Lecture 13 Argumentative Persuasive Essay Recap How to

Lecture 13 Argumentative/ Persuasive Essay

Recap • • How to Write a Compare & Contrast Essay? Well Written Compare & Contrast Essay Steps for Writing a Compare & Contrast Essay Topic Selection Dos and Don’ts Common Mistakes Example Exercise

Argumentative Essay An argumentative essay is one that attempts to persuade the reader to the writer's point of view. The writer can either be serious or funny, but always tries to convince the reader of the validity of his or her opinion. Examples: An argumentative essay may persuade a reader that. . . * he or she should use public transportation instead of driving * cats are better than dogs 3

Argumentative Essay • In persuasive or argumentative writing, we try to convince others to: – agree with our facts, – share our values, – accept our argument and conclusions, and – adopt our way of thinking

Elements toward building a good Argumentative/Persuasive essay include… • establishing facts – to support an argument • clarifying relevant values – for your audience (perspective) • prioritizing, editing, and/or sequencing – the facts and values in importance to build the argument • forming and stating conclusions • "persuading" your audience that your conclusions – are based upon the agreed facts and shared values • having the confidence – to communicate your "persuasion" in writing

How to Write a Argumentative/Persuasive Essay? • A persuasive essay is a form of essay writing that is built around a certain argument. • Persuasive essays are thus also called argumentative essays. • In this type of essay, the writer aims to persuade the reader to accept the writer’s point of view, using certain persuasive techniques to prove the point and convince the reader. • Therefore, a successful persuasive essay requires following certain rules and omitting common mistakes that students often make, when writing their persuasive essays.

Steps for Writing a Argumentative/Persuasive Essay Step # 1: Decide upon the issue you will discuss. It needs to be something you have a solid opinion on, and also something people disagree about. Step # 2: Research the issue, to be aware of how to best prove your point. Consider what your possible opponents can object to with every point you make.

Steps for Writing a Argumentative/Persuasive Essay Step # 3: Make an outline, listing your strongest arguments that will help you prove your point. Look for statistics, factual data and quotes of famous people to support your arguments. Step # 4: Write an introduction, stating how debated the issue is and why it is important to reach consensus on the matter. Finish the introduction with a thesis statement, indicating your personal position on the discussed matter.

Steps for Writing a Argumentative/Persuasive Essay Step # 5: Argue your point, introducing a new reason or fact in every paragraph. There should be no less than three strong arguments to support your point of view.

Steps for Writing a Argumentative/Persuasive Essay

Topic Selection • There are limitless opportunities for good topics, since there a lot of debated issues you can discuss in your persuasive essay. • Here are just a few examples of good topics for your argumentative essay: Is boarding school a good idea for your child? Should there be a division between boys’ and girls’ sports? People should not be allowed to keep guns at home If we want to stop the global warming process, we need to stop driving cars – Is school uniform a good idea? – Children should not be allowed to play computer games – –

Key Points to Consider • There are various persuasion techniques that have been proven to be the most effective in a good argumentative essay. Three basic persuasion techniques are: – appeal to emotions, – appeal to facts and evidence – appeal to logic • Try to combine and mix them to make a stronger point.

Key Points to Consider • Always build your argument based on your audience and its qualities. – Think of whom you are appealing to – envision your audience’s main characteristics – build your arguments based on what your audience most values.

Key Points to Consider • A very good approach to persuasion is when the writer is aware of the point of view of an opposing side, and then argues about its weakness. – Use parenthesis clauses, like: • “however” • “nevertheless” • “despite the fact that” • “on the other hand”, etc. • to link the two sentences together.

Key Points to Consider • Combine main points with minor points that also contribute to the general idea. – Start each paragraph with the major point, then go on to explain it, and introduce a minor point closer to the end of the paragraph to support your initial major point.

Dos • Do always prove your point with factual data. – Just stating something as a fact is considered a weak point – a successful essay should have quotes that serve as good supporting evidence.

Dos • Do be certain about your position. • Do appeal to the emotions of your readers. This always has a much stronger effect than just raw facts.

Dos • Do make sure to review the points of both sides of the argument before you start building your outline. • Do remain tolerant of other people’s opinion, even if you strongly disagree with it.

Don'ts • Don’t be too flat and immovable in trying to prove your point. – Recognizing the fact that a lot of people might not agree does not mean that you expose your argument’s weak side.

Don’ts • Don’t choose a topic where you are hesitant about which side to take. – You should be solid and steady in what you are trying to prove, otherwise it will be almost impossible to persuade your reader.

Don’ts • Don’t try to introduce another argument in the conclusion. – The conclusion should be about summarizing and making the final point, not about making another argument.

Don’ts • Don’t appeal to subjective personal or religious beliefs – this is crossing the line. – Try to remain objective and focus on facts.

Common Mistakes • Becoming too aggressive– while trying to prove your point only shows your weakness. – A good persuasive essay should be thoroughly based on cold-hearted arguments, even though it may apply to emotions as well. – It is important to stay within the boundaries of academic writing and not approach the discussion the way you would in a real-life conversation.

Common Mistakes • Changing your mind as you develop your arguments. – This is why you need to get acquainted with both sides of the issue you are planning to discuss. – Do not rush into writing. – Research all of the arguments of the opposing side and make sure that you disagree with them; otherwise, your hesitation will weaken the argument you present.

Common Mistakes • Overloading your essay with facts and arguments without a clear structure or a general logical idea. – This is why you need to make a plan or an outline for your persuasive essay before you start writing it. – If you just randomly list arguments and quote relevant data, but fail to organize your essay, then the paper will not be effective in persuading your readers, no matter how good your evidence is.

Example of Argumentative/ Pesruasive Essay Why People Should Read Books?

Introduction Paragraph It is quite a disappointment that people have stopped reading books. Books used to be the only kind of intellectual entertainment just a hundred years ago, but, with the invention of radio, television, cinema, and, most recently, the Internet and computer games, it seems that reading books is no longer an option of a leisure activity, at least for the younger generation. However, I believe that books are an irreplaceable part of our lives, and the role that good books play on the personal growth and development of a particular person throughout one’s life, is a remarkable one. Books can hardly be replaced with movies, music and interactive TV shows, and there are several reasons for that.

1. Supporting Details First of all, books expand our knowledge and conception of the world around us. You may argue that movies and TV documentaries do just that too, but I believe that books are a much better alternative, since they allow each reader to experience the same story using one’s own imagination. When a hundred people watch a movie or a TV show, they see the same thing – whatever the director and the operator wish to show. Books are very different. The experience achieved through reading is richer and more personal, since the same description and the same word choice will result in as many different interpretations as there are readers. We are all unique, and books allow us to experience whatever is narrated, in the light of our own personal values, through our ideas and our imagination.

2. Supporting Details Secondly, books enrich our vocabulary, introduce us to new notions and offer us a wider choice of words. With every book you read, you become more intelligent. Even reading one seemingly more primitive pulp fiction book per month, can enrich one’s personal vocabulary with dozens of new words, help build more concise sentences and express oneself better, make one’s speech more intelligent and sophisticated. Watching certain TV programs and documentary movies can also widen one’s vocabulary, but hardly as effectively as books do, since when reading, we operate with both visual and audial (if reading aloud) receptors, so our perception becomes more effective and our memory works more efficiently. In addition to that, our imagination reproduces mental pictures of what we are reading about, so a new word automatically links to a certain image and a certain feeling that it relates to. Therefore, reading books is a great tool when it comes to learning and developing one’s vocabulary at any age.

3. Supporting Details Finally, books are a great source of inspiration. Unlike fine art, architecture or travelling, books help us create our own mental illustration for everything we read on paper. So, in a way, books make us all artists and creators of our own mental cartoon, movie or illustration collection. Every image we create ourselves is automatically allotted a certain emotion, whether a simple or a more complicated one. So, every mental image that a written word causes is vibrant with feelings and emotions. This is what makes books so powerful and so memorable. Books are an endless source of inspiration and motivation to become a better person.

Conclusion I am certain that creating a system of symbols and eventually an alphabet, words, and books was the greatest invention of humankind. Of course, the books I am talking about are classics, those that do not have an expiration date and will be priceless for any generation. Books like that stay forever, they cannot die and cannot become outdated. They will keep sparking new ideas, inspiring new deeds and enriching the lives of every generation to come. Therefore, I am positive that books will eventually regain their popularity for today’s youth, since, unlike the popular kinds of entertainment in fashion today, books are those roots to which people will always go back, in search of the motivation, inspiration and aspiration, to find the meaning and value of things in life.

Tips

Tips • Use synonyms– Having the same word over and over will place a toll on the reader's nerves. – Mix it up a bit. • Also, do not use boring words, such as: – "big" or "nice. " • Instead, try: – "enormous" or "compassionate. "

Tips • Make sure you know your audience. – Stick to a certain tone, whether it is: • • formal, informal, funny, pleading, etc. • Use persuasive statements.

Tips • Don't make the essay too long. – Long papers are not always impressive and can be plain boring. • Use similes and metaphors. – Say things like, "She was as graceful as a butterfly. " Or "He was like a tiger, always hungry. " Use 'like' and 'as'

Tips • Try to hook your audience in your first paragraph. – then slowly draw them in throughout your entire essay, until the last paragraph, where you let them go (a lot like fishing). • Make each sentence count. – Adding extra sentences will not drive your point home. Keep the essay clear and concise. • When restating, do not duplicate any sentence. – Your audience will not skip over any part, so there isn't a need for stressing the same point over and over.

Tips • Be sure to keep your deadline in mind if you're having issues brainstorming! • You can also write three paragraphs for the body, and instead of minor points, write logical, supporting reasons for the topic. • Use facts or statistics.

Tips • Don't plagiarize people's work. • Be aware of the possible counter-arguments that would go against what you are trying to say. – You need to plan ahead for oppositions. – Therefore, list some common oppositions and have counters for them.

Summary • How to Write an Argumentative/ Persuasive Essay? • Well Written Argumentative/ Persuasive Essay • Steps for Writing a Argumentative/ Persuasive Essay • Topic Selection • Dos and Don’ts • Common Mistakes • Example • General Essay writing Tips

References • http: //academichelp. net/academicassignments/essay/write-persuasiveessay. html • http: //academichelp. net/samples/essays/pers uasive/people-read-books. html • http: //www. studygs. net/wrtstr 4. htm • http: //www. wikihow. com/Write-a-Persuasive. Essay