Persuasive Essay Structure

1. Introduction

In the introduction the student will, naturally, introduce the topic. Controversial issues make for great
topics in this writing genre. It's something of a cliche in polite society to discourage discussions involving
politics, sex, or religion for the reason that they can often be very divisive. While these subjects may not
be the best topics of conversation for the dinner table at Thanksgiving, they can be perfect when
deciding on a topic for persuasive writing. Obviously, the age and abilities of the students should be
considered, as well as cultural taboos, when selecting a topic for the essay. But, the point holds, the
more controversial, the better.

Let’s take a look at some of the key elements of the introduction:

Title:

This will often be posed as a question, for example, if the essay is on the merits of a vegetarian lifestyle
it may be called something like: To Eat Meat or Not?

As with any genre of writing, capturing the reader's interest from the outset is crucial. There are a number of
methods of doing this, known as hooks. Students may decide to open their essay with an anecdote, a joke, a
quotation, or a relevant statistic related to the topic under discussion.

Background:

In this section of the introduction, students will provide the reader with some background to the topic. This will
place the issue in context and briefly weigh up some of the different opinions on the subject.

Thesis statement:

After surveying the topic in the first part of the introduction, it is now time for the student writer to express their
own opinion and briefly preview the points they will make later in the essay.

2. Body Paragraphs

The number of paragraphs that will form this section of the essay will depend on the number of points the writer
chooses to make to support their opinion. Normally three main points will be sufficient for beginning writers to
coordinate. For more advanced students, they can simply increase the number of paragraphs based on the
complexity of their arguments, but the overall structure will largely remained intact.
Be sure to check out our own complete guide to writing perfect paragraphs here.

The TEEL acronym is a useful way for students to remember how to structure their paragraphs. Read below for
deeper understanding.

Topic Sentence:

The topic sentence states the central point of the paragraph. This will be in the form of one of the reasons in support
of the thesis statement made in the introduction.

Explain:

These sentences will build on the topic sentence by illustrating the point further, often by making it more specific.

Evidence:

It is the purpose of these sentences to support the paragraph’s central point by providing supporting evidence and
examples. This evidence may take the form of statistics, quotations, or anecdotal evidence.

Link:

The final part of the paragraph links back to the initial statement of the topic sentence, while also forming a bridge
to the next point to be made. This part of the paragraph provides some personal analysis and interpretation of how
the student arrived at their conclusions and also connects together the essay as a cohesive whole.

3. Conclusion

The conclusion weaves together the main points of the persuasive essay. It does not normally introduce any new
arguments or evidence, but rather reviews the arguments made already and restates them by summing them up in a
unique way. It is important at this stage to tie everything back to the initial thesis statement. This is the writer’s last
opportunity to drive home their point; to achieve the goal of the essay to begin with - persuade the reader of their
point of view.
Ending an essay well can be challenging, but, especially for persuasive essays, it is essential to end strongly. As with
the hooks of the essay’s opening, there are a number of tried and tested methods of leaving the reader with a strong
impression. Encourage students to experiment with different types of endings, for example, concluding the essay
with a quotation that amplifies the thesis statement. Another method is to have the student rework their ending in
simple monosyllabic words, as simple language often has the effect of being stronger in impact. The effect they are
striving for in the final sentence is the closing of the circle.

There are a number of persuasive writing techniques that can be used to in the conclusion, and throughout the essay,
to amp up the persuasive power of the writing. Let’s take a look at a few.

Persuasive Techniques

In this article we have outlined a basic structure that will be helpful to students in approaching the organization of
their persuasive writing. It will also be helpful for the students to be introduced to a few literary techniques that will
help your students to present their ideas in a convincing manner. Here are a few of the more common ones:

Repetition: There is a reason why advertisements and commercials are so repetitive - repetition works! Students can
use this knowledge to their advantage in their persuasive writing. It is difficult to get the reader to fully agree with
the writer’s opinion if they don’t fully understand it. Saying the same thing in a variety of ways ensures the reader
gets many bites at the ‘understanding’ cherry.

Storytelling: Humans tend to understand things better through stories. Think of how we teach kids the important
values through time-tested fables like Peter and the Wolf. Whether through personal anecdotes or reference to third
person experiences, stories help climb down the ladder of abstraction and reach the reader on a human level.

Dealing with Dissent: We live in a cynical age, so leaving out the opposing opinion will smack of avoidance to the
reader. Encourage your students to turn into that opposing viewpoint and deal with those arguments in their essay
too.

A Call to Action: A staple of advertising, a call to action can also be used in persuasive writing. When employed, it
usually forms part of the conclusion section of the essay and asks the reader to do something, such as, recycle,
donate to charity, sign a petition etc.
A quick look around reveals to us the importance of the power of persuasion, whether in product advertisements,
newspaper editorials, or political electioneering, persuasion plays an important role in our daily lives. Logic and
reason are important in the persuasion process, but they are not the only techniques. The dark arts of persuasion can
prey on emotion, greed, and bias. Learning to write persuasively can help our students to recognize well-made
arguments, as well as help to inoculate them against the more sinister manifestations of persuasion.

Now, go persuade your students of the importance of perfecting the art of persuasive writing!

Should the sale of junk food in school canteens be banned?

Since the schools were introduced to junk foods, kids started to buy and consume

uncontrolled. Junk food is any food that is perceived to be unhealthy and of low

nutritional value. Tran !""#$ states that the nutritional value of food eaten by Australian

children has been falling progressively over the past %" years. As a way to overcome the

problem, the sale of junk food in the school canteens should be banned as it is unhealthy,

it causes litter problem and it causes behavioural problems in the children.

Junk food is bad and not good for our health. According to the &ealth 'oundation

!""#$, most of the junk foods such as biscuits, confectionery, hamburgers, instant

noodles and soft drinks are of low nutritional value. These foods which are high in fat and

sugar will contribute to the childhood obesity. The schools will face the problem of

weight gain among the children. The problem becomes worse if the children do not get

enough physical activity. 'urthermore, (ental Association reports that the sale of soft

drinks lead to the decline in dental health of Australia)s primary school children. &ence,

the unhealthy food must be prohibited in the school canteens as it is unhealthy to the

school children.

*n addition, fast food packaging is the major contributor to the litter problem.

According to Smith !""#$, litter is a safety and health ha+ard, it will burden the costs for

a school to clean up the litter and also create a bad image of our communities. Jack

reen, a teacher of &illview -rimary School reports that when the junk foods were sold

at school canteen, there were cans,crisp packets,cartons and plastic containers all around

the school compound. As a result, the school groundsman have to spend much time to
clean the grounds and no time to spend on the maintenance projects that benefit the

school. *n other words, banning of junk foods ensure the cleanliness of school.

esides that, junk foods have been proven to trigger behavioural problems in

children. /ost of the junk foods sold in school canteens contained chemical additives to

give colour and flavour instead of lengthening the shelf life of the junk foods. These

additives have been shown to cause behavioural problem such as hyperactivity and poor

concentration among the children Smith !""#$. According to The 'ood Show, (r 0ray

said that when such foods are readily available at school everyday, students cannot get the

nutrients they need for healthy development and growth, and their learning potential is

reduced. Jack reen also reports that there was a obvious improvement in

students)behaviour in class when the school removed the sale of junk foods in the school

canteen. The students became calmer after lunch. The removal of junk foods from school

canteens could improve the children)s behaviour.

As a conclusion, the sale of junk foods in school canteens should be phased out

progressively because junk foods bring more harm than good to children. The sale of junk

food in school canteens give bad effect to the school children)s health, create litter

problem in the school compound and lead to the changes of students1 behaviour. 2astly,

school authorities are responsible to put the welfare and safety of students in priority by

banning the sale of junk food in school. canteens.