BlogLearnThe Ultimate Guide to Writing a Persuasive Text

The Ultimate Guide to Writing a Persuasive Text

Laptop in front of a notebook | Persuasive Text

Wondering how to write a persuasive text?

Look no further for your guide to all things related how to structure your persuasive writing! We’ll go through what the purpose of a persuasive text is, types of persuasive texts, their features, some common techniques that you can use in your own writing. 

Persuasive texts are written from primary and high school, but the art of persuasion remains important during university and even when you become an adult! 

Let’s dive right in!

What is a Persuasive Text?
What is the Purpose of a Persuasive Text?
Types of Persuasive Texts
Features of Persuasive Writing
Persuasive Text Structure
Tips for Editing

What is a Persuasive Text?

A persuasive text is any form of written argument and includes three characteristics:

  • A point of view
  • Evidence
  • Justification

You can find examples of a persuasive text anywhere in your daily life — in newspapers, advertisements and even the news on TV!

What is the purpose of a persuasive text?

First, let’s take a look at what the purpose of a persuasive text is! 

The purpose of a persuasive is to convince your reader of a view that you are putting forward. This means that it is very important for you to have a strong stance or opinion on a topic before you begin writing.

The readers are convinced through a combination of logical, ethical and emotional arguments that are explored while you write. 

Personal and Academic Persuasive Writing

While most of the persuasive writing that you do in school would mostly be of the academic sort, they can also come in the form of personal writing. Depending on the type of text that you are required to write, you may also have to discuss opposing views and rebut them. 

Academic persuasive texts will tend to present logical arguments using evidence, facts and statistics. Usually, these will also explore opposing arguments and seek to discredit them.

On the other hand, personal writing with persuasive elements will tend to draw on anecdotes and personal experiences to build empathy and convince a reader of the stance being put forward. However, both academic and persuasive writing will draw on the techniques used in the other, although more emphasis will be placed on the ones listed above. 

Understanding Your Audience

Since the core purpose of a persuasive text is to convince a reader of your argument, it is also important for you to know your audience. How you write to convince a mother, a scientist or a business manager about a certain topic will differ and it’s important that your writing reflects this too! 

Types of Persuasive Texts

There are many persuasive text types — these may range from trying to influence an individual’s opinion on a topic or trying to sell something to them! Some of the common types include TV commercials or print advertising, newspaper editorials, op-ed pieces, speeches, exposition and discussion.

Types

Types

While it is likely that you will write some form of persuasive texts as you progress through primary and high school, expositions, discussions and speeches are likely to be the most common. 

Expositions

Expositions only present one side of an argument and aim to convince readers of their viewpoint. The language is strong and assertive and its main aim is to get readers to side with them. 

Discussions

On the other hand, discussions will explore various different viewpoints to help readers make an informed decision. They may recommend a particular stance following the discussion or sum up both points of view and provide both pros and cons for each one. 

Learn about the difference between a persuasive text and a feature article!

Speeches

Speeches may take on either an exposition or discussion form. However, as they are meant to be delivered to an audience, the way it is written is more casual and conversational to engage audiences! 

Features of Persuasive Writing

The features of a persuasive text are often broken down using Aristotle’s concepts of Pathos, Logos and Ethos. Put simply: 

Logos: Appeal to logic.

This is any writing that convinces readers that their point of view is right. Backing up your point with evidence, data and analogies will help to establish logos in your text!

This is the easiest feature and the bare minimum to acing your persuasive text writing!

Ethos: Establishing the writer’s own credibility and appealing to ethics 

In order to convince the reader of your argument, they need to trust you!

How? Make sure you don’t sound biased in your persuasive text — make sure your grammar and punctuation is correct, don’t jump to conclusions (instead guide your reader to your thesis) and acknowledge counterarguments!

Pathos: Appeal to emotions.

This can be any writing that evokes emotions so that you are convinced of their point of view. The point is to get readers to empathise with them.

Use pathos sparingly! Trying to evoke too much emotion can leave your reader feeling skeptical of your writing.

Generally, persuasive texts combine logos, ethos and pathos when constructing their arguments.

But, the emphasis on each feature differs depending on both the audience and the topic you are writing on. 

Techniques in Writing Persuasive Text

If you’re unsure how to start your persuasive text, these persuasive techniques can help you jump start your arguments!

Persuasive Text FeatureTechniques
Logos- "Antanagoge": Putting a positive point of your argument next to a negative point, to minimise the importance of the negative point.
- "Hypophora": Asking a question then answering it to meet your point of view.
- Listing: Providing information and data to prove your point.
Ethos - Sentence structure: Varying sentence structure to make your writing to flow.
- Clarity: Writing so that your ideas are be easily understandable.
- Complexity: Drawing on complex ideas to prove your rationale.
Pathos- Anecdote: Drawing in your reader with a personal story.
- Repetition: Repeating a certain phrase to reinforce your argument throughout your text.
- Simile: Comparing two things to amplify the meaning of the original.

Persuasive Text Structure

It is also important for persuasive texts to introduce the arguments they will lay out in the texts so that the reader has an idea of what direction you are taking them in! Usually, these arguments will be organised from your strongest to your weakest so that the important points are delivered to your audience.

This means that the introduction of your persuasive text is the most important paragraph of the text as it introduces the arguments and provides any background information needed to the reader. 

The body paragraphs are where your arguments are elaborated upon, providing evidence or data to convince readers and where counterarguments are discussed. This will have a topic sentence to provide an overview of what the paragraph is about.

This is followed by your evidence sentences where you unpack your arguments and back them up before providing a closing sentence that reinforces the ideas. 

A strong conclusion is very important for persuasive texts as well. It is important that no new ideas are placed into the conclusion, instead, it should sum up what you have said so far and include a call to action if appropriate.

While conclusions can often seem like a waste of time or a pain to write — they are especially important for persuasive texts as they are the last opportunity you have to convince your reader so make it count! 

Looking for guides on paragraph structure? Check out the various ones you can follow below:

Tips for Editing!

Besides research, writing, editing and proofreading, persuasive texts tend to include some techniques that will help you to present your argument in a convincing way.

RepetitionEmphasises a point and makes a reader pay attention to it.
Rule of threeProviding three examples, arguments or data tends to be an easy way to make things stick for your reader.
AnecdotesDepending on the type of persuasive text you are writing personal stories can help create empathy in the reader and provide an emotional connection.
Rhetorical questionsRhetorical questions are a great way to make your reader reflect or draw their own conclusions based on your arguments.
Call to actionThese usually appear in the conclusion, a call to action will make the reader continue to think about the arguments you have presented and point them in a direction if they would like to take real action.

On the hunt for other useful resources?

Check out some of the other articles we’ve created below:

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Tiffany Fong is currently completing a double degree in Media and Communications with Law at Macquarie University. She currently contributes to the university zine, Grapeshot where she enjoys writing feature articles, commentary on current affairs or whatever weird interest that has taken over her mind during that month. During her spare time, Tiffany enjoys reading, writing, taking care of her plants or cuddling with her two dogs.

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