Persuasion attempts to convince readers that the writer's beliefs should be upheld, that the courses of action sustained by the writer are sound, or that the courses of action proposed by the writer should be undertaken. Persuasion clearly differs from writing where the author's purpose is to describe, tell a story, relate an event, explain a process, or express a personal belief. Persuasive essays usually present a reasoned and reasonable call to action. Writers should observe the following DO's and DO NOT's:

1. Persuasive papers should not deal with purely personal beliefs, questions of religious faith, or matters of taste.
2. Persuasive papers must be based upon logical discussions of issues, not purely emotional ones.
3. Persuasive papers should deal with problems about which there are at least two reasonable viewpoints; there can be more than two.
4. Persuasive papers should be based upon hard evidence: facts, statistics, authoritative statements.
5. Persuasive papers should challenge readers to accept the writer's positions about controversial subjects or to lend support to specific actions.

Before writing persuasive papers, students should understand the fundamentals of sound arguments.

• Claims or Conclusions are the logical destinations writers have reached, wish to reach, or want readers to reach when they have presented their complete sequences of reasoning upon given subjects.
• Bases or Grounds are the underlying observations, facts, statistics, or personal experiences that led the writer to specific conclusions or claims.
• Justifications are those processes by which writers and readers test the reliability of certain bases or grounds in arriving at conclusions or claims.

1. Select a controversial subject that has not been overly discussed.
2. Determine your stand on the subject: your claims.
3. Assess the reasonable, logical grounds for your claims.
4. Decide how these grounds may be justified: facts, figures, observations, authorities.
5. Write the thesis statement stating the claim; be specific.
6. Decide on the organization for the grounds and justifications: series or chain.
7. Develop the argument in support of the claim by closely connected, logical supports; avoid inflammatory or emotional language.

1. An argumentative paper begins with a statement (thesis statement) that the writer wishes to establish as valid or truthful. This statement is the CLAIM. The subject must be one about which there are reasonable differences. See the following examples:

• Taking Vitamin C each day will prevent colds.
• Vitamin C has been over-rated as a cold preventative.
• For most efficiency the new freeway should avoid Scottsdale altogether.
• The new freeway for economic reasons should cross the northern part of Scottsdale.
• The old adage "a penny saved is a penny earned" should be observed daily.
• Some money should be spent frivolously.

2. The body of the argumentative paragraph supports the claim by stating the BASES or GROUNDS for the claim. These grounds are the facts, figures, observations, studies, and experiences that led the writer to make the claim. If any of these grounds are questionable, the writer must justify them by showing the logical processes upon which the grounds are based.

3. The paper should end with a statement to the effect that the claim has been established as a valid, logical reason for a course of thinking or action.

• The claim should identify the controversial subject and indicate the position that the writer will take.

Example: Watching Sesame Street (subject) can have negative results for children (claim-position).

• If the writer feels the position taken will meet strong opposition, the opposing view can be acknowledged in the thesis statement or topic sentence. Such acknowledgment indicates that the writer is aware of these other viewpoints:

Example: Although watching Sesame Street has helped children to recognize the alphabet and basic numbers, the program does reinforce undesirable learning attitudes.

In writing the thesis statement and in the supports for the claim, avoid the following:

1. Sweeping or hasty generalizations
2. Assumptions of unproven statements
3. Faulty use of authority
4. Blatant emotional appeals

1. Sweeping or Hasty Generalizations

• Avoid statements using all, never, always, no one (body), or anyone (body). Such statements can rarely be proved. Some exceptions usually exist.

1. All men are superstitious.
2. No one wants the highway crossing his property.
3. Good times always follow bad ones.
4. Poor students never get their work in on time.

One incident is not sufficient to assume that what that incident showed is typical:

Example: A black cat ran in front of my car yesterday, and I had an accident on the way to school. Therefore, every time a black cat runs in front of anyone's car, that person will have an accident.

1. Assumptions of Unproven Statements

1. Useless humanities courses should not be required for graduation.
2. John's overly-strict parents forced him to rebel.

In both of these statements the writer assumes something to be true that has not been proven. Are humanities courses useless? Are John's parents overly-strict? These statements have not been proven.

3. Faulty Use of Authority

• A writer may cite an authority's opinion on a controversial subject if the authority is an expert on that particular subject, and the authority does not have a reason to be biased on that subject. Actors, doctors, lawyers, senators, congressmen, and athletes may all be experts in their own fields, but on particular public policies, world affairs, nutrition, or environmental concerns they may have little knowledge and many biases.
• When a writer assumes that a claim is brought about solely by one cause, contributing causes may be ignored:

1. Eating an apple a day will bring about a longer life. (What about dietary needs or exercise: What about not smoking, drinking, taking drugs, etc.?)
2. Tom is failing algebra because he has a night job. (Maybe Tom does not do his homework, attend classes, or have necessary skills.)
3. Of course, she is prejudiced; she grew up in the South. (Is growing up in the South the only basis for prejudice? Are all Southerners prejudiced?)

4. Blatant Emotional Appeals

• Argumentative papers should be as emotion-free as possible. A writer should strive to back up claims with reasoned logical statements, not emotional ones.

1. Abortions should be prohibited because babies are so cute, cuddly, and sweet. (There are also legal and moral grounds for prohibiting abortions; the cuteness, cuddliness, and sweetness of babies do not contribute to a reasoned argument.)
2. It is true that Mr. Doe committed several sadistic murders, but think of his childhood in the slums and his being abandoned by his parents. (Undoubtedly, these conditions are deplorable for a child, but are they reasons for excusing murder?)
3. Sheila should not be blamed for the accident because she had been drinking, and everyone knows what a terrible disease alcoholism is. (True, alcoholism is terrible, but does that excuse someone from the consequences of drinking and driving?)

After the writer has established a claim in the topic sentence or thesis statement, that claim must be supported in the body of the essay. The writer has two basic organizational choices in constructing the paragraph. The argument can be structured as a SERIES or as a CHAIN:

1. In a SERIES structure, reasons for supporting the claim are presented individually: first, second, third, next, etc. Each of these reasons supports the claim, but each is independent of the others.
2. In a CHAIN structure, supports for a claim depend upon each other; they are LINKED together in sequence.

Remember that you will be writing a persuasive essay which will use documentation to indicate support for your point of view. The following are also some possible topics that you might want to consider. Choose a topic that you can find sources on to support your essay points.

1. Should the 55 MPH speed limit be abolished in Arizona?

2. Liquor ads should/not be banned from television.

3. Movie rating systems are/not ineffective.

4. Lie detector tests given by potential employers are a violation of constitutional rights.

5. Drug tests by employers should/not be mandatory.

6. Is it wrong to create test-tube babies?

7. Should treatment be withheld from newborns with serious birth defects?

1. Should experiments on animals be stopped?

9. Is euthanasia justified?

10. Funerals serve no purpose except to enrich the funeral industry.

11. Amnesty should be granted to illegal aliens.

12. Bilingual education is/not harmful/beneficial.

13. Are women economically exploited?

14. Social security is/not unfair.

15. Public schools should be academically oriented and should not support/offer competitive sports.

16. There should be stiff penalties for players who injure others in pro-sports.

17. Tougher sentences will/not cut down on crime.

18. We need/do not need more gun control.

19. Does violence on television adversely affect kids?

20. Should plea bargaining be abolished?

21. Is nuclear power safe?

22. The insanity defense should be abolished.

23. Capital punishment is/not justified.

24. Employers should be allowed to hire teenagers for less than minimum wage.