Persuasive Essay

Writing an academic essay has always been a challenging task for any student, especially, whether it is a persuasive essay. However, a clever student would not begin writing an essay on the spot and would prepare for it thoroughly. Therefore, here is a useful guide on how to write a proper persuasive essay.

What Is Persuasive Essay

Quite a similar to a discussion, a persuasive essay, though, is focused on highlighting only one exact point of view, rather than showing both sides of an issue. The word to persuade itself says that your task is to make everybody believe that your opinion is right. The main aim of this type of essay is to convince the reader of your point of view, and that your arguments are unshakable. However, forgetting about the other side of the question would be wrong, as it is possible and even advisable to think of counter-arguments to make your thought even more solid.

Support Types

The arguments themselves are nothing without qualitative support statements. The most common ones in a persuasive essay are considered to be examples, statistics, highlighting facts, and proving reasons. However, in order to turn the paper into a really decent piece of writing, it is essential to consider such types of support as predicting the consequences as well as previously mentioned counter-arguments.

Consequence Prediction

The reader is always eager to know what would happen if… If something happened, what would be the results? How would the situation influence the object of an issue entirely? What impact would it make on the surroundings? Moreover, and perhaps even more interesting predictions can be made while judging what would be the results if something did not happen. All these questions and the answers to them are the most important aspects of a successful persuasive essay. It is more than advisable to give argumentative answers to prove readers that your point of view is reasonable and solid.

Counter-Arguments

Probably it is the most difficult, but at the same moment the most effective type of support. Showing that you know the other side of the coin is not enough, however, having the answers to that side may greatly benefit your piece of writing. The key point here is not only to show the argument that contradicts your main object, but also turn it into your advantage by proving how this counter-argument is wrong. To strengthen your essay even more, try to present these opponent arguments as quickly as possible – in the first paragraph preferably. Apart from that, it is advisable to use peculiar transitions, such as “although,” “however,” “opponents argue that…,” and others. However, do not try to object the point that has been already proved and has solid arguments – people would rather believe an expert rather than an average student.

Remember, support your arguments with necessary proves because otherwise, you will never convince the readers of your point of view.