Persuasive Essay
A persuasive essay is an essay written with the primary aim of persuading the essay readers to the position of the essay writer. Persuasive essays are similar to argument essays because they argue for the superiority of a particular stance. The subtle difference between a persuasive essay and an argument essay is in the ultimate objective: an argument essay is not necessarily attempting to persuade readers to the writer's opinion, but perhaps only to present the reasons why the writer holds the position he or she does and deems it superior. A persuasive essay, on the other hand, always seeks to reach out to the other side in order to persuade readers to join the essay-writer's stance.
Frequently, students are taught how to be persuasive writers through the use of the strategies of Greek rhetoric. There are three elements of persuasion under this Greek model: ethos, pathos, and logos.
Ethos refers to the authority of the writer. The essay reader must believe that the writer of the persuasive essay is a credible source. Ethos is developed through several ways, but primary among them is the demonstration of intelligent thoughtfulness. Intelligent thoughtfulness is displayed when the essay writer acknowledges the opinions of his or her opposition and demonstrates that he or she is familiar with those opinions and the reasoning behind them. Doing this shows the essay reader that the writer has decided upon his or her own opinion after becoming informed about both sides.
Pathos refers to the reader's emotions. In order to be persuasive, most persuasive essays rely at least somewhat on engaging the emotional side of the reader. This is done by pointing out the ways in which the subject of the essay relates to and affects individuals and communities. An effective way to include pathos can often be through the inclusion of a hypothetical scenario.
Logos refers to the reader's logic. Logos includes the writer's display of reasoning and evidence that support the writer's position. Thus, logos consists not only of pointing out the rational or practical reasons for the writer's opinion, but also of including testimony and facts from authoritative sources. Any use of secondary source material is an appeal to logos.
To be effective, persuasive essays should appeal to all three elements of the Greek rhetorical strategy. However, the writer should not feel as though he or she must appeal to all three elements equally, as it is likely that the element that dominates the essay will change depending on the essay subject and intended audience.
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