Writing in English

How to Write
Persuasively
Lesson Objective
In this lesson, you will practise using persuasive writing. Persuasive
writing can be used in personal or informal writing, such as letters or
reviews. It can also be used in formal speeches and academic essays.
The goal in all forms of persuasive writing is to convince people to agree
with you. Let’s start by thinking about how to win over your audience.

Warm-Up
A. Role-Play

Find a partner and role-play the following scenarios.

Try to persuade your partner to agree with your argument.
Then switch roles. Who was more persuasive, and why?

# Scenario Roles

1 It’s time to get a family pet. child & parent

2 I deserve the bigger bedroom in our new house. siblings

3 Students should be allowed to use cells phones in class. student & teacher

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 How to Write Persuasively
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Warm-Up cont.
B. Vocabulary Preview

Match these words to their correct definitions.

1. win over a) a narrative style from one’s personal perspective, uses I or me

2. pull at one’s heart strings b) to persuade or convince someone to agree with you or support you

3. stance c) not on one side or the other of an argument

4. credibility d) to cause someone to feel a strong emotion

5. first-person e) the most important parts

6. third-person f) a position or attitude about an issue or topic

7. essentials g) exact

8. neutral h) to expect that something is going to happen

9. anticipate i) the quality of being believable

10. contradict j) an indirect narrative style, uses he, she, or it

11. precise k) the belief in one’s ability to succeed

12. confidence l) to deny or disagree

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 How to Write Persuasively
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Persuasive Language
WINNING OVER YOUR AUDIENCE

A. Techniques

Aristotle, the ancient Greek philosopher, identified three persuasive techniques.

All of these can be used in your persuasive writing.

# Technique Notes

Logos
1 provide facts that are true, use real life examples, use reasoning
(logic)

Pathos convince the reader to have an emotional response, often used in advertising,
2
(emotional appeal) pull at the reader’s heart strings, use descriptive detail

convince the reader of one’s authority on the subject,

Ethos
3 establish respect with the audience, use strong language,
(credibility)
keep the argument simple and to the point

B. Language

Below is some persuasive language you can use to win

over your audience and strengthen your argument.

Use Reasoning Use Examples Use Emotions

• as you know • for instance • imagine if

• obviously • to illustrate • just think
• it is certain • for example • it’s inhumane/senseless to / not to
• of course • as evidence • how would you feel if
• without a doubt • in fact • put yourself in ’s shoes

Use Organization Use Authority

• to begin with • from experience

• moreover • says / explains / confirms
• yet another reason why • Five years as a has taught me
• in the same way • According to
• one last reason

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 How to Write Persuasively
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Persuasive Language cont.

B. Language cont.

Below are some examples of the

persuasive language from the previous page.

• A s you know, the flu affects the young

and the elderly more than the middle-aged.

• Imagine if your child got sick during the

holidays and missed all of the parties and fun.

• Just think, it only takes five minutes to get a

flu shot but up to five weeks to get over the flu.

• It is certain that flu shots are safer than getting the flu.

• Without a doubt, all health professionals

should have an annual flu shot.

•  en years working in a nursing home taught

T
me about the importance of getting a flu shot.

Task 1

Find a partner. Take turns reading the statements below to each other.
Then practise using persuasive language to convince your partner
of your personal opinion about each issue. Then switch roles.

1. The government should pay for university tuition.

2. The driving age should be 21.

3. Every school should have standardized tests.

4. Violent video games cause violent behaviour in teens.

5. It should be illegal to drive with a cell phone in your hand.

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 How to Write Persuasively
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Persuasive Writing Essentials

In the next few pages, you will learn some tips for developing a
persuasive piece of writing. Whether you are writing an advertisement,
an essay, or a letter, the goal is the same: to win over your audience.

A. T
 opic & Stance Task 2

At the beginning of your piece, Imagine that you are going to write an essay about the importance
identify your topic and state of flu shots. Think of three specific topics and positions that you
your position / opinion on it. could take on this issue. Write your ideas in sentence form.
For an academic essay, you
will usually use the formal Ex. Flu shots should be mandatory for seniors.
third‑person narrative. Your
1.
teacher may prefer that you
use first-person narrative (“I”) 2.
to practise presenting your
3.
personal opinion.

Note:
Advertisers often use an editorial style of narrative
(first‑person plural, we) to establish a connection
with the audience and to appear more credible.

B. The Opposing View Task 3

After you identify your position,
you need to think about your
reader. Imagine that your
reader is neutral. He or she
is interested in the topic, but
does not agree or disagree with
you yet. Anticipate what your
reader’s top concerns might be.
Now imagine that you have chosen a stance. You are going to write about
why every child should have a flu shot. Now, think about a reader who might
disagree with this position. Write this reader’s top three concerns.
1.
2.
3.

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 How to Write Persuasively
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Persuasive Writing Essentials cont.

C. Your Best Evidence Task 4

Present your facts and use Now think of why the writer believes that flu shots are important
solid examples to support for every child. Write the top three reasons. Do some research if
your argument. Some editors necessary. Include at least one example to back up each fact.
recommend saving your best
evidence for last. Make sure 1.
to address and contradict
(or minimize) the concerns
of the reader above.
2.

3.

D. Credibility
Tip:
To establish authority, write with confidence. Use precise verbs and RHETORICAL QUESTIONS
nouns to say exactly what you mean. Whenever one word can replace a
few words, use it. Avoid words like possibly, usually, likely, probably, could, Do you want to suck your reader
in right away? Start your essay
may, ought to, seem to, and might. These adverbs and modal verbs will
with a rhetorical question.
weaken your argument. Always proofread and spell-check your work. A rhetorical question is a
Typos and mistakes make you less credible. question that does not need to
be answered. It has an obvious
Task 5 answer or emphasizes a point.
It also gets your reader thinking.
You can use a rhetorical question
Imagine that you are a health professional. You believe strongly in flu in the body of a piece of writing,
shots, and you want to convince your sibling to take your niece or nephew too. Read the examples and then
to the clinic for a flu shot. Compose an email to send to your sibling. Use think of a few of your own.
the persuasive writing essentials and language that you learned in this • How much does your
lesson. Find (or make up) some real-life examples to prove your point. doctor earn for your visit?

• Were you born to work 24/7?

Proofread your work by reading it out loud.
Cut out any adverbs or modal verbs that weaken your argument. • Will the sky always be blue?

• Do you treat your pet

Ask a classmate to pretend he/she is the parent of this child. like your best friend?
Your partner can proofread your letter and can tell
you whether or not your writing is convincing.

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 How to Write Persuasively
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Comprehension Check-In A Checklist

Work with a partner and answer the BEFORE STARTING YOUR PERSUASIVE PIECE
following questions based on the lesson so far.
—— Did I hook my reader?
1.  hat are Aristotle’s three
W
—— Did I identify the topic?
techniques of persuasion?
—— Did I identify my stance on this issue?
2. W
 hich narrative form is usually
used in an academic essay? —— DId I stick with one narrative viewpoint?

3. Why is it useful to consider opposing viewpoints? —— Did I provide compelling evidence?

4. A
 ccording to some editors, where is a —— Did I support my argument with examples that
good place to put your strongest argument? will appeal to my reader’s emotions/rationality?

5. W
 hat type of words should you —— Did I use concise, persuasive language?
avoid using in a persuasive essay?
—— Did I conclude in a convincing way?
6. What is a rhetorical question?
—— Did I cut out all weak words?

—— Did I proofread my work?

Persuasive Paragraph
Read the example persuasive ad from a community newspaper on the
right. Then write a similar one-paragraph ad using one of these topics: Just Call
• Buy Organic • Carpool to Work • Stop Smoking If you saw a man dragging two
bikes through your backyard,
would you call the police?
What if you thought you heard
a cry from the trunk of a car?
Many people think about calling
the police but then change their
minds. Take our advice. Always
trust your instincts and call
the police. Vigilant citizens like
you help protect communities
and save lives. Let’s work
together to make Rolling
Hills a safe community.

A message from your local police

department. Proudly serving
Rolling Hills County for 85 years.

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 How to Write Persuasively
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Writing Challenge
If you have already learned the important steps for writing an
academic essay from previous lessons (brainstorming, outlining,
writing an introduction, writing body paragraphs, and writing a
conclusion), then it’s time to try writing a persuasive essay.

Choose one topic that interests you from Task 1 or page 1, or come up
with your own topic. Do some brainstorming about the topic and choose
a stance. Write a persuasive essay using the tips and language you’ve
learned in this lesson and share it with your teacher.

Persuasive Essay – Outline Format

Topic:

Stance:

Hook:

Reason 1: (evidence and examples)

Reason 2: (evidence and examples)

Reason 3: (evidence and examples)

Conclusion:

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 How to Write Persuasively
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Answer Key
NOTE: LESSON DESCRIPTION: LEVEL: High Int – Adv

We recommend using ESL Library’s essay- writing In this lesson, students learn tips TIME: 2–3 hours
lessons before trying this lesson: How to Brainstorm, for persuasive writing. They learn
TAGS: writing, persuasive,
How to Write an Outline, How to Write an Introductory about the common features of this
persuasion, essay, letter,
Paragraph, How to Write Body Paragraphs, and How style of writing, and they also learn
advertisement,
to Write a Conclusion before trying the last task in language that is useful for persuading.
ad, argument
this lesson. This is a suggestion, not a prerequisite.
https://esllibrary.com/courses/74/lessons

Lesson Objective Persuasive Writing Essentials

Review the lesson objective with your students. Read through pages 5–6 with your students and give them time
to work through Tasks 2–5. These tasks can also be done in small

Warm-Up groups or pairs. You may want to assign Task 4 for homework.
Individual answers.

A. ROLE-PLAY
Comprehension Check-In
Give your students some time to get into the right mind‑set
for persuasive writing by doing a short role-play activity.
1. A ristotle’s three persuasive techniques are logos (logic),
After a few minutes, tell students to switch roles. They can also
pathos (emotional appeal), and ethos (credibility).
switch partners. Alternatively, do this activity at the front of the
2. Third-person narrative is usually
classroom and have students compete to be the most convincing.
used in a persuasive academic essay.
3. It is useful to consider opposing viewpoints
B. VOCABULARY PREVIEW
in order to anticipate what a reader’s concerns
Print copies of page 11 and cut up the strips, or might be with an argument. The writer should
have students do the matching exercise provided on page 2. try to contradict or minimize these concerns.
4. Some experts suggest saving the best evidence for last.
1. b 3. f 5. a 7. e 9. h 11. g
5. Weak adverbs and modal verbs should
2. d 4. i 6. j 8. c 10. l 12. k
be avoided in a persuasive essay.
6. A rhetorical question is a question that does not
Persuasive Language
require an answer. It makes the audience think.

Review Aristotle’s three persuasive

(continued on the next page...)
techniques and go over the useful language.

Task 1

Place students in pairs or small groups. Individual answers.

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 How to Write Persuasively
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Answer Key cont.

A Checklist

Go through the checklist with your students.

Persuasive Paragraph

Go over the example as a class. You may want to bring

in other examples of persuasive ads or get students to look
for other examples in magazines, in newspapers, or online.
Then have students write their own one-paragraph ads.

Writing Challenge

If you have not already taught your students the important steps
for essay writing, consider using some of our other lessons from
our Writing in English section (https://esllibrary.com/courses/74/
lessons) first, and then come back to this essay. We have lessons
on How to Brainstorm, How to Write an Outline, How to Write an
Introduction, How to Write Body Paragraphs, and How to Write a
Conclusion. If your students are already familiar with basic essay
writing, challenge them to write a persuasive essay using one of
the suggested topics. An outline format is provided. Your students
can create outlines in their own notebooks. For related practice,
consider trying our Mini-Debates lessons: https://esllibrary.com/
courses/73/lessons

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 How to Write Persuasively
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Extra Vocabulary Practice (optional)

Write definitions in your own words. Cut up these vocabulary strips.
Challenge a partner to match the vocabulary to your definition.

win over

pull at one’s heart strings

stance

credibility

first-person

third-person

essentials

neutral

anticipate

contradict

precise

confidence

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