Persuasive Essay Outline: Basic Principles of Writing

What is a persuasive essay? This is writing where your task is to convince the reader. But you, as a writer, should perform sound evidence to make the reader believe in what you say. This could be an emotive aspect, but it’s better to use facts. They are more convincing in the end.

How to write a persuasive essay outline

When you start writing a persuasive essay, you should keep it in mind that this is a regular 5-paragraph essay. It consists of the following parts:

• Introduction
• 2-3 paragraphs
• Conclusion

In the body paragraphs, you can choose the number of sections on your own. If you feel like writing 2 paragraphs instead of 3 it’s totally ok. Your main task is to persuade the reader. If you can do it within 2 paragraphs, that’s your choice.

Make sure to choose the correct topic. If you decide to touch upon a broad theme, you can lose the train of thought. On the other hand, if you choose a very narrow topic, you can come up with insufficient information. One way or another, you have to be an expert on the topic and feel confident when writing about it.

Rules to write an appropriate persuasive essay outline

This is an easy task if you do it correctly. You should follow simple steps, and then your writing will be successful.

Introduction

Like any other essay writing, a persuasive essay starts with the introduction. Here the writer is to engage the reader. There are a few tips or rules that you should follow to achieve a better understanding of the reader.

• Start your first paragraph with a hook. This is an engaging element pertaining to such types of tasks. This is a great means that you may use to draw attention to the problem. In theory, this could be a joke, an anecdote, or an unexpected twist. It is important to say that you should pay attention to the topic of your writing and then adjust a hook to it. Make sure it is appropriate.
• Define your target reader. If you don’t know your audience, you will probably fail to convey the message correctly before writing makes sure to research and figure out who will read the essay and whom you are going to persuade. This will save you time and make your writing more targeted.
• Create a thesis. This is a sentence where you pose the idea of the text. Try to keep it brief but still informative to render the message for the reader.

Body paragraphs

This is the next part of your essay. Here your task is to describe the discussed issue in detail. You have to be precise and provide sound arguments to support your point of view. Here are some tips to use when dealing with body paragraphs:

• Speak with facts. You can use emotions to persuade the reader. But it is much easier to convince someone if you have real facts.
• Provide statistics. Do it if you can. If you have statistical data to prove, your words make sure to include it in your writing.
• Make use of quotations. If you refer to some facts, you can support them with quotes. But keep it in mind that these should be credible sources.
• Use examples. To prove your point of view, you need to be close to the reader. Providing real-life examples will be a very strong argument to support your idea.

When you start a paragraph, make sure to frame it. You need to start with an introductory sentence and close with a conclusive one. Every paragraph is a new story. And your task to make it look complete.

Conclusion

Now we’ve come to the last part of your essay. Here you need to take stocks and summarize the whole text. Make points about the main issues discussed in the text. Don’t include new facts or ideas. This will confuse the reader.

How to format persuasive essay correctly

In most cases, paper writing assignments have common requirements. But it is better to check the task before submitting it to the professor. There could be exceptions. Make sure to also mind the word count. In general, it is 500 words. But it depends on the type of the essay, on your topic, and other subject-related aspects.