Persuasive Writing - Language Notes
The purpose of persuasive writing is, yes, you guessed it, to persuade. Therefore, if you are writing in this category, it means that you are trying to convince someone to believe your argument. In order to accomplish this task, you will have to, firstly, engage your audience. This means that you have to get the audience interested in what you are saying. Secondly, you have to ensure that strong points are made to support your argument, and finally, your points have to be organized in such a way that they flow.
Your first task, which is to engage your audience, can be achieved by adopting a friendly and personable tone. You could also go to the opposite end of the spectrum by adopting a sarcastic or scathing tone. The tone of your persuasive essay, whatever you choose it to be, can be achieved through the use of literary devices. The most common literary devices that are used in this type of essay are rhetorical questions, similes, metaphors and sarcasm, just to name a few. Literary devices make your words literally come to life, your audience can visualize what you are trying to communicate. Therefore, it is important to use them in persuasive writing.
The second task, ensuring that you have strong points, is perhaps the most important element in an exam setting. To achieve this, it is necessary to read the question that you are asked carefully. When you are sure that you understand what the question is saying, you take a stance. This means that you either agree or disagree with the statement/question that you are given. You must never be undecided, or argue both sides of the statement/question, you must be either for or against it.
The next step is to then outline a plan for your essay. This entails identifying three strong points to persuade your audience to agree with your stance, as well as ensuring that you provide suitable examples for each point. If you find that you can naturally provide recommendations, based on the stance that you have taken in relation to the statement/question, then do so. Please note that you need to provide at least three recommendations or suggestions; enough to warrant a separate paragraph.
The final task is to ensure that the essay is organized in such a manner that the points flow smoothly, building on each other. The points should not appear disjointed, unrelated or unstructured. The way to prevent this is to utilize the single essay format:
Introduction
This forms the beginning of your essay. It tells the examiner, or your teacher, that you understand the question and gives them an idea of the plan that you have to answer the essay.
Body
This portion of the essay is an expansion of the points, or the answer, that you gave in your introduction. Each segment of the essay, hence each point, should be given its own paragraph. This is the case because your aim is to express a single idea in one paragraph.
Conclusion
This is the end of your essay. It prevents your essay from ending abruptly and gives it a feeling of completion.
PLAN SHEET
Your first task, which is to engage your audience, can be achieved by adopting a friendly and personable tone. You could also go to the opposite end of the spectrum by adopting a sarcastic or scathing tone. The tone of your persuasive essay, whatever you choose it to be, can be achieved through the use of literary devices. The most common literary devices that are used in this type of essay are rhetorical questions, similes, metaphors and sarcasm, just to name a few. Literary devices make your words literally come to life, your audience can visualize what you are trying to communicate. Therefore, it is important to use them in persuasive writing.
The second task, ensuring that you have strong points, is perhaps the most important element in an exam setting. To achieve this, it is necessary to read the question that you are asked carefully. When you are sure that you understand what the question is saying, you take a stance. This means that you either agree or disagree with the statement/question that you are given. You must never be undecided, or argue both sides of the statement/question, you must be either for or against it.
The next step is to then outline a plan for your essay. This entails identifying three strong points to persuade your audience to agree with your stance, as well as ensuring that you provide suitable examples for each point. If you find that you can naturally provide recommendations, based on the stance that you have taken in relation to the statement/question, then do so. Please note that you need to provide at least three recommendations or suggestions; enough to warrant a separate paragraph.
The final task is to ensure that the essay is organized in such a manner that the points flow smoothly, building on each other. The points should not appear disjointed, unrelated or unstructured. The way to prevent this is to utilize the single essay format:
Introduction
This forms the beginning of your essay. It tells the examiner, or your teacher, that you understand the question and gives them an idea of the plan that you have to answer the essay.
- Give an opinion on the moot or a definition, if necessary.
- State a clear stance in relation to the moot/ argument set.
- Answer the question that was asked, without any details or explanation. These answers will become your topic sentence / points in the upcoming paragraphs.
- Your introduction does not need to be more than five (5) lines in length.
Body
This portion of the essay is an expansion of the points, or the answer, that you gave in your introduction. Each segment of the essay, hence each point, should be given its own paragraph. This is the case because your aim is to express a single idea in one paragraph.
- State your topic sentence, or one of the points listed in your introduction.
- Provide at least two appropriate examples to prove your point (these can come from your personal experiences, something you have read, or heard/seen on the news).
- Expand by discussing how the previous examples prove your point, or solidifies your topic sentence.
- Repeat this process for each point, or topic sentence.
Conclusion
This is the end of your essay. It prevents your essay from ending abruptly and gives it a feeling of completion.
- A repetition of the points, or topic sentences, expressed in the body
- End of essay!
PLAN SHEET
EXAMPLE:
Q. Is abortion wrong?
Introduction
Abortion is one of the many inhumane acts that are practiced around the world. Is it not the unnecessary and selfish act of brutally terminating the life of an innocent baby? Is it not an atrocious, costly and malignant procedure that affects the lives of all victims who cross the path of this 'fatal monster'? Without a doubt it is! Abortion is akin to murder, it deprives the world of human beings who could possibly make great contributions and the procedure is invasive and cruel.
Body: point # 1
Abortion is akin to murder. Many pro-rights activists have argued that a foetus is not human, therefore not a baby, hence cannot be 'murdered', but can be aborted. The two words are one and the same. This is so because there is no clear scientific evidence that clarifies where humanity begins. If a doctor killed a baby one minute after it it were born, he would be charged with murder, but if that same doctor killed a baby that is two weeks in vitro, it is abortion? At what minute, or second, in a child's development is life considered precious? Abortion is a euphemism for murder because all life is precious, no matter the stage of development.
Body: point # 2
Each human has the potential to act in a way that is exemplary and innovative. By doing so, they make positive contributions to the world. Unborn babies are a manifestation of this potential. Therefore, it is fair to say that aborted babies are robbed of the opportunity to make a positive contribution to the world. Imagine if great men, who changed the course of history, like Albert Einstein, Mahatma Gandhi, or even Barack Obama were deprived of the chance to help shape the world as we know it because they were aborted. Where would we be now? We do ourselves an injustice when we deprive the world of brilliant scientists, fearless heroes and loving friends. Unborn babies have the right to life and to fulfill an unknown destiny.
Body: point # 3
The medical procedure called abortion is a cold operation in which the child can be literally vacuumed out of a woman's vagina, cut in pieces in vitro and extracted, or the baby can be poisoned by inserting a salt solution into the amniotic sac; leading to the delivery of a dead baby. These are just a few methods that highlight the invasive and cruel nature of the procedure. How can this be considered to be right? This is the way in which one treats unwanted garbage, no baby should be classified as such! Birth is natural, even miscarriages are natural, but to employ such cold procedures to rid oneself of a child is invasive and cruel!
Recommendations
Instead of aborting a baby it is better to give the child up for adoption, and there is the option of foster care. These choices are by no means easy ones, but they are certainly better than aborting the child. While the child may lack the love of its birth parent, it will gain a family unit and be provided with food, shelter, clothing and guidance. This is a far better alternative to death.
Conclusion
Abortion is akin to murder, it deprives the world of human beings who could possibly make great contributions and the procedure is invasive and cruel. If we believe that children are our future, then why do we slaughter thousands of innocent babies who could have become strong, noble leaders that our world desperately needs?
[This essay is a class construction: grade 10, 2011]
TIPS:
- Read, and understand, the statement/question.
- Choose, and clearly identify a stance.
- Use literary devices.
- Ensure that you have three strong points.
- Your three points should address your stance.
- Give recommendations, or suggestions, where they are relevant.
- Each point should be explored in its own paragraph.
- The recommendations, or suggestions, should have their own paragraph.
- Use the single essay format.
Contributor: Leisa Samuels-Thomas
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