Persuasive Essay 1350 words (Due in 8 hrs)

General Feedback and Tips:

Please check if any of this advice can improve your draft and/or help with providing feedback in the peer reviews:

• Do NOT use/copy whole sections from your previous paper; it will not work well as persuasion. You can use ideas, quotes, data etc. but you need to “repackage” the material with a very different introduction, thesis, topic sentences, and conclusion to turn the information into an effective pervasive essay.
• Look over my corrections to your research paper and make the changes; if I told you in the research paper that the citation is wrong, the citation needs to be correct in the persuasive paper. Part of the point about using the same topic for two essays is that you can learn from the weaknesses and improve them and not make the same mistakes a second time.

Have a clear thesis that is persuasive: “this should be …” – “We must….” – “Employers should not be allowed to…” – persuasive means that you are trying to convince the audience of something and the audience is not already agreeing with you. Avoid announcements as thesis statements. Do NOT use: “this paper will show” – “I will prove” – “I will highlight” etc.

Be very clear about what you are arguing for or against. Have a very clear thesis that also addresses the topic. Make sure it clearly addresses and answers the prompt. This essay should not be a pro/con paper but clearly needs to try to convince the audience to join the writer’s side/opinion.

Make sure you have clear transitions that indicate where opposing opinions start (examples: Some may argue that – opponents point out that – some may believe that) and where the following rebuttal starts (= response to the opposing opinion): but – however.

Do include at least one opposing opinion (also called a counterargument) and a rebuttal. An opposing opinion usually disagrees with the thesis or with a specific support for the thesis. An opposing opinion always must be followed by a rebuttal, which responds to the opposing opinion by highlighting the weaknesses of the opposing opinion. How many opposing opinions and rebuttals you include and what type of opposing opinion you include depends on the topic and your audience.

Have a clear transition that shows that this is an opposing opinion – for example: Opponents may argue that…, some point out that…, one possible concern is that…, etc.

Make sure you have a typical introduction with an interesting hook and any necessary background information, but keep the background very short. Do not just jump directly to the thesis.

Ensure your support and examples are specific; avoid vague parts that seem to repeat the same point again and again just with different words. Include a blend of appeals of logos, pathos, ethos; for this essay, logos means data, pathos means stories that appeal to our emotions, and ethos means credible experts and correct citations.

Do not repeat details form the support in the rebuttal and vice versa. A rebuttal and a supporting reason are not the same and thus should not use the same details.

The information/details you include need to be reasons why someone should agree with you. Do not list just random background details about the topic. It needs to be clear why this information should convince the reader. This is usually easier to do with clear topic sentences: “One reason why we should…” – “Another reason to do {this} is….”.

If you use sources (not required but highly recommended to have strong support), make sure you use correct MLA citations. Review this topic if necessary. You must use the current 8 th edition MLA citation style – NOT the 7th edition style and not APA.

On the Works Cited page, include only sources that have an in-text citation. If the source is not mentioned at least once in the text of your essay, it should not be listed under Works Cited.

The title of an article or webpage is in quotation marks and NOT in italics; the name of the whole website or a magazine or a book should be italicized.

Remember that you are trying to convince a hostile audience; this means interesting them in the topic with a strong hook and title!

Thursday to Friday, I will be on the road to Washington State, so I am not sure about my Internet service through my phone company. I will have access to a strong Internet on Friday evening, but this means that it will take me a while to get back to you. At this point, I think you have all the skills and information you need, but if you have urgent questions, use the chat feature in the online tutoring service. Do not forget that we have free online tutoring services available: www.tutor.com/crc - this includes a live chat where a tutor can help you right away, 24/7.