persuasive essay writing unit

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15 Tips to Help You Write a Stellar Essay

Essay-writing can be easier than you might think if you have a grasp of the basics and a willingness to engage with the subject matter. Here are 15 top tips for writing a stellar essay.

Do Your Research

This is one of the most important tips you’ll ever receive. Research thoroughly, even if it means you have too many notes. It’s better to have to leave stuff out than not have enough to write about.

Make an Outline

Without a properly structured outline (with an intro, a four- to five-point body and a conclusion), your essay may be hard to write and to follow.

Hook Attention

While you might just be writing your essay for a teacher or professor that is paid to read it, it still pays to grab their attention. A “hook” like a quote or surprising statistic in your intro can make your reader want to read on.

Lay Out Your Thesis

The intro isn’t all about flair and grabbing attention. It’s also about laying out your thesis. Make your main argument clear in the first few sentences, setting up a question to answer or statement to prove.

Avoid Passive Voice

If you want your writing to be persuasive, passive voice should be avoided. (That sentence was full of it, by the way. For example, “You should avoid passive voice” is a more convincing way to say “passive voice should be avoided.”)

Avoid First-Person Voice

If you’re writing an academic essay, you should almost certainly avoid first-person voice. In other words, avoid saying “I” or “my.” Also restrict your use of the second-person voice (e.g., don’t use “you” unless it’s necessary).

Start With Your Strongest Point

In general, it’s a good idea to start with your strongest argument in your first body paragraph. This sets the scene nicely. However, this might not be appropriate if you are structuring your essay points chronologically.

Relate All Points Back to Your Thesis

Make it clear to your reader how each point you make relates back to your thesis (i.e., the question or statement in your introduction, and probably your title too). This helps them to follow your argument.

Contextualize Without Losing Focus

Add contextualizing information for a richer presentation of your topic. For example, it’s fine (or even desirable) to discuss the historical background for certain events. Just don’t get bogged down by irrelevant details.

Use Transition Phrases

Transition phrases, such as “furthermore,” “by contrast” and “on the other hand,” can also help your reader to follow your argument. But don’t overuse them at the cost of clarity. Read your essay aloud to gauge how it flows.

Conclude With a Return to Your Thesis

A conclusion can do many things, but it’s useful to think of it as an answer to the question or statement in your intro. It’s sensible to summarize your key points, but always relate back to your thesis.

Make Your Conclusion Seem Obvious

Restating your thesis in your conclusion (after having made all of your points and arguments in the body) can be persuasive. Aim to make your conclusion feel irrefutable (at least if it’s a persuasive essay).

Check Spelling

If your spelling is sloppy, it’s natural for your reader to assume your approach to writing the essay was too. This could harm the strength of an otherwise persuasive essay.

Check Grammar

Grammar is also important, for the same reason. It’s usually easy to pick up on dodgy grammar if you read your essay aloud. If you’re not a native English speaker, however, you might want to ask someone who is to check your essay.

Check Vocabulary

To avoid harming your persuasiveness and authority, it’s fundamentally important to use the right words. Overly obscure language can detract from the clarity of your argument, but if you feel you have to use it, then you better know what it means.

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Persuasive Writing

In this language arts unit, students learn how to “argue on paper” using a fictional case about a school dress code rule against band t-shirts. The lessons take them through the process of writing two persuasive essays: one supporting the rule and one opposing it. After the essays, we suggest having your class play the game Supreme Decision to see how these arguments relate to issues of freedom of speech in schools. Supreme Decision is an excellent fit with the language arts classroom because it requires reading comprehension and higher-order thinking skills in the application of rules and evaluation of arguments.

Lesson 1: So You Think You Can Argue

Lesson 2: I Can't Wear What??

Lesson 3: Lookin' for Evidence

Lesson 4: no rambling allowed, lesson 5: yeah, but..., lesson 6: the dreaded outline, lesson 7: emphasize, minimize, lesson 8: from outline... to essay, see how it all fits together.

persuasive writing unit

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Persuasive Writing

Persuasive writing is a form of nonfiction writing that encourages careful word choice, the development of logical arguments, and a cohesive summary. Young children can be guided through a series of simple steps in an effort to develop their persuasive writing skills.

Key Information

Appropriate group size, why teach persuasive writing.

As children mature as writers, it’s important to give them the opportunity to write using a variety of formats. Persuasive writing helps students formulate specific reasons for their opinions, and provides an opportunity to research facts related to their opinions. As students develop an understanding of how writing can influence or change another’s thoughts or actions, they can begin to understand the persuasive nature of the marketing they are exposed to through television, the Internet, and other media.

How to teach persuasive writing

• Have students listen to or read examples of persuasive writing. Together, listen and look for words, phrases and techniques that helped the writer persuade the listener.
• Brainstorm something that is important to an individual child or the group. Is it extra recess? Another chapter of the read aloud? The potential closing of a library? The more authentic the issue, the more passionately your students will write.
• Once the important privilege is chosen, have the child (or class) start to list reasons why they should be allowed this privilege. “Just because,” and “because I like it” should not be considered valid reasons. Students can work together to generate at least three good reasons to support an argument. This list of persuasive words and phrases from the site Teaching Ideas may help get students started.
• Have students do some research to gather facts or examples that support their reasons.
• Have students summarize their position.

Here’s a persuasive letter written by an elementary school student from Crozet, VA:

Watch: Bubble gum letters

Create an authentic writing opportunity that motivates students to write persuasive letters to a target audience. (From the Balanced Literacy Diet : Putting Research into Practice in the Classroom)

Collect resources

Language arts.

This persuasive writing lesson (opens in a new window) from ReadWriteThink uses the Beverly Cleary book Emily’s Runaway Imagination as the springboard for kids to write letters to a librarian urging the addition of certain titles to the library. A Persuasion Map Planning Sheet guides students through steps similar to what is described above.

This resource shows the lifecycle of writing a persuasive letter to a child’s parents about where to vacation for the summer. The PDF begins with the brainstorming, moves through drafting, editing, and publishing of the final letter.

Health/Science

From Writing Fix, here’s a speech writing lesson (opens in a new window) that uses the mentor text Otto Runs for President in conjunction with the RAFT strategy. In this lesson, students assume to the role of a talking fruit or vegetable. Pretending that there’s a “Fruit/Vegetable of the Year” election, the students will create a campaign speech that explains why their fruit/veggie is the best candidate for the job.

Differentiated instruction

For second language learners, students of varying reading skill, and younger learners.

• Have students work in small groups to generate their ideas and do the research.
• Offer various suggestions for how students can share their argument: e.g., a debate format, a “soapbox” in the classroom, or letters to the editor of the newspaper.

See the research that supports this strategy

Wollman-Bonilla, J. (2000). Family message journals: Teaching writing through family involvement . Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English.

Children’s books to use with this strategy

Martin Luther King Jr. grew up fascinated by big words. He would later go on to use these words to inspire a nation and call people to action. In this award-winning book, powerful portraits of King show how he used words, not weapons, to fight injustice.

Martin’s Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Farmer Brown has his hands full when the cows on his farm get a typewriter. Duck, however, negotiates successfully for all parties in this very funny farm story of very clever animals. Be prepared to talk about typewriters or take a trip to a museum to see one!

Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type

This is the story of librarian Pura Belpré, told through the eyes of two young children who are introduced to the library and its treasures just before Christmas. Lulu Delacre’s lovely illustrations evoke New York City at the time of the Great Depression, as well as the close-knit and vibrant Puerto Rican community that was thriving in El Barrio during this time. Bilingual Spanish-English text.

The Storyteller’s Candle

How Oliver Olsen Changed the World

Otto Runs for President

Emily Bartlett lives in an old farmhouse in Pitchfork, Oregon at a time when automobiles are brand-new inventions and libraries are a rare luxury. Can Emily use her lively mind to help bring a library to Pitchfork? ReadWriteThink (opens in a new window) offers a persuasive writing lesson plan featuring this book.

Emily’s Runaway Imagination

Liked it share it, topics this strategy is especially helpful for.

Can You Convince Me? Developing Persuasive Writing

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Persuasive writing is an important skill that can seem intimidating to elementary students. This lesson encourages students to use skills and knowledge they may not realize they already have. A classroom game introduces students to the basic concepts of lobbying for something that is important to them (or that they want) and making persuasive arguments. Students then choose their own persuasive piece to analyze and learn some of the definitions associated with persuasive writing. Once students become aware of the techniques used in oral arguments, they then apply them to independent persuasive writing activities and analyze the work of others to see if it contains effective persuasive techniques.

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From theory to practice.

• Students can discover for themselves how much they already know about constructing persuasive arguments by participating in an exercise that is not intimidating.  
• Progressing from spoken to written arguments will help students become better readers of persuasive texts.

Common Core Standards

This resource has been aligned to the Common Core State Standards for states in which they have been adopted. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, CCSS alignments are forthcoming.

State Standards

This lesson has been aligned to standards in the following states. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, standard alignments are not currently available for that state.

NCTE/IRA National Standards for the English Language Arts

• 4. Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.
• 5. Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.

Materials and Technology

• Computers with Internet access  
• PowerPoint  
• LCD projector (optional)  
• Chart paper or chalkboard  
• Sticky notes  
• Persuasive Strategy Presentation
• Persuasion Is All Around You  
• Persuasive Strategy Definitions  
• Check the Strategies  
• Check the Strategy  
• Observations and Notes  
• Persuasive Writing Assessment

Preparation

Student objectives.

Students will

• Work in cooperative groups to brainstorm ideas and organize them into a cohesive argument to be presented to the class  
• Gain knowledge of the different strategies that are used in effective persuasive writing  
• Use a graphic organizer to help them begin organizing their ideas into written form  
• Apply what they have learned to write a persuasive piece that expresses their stance and reasoning in a clear, logical sequence  
• Develop oral presentation skills by presenting their persuasive writing pieces to the class  
• Analyze the work of others to see if it contains effective persuasive techniques

Session 1: The Game of Persuasion

Home/School Connection: Distribute Persuasion Is All Around You . Students are to find an example of a persuasive piece from the newspaper, television, radio, magazine, or billboards around town and be ready to report back to class during Session 2. Provide a selection of magazines or newspapers with advertisements for students who may not have materials at home. For English-language learners (ELLs), it may be helpful to show examples of advertisements and articles in newspapers and magazines.

Session 2: Analysis of an Argument

Home/School Connection: Ask students to revisit their persuasive piece from Persuasion Is All Around You . This time they will use Check the Strategies to look for the persuasive strategies that the creator of the piece incorporated. Check for understanding with your ELLs and any special needs students. It may be helpful for them to talk through their persuasive piece with you or a peer before taking it home for homework. Arrange a time for any student who may not have the opportunity to complete assignments outside of school to work with you, a volunteer, or another adult at school on the assignment.

Session 3: Persuasive Writing

Session 4: presenting the persuasive writing.

• Endangered Species: Persuasive Writing offers a way to integrate science with persuasive writing. Have students pretend that they are reporters and have to convince people to think the way they do. Have them pick issues related to endangered species, use the Persuasion Map as a prewriting exercise, and write essays trying to convince others of their points of view. In addition, the lesson “Persuasive Essay: Environmental Issues” can be adapted for your students as part of this exercise.  
• Have students write persuasive arguments for a special class event, such as an educational field trip or an in-class educational movie. Reward the class by arranging for the class event suggested in one of the essays.

Student Assessment / Reflections

• Compare your Observations and Notes from Session 4 and Session 1 to see if students understand the persuasive strategies, use any new persuasive strategies, seem to be overusing a strategy, or need more practice refining the use of a strategy. Offer them guidance and practice as needed.  
• Collect both homework assignments and the Check the Strategy sheets and assess how well students understand the different elements of persuasive writing and how they are applied.  
• Collect students’ Persuasion Maps and use them and your discussions during conferences to see how well students understand how to use the persuasive strategies and are able to plan their essays. You want to look also at how well they are able to make changes from the map to their finished essays.  
• Use the Persuasive Writing Assessment to evaluate the essays students wrote during Session 3.
• Calendar Activities
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• Student Interactives

The Persuasion Map is an interactive graphic organizer that enables students to map out their arguments for a persuasive essay or debate.

This interactive tool allows students to create Venn diagrams that contain two or three overlapping circles, enabling them to organize their information logically.

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