Persuasive Essay English M01a Tuck PURPOSE: Your goal in a persuasive essay is to pick a controversial or arguable topic, choose a side, and convince your audience by presenting relevant facts that support your thesis in a logical manner. TOPIC: DON’T MAKE THIS HARD ON YOURSELF! Students most often get into trouble with this assignment by picking topics that are too broad, too vague, or too esoteric. It is best to focus on a narrow topic that you can discuss in detail. Consider a topic that relates to your major or another class you have taken and enjoyed, or an issue that is of personal interest to you. However, this must be substantially different from any previous essay you have written for this class. If you have trouble coming up with a topic, talk to me and I will help you come up with something. TABOO TOPICS: Abortion, legalization of marijuana, gun control General Outline: A) Start with an attention-getting first statement or hook B) State your claim in a strong, debatable thesis that is specific and limited enough so that you can do a good job arguing it. C) As part of your thesis sentence, or right after it, include a blueprint or forecasting statement that shows the division of your thesis into the main points or arguments you will use to support your thesis. These points will become the elements that will compose the body of your paper. D) In the body of your paper, you’ll support your argument using at least four sources. Do not use general encyclopedias, whether hard copy or from the Internet, such as Brittanica or Wikipedia. Use the library databases for at least some of your sources. You can use other kinds of sources, such as mainstream news organizations, government agencies, professional organizations, etc. Use these sources in a balanced way; in other words, you should not use 10 quotes from one source and one quote each from three other sources. E) Discuss opposing viewpoints and your rebuttal to some of those opposing arguments.