The Persuasive Essay

1. The Persuasive Essay

2. Parts of a Persuasive Essay • Introduction • Open with an attention-getter (startling statement or statistic, quotation, anecdote, reference to the issue/occasion, rhetorical question) • Introduce your topic • Establish your credibility • Allude to your first hand experience • Allude to sources of information you have consulted

3. Continued… • Statement of the Facts • May contain circumstances, details, summaries, and narration • Non-argumentative presentation of the facts • Shows the significance of the problem/topic • Should be brief, clear, and vivid • Describe the problem, if there is one • Confirmation – where you provide your arguments • The longest and most central section of your essay/speech • Demonstrate your position on the topic at hand • Provide solutions for problems

4. Continued… • Refutation • Consider the counterargument(s) that your opponent would come up with, and prove one of them wrong. • Often used with a concession (admitting that one of their points is correct) • If used with a concession, then you should point out a fallacy in the opposing argument or tell why your point of view is better. • Conclusion • Refresh the audience’s memory of your main points • Include a call to action (a response you want from the audience) • End with the audience’s being well-disposed to you – put them in the appropriate mood (happy, angry, etc.)

5. Things to Avoid • Bias: a speaker’s personal opinions or beliefs regarding a topic issue or situation, especially if he/she is disregarding other equally-valuable opinions or beliefs. • Particularly important to avoid during the “Statement of Facts” section • A concession can help eliminate bias • Rhetorical fallacy: an argument that is not sound, but is still convincing. • Divided into three categories • Logical: depends on faulty logic (defective reasoning) • Emotional: appeals to the audience’s emotions • Ethical: unjustly advances the speaker’s credibility