1. Writing Workshop Writing a Persuasive Essay
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Assignment
Prewriting
Choose an Issue
Write an Opinion Statement
Consider Your Purpose and Audience
Gather Support for Your Position
Plan Your Draft
Practice and Apply

2. Writing a Persuasive Essay
Assignment: Write a persuasive essay on a topic about which you have a strong opinion.
Do you ever hear yourself saying, “I don’t think that’s right” or “I agree” or “I’d like to see that change”? You probably express your opinion on one issue or another almost every day. Which issues do you care about the most?
To share your views and convince others to agree with you, try writing a persuasive essay.
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3. Writing a Persuasive Essay Prewriting: Choose an Issue
What situations make you and other people angry, sad, or enthusiastic? What issues do you feel strongly about?
Talk with friends and family members.
Look in the editorial section of your local newspaper.
Think about what’s going on in your community and in your school.

4. Writing a Persuasive Essay Prewriting: Choose an Issue
You’ve probably come up with a number of good ideas. Now, choose one issue for your essay topic. Make sure it meets the following criteria:
You have strong views about the issue.
You can gather enough evidence about it to defend your position.
Other people find the issue interesting or have strong feelings about it.
Essay Length
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5. Writing a Persuasive Essay Prewriting: Write an Opinion Statement
Where do you stand on your issue? Share your perspective, or point of view, by drafting an opinion statement. Clearly state both the issue and your position, or opinion, on it.
The number of homeless pets can be greatly reduced through spay-neuter programs.
Issue
Position
Clear Opinion Statements
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6. Writing a Persuasive Essay Prewriting: Consider Your Purpose and Audience
In a persuasive essay your purpose is to convince readers to share your opinion or to take the action you suggest.

7. Writing a Persuasive Essay Prewriting: Consider Your Purpose and Audience
To persuade your audience, you must first understand them. Ask yourself
What will make my audience care about this issue?
Put yourself in your readers’ shoes. Think about ways in which this issue affects their lives.

8. Writing a Persuasive Essay Prewriting: Consider Your Purpose and Audience
What concerns might my audience have?
Consider how the issue looks from their point of view, or bias. Some readers may already have opinions about your topic. Take any objections, or counterclaims, into account.

9. Writing a Persuasive Essay Prewriting: Consider Your Purpose and Audience
What will my audience expect from my essay?
Readers will expect you to provide the information they need in order to make an informed decision. Provide background information if necessary.
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10. Writing a Persuasive Essay Prewriting: Gather Support for Your Position
Give at least three strong reasons to support your opinion statement. Your reasons may include rhetorical devices:
logical appeals—speak to readers’ common sense and logic
emotional appeals—speak to emotions such as fear, love, and pride
ethical appeals—address readers’ sense of right and wrong
Making Appeals

11. Writing a Persuasive Essay Prewriting: Gather Support for Your Position
Make a chart with your opinion statement and at least three reasons to support it.
Opinion Statement: Spay-neuter programs are the best way to reduce the number of homeless pets.
Reasons
Spaying and neutering attack the problem at its source. (logical appeal)
The suffering and death of thousands of animals each year could easily be prevented. (emotional appeal)
Humans domesticated cats and dogs, and it is our responsibility to care for them properly. (ethical appeal)

12. Writing a Persuasive Essay Prewriting: Gather Support for Your Position
Provide at least two pieces of evidence to support each of your reasons. Make sure your evidence is relevant, or clearly related to your issue.
Evidence for Persuasive Appeals
Analogies
Comparisons that show similarities between otherwise unrelated facts or ideas
Neglecting to spay and neuter our pets is as irresponsible as leaving a fire unattended.
Citing Sources

13. Writing a Persuasive Essay Prewriting: Gather Support for Your Position
Evidence for Persuasive Appeals
Anecdotes
Personal examples or stories that illustrate a point
When my friend’s cat had kittens, his parents tried very hard to find homes for them all, but two of the kittens had to go to the shelter.
Case studies
Examples from scientific research
Researchers studied one town that implemented a spay-neuter program. They noted a one-third reduction in the number of homeless pets over just five years.

14. Writing a Persuasive Essay Prewriting: Gather Support for Your Position
Evidence for Persuasive Appeals
Commonly accepted beliefs
Ideas that most people share
Most people would like to see the problem of pet overpopulation solved.
Examples
Specific instances or illustrations of a general idea
For example, a spayed female dog will never get uterine or ovarian cancer and is also far less likely to develop breast cancer.

15. Writing a Persuasive Essay Prewriting: Gather Support for Your Position
Evidence for Persuasive Appeals
Expert opinions
Statements made by recognized authorities on a subject
According to Joshua Manning of the Prevent-a-Litter Foundation, “Widespread spay-neuter programs are the only way to bring pet overpopulation under control.”
Facts
Statements that can be proved true; facts often take the form of statistics, or numerical information
One female cat and her young can conceivably produce up to 420,000 kittens in just seven years.
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16. Writing a Persuasive Essay Prewriting: Plan Your Draft
Organize your essay so that it moves smoothly and logically from one idea to the next.
Body Paragraph 1 second-strongest reason
Body Paragraph 2 another good reason
Readers tend to remember ideas presented at the beginning and end of an essay. Try putting your two strongest reasons in the first and final body paragraphs of your paper.
Body Paragraph 3 strongest reason
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17. Writing a Persuasive Essay Prewriting: Practice and Apply
Choose an issue for your persuasive essay, write an opinion statement, and gather and organize reasons and evidence to support your opinion.
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18. The End