Notes on Writing a Persuasive Essay

Rhetorical Concepts Kairos-timeliness Ethos-credibility Logos-logic Pathos-emotion

What is a Persuasive Essay? A persuasive essay has an introduction, a body and a conclusion. The writer takes a position for or against an issue and writes to convince his/her audience to agree with his/her position. The writer tries to convince the reader to believe or do something as well.

Introduction Should have a “hook” or ‘grabber” to catch the reader’s attention

Some “grabbers” include:  opening with an unusual fact or detail  opening with a strong statement  opening with a quotation  opening with a statistic  opening with a question  opening with an anecdote

The introduction should also include a THESIS STATEMENT  A thesis statement is a sentence that states what you will prove in your essay

It is a fact that teenagers require more sleep than adults. The average teenager requires hours of sleep a day. Unfortunately, teenagers rarely get this amount of sleep. Why? Because the average American high school begins between 7 and 8 a.m. in the morning. This is ridiculous. High school students should have a start time of 10 a.m. to allow their growing students to get the amount of sleep they need to strengthen and develop their brains, which will allow them to meet greater success in school.

What is the thesis statement? High school students should have a start time of 10 a.m. to allow their growing students to get the amount of sleep they need to strengthen and develop their brains, which will allow them to meet greater success in school. High school students should have a start time of 10 a.m. to allow their growing students to get the amount of sleep they need to strengthen and develop their brains, which will allow them to meet greater success in school.

The Body  Should consist of paragraphs that follow the thesis and transition smoothly.  Each paragraph should give a solid reason to back your thesis statement  Each reason should be followed with examples/details (elaborate on each point)

Elaboration and Details  Use real-life experiences  Give statistics/facts  Give examples/scenarios to support your each reason

Counterclaim  Acknowledge the other point of view that goes against your position.  Discredit the counterclaim by finding fault with the counterclaim.

Conclusion  Begin with a transition (see list in tool kit)  Summarize main points/reasons  Restate thesis statement