A persuasive essay is aimed to convince the reader of the author’s point of view on the argumentative topic. The basis of a persuasive essay consists of three parts: opinion statement, reasons, and evidence to prove the thesis and a logical conclusion.
This brief description exposes a general understanding of what persuasive essay is. Still, before making an attempt to write it, there is a need to have a closer examination of what a persuasive essay is. It looks a lot like an argumentative essay, but there is one vital difference. An argumentative essay is presenting one side of an argument using only facts and arguments. A persuasive essay includes facts and arguments too but also demands a display of author’s personal opinions on the topic. A persuasive essay you write should expose your point of view first of all, but it should be combined with good reasoning.
Next thing you need to know before writing your essay is how to work on your essay step by step. A good plan is always handy and makes the writing process way simpler. At the end of the article, we will offer you some good persuasive essay topics we came up with as a basis to get you moving, for we believe that inspiration is of the same importance as a good plan.
Writing Process Steps
Organization of a writing process is vital for gaining success. Usually, students get the hard time trying to organize their essay and grab all their thoughts together. Getting stuck at the very beginning is a usual thing for everyone. But creating a plan will be a big leap for your work.
The good news is that we did a ground work for you. Here you will find a guide, where every step contains a part of work, that needs to be done in its time. If following these steps one by one, you won’t ever get lost in a writing process.
- Choose an issue and your position towards it. This step defines the whole work of yours, so take it seriously. It is better to choose the topic you are familiar with and the position you believe in. This will ease the process and writing won’t be that challenging. If the topic is formulated by your tutor, try to get interested in the subject and think about it thoroughly.
- Think of the future audience. Who will read your essay? Is it only your tutor or the whole class? You have to know it in advance and take it into account. The arguments you will use in your essay should suit your audience and convince them to believe in your point of view on the issue. Therefore, the words and expressions should be chosen according to the future readers.
- Do the research. It doesn’t matter whether you have good knowledge of the topic or not. In both cases you have to do good research, read different sources and understand different positions. The arguments defending your point of view should be solid, convincing and reasonable. They should beat any other arguments that can be presented from the other perspective. So, do not rely on one source only. Make a proper research, and it will boost up your results.
- Write an outline. Planning your work is making it all easier. When you predefine which points you want to write about, you have a good start and a holistic picture of your future essay. Once written, the outline will show you whether your essay will be good enough and whether you covered everything you wanted. If not, you can easily edit the plan. Trust me; it is way easier to proofread 20 words of outline than a whole essay.
- Write the essay. So, here comes the final part, the writing itself. If you went through all of the previous steps, writing the essay will be easy. Leave it alone for a while, once written. Afterward, read it, rewrite it (if needed) and do the proofreading. I usually recommend showing your essay to a friend. Having somebody else to read your essay will help you understand whether it is convincing, well-structured and mistake-free. Double check is always a good idea.
How to Find a Good Essay Topic?
This is the point where most students get stuck. It doesn’t matter, whether you are writing the essay for the first time in your life, or it is like the one-hundred-thousand-eighty-second time. Finding a good topic to write about is always a challenge. And here we are to help you out with it.
First of all, think of something you like, something you are interested in. Hobby, sports, reading, social activity - everything can be a basis for a brilliant idea. The only thing you need next is to find an argumentative point in the field you have chosen. There are plenty of contradictions in our everyday life; they are not that hard to find.
The main thing to remember when you are formulating a topic for a persuasive essay is that the topic has to be persuasive. It might be obvious. Still, a lot of students make mistakes in formulating the topic and, as a result, they don’t get a persuasive essay, but an informative. The topic you write about should be controversial, should be disputable, should make people agree or disagree with you, create a dialogue. If the topic is not like that than probably, you formulated it wrong.
It doesn’t matter where are you studying right now, in an elementary school or already in college; you can never be too old or too young to present your point of view on the topic. Just try to formulate the topic according to your age. If you are in a middle school, it is better to simplify a topic a bit. Also, when you are in college, a simple topic will be not good enough to get a high grade. Here are the examples, to make it more clear.
Best Persuasive Essay Topics For Elementary School
Even the youngest of us can be great in expressing them via persuasive essay. They do have their own beliefs and, I bet, a lot of arguments defending them. Elementary school age is the best one to start developing writing skills. Every next education level will demand more and more of writing, so experts believe that it is better to begin as soon as possible.
We thought of the best topics for kids in the elementary school. They should be easy to understand and cover the issues children already went through. We believe that these topics will be suitable.
- Countryside or a big city: where should family live?
- Why an obligation to do homework every day is wrong?
- Should students wear a uniform in school?
- What is better: to give or to receive?
- Should handwriting be taught in schools nowadays?
- Should students be allowed to use cell phones in school?
- Should children learn more than one foreign language at school?
- Friends on Facebook are real friends, aren't they?
- Animals should have more rights.
- Should parents control what children are doing online?
- Should parents teach children how to behave online?
- May students use tablets in school?
Best Persuasive Essay Topics For Middle School
When growing, students gain more knowledge and experience so that they can take a challenge on more complicated topics. Practice shows that children of that age are getting more interested in relations and issues regarding school life. So here are several examples of the potentially interesting persuasive essay topics.
- Are single-gender schools more efficient?
- Later start time for schools will be better.
- Standardized tests are bad for creative thinking.
- Opposites attract: myth or reality?
- Teaching manners and etiquette to children in school is a must.
- Selling fast food in school should be allowed.
- Kids nowadays spend too much time on video games.
- Drug tests in schools should be mandatory.
- Violence among young people has nothing to do with online games.
- Girls and boys should have separate sports classes.
- Is it necessary to wear a seatbelt on the school bus?
- What should be a punishment for bullying?
- What should be a punishment for online bullying?
- Online bullying is not a real bullying.
- How much should a student in middle school spend on studying?
Best Persuasive Essay Topics for High School
High school is a very good time to share your experience in persuasive essays, as you already have a lot of happenings behind. It is time to analyze your past mistakes and wins, plan your future and think of important things in life. You wonder, what are good argumentative topics for a persuasive essay in high school? Here they come.
- Students grading teachers is the way to a better study system.
- Gender equality: is it gained already?
- Should students, that don’t read books, be excluded from school?
- Should teaching world religions be allowed in school?
- Should cell phones at school be banned for both: students and teachers?
- Student athletes should be paid a salary.
- GPA is not an evaluation of school achievements.
- Immigration laws should be changed.
- The driving age should be increased.
- Public transport should be free of charge.
- Food addiction leads to health problems.
- Marijuana should be legalized for medical purposes.
- Using plastic surgery for cosmetic reasons should be banned.
- Should students get financial education in school?
- Should we allow old people (65 and more years old) to drive?
- IQ test represents person’s intelligence.
- A three-day weekend is needed for a better intellectual performance.
- Bloggers should be considered as journalists.
- People should go vegetarian to be healthy.
- eBooks are saving the environment.
College Persuasive Essay Topics
A college student can take a bigger challenge and talk about political, cultural or social issues. No need to concentrate on small groups of people in your hometown, or stay enframed in school walls. While being in college students usually get interested in more global stuff, than local issues.
So, here are essay topics that might be interesting.
- Paper products are harming ecology.
- Violence on TV should be banned.
- The death penalty should be allowed, as in decreases crimes.
- Social networks destroy the ability to communicate live.
- Can tutors and students befriend on Facebook?
- Beauty standards should have diversity.
- The danger of using cell-phone while driving is exaggerated.
- Reducing poverty is easy.
- Global Warming is a myth.
- Learning how to concentrate is more important than learning how to multitask.
- The causes of divorce.
- What should organ donors get as a suitable compensation?
- Online courses should be considered as a full college education.
- Studying in college should be free of charge for U.S.A. residents.
- At what age should people be considered ‘adults’?
- Euthanasia should be legalized.
- Intelligence depends on person’s surrounding.
- People should not get privileges for sex, age or skin color.
- Is voting important?
- The limitations on advertising should be more strict.
- Is sex education in school a good idea?
- Organ donation after death should be a must on a legal level.
- The harm of constant headphones usage.
- Should abortions be legal in the case of rape?
- Drunk driving should lead to the loss of driving license.
Conclusion
Persuasive essay writing is a great experience for young people, as it allows to practice such essential skills, as creative thinking, doing research and structurize material, being convincing and defend their point of view. No need to tell, that those competencies are essential to have in the adult life. So it is better to practice them from the very childhood. Writing is good for that because, among other things, it teaches young people to be disciplined and coherent.
Also, persuasive essay writing makes students consider topics; they would probably not pay attention to when being outside the class. A well-written essay will provoke a discussion. And a discussion is the first step to action, that can change something, that is wrong in life. It is an excellent platform for personal growth and self-development, for a group work and practicing respectful, reasonable debates.