Writing effective persuasive essays is a key skill that you can use to get your voice heard, whether in the newspaper, around the community, or among professional organizations. Like all forms of writing, there is a certain degree of finesse that comes only with practice. However, there are a few key points to keep in mind that can help you to craft a powerful essay even with a minimum of experience. Clear, strong written communication gets you recognized no matter who you are or what your level of education may be – and anyone can become a good writer with dedication.

The Parts of a Good Persuasive Essay

In persuasive writing, there are three key elements to keep in mind.

The point of your essay is the central reason why you are writing. For example, if you are writing in support of local Amendment 5 to enforce a neighborhood curfew on teenagers, your point might be that this curfew would drastically improve conditions in the community.

The purpose of your essay is decided mainly by who you're writing to – the intended audience. While your point would be that the Amendment is good or bad and why, your purpose would be to persuade, to inform, or to otherwise affect your audience.

Your support, commonly known as the “argument,” consists of statements that reinforce the point and purpose of your essay. Ample, objective support is key to success in persuasive writing, and is more effective than opinions or limited, anecdotal evidence. Most of your writing will concern how to organize and express your support.

The audience is, simply, the people you hope to impact by writing. It is important to tailor your argument and use of language to the needs of your audience. The essay you write to your local town council will be different than the one you may write to the opinion column of the tri-county newspaper, and will be very different indeed from one you write to the mayor.

Bringing it All Together

Brainstorming: When you have an issue that you'd like to weigh in on, deciding on a point and purpose is relatively simple. Determine who you want to influence and why – if in doubt, ask yourself, what will be the fastest route to the change I want to see? Before writing, it is a good idea to make sure that you can state your point and purpose in two simple sentences. If you can't express your point and purpose naturally and with a minimum of words, you may have difficulty formulating a readable essay. As a general rule, the more strongly you feel about your topic, the more natural it will be for you to write extensively about it.

Research: Research your topic thoroughly. If you are writing on a political matter in the local area, your town hall or public library can be a valuable source of government documents relating to your issue. If you are tackling something of wider scope, you will no doubt do some internet research. A whole article could be written on this topic, but in sum, be careful of blogs and websites hosted on free services where public access is the norm. Government or non-profit organizations sites and statements from known, trustworthy public figures should form the backbone of any argument; having your facts discredited will make your audience much less likely to listen to you in the future. During research, also keep in mind who you are writing for and make note of facts that will appeal to their values and desires. You can emphasize these during the writing process.

Writing: Essays meant for public consumption will generally follow an outline like this:

Opening: The opening of any piece of work should grab the reader's attention. There are several ways to do this. You may want to present an interesting fact that will reel the reader in right away. Another method is to ask a question, even if it is rhetorical (ex: “Who doesn't like safety?”). Delve into your research – as in our example, if statistics show a case for your position, don't be afraid to start strong with something like. “Did you know that most local street crime is perpetrated by teens after ten P.M?”

Support: Everything between your opening and your conclusion will take the form of support. You should strive for objectivity – that is, an unbiased tone – in your support paragraphs in order to sound more trustworthy and authoritative. Center your writing around verifiable facts, and make the reader aware of where you found them

Closing: After three to five paragraphs of support, your closing should succinctly restate your point and purpose. Your closing paragraph is no time to introduce any new ideas or facts, but you can use it to repeat your strongest arguments. A good rule of thumb is, “First you tell the reader what you're going to say, then you say it, then you tell them what you said.” Repetition in the opening and closing paragraphs is used to solidify your main arguments in the reader's mind.

Things to Avoid

Anecdotes: Anecdotes, personal stories that appear to support your position, can ruin the reader's confidence in you if your experience is not representative of his or hers. Before using a personal story, make sure that what you are describing has happened to others. If you can gather many people who have all shared a common experience that strengthens your argument, you can use anecdote more effectively.

Ad hominem (personal) attacks: Another surefire way to make an astute reader question your credibility is to attack the other side, whoever that may be. Do not succumb to the temptation to call names or cast dispersions on your opponent, whoever that may be. Though there certainly are people in the public sphere who may be out for their own interest over anyone else's, the strongest case is made by facts. Doing otherwise opens you up to retaliatory mud-slinging.

Metaphor: A strong metaphor, comparing one thing to another (ex: “Instituting this new tax would be highway robbery”) can create an image in the reader's mind that will stick with them. This can be both a positive and a negative – make sure your metaphor sounds reasonable and is well-stated, or the reader may stumble over it and have difficulty focusing on what you're trying to say.

Wandering: Once you have your point and purpose, stick to them. Edit your work mercilessly to make sure that everything supports the point and purpose and nothing superfluous or contradictory remains. Also cut out extra wordage, if necessary. In general, the average person will appreciate three short words rather than two long ones; this may not be the case when writing to government officials, who are very used to formality.

After Writing

Drafting: Most professional writers, whether they are journalists, novelists or anything in between, will tell you that a good piece of writing does not happen overnight. Once you have written your first draft, it is generally a good idea to put it aside for several days. After a week or so has elapsed, look at it again, striking out anything that looks extraneous or suspect. Remember that if you are writing to a newspaper, there is limited space in each opinion column, and you are somewhat more likely to be published if you can make your point quickly. It is also a good idea to find a few trustworthy individuals to proofread your document. If there are any points of confusion or disbelief, work on those sections. I recommend making two or three revisions to your work before mailing it, regardless of the intended audience.

Presentation: In all matters of written communication, strong presentation is important. It can decide whether an editor decides to read through your work, or a politician's assistant brings your letter to his or her desk. Make sure that your essay is printed cleanly and crisply, and that your envelope is filled out neatly and according to all the standards of whomever you are addressing. Include a cover letter if necessary. Don't forget to date and sign your work. Though there are many newspapers who will accept opinion submissions through email, most politicians can only be contacted through regular mail – or, if they have email, are very unlikely to ever receive correspondence sent that way.

In Conclusion

You are now on your way to becoming an accomplished writer of persuasive essays. Along with public speaking, the persuasive essay is one of the major tools of becoming a known figure in your local community's political and social issues. You will find that the more you read and write, the easier it will be to select words that heighten the impact of your essay. This talent is universal to the craft of writing and no less important than anything specific to persuasion. Don't be afraid to take every opportunity to make your opinion heard.