What is persuasive writing?

Writers use persuasive writing to try to convince or persuade an audience to believe a certain point of view, or take a specific action, by presenting logically convincing reasoning and supporting evidence, and persuasive arguments.

It encourages students to express a thoughtful opinion about a defined topic, then embark on building support for that opinion by giving reasoned support to their personal viewpoint, and ultimately persuade others to adopt their stance on the issue at hand. Persuasive writing is a critical life skill that not only fosters analytical thinking and communications acumen but also the inherent ability to think and speak with persuasiveness.

Unlike informative or entertaining writing, persuasive writing is written with the intention of persuading – ie, attempting to get the reader to share an opinion.

Persuasive writing tips and strategies

Choose your wording carefully

Therefore, choice of words – the words and phrases that you use to write – is extremely important and crucial in persuasive writing as it allows you to write and build a personal relationship with the reader. You should always choose the best words, best phrases in each case to make your own opinion right on the eyes of your reader.

Ask questions

A question is a great transitional device if you are moving from something to something else, whether topic to topic or paragraph to paragraph – but there is more to it than that when it comes to the use of questions in persuasive writing. Your question on the page will be answered automatically, whether by the reader or by the reader’s conscious mind, if they can – or at least within a millisecond.

Write a clear thesis statement

A thesis statement gives away or announces the takeaway and/or the point (or ‘point of view’) of what you’re writing. That makes a thesis in an argument essentially a point of view you’re trying to convince the reader to accept.

Draw a persuasion map

A persuasion map essentially functions as an argument outline – it’s a standard writing tool designed to help writers plan, check and revise their thoughts. For anyone planning to articulate an argument, they can be adapted for many rhetorical purposes. The exact format is up to you, but some elements are common. The visuals on the left illustrate a standard form – essentially a list of points, with research you plan to present in the form of evidence and examples.

Speak directly to the reader

As we saw above, building a relationship with the reader is crucial to persuasive writing. In fact, one way to build this relationship is to speak directly to the reader and eventually even to refer directly to him or her: ‘you’.

Restate your main arguments

Repetition is just one of the classic rhetorical teaching tools that help authors direct readers’ thoughts and decisions. One foundational purpose of repetition in persuasive writing is its value as a memory device. The more often a reader hears something, the more likely they are to remember it. But in persuasive writing at least, repetition can also work by guiding readers’ thoughts.

 

How to teach persuasive writing

Have students listen to or read sample persuasive writing. Listen and watch together, and have students identify words, phrases and techniques that the writer used to get his listener to go along with his point of view.

Think of a pressing issue for one person or your whole workshop.  Another chapter of the read aloud? The possibility of closing the workplace ? The more ‘real’ the topic, the more passionately they’ll write.

After choosing the primary privilege, have the student (or class) begin making a list of reasons why they should have the privilege. ‘Because’ and ‘just because’ aren’t acceptable reasons, and neither is ‘because I like it’. Employees can work with their peers on coming up with at least three acceptable reasons to create an argument.

Have students do some research to gather facts or examples that support their reasons.

Influential writing frequently centres on a one-way communication with an imagined audience: students figure out how to adjust their arguments so that they seem to speak to a different type of reader.

This hook grabs the attention of your readers while background information on your subject and a thesis (an argument expressing your opinion) help your reader follow your train of thought.

In this case, students might ‘pass’ if their point considers a counterargument (a point of view against their position) or weighs a counter-consideration (an argument against the position they’re advocating). If the layout is structured this way, the student will likely expect some counterarguments against their opinion and will try to anticipate and proactively address what those might be.

Have them paraphrase their opinion. The conclusion restates the main points and again the opinion, but in a catchier way. It might also contain a call a prevocational finish. To learn more about writing, we have some of the best writing training sessions available across Australia. Contact our team to learn more about writing skills for your employees.