Writing persuasively

A persuasive essay is written to convince the reader to accept your view, or your opinion. A good persuasive essay is forceful, well-organized, and carefully reasoned.

The prompt may concern an issue about which you feel strongly. If so, your job in writing your essay is to persuade the reader to accept your view. Conversely, the prompt may be one about which you have no strong feelings. In this case, you can address the topic by exploring both sides of the idea. In either case, you must make your position clear. The scorer should not have to guess where you stand.

The directions for the first essay will be similar to these:

Discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with this opinion. Support your views with specific reasons and examples from your own experience, observations, or reading.

Read the prompt carefully. Think about it. Do you agree or disagree? Maybe you’re not sure of your opinion. In that case, which stance is easier for you to take? For which side of the issue can you generate the most support? For which side of the issue can you produce the best essay? Take that side.

Sticking to the facts

The second essay requires you to read passages from two sources and draw on the information in both sources as well as your own experiences to write the essay. You must correctly cite the sources.

The directions for the second essay will be similar to these:

The following assignment requires you to use information from two sources to discuss the most important concerns that relate to a specific issue. When paraphrasing or quoting from the sources, cite each source by referring to the author’s last name, the title, or any other clear identifier.

The Praxis doesn’t test the depth of your knowledge of a topic. The Praxis tests your ability to analyze information, write well, and incorporate outside sources while citing correctly. So, you don’t need to be a Jeopardy! champion to write this essay.

The Praxis scorers want just the facts in your essay. Don’t waste their time and endanger your good score with unnecessary descriptions or comments that don’t contribute to your main point, your thesis.

Making an outline: Essential or overrated?

Although a formal outline isn’t necessary, getting organized is essential. After you’ve read the directions and the prompt, restate the prompt in your own words. Be sure you understand what the prompt is asking you to do.

If you’re writing the argumentative essay, think about your viewpoint. If you’re working on the informative/explanatory essay, read the source material. Then, for either essay, formulate a rough thesis. Next, take a mental inventory. What examples or experiences can you relate to the topic? Write them down. In what order will you arrange these supporting details? Number them. Reread the prompt. Are your supporting details relevant? Make adjustments and rewrite your thesis, if necessary. You should spend no more than five to seven minutes on these tasks.

A common maxim regarding essay writing is, “Tell them what you are going to tell them, tell them, and then tell them what you told them.” Although a bit simplistic, this is still good advice to keep in mind when you’re organizing your writing.

Looking at the sections of your essay

Keep in mind that good writing of any kind requires an excellent thesis, topic sentences, and well-organized supporting details, as well as a strong conclusion.

Here’s a breakdown of how to structure each paragraph in your essay:

• First paragraph
  • Craft a short introduction.
  • State your position, which is your thesis. (Here’s your chance to make a good first impression. Best foot forward!)

• Middle paragraphs

  • Begin with a topic sentence related to your thesis.
  • Provide specific examples, details, and/or experiences. Explain why these are important and how they relate to your thesis. If you’re working on the argumentative essay, what benefits can occur as a result of your point of view?
  • End each paragraph with a strong final sentence relating to the thesis.

  Read the prompt again to be sure everything you wrote relates to it! Remember: You don’t want the thought “So what?” to enter the minds of your readers.

• Conclusion
  • Put a bow on it! Tie up your ideas into one neat package. Avoid merely summarizing.
  • Restate your position if this is the argumentative essay.
  • Sum up the supporting details.
  • Drive your point home.
• Works Cited (only for the essay requiring the use of sources). Be sure to format your sources properly.

After you have organized your thoughts, begin writing your essay. Be sure to save the last four or five minutes to proofread, correcting spelling and grammar.

Don’t box yourself in: Theses aren’t set in stone

After you’ve written your thesis and begun to develop it in your middle paragraphs, you may find that an adjustment is in order. You may discover while writing your examples or experiences that your thesis statement has evolved and could be better.

Write your revised statement. After you’ve completed your essay, revisit your revised thesis and reread the prompt. If your revised thesis is better, change it.

Citing the sources

When you write the informative/explanatory essay, you must cite any outside sources you quote or paraphrase. You can cite sources within the body of the text several different ways:

• You can cite a source by including the author’s name in the sentence you are writing. Be sure to use quotation marks when quoting directly.

  • According to Mary Lucas, “Children learn best by doing.”

  If you paraphrase, you must still cite your source:

  • Mary Lucas believes that children can learn best by doing.
• You can cite a source by writing the last name of the author in parentheses at the end of the sentence before the period:
  • Children learn best by doing (Lucas).

Checking out some additional writing pointers

Here are some general, but important, tips to keep in mind as you write your essays (see Chapter 13 for some additional strategies):

• Be careful to address only the assigned topic. Don’t wander off course — no sudden left turns.
• Don’t leave anything out. Address every point, but be concise. Be specific; make every word count.
• Provide clear support for your points. Imagine that for every point you make, someone asks, “So what?” Be sure you have an answer. Doing this keeps your writing relevant.
• Pay attention to grammar, usage, and mechanics. Errors here will cost you points.
• Use transitions to make your words flow from idea to idea and paragraph to paragraph.
• Vary the length and structure of your sentences.
• Avoid passive voice. Use active verbs whenever possible.
• Include correct citation, whether you paraphrase or quote directly from the source.

Adding interesting anecdotes

Experienced writers and speakers often relate an anecdote to make a point. An anecdote is a very short story and can be an excellent way to support your essay’s thesis. Personal stories are particularly memorable and, consequently, make your point memorable, too.

Consider this prompt for an argumentative essay:

“Because students have so many extracurricular activities and so little time outside the school day, the majority of school hours should be limited to academic courses only.”

What could be better to support your view than a brief anecdote about your own experience in juggling extracurricular activities and academics?

The anecdote is simply a suggestion and not a requirement. It helps to illustrate your main ideas by using a real-life situation.

Although the Praxis is no place to practice your stand-up comedy routine, an amusing anecdote to illustrate your point is certainly allowed and can add energy and personality to your essay. Just be sure that the anecdote clearly supports your thesis and doesn’t distract the reader.

Painting a picture with words

The old saying “A picture is worth a thousand words” applies to the essay. Even though you can’t literally place a picture into your essay, your words can paint a picture to support your point. Create an image, a “word picture,” by being very specific. Consider the following descriptions:

• Vague: a nice day
• Specific: bright sunshine, marshmallow clouds in a brilliant blue sky

By revising the vague statement of a nice day, the specific, detailed adjectives and nouns create a detailed image of a nice day in the reader’s brain.

Vague verbs are too weak to create an image. Instead, use strong, active verbs. For example, instead of “walk,” use a more specific verb — “ambled,” “strolled,” or “trotted,” for example.

Use specific words in your essay to appeal to the five senses: sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. Doing so gives the reader the sense that he is there and can experience what you’re describing.

However, using specific words also comes with a caveat. You should know the words that you use. “Big words” won’t earn you extra points.

The big word isn’t necessarily preferable to the simple word nor is the unusual word preferable to the everyday word. Clarity is your goal. Don’t confuse the reader by “overwriting.” Big words used inappropriately can mean fewer points for your essay. Use words with which you are comfortable.

Finally, avoid jargon — language that is so specialized that it may be misunderstood. You may know, for example, the specialized language that computer “techies” use every day, but assume that your reader does not.

Anticipating objections against your position

When you write the argumentative essay, consider what could be said against your view and prepare a strong retort. Recognizing opposing views strengthens your own. By refuting the opposite view, you make yours much stronger.

Ignoring a major opposing view weakens your position. Suppose, for example, you are writing in favor of banning certain books in the school library. Think about the opposing views and decide how you can refute them. Including counterarguments actually makes your own points stronger, not weaker, because it shows you clearly thought about the topic and are organized in your approach.

Prompts for argumentative essays

Directions: Discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with this opinion. Support your views with specific reasons and examples from your own experience, observations, or reading.

Because students have so many extracurricular activities and so little time outside the school day, the majority of school hours should be limited to academic courses only.”

“The technology included in the latest model automobiles — weather reports, email access, GPS, and so forth — distracts the driver and should be eliminated.”

“Although learning to eat nutritious food is important, some leaders in our society have taken the matter of eating healthy too far.”

“Television reporting of news in the United States has begun to rely too heavily on ratings, leading networks to strive for entertainment and sensationalism rather than unbiased reporting.”

“All high-school and college students should be required to take regular drug tests.”

“Students with poor academic performance should be barred from all extracurricular activities.”

Prompts for informative/explanatory essays

Prompt #1

Directions: The following assignment requires you to use information from two sources to discuss the most important concerns that relate to a specific issue. When paraphrasing or quoting from the sources, cite each source by referring to the author’s last name, the title, or any other clear identifier.

Source 1:

Adapted from: Fitzpatrick, John R. “House and the Virtue of Eccentricity,” House and Philosophy. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2009. Print.

Diogenes of Sinope (404–323 BCE) was the most famous of the cynics. He distrusted the written word, and if he did write anything, none of it survived. But he was influential enough for others to record his life and views. Diogenes’s philosophy stressed living an ethical life, a life as nature intended. Thus, the conventional life of Athens was far too soft, and the polite life of civil society was far too dishonest. Diogenes believed that one’s private persona and public persona should be identical — what one says and does in private should be what one says and does in public. Diogenes is perhaps best known for walking the streets with a lit torch “looking for an honest man.” We are all aware of modern politicians who preach family values in public while privately divorcing their spouses, abandoning their children, or soliciting prostitutes. For Diogenes, if you’re going to talk the talk, then you’d better walk the walk; only by “walking your talk” can you live ethically and happily.

Source 2:

Adapted from: Malloy, Daniel P. “Clark Kent Is Superman: The Ethics of Secrecy,” Superman and Philosophy: What Would the Man of Steel Do? Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2013. Print.

The essential difference between secrecy and privacy is that privacy is often thought of as a right, whereas secrecy is a method. There are certain things we all have a right to keep to ourselves that do not require secrecy. The right to privacy has been somewhat controversial. Legally, at least in America, it has been established through precedent and interpretation, but cannot actually be found anywhere in the U.S. Constitution. Contemporary philosopher Judith Jarvis Thompson, along with some other philosophers, has argued that the right to privacy isn’t a moral right either. Instead, Thompson argues that what we take to be the right to privacy is actually an amalgam of rights that a person has over herself and her property. Still, privacy does have some moral grounding. Secrecy, on the other hand, is not morally grounded. We have no right to keep secrets. Secrecy, then, is morally neutral. It is not presumed to be immoral, as lying is. Nor is it presumed to be a moral right. Secrecy is a tool, and just like any other tool, its rightness or wrongness depends on the use to which it is put.

Prompt #2

Directions: The following assignment requires you to use information from two sources to discuss the most important concerns that relate to a specific issue. When paraphrasing or quoting from the sources, cite each source by referring to the author’s last name, the title, or any other clear identifier.

Source 1:

Adapted from: Nielsen, Carsten Fogh. “World’s Finest Philosophers,” Superman and Philosophy: What Would the Man of Steel Do? Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2013. Print.

In Leviathan, one of the most influential books on political philosophy ever written, the British philosopher Thomas Hobbes claimed that human beings neither do nor should trust each other, and described the natural state of human association as a war “of every man against every man.” Hobbes recognized that many people might not agree with this somewhat depressing analysis, and that some might claim that human beings are not nearly as bad as Hobbes portrays them. In response to this, Hobbes asked those who disagreed with him to take a closer look at how they themselves actually behave: “Let him therefore consider with himself, when taking a journey, he arms himself, and seeks to go well accompanied; when going to sleep, he locks his doors; when even in his house, he locks his chest … Does he not there as much accuse mankind by his actions as I do by my words?”

Source 2:

Adapted from: Finkelman, Leonard. “Superman and Man,” Superman and Philosophy: What Would the Man of Steel Do? Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2013. Print.

The human nature optimist believes that the essence of humanity is selflessness. To quote philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778), “men, being wild rather than wicked, and more intent to guard themselves against the mischief that might be done them, than to do mischief to others, were by no means subject to very perilous dissensions.” […] Rousseau wrote that mankind is “born free, and everywhere is in chains.” In the state of nature, you have compassion for your neighbor; however, your desire for compassion from her will compel you toward vanity, or the attempt to elevate yourself and diminish others.