Persuasive Essay the Great Gatsby

Persuasive Essay

1. A good persuasive essay is like a charming person: It wins readers over to a particular viewpoint without offending them. To do this, it must present arguments or show evidence that will sway its audience. Appealing to an audience’s emotions is also an effective way to persuade, as long as such appeals are responsible and don’t stir up feelings that are harmful. 2. Guidelines for a persuasive essay – A persuasive essay… a. begins with a concise statement of position on an issue that will interest the audience. b. supports this position with valid evidence and logical arguments (facts, statistics, examples, reasons, expert opinions) and responsible appeals to emotion. c. addresses an audience whose views may differ from the writer’s. d. anticipates opposing arguments. e. ends in a way that prompts readers to change their thinking or to take a certain course of action. 3. Thesis Statement – You must a thesis statement for this assignment. The thesis statement should follow the prescribed formula Subject + Direction + 3 reasons and should be in the introductory paragraph of your letter. 4. You should begin your essay by defining the issue you will address. Then, use facts, dialogue, description, and ideas from the novel to defend your position in the body paragraphs. In your conclusion, be sure to restate your argument and the summarize the main reasons for that argument. 5. Be sure to provide logical proofs for your argument. You may also want to appeal to your readers’ emotions; however, you should not use such appeals in place of good arguments. The proportion of logic to emotion that you should use will depend entirely on your audience, your purpose, and your subject. 6. Establish common ground. When you are addressing an audience that disagrees with your thesis, search for a common ground, or area of agreement. If you want to ban smoking in restaurants and all other public places in your town, and you are addressing an audience of smokers, you might argue that town government has a responsibility to safeguard public health. Since most readers would agree with this statement, they might be more inclined to consider your argument that smoking, as a public hazard, should be banned in public places. 7. Distinguish facts from opinions. Facts are statements that can be proved or verified. When citing a fact to prove a point, ask yourself: Is this fact accurate? It is relevant? Opinions are personal judgments. Do not use opinions as the sole basis of your argument. 8. Set an effective tone. Your tone, or attitude toward your subject, can help you to win readers’ respect. Tone is revealed through the connotations of the words you choose and through the care with which you develop your arguments. Establish a tone that shows you are confident, reliable, and committed to your position. 9. Organization. Often in a persuasive essay, one organizes the reasons according to least important to most important. Therefore, your first body paragraph should be about your least important reason and your last body paragraph should be about your most important reason.