thesis statement following the
statement of facts)
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INTRODUCTIONThe introduction should catch and
hold the readers attention and focus their
attention on the thesis statement. The thesis
statement (your topic, attitude about the topic,
and, possibly, audience) is usually found as a
single sentence at the end of the introduction.
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STATEMENT OF FACTSThe statement of the facts
may contain circumstances, details, summaries,
and narration. It is a non-argumentative
presentation of the facts concerning the
situation or problem under discussion. In other
words, you simply discuss the problem objectively
without trying to persuade the reader.
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This section informs the readers about the facts
of the case, reminds the readers of certain
events or details (often through the use of
summary), establishes the reason why you have the
authority to speak on the topic, or provides a
vivid illustration, real or fictional, showing
the significance of the topic.It should be
brief, and vivid. If you obscure the facts, you
are defeating the purpose. Delete irrelevant
information and information which contributes
little to the readers understanding.
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CONFIRMATIONThe confirmation is where you
provide your arguments. This is the central part
of the essay and often the longest section. With
the audience rendered attentive by the
introduction and informed by the statement of
fact, you show why your position concerning the
facts should be accepted and believed.
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Your argument will be more effective if you give
concrete examples fromhistorypoliticsliteratur
eIt also will be more effective if you go into
detail as to why these examples prove your
point.The more specific you are, the better
your argument will be.
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Yes, you can use personal experiences but
remember ----Its like a diving competition
where you must consider the level of difficulty
----If you have an easy dive the level of
difficulty is low and you have to have an
almost perfect diveIf you talk about personal
experience, your level of difficulty is low and
your writing must be close to perfect!
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REFUTATIONUsually you deny the truth of one of
the premises on which the opposing argument is
built, or you can object to the inferences drawn
by the opposition from premises which cannot be
broken down. If your opponent states that the
sales of a company shot up over 25 after using a
musical jingle in an advertising campaign, you
could counter by saying that the statement is
true, but the reason sales increased was because
of a 15 cut in prices. Look at logical
fallacies to see some common errors in reasoning.
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CONCLUSIONThe conclusion in this type of essay
shouldrender the audience to be well disposed
to you and ill-disposed toward your
opponent,magnify your points and minimize your
opposition,put the audience in the proper mood,
and/orrefresh the memory of the audience by
summarizing the main points of the argument.