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How to Write a Persuasive Essay

You noticed that Patrick Henrys Speech to the Virginia Convention is a persuasive
speech. In other words, he wished to make people feel and believe the way he did
about a topic he considered important. Today, you will be writing a persuasive essay,
one in which you will attempt to get people to feel the way you do. Its important to
practice writing persuasive essays because when you are a junior, you will have to write
a persuasive essay on the ACT. ACT graders will be looking for specific things in your
essay, so today well take some notes on how to effectively structure a persuasive
essay.
Transition Words
STOP Words
I think
I feel
I believe
It seems

Firstly, Secondly, Lastly


Another reason,
However,
Also,
In addition,
Therefore,
In Conclusion

If you find yourself wanting to use a STOP word^^ just take it out of the sentence.
Without a stop word, your sentence will be much stronger.
Practice Prompt (This will NOT be the topic your essay is about, this is just an example
to do as a class): Should students go to high school year round? Why or why not? Offer
specific details to support your position.
Well start by taking a position. Write our position in a complete sentence.

Position:
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
Now that we have our position, we can write our introduction.
Our introductory paragraph should begin with a hook or grabber that catches the
readers attention. Grabbers include:
-Opening with an unusual detail. (A snail can sleep for up to three years)
-Opening with a strong statement. (Cigarettes are the number one cause of
lighter sales in Canada).

-Opening with a Quotation. (Vince Lombardi, a legendary coach of the Green


Bay Packers, once said, The difference between a successful person and others
is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will.)
-Opening with an anecdote. ONLY IF its short and to the point. Never use I in a
persuasive essay. (Thomas Edison once designed a helicopter that would work
with gunpowder. The helicopter ended up blowing up and also blew up his
factory.)
-Opening with a statistic or fact. It might be wise to include the statistics source.
(According to the American Cancer Society, one out of every three people will be
diagnosed with cancer at some point in their life.)
-Opening with a question. (Have you ever considered how many more books we
would read if not for television?)
-Opening with an exaggeration or outrageous statement. (The entire American
nation was glued to their televisions as news teams covered the attacks on the
World Trade Center.)
Your first sentence of your essay is your hook.

Hook/Grabber:
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
After our hook comes our thesis statement!
Your thesis is your statement of purpose and should be one sentence in length. This is
the foundation of your essay and will guide the rest of your paragraphs. This sentence
will tell your reader Ive thought about this topic, I know what I believe about it, and I
know how to organize it. To help with organization were going to write what is called a
three part thesis. First we state our position and then offer three reasons why our
position is right.

Thesis: Students __________ have to go to high school year round


because (1)________________________________________, (2refutation)__________________________________________ and
(3)___________________________________________________.
Now youre ready to start your body paragraphs. Your body paragraphs provide
evidence to support the opinion offered in your thesis. Your body will consist of THREE
paragraphs. Each paragraph is based on a solid reason, referring back to your thesis.
This is why were using a three part thesis. Each body paragraph will refer to one part of
your thesis.

Body Paragraph 1

Your Body Paragraphs will start with a transition, then have a topic sentence, and then
two to three supporting details. In the essay youll be writing, at least one of these
supporting details in each paragraph will need to be a citation from an article. When we
use quotes we need to introduce the citation, cite the material, and then explain how it
relates to your topic sentence. Why is it important? How does this citation prove your
argument?

Topic Sentence: (Transition)_______________________, (Position


statement) ________________________________________________
because, (First part/reason of thesis) ___________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
Supporting Detail:
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
Supporting Detail:
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
Body Paragraph 2 (Refutation):
Our second point is going to be our refutation. Strong arguments acknowledge the
opposing viewpoint. Without acknowledging the opposing side, you can only hope to
score a 6 out of 12 on the ACT. Place yourself in the shoes of the opposing side, offer
what they might argue and then offer why your position is better.

Topic Sentence: (Transition)_______________________, (Acknowledge


the opposing argument) Some people might argue that ______________
__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________
but, (Second part/reason of thesis)______________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
Supporting Detail:
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
Supporting Detail:
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
Body Paragraph 3:
Topic Sentence: (Transition)_______________________, (Position
statement) ________________________________________________
because, (Third part/reason of thesis) ___________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
Supporting Detail:
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
Supporting Detail:

____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________

Conclusion:
In our conclusion, we want to begin with a transition and restate our thesis. We also
want to make a call to action. Now that someone has read your essay, what should
they do?

Conclusion:
(Transition) _____________________________ (Restate Thesis)
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
Call to Action:
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________

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