The Persuasive Essay

Writing Your Essay

Once you've chosen a topic and done some initial background research, you will want to write your thesis which clearly states your point, and the argument you will be making for the rest of your paper.

According to the OWL at Purdue, a thesis:

1. Should be specific—it should cover only what you will discuss in your paper and should be supported with specific evidence.
2. Usually appears at the end of the first paragraph of a paper.
3. May change as you write, so you may need to revise your thesis statement to reflect exactly what you have discussed in the paper.

Understanding your argument will make the next steps of the process (outlining and research) much easier to organize and manage as it will help give you a clear idea of the path you want to take in your essay.

• Library Tutorials from Berkeley Collegeent

• The Elements of Argument reviews the basic elements of argumentative writing, concentrating on an unresolved event from the past.

• Effective Persuasion Presentation from OWL at Purdue.
• Persuasive Essay - Nova Southeastern University Tutoring and Testing Center

• Examples of famous persuasive speeches - This list provides examples of famous persuasive speeches which can be found in the Library Databases or on YouTube.

• What Is Persuasive Speech? (Plus 10 Tips for Creating One)

• Sample Persuasive Speech

The Center for Academic Success (CAS) is excellent resource for writing support.   Once you locate your resources, the CAS staff can help you to develop and write your essay.  Click here to access The Center for Academic Success.