Writing The Persuasive Essay

Writing the
Persuasive Essay
David Estrella I., MTEFL
Persuasive essay
• Introduction: First paragraph
• Body: Three paragraphs after the introduction
• Conclusion: Last paragraph

Example Essay
• Cinderella and her odious household chores.

• Outline.
Persuasive essay: Introduction
• The hook
• Background information
• Thesis statement
The hook – catches the reader’s attention.
Types of hooks: Ask a question Observation

Use a quote Use a scenario
Use statistics
Ask a question but do not answer it.
If readers want the answer, they will read the essay.
How many people take medicine, even simple aspirin, every

day?
Use an interesting observation.
Ecuadorian economists are not sleeping well these days.
Why? To find out the readers needs to continue reading the essay.
Use a unique scenario to attract the attention of your reader.
Traveling at more tan one hundred miles an hour, he feels as though

he is not moving. For a momento he feels like he entered another
dimensión.
Use surprising or shocking statistics.
Over 1,000 people in Ecuador die, every year, in transit related

accidents.
Begin with a famous quote.
“I have a dream.”
What is this quote about?

It is actually about sleep patterns.
Background information – two or three sentences to help

connect the reader to the topic.
The following example comes from the essay example about

Cinderella.
Her daily routine was not glamorous. She did everything from
sweeping the floors to cooking the meals. If someone had asked
Cinderella which chores she did not particularly like, she
probably would have answered, “Why, none, of course. House
work is my duty!”
From reading this sentences, the reader has a good idea of

what the paragraph is about.
Unpleasant household chores.

Thesis statement– one or two sentences.
It tells the reader what to expect in the essay.
Two types – stated and implied.

Stated thesis statement – outlines the essay
The main problems Ecuador faces today are a lack of job

opportunities, the increasing demand for health care, and
limited access to university education.
Implied thesis statement – not explicitly declared
The important problems Ecuador faces today require

inmediate attention.
Persuasive essay: The body
The main part of the essay.
Three or four paragraphs between the introduction and the

conclusion
Every paragraph in the body contains the following types of

sentences.
Topic sentence Supporting sentences
Detail sentences Concluding sentence

The topic senctence is the first sentence in each paragraph.
It derives from the thesis statement.
It controls the content of the paragraph.

It must contain two things – the topic (general) and the

controlling idea (specific).
Crime in poverty-stricken areas occurs as a result of a systemic

discrimination.
It must contain two things – the topic (general) and the

controlling
Topic idea (specific).
Crime in poverty-stricken areas occurs as a result of a systemic

discrimination.
Controlling idea
A good topic sentence must:
1. Guide the paragraph
You read it and you know what to expect.

2. Not be a general fact accepted by everyone.
Libraries have books.

3. Be specific.
Tea is delicious.
Green tea has many benefits for your health.
4. Not be too specific.
This dictionary contains 42,000 words.

5. Have a controlling idea.
Words or phrase that guide the content of the paragraph.

The supporting senctences are related to the topic sentence and

its controlling idea.
They explain the topic sentence.

They answer to Who? What? Where? When? Why? and How? and give
details.
There are different types of supporting senctences, and they are

used for different purposes.
To explain:
The exploration was done to obtain the results to support the
research thesis.

To describe:
The country full of tres, chirping birds, and smell of clean evoked
in my mind my childhood years.

To give reasons:
The choice was made because of the time constrains the Project
had.

To give facts:
More tan ten percent of the students come from different cities.

To give examples:
From those cities, Manta and Machala have more students
attending college.

To make dfinitions:
The Captain used a mochkhousen, which is a device used to
communicate with headquarters.
As you write your supporting sentences, keep looking at the

topic sentence, this will keep you on the same idea all the time.
You should write between two and five supporting sentences in

your body paragraphs.
The detail sentences back up, illustrate, or give more detail on

what the supporting sentence says.
The concluding sentence is the last sentence of the paragraph.
They link one paragraph to the next.

The concluding sentence has two main objecitves
1. They draw the information together.

2. They link the paragraphs together.
1. The concluding sentence draws together the information

presented to elaborate your controlling idea by:
• summarizing the points you have made.


• repeating words or phrases (or synonyms for them) from the

topic sentence.

• using linking words that indicate that conclusions are being

drawn, for example, therefore, thus, resulting.
2. The concluding sentence link the current paragraph to the

following by
• introducing a word/phrase or new concept which will then be picked up in the topic
sentence of the next paragraph.
Persuasive essay: The conclusion
The concluding paragraph summarizes the thesis statement and

the key arguments in about 3-5 sentences.
The first sentence should re-state the thesis statement (the last
sentence of the introduction).
Next re-state the topic sentences (the first sentence of each

paragraph).
Finally write a call to action.
Re-state = write the same idea using different
words.
Take the thesis statement from the introduction and write it

again (1 sentence).
The last sentence is the call to action.
You tell the reader to do something about the issue you are
discussing in your essay.
Typically the call to action might start with the following

expressions..
I encourage you to... I urge you to...

Take action against...by Do not hesitate to…
Additional reading
• How to write a hook
• Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Paper: Background Information
• Developing an Implied Thesis Statement and Topic Sentences
• Persuasive Essay Outline
• Academic essay writing
• How to Write a Great Topic Sentence
• How to Write a Concluding Paragraph for a Persuasive Essay in College
Additional reading
• What are Supporting Sentences?
• Body Paragraphs
• Write the Body Paragraphs
• How to Write a Concluding Paragraph for a Persuasive Essay in College
• The Secret to Writing a Call to Action in A Persuasive Speech
References
• Folse, K., Muchmore-Vokoun, A., & Vestri, E. (2010). Great Writings 4: Great
Essays, 3rd Edition. Boston, USA: Heinle Cengage Learning.
• Folse, K., Muchmore-Vokoun, A., & Vestri, E. (2010). Great Writings 3: Great
Paragraphs, 3rd Edition. Boston, USA: Heinle Cengage Learning.
• Perutz, V. (2010). Student Services A Helpful Guide to Essay Writing! Cambridge:
Anglia Ruskin University.
• Zemach, D. (2014). Writers at Work: The Essay. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press. ISBN-10: 0521693020, ISBN-13: 9780521693028.

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Writing the

• Introduction: First paragraph

• Body: Three paragraphs after the introduction

• Conclusion: Last paragraph

• Cinderella and her odious household chores.

The hook – catches the reader’s attention.

Types of hooks: Ask a question Observation

Ask a question but do not answer it.

If readers want the answer, they will read the essay.

How many people take medicine, even simple aspirin, every

Use an interesting observation.

Ecuadorian economists are not sleeping well these days.

Use a unique scenario to attract the attention of your reader.

Traveling at more tan one hundred miles an hour, he feels as though

Use surprising or shocking statistics.

Over 1,000 people in Ecuador die, every year, in transit related

Begin with a famous quote.

What is this quote about?

Background information – two or three sentences to help

The following example comes from the essay example about

From reading this sentences, the reader has a good idea of

Unpleasant household chores.

Thesis statement– one or two sentences.

It tells the reader what to expect in the essay.

Two types – stated and implied.

Stated thesis statement – outlines the essay

The main problems Ecuador faces today are a lack of job

Implied thesis statement – not explicitly declared

The important problems Ecuador faces today require

The main part of the essay.

Three or four paragraphs between the introduction and the

Every paragraph in the body contains the following types of

Topic sentence Supporting sentences

Detail sentences Concluding sentence

The topic senctence is the first sentence in each paragraph.

It derives from the thesis statement.

It controls the content of the paragraph.

It must contain two things – the topic (general) and the

Crime in poverty-stricken areas occurs as a result of a systemic

It must contain two things – the topic (general) and the

Crime in poverty-stricken areas occurs as a result of a systemic

A good topic sentence must:

1. Guide the paragraph

You read it and you know what to expect.

A good topic sentence must:

2. Not be a general fact accepted by everyone.

Libraries have books.

A good topic sentence must:

A good topic sentence must:

4. Not be too specific.

This dictionary contains 42,000 words.

A good topic sentence must:

5. Have a controlling idea.

Words or phrase that guide the content of the paragraph.

The supporting senctences are related to the topic sentence and

They explain the topic sentence.

There are different types of supporting senctences, and they are

There are different types of supporting senctences, and they are

There are different types of supporting senctences, and they are