{"id":2296,"date":"2014-09-01T09:00:32","date_gmt":"2014-09-01T16:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kibin.com\/blog\/?p=2296"},"modified":"2018-04-08T09:10:12","modified_gmt":"2018-04-08T16:10:12","slug":"persuasive-essay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kibin.com\/essay-writing-blog\/persuasive-essay\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is a Persuasive Essay, and How Can You Make Yours Good?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>What is a persuasive essay?<\/p>\n<p>In the simplest of terms, a persuasive essay&nbsp;is intended to persuade. It should incite action and pull readers toward a given point of view, or convince those whose minds are not yet made up.<\/p>\n<p>The targets of a persuasive essay are those who are \u201con the fence.&#8221;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2300\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2300\" style=\"width: 500px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kibin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/on-the-fence.jpg\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2300\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kibin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/on-the-fence.jpg\" alt=\"persuasive essay\" width=\"500\" height=\"224\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.kibin.com\/essay-writing-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/on-the-fence.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.kibin.com\/essay-writing-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/on-the-fence-300x134.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\"><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2300 lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%20500%20224%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" alt=\"persuasive essay\" width=\"500\" height=\"224\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%20500%20224%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.kibin.com\/essay-writing-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/on-the-fence.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.kibin.com\/essay-writing-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/on-the-fence-300x134.jpg 300w\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.kibin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/on-the-fence.jpg\"><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2300\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">\u00a9 Original image copyright <a href=\"http:\/\/www.geograph.org.uk\/profile\/12764\" target=\"_blank\">Alison Rawson<\/a> and licensed for reuse under this <a href=\"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/2.0\/\" target=\"_blank\">Creative Commons License<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>If someone is already inclined to agree with you, you don\u2019t need to write an essay to convince him. If someone disagrees with you, it\u2019s not likely your essay will get him to change his mind (unless you\u2019re an <i>awesome<\/i> writer).<\/p>\n<p>If you are writing an academic persuasive essay, your strategy should be to assume a \u201cdisinterested\u201d or neutral audience. (Note, this is not the same thing as \u201cuninterested.\u201d) Your readers need convincing but not, as it were, at gunpoint. It is usually enough to craft a good, persuasive, and well-structured argument.<\/p>\n<p>At the very least, your readers should acknowledge that your argument is valid\u2014this is your minimum goal (\u201cHmmm, he could be right\u201d).<\/p>\n<p>One of the most famous persuasive essays is Thomas Paine\u2019s \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/www.ushistory.org\/paine\/commonsense\/singlehtml.htm\" target=\"_blank\">Common Sense<\/a>,\u201d widely acknowledged to have played a major part in inciting the American Revolution. He targeted the fence-sitters. Even after the war started, only 1\/3 of the colonists actively supported the Revolution, so persuading people to join the side of the rebels was vital.<\/p>\n<h2>What Makes for a Particularly Good Persuasive Essay?<\/h2>\n<p>The very best persuasive essay <i>completely ignores<\/i> any reasons the <i>author<\/i> may have to hold or adopt a given point of view and instead focuses on why the <i>audience<\/i> may want to adopt it. The best persuaders always have this in mind.<\/p>\n<p>Say you\u2019re trying to convince your boyfriend to take you to the movies (not by writing an essay, but bear with me), and you really want to see this wonderful chick-flick romantic comedy.<\/p>\n<p>You\u2019re not likely to make any headway with him by saying that the movie explores the joys and depths of human relationships. Instead, just tell him that the female lead is is really hot. Or tell him that despite the trailer, the movie has lots of car chases and <a title=\"How to Write an Expository Essay That Pops\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kibin.com\/blog\/how-to-write-an-expository-essay\/\" target=\"_blank\">explosions<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2304\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2304\" style=\"width: 500px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kibin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/explosive-love-story.jpg\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2304\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kibin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/explosive-love-story.jpg\" alt=\"persuasive essay\" width=\"500\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.kibin.com\/essay-writing-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/explosive-love-story.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.kibin.com\/essay-writing-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/explosive-love-story-300x120.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\"><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2304 lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%20500%20200%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" alt=\"persuasive essay\" width=\"500\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%20500%20200%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.kibin.com\/essay-writing-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/explosive-love-story.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.kibin.com\/essay-writing-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/explosive-love-story-300x120.jpg 300w\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.kibin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/explosive-love-story.jpg\"><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2304\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">It&#8217;s an explosive love story! Copyright <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/ctbto\/9040657030\/\" target=\"_blank\">The Official CTBTO Photostream<\/a> Licorne test 1971, French Polynesia (<a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/2.0\/\" target=\"_blank\">Creative Commons<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>If you get my drift, the best persuasive essay isn\u2019t so much about objective truth as it is about getting into your audience\u2019s heads.<\/p>\n<p>On the flip side of the coin, you can craft an argument of soaring, irresistible logic, but&nbsp;if you don\u2019t tailor it to your audience, it\u2019ll fizzle.<\/p>\n<h2>What Makes for a Particularly Bad Persuasive Essay?<\/h2>\n<p>The worst kind of persuasive essay is \u201cWhy <b>I<\/b> <strong>think<\/strong> we all should blah blah.\u201d From the point of view of the reader, what the <i>author<\/i> thinks means less than nothing.<\/p>\n<p>This might seem obvious, and indeed most awful essays aren\u2019t that crude in their approach. What they do is parrot some creed\/ideology\/religion\/political party and use that as an avatar for the author.<\/p>\n<p>It doesn\u2019t enhance a person\u2019s argument in the slightest to substitute \u201cthe Bible\/the Party\/the Grand Order of Caribou tells us\u2026\u201d for \u201cI think\u2026\u201d If the target audience doesn\u2019t subscribe to the ideology of the speaker, then appeals to that ideology are futile.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What makes a good and a bad persuasive essay, then, are opposite characteristics: complete attention to the audience\u2019s receptiveness, or ignoring it completely<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Many terrible writers and speakers mask their awfulness by &#8220;preaching to the choir.&#8221; They only address those who are massively inclined to agree with them in the first place.<\/p>\n<p>A common example of this is speeches given at political party conventions. These politicians&nbsp;have audiences of tens of millions of individuals, but <i>they don\u2019t convince a single person of anything.<\/i><\/p>\n<h2>What Are Three Simple Steps that a Writer Can Take to Write a Better Persuasive Essay?<\/h2>\n<p>1. <strong>Call to action<\/strong>. The first thing you have to do is clearly state what it is you want to persuade your audience to do: Vote for Joe Shlabotnik, switch to fluorescent lighting in the home, ban walrus hunting, eat more fiber. Whatever it is, you need to start off by a call to action (or thought).<\/p>\n<p>2. <strong>Reasons for acting<\/strong>. The second step is to give your audience some reasons why they should do this. Note that these reasons can easily be \u201creasons.&#8221; in other words, they don\u2019t have to be logically supportable.<\/p>\n<p>As I keep saying, <a href=\"https:\/\/owl.english.purdue.edu\/owl\/resource\/588\/04\/\" target=\"_blank\"><i>appeal<\/i> is all you need<\/a>. That said, if you are working in the context of formal writing, such as academics or business, your reasons should make sense (\u201cGiven that we are in a business environment where internet connectivity is paramount, we should replace our carrier pigeon flock with high-speed computers\u201d).<\/p>\n<p>3. <strong>Benefits of acting<\/strong>. The third step should logically flow from the second. What are the potential benefits? What does the audience (<i>not<\/i> you) stand to gain from taking this action\/changing this thinking\/adopting this strategy? Sell the concept!<\/p>\n<p>In other words:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>We should do blah blah.<\/li>\n<li>Because it would be the right and just thing to do.<\/li>\n<li>And beer will flow freely down the streets of America.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>For more information on writing awesome persuasive essays,&nbsp;check out <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kibin.com\/blog\/persuasive-essay-outline\/\" target=\"_blank\">How to Create a Persuasive Essay Outline<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Good luck!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What is a persuasive essay? In the simplest of terms, a persuasive essay\u00a0is intended to persuade. It should incite action and pull readers toward a given point of view, or convince those whose minds are not yet made up. The targets of a persuasive essay are those who are \u201con the fence.&#8221; If someone is &hellip; <\/p>\n<div class=\"blog-read-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kibin.com\/essay-writing-blog\/persuasive-essay\/\" class=\"more-link btn btn-primary\"><b>Read more<\/b><span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;What Is a Persuasive Essay, and How Can You Make Yours Good?&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":2304,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26,43,35],"tags":[56],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>What Is a Persuasive Essay and How Can You Make Yours Good?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What is a persuasive essay? What makes a persuasive essay particularly good or particularly bad? 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