Persuasive writing is an important part of both primary school and high school English.

Persuasive writing is a piece of writing used to persuade or convince a reader of a writer’s point of view or opinion. Usually, the argument presented is either for or against a particular topic or theme.

Shine Education tips for writing persuasive texts

Persuasive writing needs to engage and persuade the reader. It is important to convince readers to believe and agree with you.

Persuasive writing needs to follow a set structure that consists of introduction, body, and conclusion. You may also like: Mnemonics

Introduction:

The introduction should be clear, and it should state your opinion. You need to grab the reader’s attention and you need to provide a brief overview of the important points you will be presenting in your text.

Body:

The body contains your arguments and needs to be presented in separate paragraphs. In NAPLAN you usually have to present three arguments but sometimes you might need to present more. When you write your arguments, you need to provide practical examples to support your arguments. You need to give strong reasons for your opinion on the topic.  Each body paragraph should cover a separate point.

You need to use sequence words such as, firstly, secondly, and finally.

Conclusion:

In the conclusion, you need to provide a summary of what you presented in the text. You need to restate your opinion and summarise the most important information that you have presented. You cannot use any new information in the conclusion.

You need to use strong persuasive language throughout the entire text.

Examples of common persuasive words:

  • Important
  • Believe
  • Need
  • Best
  • Powerful
  • Vital
  • Certain
  • Definitely
  • Appealing
  • Spectacular
  • Crucial