Persuasion is an art, and there is no way to describe it better than this. To write a perfect persuasive essay, you need to know the persuasive writing elements. Most people take persuasive writing as a difficult task because it takes a lot of work to get people to agree on what you are trying to express.
But don’t feel intimidated by the challenge of writing an essay to convince others of your idea. After all, persuasion is a skillful art, and it will only be polished with practice and constant learning.
Not every persuasive essay succeeds in convincing people. The art of persuasion is a practiced skill that requires a lot of effort. What makes a perfect persuasive essay? The answer would be to follow in the expert footsteps. Every expert has a different strategy to write a persuasive essay, but some points are always constant in every compelling essay.
Following are some elements that should be a part of every persuasive essay in order to make it catchy and perfect:
To persuade others, you need to be very clear about your argument statement. You are required to provide proper information about the orientation and history of the topic and what you are going to discuss further in your essay.
Refrain from adding overly complex and confusing statements because it might spark a controversy among the readers. Confusion in the argument makes your essay look weak and unattractive. That’s why be very clear about what you are trying to convey through your words and evidential data.
Even if you are writing about a controversial topic, try to be clear and straightforward in order to deliver accuracy. Use language that expresses your idea well, and refrain from using language that the readers might find triggering and offensive.
Introduction is the most important part of the essay, and it determines 90% of the success of a persuasive essay. That’s why the introduction should be strong, and the speech should be compelling enough to hook the reader to your essay.
Try adding a quote or question at the start of your essay to keep the reader intrigued. Make your thesis statement very clear in the introduction to let your audience know what they can expect from the essay. Introduce yourself and share your background information because it will help readers to establish their trust in the writer. The stronger the introduction of your essay, the higher the chance of succeeding in persuasion.
You are required to complete your research in order to have well-developed arguments. Your argument should have a logical and emotional approach side by side. Gather all the statistics and information regarding your topic so that you can have a powerful comeback when challenged with opposing arguments and objections.
Don’t make any statement you don’t have any supporting evidence about. Always keep your essay up to date with current studies and research. Refrain from using information gathered from unknown and unauthentic sources. Always seek sources that are reliable and authentic in order to have a proven and well-developed argument.
The beauty of any persuasive essay is the outline and structure of the essay. Refrain from directly jumping to conclusions and disapproval of other opinions, take your time in explaining your point backed by facts, and then give proper reasoning for rejecting other opposing arguments. Your essay should have answers to all the questions that might arise from the audience.
Try to avoid over-explaining and causing confusion in your essay at any point. Follow the proper outline of your content, and stick to your topic till the very end.
Some incredible writers make every effort to write a brilliant piece of writing with all the needed information and evidence, and then they proceed to write a weak conclusion. That’s where it all goes downhill because the conclusion is what reflects your whole essay. Try not to be too lazy to write a compelling conclusion just because you think that it’s only the introduction that matters.
Some readers tend to read the conclusion first in order to learn the main idea of the essay, and that’s why the conclusion needs to be up to the mark. You must give proper reasoning for rejecting the opposing claims and make a final statement about your main idea of the essay. Also, discuss what are possible future research opportunities in your topic.
The persuasive essay elements were first discussed in the great Aristotle’s treatise Rhetoric in the 4th century BCE. He composed the fundamental elements of persuasive speech known as the trinity of persuasion.
Even though they were discovered centuries ago, they are timeless and still highly applicable in today’s persuasive writing. Aristotle set criteria of what persuasive content should have in it to become persuading. Let’s dig into the three main elements of the Persuasive essay explained below:
Ethos is an ancient Greek word for ‘Character’ or ‘Spirit,’ and it is related to who the writer is as a person. It refers to the characteristic spirit of culture, era, and community, represented through ideas, thoughts, attitudes, and aspirations.
Ethos is related to the credibility of the writer or what makes the writer credible enough to speak about the specific topic, just like a doctor had more credibility to judge healthy practices than someone with no proper background in healthcare. People are more likely to listen to the professional than anyone else.
What do we need to persuade others? Credibility and trust. People tend to trust people who have expertise in specific fields. That’s why what you are writing about should resonate with your academic background and your previous research work in the area.
Winning the trust of readers is quite a challenging task. Aristotle discovered that being an honest and credible writer is the only way to establish a reader’s trust. While writing a persuasive essay, make sure to introduce yourself to the audience and share your experience and academic background that makes you credible enough to be talking about that specific topic.
That’s why it’s essential to choose something that aligns with your background, your character, and your moral values. It’s vital for winning the reader’s trust and persuading them on your point of discussion.
Logos is a Greek word for ‘Rationality’ and ‘Logic’. In a persuasive essay or speech, the most crucial part is the cold and flat statistics that support your main argument. Aristotle determined that only credibility won’t be enough to persuade people into believing your words. There should be proper evidence and statistics to support what you are trying to convey.
Logos refers to the logical appeal of the persuasive essay. What you are writing shouldn’t be something in the air. Your argument should have proper establishment via previous research and studies done on the topic, statistics supporting your argument, logical explanation, facts, and expert opinions. The points of discussion should have proper logical connections and the inclusion of historical and statistical approaches to make your essay perfect.
Your essay should be clear and to the point, with no illogical fallacies. Your reader shouldn’t feel like you are confused, irrational, and biased about specific issues. That is why you need to complete your research and come up with clear and ambiguity-free arguments.
Pathos refers to the emotional approach in a persuasive essay. You are required to touch your reader’s emotions in order to convince them of your point of view. Pathos is basically an emotional approach to conveying logos. We, as humans, are more welcoming to the things that touch us emotionally rather than logically. That’s why you need to use words that trigger human emotions and allow the audience to connect with them emotionally.
For example, if you are writing about the effects of global warming and providing facts and figures, it will appeal to the audience logically. But if you describe how polar bears are dying and penguins are losing their homes, it will hit the audience’s emotions and help them have a deep connection with the topic.
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Now that you’ve made it to the end, you are equipped with the essential persuasive essay elements and what are the three modes of persuasion by Aristotle. For a perfect persuasive essay, your statement should be clear, the structure should be organized, the argument should be well-developed, the introduction needs to be strong, and the conclusion should be engaging.
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