In your academic career, you’ll likely at some point be asked to write a persuasive essay. Sometimes the teacher may give you a topic and require that you take a stance, while others may want you to pick a topic and try to convince them to join your perspective.
While persuasive essays can be broken down into a simple formula, it doesn’t make them any easier to check off your to-do list. You’ll have to sit down, do the research, formulate your opinion, write the essay, edit it, and ensure your citations give proper attribution to your sources and are in the correct format.
We know it can be overwhelming, but this guide will help you get started.
What Is a Persuasive Essay?
First, let’s break down the basics. A persuasive essay at its most simple definition is a piece of writing that uses facts and emotional appeal to entice the reader to join the stance of the author on a given topic.
For example, a persuasive essay could be written on the topic of highly divisive subjects such as gun control, abortion, or human rights. However, it can be written on a topic that is less serious and more silly like whether dark chocolate is better than milk chocolate or how dessert should be served before dinner.
No matter the topic, the goal is always to persuade the reader that your opinion is correct.
Why Are Persuasive Essays Important?
Persuasive essays provide a controlled, researched way to change the opinion of others. Instead of being in a heated debate, a persuasive essay is organized and challenges the opposite side of the argument with facts or even a personal anecdote.
Outside of the academic environment, persuasive essays can be a powerful tool in the “real world”. For instance, if you are involved in local government and are trying to persuade the city council to increase parking next to the library, a persuasive essay read aloud at a city council meeting can be an effective way to sway their vote in your favor.
Argumentative Essay vs. Persuasive Essay
Speaking of using personal anecdotes to support your opinion, argumentative essays and persuasive essays are generally thought of as one and the same. Though their overall goal is the same, there is a major difference.
Argumentative essays only use objective facts to support the opinion while persuasive essays use both objective and subjective elements to achieve the same result. So while in a persuasive essay, your own experiences can be used as support, in an argumentative essay, personal stories would not be included.
General Persuasive Essay Guidelines
Though in an academic setting, your persuasive essay guidelines will be given to you by your professor or teacher, you can typically expect that you’ll need a topic, an introduction including a thesis statement with a clear stance, at least three supporting arguments, and a conclusion. This is the general outline that you should follow with all persuasive essays.
Additionally, there are usually formatting and citation requirements you must uphold which is often MLA citation format, size 12 font, and at least 1,000 words.
Turn In a Convincing Persuasive Essay
While if you use this article to understand exactly what a persuasive essay is and follow the general guidelines we have laid out, you’ll be able to come up with a great persuasive essay, there is a way to skip the overwhelming work and still hand in a perfect, convincing persuasive essay.
An essays writing service, like Papers Lab, is convenient, efficient, and the best way to meet any persuasive essay expectations on any deadline. The expert writers at Papers Lab will use the requirements you have been given and deliver an elegantly written persuasive essay that you can turn in without the stress. Letusgetstartedonyourpersuasiveessaytoday!