Persuasive Essay

1. Writing a Persuasive Essay
A persuasive essay is an essay used to convince a reader
about a particular idea or focus, usually one that you believe
in. Your persuasive essay could be based on anything about
which you have an opinion. Whether you're arguing against
the death penalty for school or petitioning for a raise from
your boss, the persuasive essay is a skill that everyone should
know.

2. The Introduction
Every year, thousands of new high school graduates pack
their bags, move to new cities, and sign papers accepting
loans they might not be able to pay back. Within weeks,
many of these same students are writing home to their
families, struggling to understand where their money went.
Without a guide, these young people fail to understand how
to properly budget or establish a financial plan. The best way
to help graduates avoid these risks is to require that every
high school student take a personal finance class before
graduation.

3. The Thesis Statement
The best way to help graduates avoid these risks is to require
that every high school student take a personal finance class
before graduation.
Your thesis statement is a short summary of what you're
arguing for. It's usually one sentence, and it's near the end of
your introductory paragraph. Make your thesis a combination
of your most persuasive arguments, or a single powerful
argument, for the best effect.

4. Step One-Write the thesis statement
Include your opinion
What is your call to action?
Consider what you want to change.
What do you want someone to do?
Ex. The United States Government needs to stop using the
death penalty.
EX. The Panther Valley School district should change their
dress code and uniform policy.

5. Step Two-Write the Introduction
1. Need a topic sentence to introduce the reader to the topic
Do students ever get tired of wearing khaki pants?
Ask a question
It is difficult finding sneakers that adhere to the dress code.
The emotional and financial stress of buying uniforms for a
family of five is incredible.
2. Include examples of logos, pathos, and ethos here.
3. Include your thesis statement

6. Structure your body
paragraphs.
 At a minimum, write three paragraphs for the body of the
essay. Each paragraph should cover a main point
that relates back to a part of your argument. These
body paragraphs are where you justify your opinions and lay
out your evidence. Remember that if you don't provide
evidence, your argument might not be as persuasive.
When you can, use facts as your evidence. Agreed-upon facts
give people something to hold onto. If possible, use facts-logos
from different angles to support one argument.

7. Step Three-Find Research
Begin research using SIRS
username-02-18332
password-bigchalk
Fill out persuasion map as you work
You will need research to support your 3 main points –at
least one direct quote from a source per paragraph
Use easybib.com to keep track of the possible websites you
might use.

8. Opposing View Points (for advanced
class only)
Describes and then refutes the key points of the opposing view.
How: state their argument first and then prove them wrong.
It makes your essay stronger. Imagine you have an opponent who's
arguing the exact opposite of what you're arguing. Think of one or two
of their strongest arguments and come up with a counterargument to
rebut it.
Example: "Some people say that the Bible condones rape, and for that
reason, it should not be used for moral reasons or to act against gay
marriage. The verses used to say this are in Judges 21:10-24. While it
does say that the people in the passage raped people, it didn’t ever say
that God condones it. Many passages in the Bible are not things
condoned by God, but are historical things that have to do with God’s
people. In Judges 21 10:-24, women are raped, however, verse 25 is
not mentioned which states that there was no king in Israel at the time,
so the people did whatever they wanted."

9. Example Opposing View Points (for
advanced class only)
Banning books is an effective way to censor, and censorship
goes against a lot of what Americans believe to be a very
important personal right. The right to free speech is sacred,
and it is mostly untouched even in circumstances where
highly polarizing or hateful words are being used. A work of
fiction that integrates dialogue containing the “N” word may
seem hateful to some, but it is certainly the intention of the
author to use it in a context of satire. Censorship will just
close the book when what we really need is to open it up in a
different light.

10. Step Four: Writing the Persuasive
Essay
Introduction
3 Body paragraphs
The body paragraphs will include
Topic sentence-main idea of that paragraph
Examples using either logos, pathos, ethos
Direct quote from a source with a lead-in
Ender sentence
Opposing Viewpoint paragraph (advanced class only)
Conclusion

11. Using Sources for Direct Quotes
States such as Texas and South Carolina in, "the South,
which accounts for 80% of all executions in the United
States, still has the country's highest murder rate. This makes
a case against the death penalty working as a deterrent“
(“U.S. Death Penalty Rates”).
Having the death penalty keeps states safer, "Additionally,
states without the death penalty have fewer murders. If the
death penalty were indeed a deterrent, why wouldn't we see
an increase in murders in states without the death penalty?“
(“Reason For the Death Penalty”).

12. The Ender
Use the last sentence of each body paragraph to
transition to the next paragraph. In order to establish
flow in your essay, you want there to be a natural transition
from the end of one paragraph to the beginning of the next.
Here is one example:End of first paragraph: "If the death
penalty consistently fails to deter crime, and crime is at an
all-time high, what happens when someone is wrongfully
convicted?"
Beginning of second: "Over 100 wrongfully convicted death
row inmates have been acquitted of their crimes, some just
minutes before their would-be death."

13. Example Body 1 Paragraph
The students who go to college right after high school would
benefit immensely from taking a finance course. These students
often take out loans to cover the costs of their education. On
average, “a student graduating from college today carries over
$20,000 in debt, often spread over multiple lenders” (AES
Website). Upon graduation, students rarely know exactly how
much money they owe, and because even bankruptcy cannot wipe
out student loans, these students can spend much of their adult
lives paying off the balance, complete with interest. A personal
finance course could teach students how to manage debt and could
even help reduce the amount of debt students are in by teaching
them how to save money and live within their means.

14. Example Body 2 Paragraph
Students who choose to get a job straight out of high school would also
benefit from finance education because they would learn to manage their
money. These students, “often go from having no or minimal income to
making upwards of $20-$30,000 per year” (“National Income Survey”).
Without education on how to manage their finances, many of these
young people often make poor decisions, leading them to accrue credit
card debt or purchase expensive items—cars, homes, etc.—without
fully planning out how they’ll pay for them. Many young people don’t
understand the consequences of those late credit card payments can
have, and taking a finance course before graduation would help them
understand exactly difficult it is to rebuild a credit score that’s been
decimated by a foreclosure or bankruptcy.
Does this paragraph use logos, pathos, and/or ethos?

15. Example Body 3 Paragraph
Another group to consider is young people who wish to start
a business or family. Without knowing how to make and
stick to a budget, “many recent graduates end up without
enough savings” to keep them afloat if they lose their jobs or
if their businesses go under (AES Website). For these
people, financial education is particularly important because
they’ll also be responsible for the financial decisions of the
next generation.
Does this paragraph use logos, pathos, and/or ethos?

16. Conclusion
As a general rule, it's a good idea to restate each of your main
points and end the whole paper with a probing thought. If it's
something your reader won't easily forget, your essay will have a
more lasting impression.
While not every young person makes financial mistakes, those
who do can face years of difficulty trying to get their finances back
under control. Rather than help them through these hard times
when they happen, we should try to prevent them from happening
at all. Making the completion of personal finance coursework a
requirement for graduation would ensure that young people are at
least aware of the basics of maintaining a budget.

17. Step Five: Edit and Revise using MLA
Elizabeth L. Angeli
Angeli 1
Professor Patricia Sullivan
English 624
12 February 2014
The Death Penalty is Murder!
Double Spaced
Times New Roman
12 font
Indent each paragraph
Have a title for your essay that is on top of your essay, centered, and NOT bolded or italicized
Must include a Works Cited Page

18. Inside the essay
Double Spaced
Times New Roman
12 font
Indent each paragraph
Have a title for your essay that is on top of your essay,
centered, and NOT bolded or italicized

19. Works Cited
“Infoplease.” Infoplease, n.d. Web. 07 Oct. 2014.
"Persuasion Map." Persuasion Map. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Oct.
2014.
"Sample Persuasive Literary Essay." - WikiHow. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 07 Oct. 2014.

20. Grading Format for a Persuasive Essay
•
Each essay will be comprised of the following:
a. an introductory paragraph with a thesis statement at the
end
b. three paragraphs that support the thesis, one for each of
the supporting arguments, the strongest presented last
c. one of the paragraphs which concedes to the other point of
view by presenting an opposing point and countering it
(advanced class only)
d. a concluding paragraph that restates the thesis statement
and calls for action,
e. facts used in supporting paragraphs that are properly cited.