Persuasive Essay

What Is a Persuasive Essay? 

It is no secret that most of us like to argue, expressing a certain point of view on a topic. What a pleasant feeling when the interlocutor agrees with it! This situation fully describes the writing process of this type of paper.

However, you have to persuade a professor instead of your friend, and it is not easy. Thus, students should create assignments full of strong arguments on chosen topics for persuasive essay and present them in a logical way.

At first sight, it may seem impossible, but we will share some secrets of creating an A paper! 

Paper Purpose 

Before explaining the peculiarities of the writing process, it is necessary to figure out a paper’s purpose. This essay is used to teach students to express the opinion backing it up with reliable facts.

Thus, the main goal is to get the reader on your side, or at least make him/her reconsider the stance on your topic. By the way, the paper's goal may be to sell a certain product or service. But in any case, the main thing is to influence the reader's opinion.

Format and Structure of a Persuasive Essay 

The perfect structure is the first thing the professor expects when he/she starts reading the assignment. So let's figure out how to meet his/her expectations. 

The first paragraph should spark the interest, include the general facts and the informative thesis that presents your position on a paper question.

The main body should include three reasons which equal three paragraphs. Moreover, each paragraph should be built following a specific structure. We know that students prefer to check persuasive essay graphic organizers instead of reading the long explanations, so have a look at the picture below. 

The last paragraph is also a vital paper part that requires your attention and time. Perhaps you are pondering, "How to end a persuasive essay and not fail it?" Well, there are a few things you should do - restate the thesis and demonstrate that you have proved it by summarizing the key arguments. 

persuasive essay structure

Any academic assignment has to be well-formatted and meet all the requirements, so it is necessary to discuss the persuasive essay format. Generally, students compose this paper for regular classes, and the MLA style is the best option for this assignment. So you have to do the following:

  • use Times New Roman 12 with double spacing
  • make 1″ margins 
  • create a heading 
  • indicate the title in the center of the document
  • start new paragraphs with one half inch indent 

Tools for Being Persuasive

Aristotle paid great attention to rhetoric and identified its three main forms. Now they are perceived as effective tools of persuasion in the academic world. So wondering "How to start an academic essay?", first read the information below.

📍 Ethos

It supposes to appeal to ethics. In other words, you have to establish credibility while providing the arguments by demonstrating a good sense of ethics. 

📍 Logos

There should be logic in your paper! You will not persuade a reader by expressing your thoughts, so they have to be proven by credible facts and statistics. 

📍 Pathos

Make your paper vivid to awake the reader to certain emotions. Depending on the paper topic, you may appeal to sadness, anger, or positive emotions. Remember that a good essay has to touch the heartstrings. 

How to Write a Persuasive Essay: Tips for Outstanding Paper 

Follow your interests 

Learners often ponder and google for secrets on how to create a paper quickly and without stress. If you are one of them, stop wasting your time! The secret of a painless writing process is your interest in the paper question. 

Thus, we strongly recommend looking through as many good persuasive essay topics as possible. Take this process seriously and choose your perfect theme that sparks curiosity. 

Think about content in advance 

Perhaps, it is not your first writing assignment, but have you ever created a plan for paper? We doubt it because most learners omit this step and make a huge mistake! As a result, it leads to a long editing process, or even worse, they have to rewrite parts of the assignment.

How to prevent such an unpleasant situation? Create a short persuasive essay outline! Believe us, it does not take long, but it greatly simplifies the whole writing process. After all, it is easier to change the plan than to correct the written paper.

Add linking words

It is hard to count how many times professors remind students to use linking words and phrases. Unfortunately, learners often forget or even ignore the request. So we would like to support the professors and highly recommend you find a picture or a list of transition words for persuasive essay. They will add clarity to your paper, and it will be a pleasure to read it.

Check the Written Paper 

Having finished the paper, you might think you did a great job, but take a break and come back to it later. There is a high probability that you will change your mind by rereading it with a fresh mind. You should also check the content to make sure you did not mess up anything, so answer a few questions:

✔️ Is your position/paper idea clear?

✔️ Have you provided enough facts to prove the reasons?

✔️ Do you devote one paragraph to one reason?

✔️ Do you use linking words?

✔️ Is there a logical connection between the first and last paragraph?


Are your answers "Yes"? Congratulations! Your wish came true, and you wrote a meaningful essay. Moreover, you can also ask your friends or relatives to read the paper to get feedback.

It is especially useful to get someone's opinion on persuasive essay hooks. This is the best way to check whether you will catch a professor's attention from the first sentence or not.

30 Persuasive Essay Topics to Talk About Pressing Problems

📌 Should euthanasia be legalized? 

📌 Should all school leavers take a gap year?

📌 Mobile phones should be banned for children. 

📌 Should video games be considered a sport?

📌 Homeschooling is better than public school.

📌 You should always put yourself first. 

📌 Do bloggers have a big impact on society?

📌 Should junk food ads be banned?

📌 Should etiquette be taught at school? 

📌 We should spend less time on social media.

📌 Does money change people? 

📌 We all benefit from a more gender-equal society.

📌 Should mobile phones be banned at school?

📌 Is preschool education Important?

📌 Gossip has a positive effect.

📌 Should kids help out around the house? 

📌 Plastic straws and utensils have to be banned. 

📌 Should smacking children be made illegal? 

📌 Government must pay attention to climate change.

📌 Should all parents be required to attend parenting classes?

📌 Animals should be allowed in airplanes

📌 Should we allow employees to choose their working hours? 

📌 Should abortion be banned?

📌 Should schools have a dress code? 

📌 Nuclear weapons should be banned.

📌 Should financial literacy be taught at educational institutions?

📌 The fast fashion industry destroys the environment.

📌 Is it easy to be truthful and honest all the time?

📌 Should we investigate black holes?

📌 Huge dreams can seriously affect our lives.