Persuasive
Essays

The definition of a persuasive essay is an essay that seeks to persuade the reader to adopt the writer’s perspective on a certain topic.  Persuasive essays may also be known as argumentative essays.  They differ from descriptive essays or even compare and contrast essays in that persuasive essays encourage the reader to adopt a position by the conclusion of the essay.

To write a persuasive essay, it is important for the writer to clearly take a position on the topic.  You want your reader not only to understand that you have taken a position, but to be convinced by your reasoning that your position is the correct one. 

To build a great persuasive essay, the writer needs to establish a clear-cut argument for his or her position.  Usually, the format to do this involves introducing the topic and the position, and then going into detail about the supporting arguments.  A good persuasive argument needs at least three supporting arguments to really explain why the writer’s position is the one the reader should choose. 

The tools necessary for a persuasive essay are logic, reasoning, and addressing the other side of the argument.  All of the supporting arguments need to contain internal logic, but they also need to logically support the writer’s thesis statement or opinion on the topic.  Sometimes, it might even be helpful to use a logic tree to ensure that your supporting arguments are well-reasoned and all support your thesis statement. 

The best way to learn how to write a great persuasive essay is to read persuasive essays on a variety of topics.  We have included some persuasive essay examples to help you familiarize yourself with the genre.