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Persuasion Is All Around You
Writing a persuasive essay is at once the easiest and most difficult writing task of all. The persuasive essay is easy to write because you are surrounded by so many examples. For instance, most newspapers and news magazines include editorials that try to convince you to support a particular opinion, vote for a certain candidate, or take a particular action in your own life. In addition, those same newspapers and magazines are full of advertisements that are trying to persuade you to purchase various products or services. Finally, if you watch television, you are constantly bombarded by mini persuasive essays called commercials.
The difficult part, however, of writing a persuasive essay has to do with the approach. When you write a persuasive essay, you can’t rely on persuasion alone; you must also choose one or more writing techniques to structure your argument. Generally, you will use one of the following eight techniques as your primary approach, and your choice will depend on what you’re trying to accomplish.
Description — If you’re trying to convince someone that a particular place is special, you may want to use description to vividly paint that particular setting: the sights, the sounds, the smells, etc. This technique is used often in autobiographical essays that describe the views from country homes, the sounds of city streets, or the smells of ethnic kitchens. You may even see this approach used in the promotional materials of four-year colleges as you consider your future educational options.
Narration — If you’re trying to sell a product, a service, or an idea that has a long history of success and satisfied customers, you may want to use narration. For example, one local moving company tells the story of how the business began by shipping apples. Their key selling strategies are experience and great care for your valuable possessions. After all, if the company’s employees can move apples without bruising them, those same employees can certainly transport your family treasures in the same way.
Examples — If I said that the best movies ever made came from the 1970s, you might think I’m crazy. After all, how can the…
