Persuasive Writing

Opinion

A point of view that someone holds and can vary from person to person. It cannot be proved because it expresses a belief, a feeling, or a thought.

Persuasive Technique

A tool used by writers to support their arguments, including logical appeals, ethical appeals, appeals to authority, emotional appeals, and loaded language.

Counter Argument

A writer's answer or response to an opposing argument.

Fact

Aaron Rodgers is a quarterback for the Green Bay Packers.

Opinion

Aaron Rodgers is the greatest football quarterback of all time.

Declaration

Any opinion based statement about a certain topic

Persuasive Writing

Any type of writing that attempts to persuade us to adopt a point of view, agree with an opinion, take an action, form a belief, etc. It is any type of writing that involves an ARGUMENT.

Fact

Can be confirmed or verified by a personal observation, an eyewitness account, a reliable source, a scientific experiment, or a discussion with an expert.

Propaganda

Carefully using words in a certain way to influence opinions, emotions, attitudes, and behavior

Title

Contains both the paper's topic and author's claim

Introduction

Grabs the reader's attention and contains the thesis statement that supports the declaration with three logical reasons.

Paraphrase

How a writer avoids plagiarizing when using facts, quotes, statistics, and ideas from research sources in essay writing. These four steps of paraphrasing must be followed in the correct order: 1) Read, 2) Think, 3) Re-word, and 4) Cite source.

Words to Avoid

In formal writing these include the verb "get" and personal pronouns like "you," "I," and "me."

Supporting Details

Research facts, examples, statistics, quotations, expert opinions, and anecdotes that combined with the writer's own ideas to support the claim of the persuasive paper.

Declaration

Students should be allowed to use cell phones in school.

Body Paragraphs

Support the three logical reasons included in the thesis statement with research information.

Thesis Statement

Supports the declaration with three logical reasons.

Support

The facts and opinions writers use to defend a claim.

Read

The first step of paraphrasing facts, quotes, statistics, and ideas from research sources to avoid plagiarizing.

Cite source

The fourth step of paraphrasing facts, quotes, statistics, and ideas from research sources to avoid plagiarizing.

Think

The second step of paraphrasing facts, quotes, statistics, and ideas from research sources to avoid plagiarizing.

Re-word

The third step of paraphrasing facts, quotes, statistics, and ideas from research sources to avoid plagiarizing.

Claim

The writer's opinion on an issue or problem.

Argument

The writer's position on the topic centered on a claim. A statement, reason, or fact for or against a point.

Topic Sentence

This first strong sentence of a paragraph that combines the idea of the previous paragraph and introduces the topic of the new one.

Transition Words

Used to connect ideas, sentences, and paragraphs so that writing flows smoothly.

Conclusion

Wraps up the paper and leaves the reader with an idea to ponder, a cause to believe in, a call to action.