TIPS FOR IMPROVING PERSUASIVE ESSAY

PERSUASIVE ESSAY

AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT

COMPLEX THESIS

1.  Must state a clear point of view that can be supported.  A factual statement is not a thesis.

2.  Identification of the arguments you will be presenting (foreshadowing of arguments)

3.  No “I” statements or other personal pronouns

BODY PARAGRAPHS (ARGUMENTS)

1.  Topic sentence should be the first sentence of paragraph

2.  Topic sentence must do two things: 

      *   Clearly connect to thesis

      *   Accurately represent what the paragraph (argument) is all about

3. Generalizations must be supported by fact based evidence.  A common problem was that there was not enough evidence. 

4.  Be sure your analysis (explanation of the importance of your evidence in supporting your argument) relates to the evidence presented in the paragraph

5.  Be sure you have analysis.  You know you don’t if you have just described something and not explained its importance. 

6.  Too often the paragraph strays from the topic sentence which must give the paragraph focus.  This makes it hard to figure out what you are trying to say and calls into questions the overall thesis.

COMMUNICATION

1.  Correct fragmented, run-on and confusing sentence structure. 

2.  Avoid repetition.

3.  Use transitions between sentences to improve the flow of the essay.  (However, In addition, Also, On the other hand, Furthermore, More importantly, This results in)
4.  Embed quotes so they flow within the paragraph.  This relates to transitions.  Avoid "in this quote" or "I chose this quote because"

4.  Be careful about word choice.  Avoid slang and informal language.

5.  Avoid consistent grammatical errors and don’t just rely on spell check
6.  Avoid rhetorical questions

CONCLUSION

1.  Omitting the relevance of your essay.  Leave the reader with a big or important idea that comes out of your essay.  Should be something new but not a whole new argument.

CITATIONS

1.  Statistics that were not cited.

2.  Direct quotes that were not cited.

3.  Bogging down fluency by writing out the entire source rather than using MLA citation format.

WORKS CITED PAGE

1.  Excluding sources used in the essay.