Introduction: A persuasive essay persuades. It’s as simple as that. It attempts to convince you of something, or to cause you to action. In order to accomplish this, a good persuasive essay will use everything it has to use – narrative, comparison/contrast, cause and effect… – and will carefully organize and use these tools in combination, along with documented research and an explanation of that research and how it all fits together, to win. It does not have to be “right,” if there is such a thing, to be good. It does, however, need to be convincing. Assignment: Write a persuasive essay. Another way to say that is find something you would like fixed and then convince those who can fix it that it in their best interest to do so. I suggest you pick something local, or with local impact, and certainly something you both care about and are willing to research. To that end, do not write about abortion, gun control, the death penalty, gay marriage, prayer in schools, or any other argument you would not change your mind about regardless of the information you find in the research. I don’t care what side you are on. Think of it this way: for these topics, if someone already agrees with you, it’s not an argument; if they don’t agree with you, you’re wrong. End of argument. Organization: Organize your persuasive essay in whatever way best makes your case. Use everything you’ve ever learned, especially if it came from this class, and anything else you can come up with to prove your point. Do research, document what you find, and use it. This is required. You need at least three credible sources from the academic database, and I recommend five. Eight would be even better. Cite them carefully, so the in-text citations line up with the works cited page and leave no room for error. Do not be afraid of the opposition. Often the most effective method is to give us their case and refute it before moving on to your own, more practical
solution. Make it look good.
Format: Use MLA format for both the paper and citations, in Times New Roman 12 point font, double-spaced with 1” (standard) margins.