persuasive essay vs research paper

Essay vs Research Paper: Key Disparities

Table of contents

• 1.1 What Is an Essay?
• 1.2 What Is a Research Paper?
• 2.1 Purpose and Objective
• 2.2 Structure and Organization
• 2.3 Length and Depth
• 2.4 Sources and Evidence
• 2.5 Voice and Style
• 2.6 Audience and Presentation
• 3 Essay vs Research Paper: 10 Points of Difference
• 4 What Is the Difference Between Research Paper and Different Types of Papers
• 5 Let’s Sum Up

Every student needs to write some academic papers for the university. However, even young people with experience can't determine the difference between an essay and a research paper. Although these two areas of academic writing have many similarities, the requirements are still significantly different.

• In this article, you will get a clear definition of an essay and research paper.
• We will outline the key differences between these two types of academic writing.
• You will learn more about the organization, structure, essay and research paper requirements.
• Finally, you will be able to tell the difference between a research paper and an essay.

To get to the heart of the matter of these two academic assignments, we should start by getting an essay vs research paper definition.

Definition and Overview

What is an essay.

An essay is a short piece of work, the purpose of which is to present individual thoughts regarding a chosen topic. Often, essays do not pretend to be scientific but require a defined structure. The basic requirements for an essay suggest writing a five-paragraph piece that contains an introduction, a body, and a conclusion.

What makes your essay unique is your creativity and the novelty of your ideas. To easily structure your thoughts and present them clearly to the reader, you should devote time to drafting an essay . Before you start writing your essay, brainstorm the freshest ideas. Thus, even though all your classmates will use the same five-paragraph structure as you, your ideas will impress the teacher. Experiment with meaning, not form.

What Is a Research Paper?

The difference between an essay and a research paper revolves around the academic approaches. Research work is the depth of study of a selected scientific topic, which should bring scientific novelty by drawing conclusions based on existing research and experiments conducted. For students, it’s not enough to state the facts or express their point of view regarding the topic. Your task is to comprehensively study the subject of research, familiarize yourself with existing opinions, and outline the direction of the upcoming study.

Your teacher will expect you to demonstrate analytical skills, the ability to select reliable sources, and a broad theoretical base on your research topic. Research papers require creativity, erudition, and orientation in the topic.

Key Differences Between Essay and Research Paper

The central difference is the goal of these academic assignments. The essay aims to express an individual point of view and find a creative, fresh approach to an existing topic. A good research paper seeks to introduce scientific novelty by examining existing data and conducting new experiments to analyze the information obtained.

Purpose and Objective

The first and main difference between an essay and a research paper is the purpose of writing . An essay as an academic task has the goal of developing students' creative thinking. It also teaches us a structured presentation of thoughts regarding a certain topic. The student is required to have a non-standard approach, fresh thoughts, and reasoned conclusions on the given topic.

The purpose of the research work is to study a scientific topic in detail. This academic assignment is aimed at assessing the student’s analytical abilities and competence to determine cause-and-effect relationships, filter sources, and formulate logical conclusions. Such work requires theoretical knowledge, preliminary study of existing scientific works, and the ability to formulate goals and research methods.

Moreover, a student is supposed to show the capacity to draw comprehensive conclusions based on available data and information obtained during independent research. This task may seem complicated to students, so they opt for resorting to the help of PapersOwl writing service to save time.

Structure and Organization

To start with, the basic structure of any college essay involves a text consisting of five paragraphs, divided into three main factions: introduction, body part, and conclusion. When students lack time to compose a nicely structured academic essay, they can always pay to write a research paper and have their tasks done by a professional. The introduction presents the topic, sets the main direction for further text, and also works as a bait to motivate the reader to study further work. The introduction is followed by three body paragraphs. Each of the three body paragraphs presents a separate idea.

The last paragraph of any essay is a conclusion. In this paragraph, the college or university student must resume the arguments and ideas presented in the text, summarizing them into the main message of the essay. Often, the idea that you present in your conclusions will be most memorable to the reader.

Consequently, let’s overview the structure of a research paper. Compared to the structure of an essay, the organization of a research paper is much more ornate. This type of work requires a title page and abstract that go before the main body of text. On the title page, the student describes his topic of work, as well as gives contact details. An abstract is a short description of the main ideas and research methods of your work. The research work itself consists of an introduction, background, main part, and conclusions. Also, at the very end, they often add acknowledgments and a list of references, which must be formatted following the required international format.

Length and Depth

The length and depth of analysis between these two academic assignments also differ significantly. As for the essay, it is often a short prose piece whose length does not exceed 1000 words. You are faced with the task of fitting a large array of ideas into a small amount of text. The essay format itself rarely requires rigorous and thorough research of the topic, but you should work on creativity and the presence of a message in your essay. Most academic papers fall in the 300 to 600-word range.

On the other hand, a research paper is a scientific project that includes many theoretical aspects that require analysis and clarification. Thus, the volume is significantly bigger. Basic research paper lengths range from 4,000 to 6,000 words. In this case, you will no doubt have to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the selected sources, formulate a research vector, and spend time conducting your experiments, or ask PapersOwl to do a research paper for you . A research paper is a scientific project that includes many theoretical aspects that require analysis and clarification.

Sources and Evidence

The presence of theoretical sources and references is not a mandatory requirement for an essay. You can state your own thoughts on a given topic without resorting to the help of existing sources. Present your ideas on the topic, giving arguments that seem logical to you. If you do decide to base your paper on existing works, you must be sure to indicate where the information was taken from. And yet, the teacher needs to see your own thoughts rather than a dry listing of existing ideas.

Unlike an essay, a quality research paper must include primary and secondary sources, as well as a specific citation format. Surely, you are not the first person to study this scientific topic. In order not to repeat existing thoughts, you need to conduct a search to form a reliable basis for your study. If you skip this step, you risk basing your paper on misleading scientific findings.

Voice and Style

The very specificity of the essay as an academic paper is the subjective presentation of information. A large percentage of your essay should consist of your perspective and vision of the chosen topic. For this reason, essays often use a less formal and more subjective tone. However, you can still use a large amount of colloquial vocabulary, completely disregarding the norms of formal style. Students often have trouble figuring out the right style for their university assignments. In such cases, a reasonable solution is to seek help from a specialist. When you buy custom-written essays from PapersOwl, you’ll always get a perfectly balanced academic paper.

On the other hand, a research paper is a serious scientific work. The student must maintain a formal tone while complying with all structural requirements. Also, in investigative work, there is little room for subjectivity and a personal approach since an objective style is required. At the same time, do not oversaturate your research work with formalism and standard clichés.

Audience and Presentation

The essay format can be used both in the educational process and in an independent literary style. Therefore, the audience for such a written assignment can be wide and varied. When you’re writing an essay, make sure it’s understandable in academia and for a wide audience.

Research work, on the contrary, is aimed at a range of professionals in the chosen field. Written in scientific language, the goal of this work is to attract the attention of scientists and students of certain majors. Your scientific work should be rich in theory and related terms.

Essay vs Research Paper: 10 Points of Difference

As you may have noticed, research papers and essays have many differences, both global and specific. These two types of academic assignments differ in the purpose of writing, have different structures and formats, and are aimed at testing different skills. And yet, every day, students face difficulties in understanding the basic requirements, which leads to incorrect execution of the task. To summarize the main differences, let's look at the table below.

What Is the Difference Between Research Paper and Different Types of Papers

There are many types of papers, each focusing on different topics, serving different purposes, and requiring a specific structure. Those are different types of essays that share a common ground but differ in the way they present information and arguments.

Analytical paper. The purpose of such an essay is an in-depth analysis of the chosen topic, studying different approaches and points of view, and formulating one’s own conclusions based on the information studied and scientific evidence.

Argumentative paper. This type of essay takes as a basis an ambiguous topic; the author must take a certain position and provide a number of arguments.

Informative paper. It has an informative purpose — a presentation of information to the reader, preceded by careful analysis and selection of data.

Persuasive paper . The purpose of this paper is to present convincing arguments, using chosen writing techniques, confirming the author’s position regarding the selected scientific topic.

To get a high grade, you need to understand the requirements of academic requirements. No matter how informatively rich your work is, if it does not meet the requirements, it cannot be highly appreciated. Each type of academic assignment has its own clearly defined, unique format. It’s necessary to know the difference between a research paper vs argumentative essay so as not to get confused while completing a college assignment. So before you start writing an assignment, make sure you understand the type of academic writing required of you.

Let’s Sum Up

Research papers and essays are aimed at testing various skills of the student, following different structures, and having several requirements. An essay is a more creative writing task, which involves showing originality and expressing a personal opinion on a certain topic. At the same time, a research paper is a type of scientific writing that adheres to a strict structure and uses a formal tone. Understanding the main differences will make your writing process easier, saving you time researching the requirements. Remember that knowing the essence of the assignment is a key factor in writing a decent paper.

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Argumentative vs. Persuasive Essays: What’s the Difference?

The difference between an argumentative and persuasive essay isn’t always clear. If you’re struggling with either style for your next assignment, don’t worry. The following will clarify everything you need to know so you can write with confidence.

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First, we define the primary objectives of argumentative vs. persuasive writing. We then compare the best strategies for starting the writing process. In both cases, the key is knowing your audience, which we will discuss later in this article by Custom-Writing.org experts.

• 🎯 Primary Objectives
• 🎬 Starting Your Essay
• ✍️ Writing Technique
• 👁️ Point of View
• ❓ So, what’s the difference?

🔗 References

🎯 persuasive vs. argumentative writing: primary objectives.

Both argumentative and persuasive essays require you to present your point of view on a specific topic. However, your approach will differ between the two. The words “argumentative” and “persuasive” should help you recognize what you are expected to achieve. Let’s see how.

For the argumentative essay, it is sufficient to present your point of view and nothing more. That said, the information you present should come across as being reliable enough for the readers. They don’t need to agree with your take on the issue at hand. The reader need only acknowledge that your point of view is worth considering.

In a persuasive essay, however, your goal is to get the reader on your side. And so, in addition to presenting sensible information, you want the reader to share your opinion.

Here are some examples to show you the difference. For more examples try and use a thesis statement generator for persuasive essay and for argumentative one, and you’ll clearly see what sets them apart.

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Additionally, you can take a look at any example of term paper for college , which will clearly show you the differences between the types. Remember, though, that the more controversial your topic is, the more likely it is that the reader will disagree with you!

🎬 Argumentative vs. Persuasive Essay: How to Start

For either type of essay, the foundation is generally the same. Before even thinking about your introduction, settle on a topic that genuinely interests you. What follows will differ for argumentative and persuasive essays.

In the case of argumentative writing, it’s crucial to have all the information you need to build up a strong set of arguments and examples. Therefore, don’t forget to spend some time researching your topic in earnest. Once you have all the data, you can easily choose which side to take. Never force a paper to align with your personal opinion if you don’t have enough supporting evidence.

In the case of a persuasive essay, your job is to make sure you have a decent topic and identify which side to support. The starting point is a bit less complicated.

✍️ Persuasive vs. Argumentative Essays: Writing Technique

This is where things get interesting in the clash between persuasive and argumentative writing. For college-level writing, it’s never enough to follow a general essay outline . Getting that coveted higher mark requires that you know the unique yet subtle features of both writing styles.

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Topical and relevant reasons are the backbone of any argumentative text. This is where preliminary research comes in. Having requisite evidence and facts from credible sources ensures the worthiness of your essay. That way, the reader can validate your point of view.

As with argumentative writing, persuasive essays should include some measure of supporting facts. What distinguishes persuasive writing is that you must also engage the reader on an emotional level. Moreover, there’s no need to present opposing opinions. Your goal is to make the reader take your side. All’s fair in love and war!

👁️ Persuasive vs. Argumentative Essays: Point of View

Let’s talk more about presenting different opinions. You were probably taught that an academic essay includes at least three arguments and an additional counterargument . Keep in mind, however, that this rule applies only to argumentative essays, in which you introduce three or more arguments with evidence to support your point of view. You then offset that point of view by including an opposing opinion. By doing so, you allow the reader to choose a side, even though the facts, as you’ve presented them, are in favor of your opinion. This is a logic-based approach.

In a persuasive essay, you’re not likely to entertain the opposition. Your conviction is the very essence of the essay. Your take on the issue in question must come across as the only sensible approach. If you’re feeling confident, you’re welcome to include a counterargument, but only if you decimate it right away!

👏 The Audience of Argumentative vs. Persuasive Essays

We’ve seen the differences and similarities between argumentative and persuasive writing and walked you through the technical aspects of both. But there’s one final piece of the puzzle to be considered: the question of your audience. This is the biggest difference of them all.

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When writing an argumentative essay, remember that you don’t need to convince anyone. There is no audience. You’re simply presenting the information you gathered without expecting anything in return (except maybe a pat on the back from your teacher).

Without an audience, there’s no one to persuade. This touches on another crucial element of the writing process : understanding what and how your readers think. This allows you to pick the best strategy to convince them to join your side.

❓ What’s the Difference between a Persuasive Essay and an Argumentative Essay?

The main difference between a persuasive essay and an argumentative essay comes down to your audience. For persuasive writing, it’s necessary to feel out your audience and wield that knowledge to prove the efficacy of your perspective. For argumentative writing, opt for a logical approach and just present the facts with no intent to persuade anyone.

Persuasive Essay Topics

• Cigarettes manufacturers must be banned . 
• Unrestricted access to women’s health care is crucial for the welfare of future generations. 
• College sports need to benefit student-athletes . 
• Lowering TOEFL scores across university will benefit international students. 
• American football promotes violence and jeopardize sportsmen’s health.  
• Tattoos are fine art . 
• Animal transplantation can reduce the problem of organs shortage.  
• Smoking in public places should be banned to protect and improve public health.  
• Job drug test has to be made obligatory.  
• It is necessary to prohibit using cellphones while driving . 
• Gun control legislation must be revised. 
• Surveillance cameras have to be installed in all public places.  
• Mandatory overtime for nurses must be made illegal.  
• Marijuana should be legalized for medical use. 
• Business should switch to remote work for an increased talent pool.  
• Experimentation on animals has to be banned.  
• It is crucial to limit clear cutting in rainforest . 
• It is necessary to forbid guns in college campuses .  
• Companies should prioritize the development of biometric security .  
• Abortions should be legalized worldwide.  
• Children should not have grades in school .  
• Wearing face mask in public places should be mandatory.  
• English language learners have to be immersed in English . 
• Net neutrality should be supported.  
• Body organs sale should not be allowed.  

Argumentative Essay Topics

• Should celebrities be a positive role model ? 
• Does the use of social media in nursing violate patients’ rights regarding privacy? 
• Is it right to abolish capital punishment ?  
• Is it ethical to use animals for research ?  
• Should bullies be expelled from school?  
• Is it fair to try juveniles as adults ?  
• Do you think it wise to lower drinking age to 18 ?  
• Will implementation of free higher education diminish economic disparities? 
• Should the voluntary euthanasia be permitted?  
• Is stem cells use ethical? 
• Should schoolchildren study the evolution theory?  
• Is container deposit legislation an urgent issue? 
• Is marriage based on love more successful than arranged?  
• Should the use of cell phones in public places be banned?  
• Is it right for celebrities to be involved in political activism? 
• Do you agree that health insurance has to cover art and music therapy ?  
• Does the government have right to monitor its citizens using technology?  
• Is it ethical to perform gene editing on human embryos? 
• Do you think online dating as serious as dating in person?  
• Should vaccination of children be compulsory?  
• Are the social media platforms a threat to human relationships? 
• Are there limits to what should be questioned?  
• Should modern society become vegan?  
• Do you think the cigarette smoking should be made illegal?  
• Should illegal immigrants have full access to all social services?  
• Argumentative Essays // Purdue Writing Lab
• Argumentative Essay Structure (University of Washington)
• Suggestions for Developing Argumentative Essays (UC Berkeley)
• Argumentative essay | Quick guide (article) | Khan Academy
• Writing a Persuasive Essay: Hamilton College
• Persuasion (UMN Libraries)
• Persuasive Writing – Georgetown Law
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Writing an Argumentative Research Paper

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• What is an Argumentative Research Essay?
• Choosing a Topic
• How to Write a Thesis Statement Libguide
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Examples of argumentative essays

Skyline College libguides: MLA Sample Argumentative Papers

Ebooks in Galileo

Video Tutorial

Structure & Outline

Usually written in the five-paragraph structure, the argumentative essay format consists of an introduction, 2-3 body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

A works cited page or reference page (depending on format) will be included at the end of the essay along with in-text citations within the essay.

When writing an argumentative research essay, create an outline to structure the research you find as well as help with the writing process. The outline of an argumentative essay should include an introduction with thesis statement, 3 main body paragraphs with supporting evidence and opposing viewpoints with evidence to disprove, along with an conclusion.

The example below is just a basic outline and structure

I. Introduction: tells what you are going to write about. Basic information about the issue along with your thesis statement.

 A. Basic information

B. Thesis Statement

II. Body 1 : Reason 1 write about the first reason that proves your claim on the issue and give supporting evidence

A. supporting evidence 

B. Supporting evidence 

II. Body 2 .: Reason 2 write about the third reason that proves your claim on the issue and give supporting evidence

A. supporting evidence

III. Body 3 : Reason 3 write about the fourth reason that proves your claim on the issue and give supporting evidence

IV. Counter arguments and responses. Write about opposing viewpoints and use evidence to refute their argument and persuade audience in your direction or viewpoint

A. Arguments from other side of the issue

B. Refute the arguments

V. Conclusion

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Difference Between Research Paper and Essay

October 23, 2023

Description: Comparison of research papers vs. essays, along with the explanation of the differences and similarities between the two types of academic papers. A short guide to understanding essay writing and research writing with definitions of the terms “essay” and “research paper”.

How Does Research Paper Differ From Essay?

Students often have to deal with two different types of academic writing assignments: an essay and a research paper. Writing essays and research papers can be difficult and confusing due to the many similarities they have. To avoid confusion when writing either of these, it’s important to learn their differences. Understanding the differences between an essay and a research paper is also a great way to improve your academic writing skills. This article aims to help you understand the key differences between essay and research paper writing assignments when you come across them. We’ll study their features, look for relevant academic terminology, and learn what differentiates them. To get to the bottom of the difference between these two academic assignments, we should first define essay vs research paper.

What is an Essay?

An essay is a short piece of writing that aims to express personal views on a particular topic. It should have at least three pieces of evidence to back up the argument. Essays are typically shorter in length and less complex than research writing. At the same time, essay writing has its own specifics, so using expert proofreading services is a good idea if you aren’t confident in your skills. It’s likely that you’ll write your first essay and research paper when in high school or college. Then arises the question, “Who will write my paper for me ?” A good essay should always have a creative component, so having good writing skills is a must. Essays often aren’t as scientific as research papers, yet they nevertheless need a clear structure. The basic essay writing guidelines recommend following a five-paragraph structure with an introduction, a body, and a conclusion.

What is a Research Paper?

A research paper is the in-depth study of a chosen scientific topic that aims to generate new scientific findings based on previous studies and experiments. It isn’t enough for students to just state the facts or give their opinion on this topic. Your professor will evaluate your ability to think critically, choose trustworthy sources, and have a solid theoretical grounding in the topic of your research. Writing a research paper takes originality, knowledge, and subject matter expertise. Compared to traditional essay writing, research work has a different objective and structure. Research papers use data from primary sources like books on the topic, academic papers, interviews, web sources, and journals. The basic research writing guidelines recommend following this pattern: introduction, methods, results, discussion, and conclusions/recommendations. Research papers may also include acknowledgments, a brief biography of the author for some Master’s or Ph.D. works, references, endnotes, footnotes, and so on.

Key Differences Between Essay and Research Paper

The biggest difference between a research paper and an essay is that a research paper must have a strict methodology and set of study objectives. A research paper should outline a problem and the approaches that can be used to solve it effectively. Meanwhile, an essay can present a personal opinion without any references. Now let us go over other key differences between an essay and a research paper. The following comparison table outlines the key differences between essays and research papers:

Similarities Differences Between Essay and Research Paper

It makes sense that you could find it challenging to tell the difference between an essay and a research paper since there’re so many similarities between the two types of academic papers. That’s why it’s important to learn about the similarities of the two as well.

• Research: Basic research is still necessary in both. Even though you don’t need to do in-depth study for an essay, you still need to at least fact-check your information. However, for a research paper, you’ll need to cite more sources to demonstrate that you’re doing more than simply skimming the topic.
• Structure: The research paper has multiple paragraphs, much like an essay. Although the structure is a little different, the material presented in each paragraph should be in an easy-to-follow format to save the reader’s time from having to wade through irrelevant data and concepts. There should be an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion in both types of papers. When you want to conduct research, there’re some differences, but there’re also a few similarities because you need to present the topic properly.
• Thesis statement: Both types of papers should have a thesis statement that presents an opinion, an argument, or a hypothesis. Even though it isn’t always required for an essay, adding a thesis statement will make your essay sound even more scientific.
• Format and Style: Your professor might recommend a specific format for your paper depending on the topic matter and the class itself. The liberal arts and humanities normally utilize the MLA and Chicago/Turabian formats, while the social sciences typically use the APA format. Both research papers and essays must follow specific formatting guidelines for headers, footers, in-text citations, reference pages, and other elements. These forms guarantee consistency and point readers to the relevant sources.

Research papers and essays are two different types of writing. We can draw the conclusion that the key differences between essays and research papers are those relating to purpose, structure, and format. Even though these two types of papers have many things in common, essays and research papers are written for different purposes. The requirements for a research paper are stricter because it must follow the right structure, format, and methodology. However, an essay is more forgiving because it has a descriptive narrative that allows the author to express their own opinions. Please be advised that the views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this blog are solely that of the author or his/her sources and do not necessarily reflect those of English Forward. This includes, but is not limited to, third-party content contained on or accessible through the English Forward websites and web pages or sites displayed as search results or contained within a directory of links on the English Forward network.

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How to Write a Persuasive Essay: Tips and Tricks

Allison Bressmer

Most composition classes you’ll take will teach the art of persuasive writing. That’s a good thing.

Knowing where you stand on issues and knowing how to argue for or against something is a skill that will serve you well both inside and outside of the classroom.

Persuasion is the art of using logic to prompt audiences to change their mind or take action , and is generally seen as accomplishing that goal by appealing to emotions and feelings.

A persuasive essay is one that attempts to get a reader to agree with your perspective.

Ready for some tips on how to produce a well-written, well-rounded, well-structured persuasive essay? Just say yes. I don’t want to have to write another essay to convince you!

How Do I Write a Persuasive Essay?

What are some good topics for a persuasive essay, how do i identify an audience for my persuasive essay, how do you create an effective persuasive essay, how should i edit my persuasive essay.

Your persuasive essay needs to have the three components required of any essay: the introduction , body , and conclusion .

That is essay structure. However, there is flexibility in that structure.

There is no rule (unless the assignment has specific rules) for how many paragraphs any of those sections need.

Although the components should be proportional; the body paragraphs will comprise most of your persuasive essay.

How Do I Start a Persuasive Essay?

As with any essay introduction, this paragraph is where you grab your audience’s attention, provide context for the topic of discussion, and present your thesis statement.

TIP 1: Some writers find it easier to write their introductions last. As long as you have your working thesis, this is a perfectly acceptable approach. From that thesis, you can plan your body paragraphs and then go back and write your introduction.

TIP 2: Avoid “announcing” your thesis. Don’t include statements like this:

• “In my essay I will show why extinct animals should (not) be regenerated.”
• “The purpose of my essay is to argue that extinct animals should (not) be regenerated.”

Announcements take away from the originality, authority, and sophistication of your writing.

Instead, write a convincing thesis statement that answers the question "so what?" Why is the topic important, what do you think about it, and why do you think that? Be specific.

How Many Paragraphs Should a Persuasive Essay Have?

This body of your persuasive essay is the section in which you develop the arguments that support your thesis. Consider these questions as you plan this section of your essay:

• What arguments support your thesis?
• What is the best order for your arguments?
• What evidence do you have?
• Will you address the opposing argument to your own?
• How can you conclude convincingly?

TIP: Brainstorm and do your research before you decide which arguments you’ll focus on in your discussion. Make a list of possibilities and go with the ones that are strongest, that you can discuss with the most confidence, and that help you balance your rhetorical triangle .

What Should I Put in the Conclusion of a Persuasive Essay?

The conclusion is your “mic-drop” moment. Think about how you can leave your audience with a strong final comment.

And while a conclusion often re-emphasizes the main points of a discussion, it shouldn’t simply repeat them.

TIP 1: Be careful not to introduce a new argument in the conclusion—there’s no time to develop it now that you’ve reached the end of your discussion!

TIP 2 : As with your thesis, avoid announcing your conclusion. Don’t start your conclusion with “in conclusion” or “to conclude” or “to end my essay” type statements. Your audience should be able to see that you are bringing the discussion to a close without those overused, less sophisticated signals.

If your instructor has assigned you a topic, then you’ve already got your issue; you’ll just have to determine where you stand on the issue. Where you stand on your topic is your position on that topic.

Your position will ultimately become the thesis of your persuasive essay: the statement the rest of the essay argues for and supports, intending to convince your audience to consider your point of view.

If you have to choose your own topic, use these guidelines to help you make your selection:

• Choose an issue you truly care about
• Choose an issue that is actually debatable

Simple “tastes” (likes and dislikes) can’t really be argued. No matter how many ways someone tries to convince me that milk chocolate rules, I just won’t agree.

It’s dark chocolate or nothing as far as my tastes are concerned.

Similarly, you can’t convince a person to “like” one film more than another in an essay.

You could argue that one movie has superior qualities than another: cinematography, acting, directing, etc. but you can’t convince a person that the film really appeals to them.

Once you’ve selected your issue, determine your position just as you would for an assigned topic. That position will ultimately become your thesis.

Until you’ve finalized your work, consider your thesis a “working thesis.”

This means that your statement represents your position, but you might change its phrasing or structure for that final version.

When you’re writing an essay for a class, it can seem strange to identify an audience—isn’t the audience the instructor?

Your instructor will read and evaluate your essay, and may be part of your greater audience, but you shouldn’t just write for your teacher.

Think about who your intended audience is.

For an argument essay, think of your audience as the people who disagree with you—the people who need convincing.

That population could be quite broad, for example, if you’re arguing a political issue, or narrow, if you’re trying to convince your parents to extend your curfew.

Once you’ve got a sense of your audience, it’s time to consult with Aristotle. Aristotle’s teaching on persuasion has shaped communication since about 330 BC. Apparently, it works.

Aristotle taught that in order to convince an audience of something, the communicator needs to balance the three elements of the rhetorical triangle to achieve the best results.

Those three elements are ethos , logos , and pathos .

Ethos relates to credibility and trustworthiness. How can you, as the writer, demonstrate your credibility as a source of information to your audience?

How will you show them you are worthy of their trust?

• You show you’ve done your research: you understand the issue, both sides
• You show respect for the opposing side: if you disrespect your audience, they won’t respect you or your ideas

Logos relates to logic. How will you convince your audience that your arguments and ideas are reasonable?

You provide facts or other supporting evidence to support your claims.

That evidence may take the form of studies or expert input or reasonable examples or a combination of all of those things, depending on the specific requirements of your assignment.

Remember: if you use someone else’s ideas or words in your essay, you need to give them credit.

ProWritingAid's Plagiarism Checker checks your work against over a billion web-pages, published works, and academic papers so you can be sure of its originality.

Find out more about ProWritingAid’s Plagiarism checks.

Pathos relates to emotion. Audiences are people and people are emotional beings. We respond to emotional prompts. How will you engage your audience with your arguments on an emotional level?

• You make strategic word choices : words have denotations (dictionary meanings) and also connotations, or emotional values. Use words whose connotations will help prompt the feelings you want your audience to experience.
• You use emotionally engaging examples to support your claims or make a point, prompting your audience to be moved by your discussion.

Be mindful as you lean into elements of the triangle. Too much pathos and your audience might end up feeling manipulated, roll their eyes and move on.

An “all logos” approach will leave your essay dry and without a sense of voice; it will probably bore your audience rather than make them care.

Once you’ve got your essay planned, start writing! Don’t worry about perfection, just get your ideas out of your head and off your list and into a rough essay format.

After you’ve written your draft, evaluate your work. What works and what doesn’t? For help with evaluating and revising your work, check out this ProWritingAid post on manuscript revision .

After you’ve evaluated your draft, revise it. Repeat that process as many times as you need to make your work the best it can be.

When you’re satisfied with the content and structure of the essay, take it through the editing process .

Grammatical or sentence-level errors can distract your audience or even detract from the ethos—the authority—of your work.

You don’t have to edit alone! ProWritingAid’s Realtime Report will find errors and make suggestions for improvements.

You can even use it on emails to your professors:

Try ProWritingAid with a free account.

How Can I Improve My Persuasion Skills?

You can develop your powers of persuasion every day just by observing what’s around you.

• How is that advertisement working to convince you to buy a product?
• How is a political candidate arguing for you to vote for them?
• How do you “argue” with friends about what to do over the weekend, or convince your boss to give you a raise?
• How are your parents working to convince you to follow a certain academic or career path?

As you observe these arguments in action, evaluate them. Why are they effective or why do they fail?

How could an argument be strengthened with more (or less) emphasis on ethos, logos, and pathos?

Every argument is an opportunity to learn! Observe them, evaluate them, and use them to perfect your own powers of persuasion.

Be confident about grammar

Check every email, essay, or story for grammar mistakes. Fix them before you press send.

Allison Bressmer is a professor of freshman composition and critical reading at a community college and a freelance writer. If she isn’t writing or teaching, you’ll likely find her reading a book or listening to a podcast while happily sipping a semi-sweet iced tea or happy-houring with friends. She lives in New York with her family. Connect at linkedin.com/in/allisonbressmer.

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The Difference between an Essay and a Research Paper

If you don't know the difference between an essay and a research paper, you are not alone. The descriptions of the two types of writing are similar, but there are key differences. Most importantly, the difference is the work involved. If you're preparing to write your first research paper, get comfortable. It's going to take time and a lot of study.

For an essay, the most important viewpoint on the topic being written about is the writer's. After an essay writer does some research on their topic, they will develop a thesis statement and write body paragraphs with topic sentences that relate back to the thesis statement in order to develop their argument. An essay ends with a conclusion that summarizes the writer's point of view on the topic.

For a research paper, the most important viewpoint is that of others who have written on the topic. A research paper presents all the findings and conclusions other researchers have drawn.

The average essay will include approximately five paragraphs: an introduction, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

A research paper can get quite lengthy. Unless the topic being discussed is very new and there hasn't been a lot of prior research by other scholars, presenting all of the other conclusions reached on the topic may require many pages of writing.

Doing research for an essay is important and finding outside sources to support your argument may take some time, but research for a good research paper should be comprehensive. In other words, you'll need to know what every other scholar has argued about your topic in order to fully complete a research paper.

Essays have four basic types and structures: expository (presenting the information), descriptive (painting a picture for a reader using words), persuasive (arguing your point of view), and narrative (telling a story).

Research papers come in many different forms, but the most common are compare and contrast, argumentative, analytical, cause and effect, and interpretive. While a persuasive essay and an argumentative research paper use similar tones, a research paper must include as many of the existing arguments as possible for the writer's conclusion to be considered soundly formed.

No matter which type of writing you'll do, it's important to pick a topic that interests you. After all, you're going to be doing a lot of reading and writing about it. You'll just do a lot more reading and writing with a research paper than you will with an essay.

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What is an argumentative essay?

The argumentative essay is a genre of writing that requires the student to investigate a topic; collect, generate, and evaluate evidence; and establish a position on the topic in a concise manner.

Please note : Some confusion may occur between the argumentative essay and the expository essay. These two genres are similar, but the argumentative essay differs from the expository essay in the amount of pre-writing (invention) and research involved. The argumentative essay is commonly assigned as a capstone or final project in first year writing or advanced composition courses and involves lengthy, detailed research. Expository essays involve less research and are shorter in length. Expository essays are often used for in-class writing exercises or tests, such as the GED or GRE.

Argumentative essay assignments generally call for extensive research of literature or previously published material. Argumentative assignments may also require empirical research where the student collects data through interviews, surveys, observations, or experiments. Detailed research allows the student to learn about the topic and to understand different points of view regarding the topic so that she/he may choose a position and support it with the evidence collected during research. Regardless of the amount or type of research involved, argumentative essays must establish a clear thesis and follow sound reasoning.

The structure of the argumentative essay is held together by the following.

• A clear, concise, and defined thesis statement that occurs in the first paragraph of the essay.

In the first paragraph of an argument essay, students should set the context by reviewing the topic in a general way. Next the author should explain why the topic is important ( exigence ) or why readers should care about the issue. Lastly, students should present the thesis statement. It is essential that this thesis statement be appropriately narrowed to follow the guidelines set forth in the assignment. If the student does not master this portion of the essay, it will be quite difficult to compose an effective or persuasive essay.

• Clear and logical transitions between the introduction, body, and conclusion.

Transitions are the mortar that holds the foundation of the essay together. Without logical progression of thought, the reader is unable to follow the essay’s argument, and the structure will collapse. Transitions should wrap up the idea from the previous section and introduce the idea that is to follow in the next section.

• Body paragraphs that include evidential support.

Each paragraph should be limited to the discussion of one general idea. This will allow for clarity and direction throughout the essay. In addition, such conciseness creates an ease of readability for one’s audience. It is important to note that each paragraph in the body of the essay must have some logical connection to the thesis statement in the opening paragraph. Some paragraphs will directly support the thesis statement with evidence collected during research. It is also important to explain how and why the evidence supports the thesis ( warrant ).

However, argumentative essays should also consider and explain differing points of view regarding the topic. Depending on the length of the assignment, students should dedicate one or two paragraphs of an argumentative essay to discussing conflicting opinions on the topic. Rather than explaining how these differing opinions are wrong outright, students should note how opinions that do not align with their thesis might not be well informed or how they might be out of date.

• Evidential support (whether factual, logical, statistical, or anecdotal).

The argumentative essay requires well-researched, accurate, detailed, and current information to support the thesis statement and consider other points of view. Some factual, logical, statistical, or anecdotal evidence should support the thesis. However, students must consider multiple points of view when collecting evidence. As noted in the paragraph above, a successful and well-rounded argumentative essay will also discuss opinions not aligning with the thesis. It is unethical to exclude evidence that may not support the thesis. It is not the student’s job to point out how other positions are wrong outright, but rather to explain how other positions may not be well informed or up to date on the topic.

• A conclusion that does not simply restate the thesis, but readdresses it in light of the evidence provided.

It is at this point of the essay that students may begin to struggle. This is the portion of the essay that will leave the most immediate impression on the mind of the reader. Therefore, it must be effective and logical. Do not introduce any new information into the conclusion; rather, synthesize the information presented in the body of the essay. Restate why the topic is important, review the main points, and review your thesis. You may also want to include a short discussion of more research that should be completed in light of your work.

A complete argument

Perhaps it is helpful to think of an essay in terms of a conversation or debate with a classmate. If I were to discuss the cause of World War II and its current effect on those who lived through the tumultuous time, there would be a beginning, middle, and end to the conversation. In fact, if I were to end the argument in the middle of my second point, questions would arise concerning the current effects on those who lived through the conflict. Therefore, the argumentative essay must be complete, and logically so, leaving no doubt as to its intent or argument.

The five-paragraph essay

A common method for writing an argumentative essay is the five-paragraph approach. This is, however, by no means the only formula for writing such essays. If it sounds straightforward, that is because it is; in fact, the method consists of (a) an introductory paragraph (b) three evidentiary body paragraphs that may include discussion of opposing views and (c) a conclusion.

Longer argumentative essays

Complex issues and detailed research call for complex and detailed essays. Argumentative essays discussing a number of research sources or empirical research will most certainly be longer than five paragraphs. Authors may have to discuss the context surrounding the topic, sources of information and their credibility, as well as a number of different opinions on the issue before concluding the essay. Many of these factors will be determined by the assignment.

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Although research paper assignments may vary widely, there are essentially two basic types of research papers. These are argumentative and analytical .

Argumentative

In an argumentative research paper, a student both states the topic they will be exploring and immediately establishes the position they will argue regarding that topic in a thesis statement . This type of paper hopes to persuade its reader to adopt the view presented.

 Example : a paper that argues the merits of early exposure to reading for children would be an argumentative essay.

An analytical research paper states the topic that the writer will be exploring, usually in the form of a question, initially taking a neutral stance. The body of the paper will present multifaceted information and, ultimately, the writer will state their conclusion, based on the information that has unfolded throughout the course of the essay. This type of paper hopes to offer a well-supported critical analysis without necessarily persuading the reader to any particular way of thinking.

Example : a paper that explores the use of metaphor in one of Shakespeare's sonnets would be an example of an analytical essay.

*Please note that this LibGuide will primarily be concerning itself with argumentative or rhetorical research papers.

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Choose Your Test

Sat / act prep online guides and tips, 113 perfect persuasive essay topics for any assignment.

General Education

Do you need to write a persuasive essay but aren’t sure what topic to focus on? Were you thrilled when your teacher said you could write about whatever you wanted but are now overwhelmed by the possibilities? We’re here to help!

Read on for a list of 113 top-notch persuasive essay topics, organized into ten categories. To help get you started, we also discuss what a persuasive essay is, how to choose a great topic, and what tips to keep in mind as you write your persuasive essay.

What Is a Persuasive Essay?

In a persuasive essay, you attempt to convince readers to agree with your point of view on an argument. For example, an essay analyzing changes in Italian art during the Renaissance wouldn’t be a persuasive essay, because there’s no argument, but an essay where you argue that Italian art reached its peak during the Renaissance would be a persuasive essay because you’re trying to get your audience to agree with your viewpoint.

Persuasive and argumentative essays both try to convince readers to agree with the author, but the two essay types have key differences. Argumentative essays show a more balanced view of the issue and discuss both sides. Persuasive essays focus more heavily on the side the author agrees with. They also often include more of the author’s opinion than argumentative essays, which tend to use only facts and data to support their argument.

All persuasive essays have the following:

• Introduction: Introduces the topic, explains why it’s important, and ends with the thesis.
• Thesis: A sentence that sums up what the essay be discussing and what your stance on the issue is.
• Reasons you believe your side of the argument: Why do you support the side you do? Typically each main point will have its own body paragraph.
• Evidence supporting your argument: Facts or examples to back up your main points. Even though your opinion is allowed in persuasive essays more than most other essays, having concrete examples will make a stronger argument than relying on your opinion alone.
• Conclusion: Restatement of thesis, summary of main points, and a recap of why the issue is important.

What Makes a Good Persuasive Essay Topic?

Theoretically, you could write a persuasive essay about any subject under the sun, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you should. Certain topics are easier to write a strong persuasive essay on, and below are tips to follow when deciding what you should write about.

It’s a Topic You Care About

Obviously, it’s possible to write an essay about a topic you find completely boring. You’ve probably done it! However, if possible, it’s always better to choose a topic that you care about and are interested in. When this is the case, you’ll find doing the research more enjoyable, writing the essay easier, and your writing will likely be better because you’ll be more passionate about and informed on the topic.

You Have Enough Evidence to Support Your Argument

Just being passionate about a subject isn’t enough to make it a good persuasive essay topic, though. You need to make sure your argument is complex enough to have at least two potential sides to root for, and you need to be able to back up your side with evidence and examples. Even though persuasive essays allow your opinion to feature more than many other essays, you still need concrete evidence to back up your claims, or you’ll end up with a weak essay.

For example, you may passionately believe that mint chocolate chip ice cream is the best ice cream flavor (I agree!), but could you really write an entire essay on this? What would be your reasons for believing mint chocolate chip is the best (besides the fact that it’s delicious)? How would you support your belief? Have enough studies been done on preferred ice cream flavors to support an entire essay? When choosing a persuasive essay idea, you want to find the right balance between something you care about (so you can write well on it) and something the rest of the world cares about (so you can reference evidence to strengthen your position).

It’s a Manageable Topic

Bigger isn’t always better, especially with essay topics. While it may seem like a great idea to choose a huge, complex topic to write about, you’ll likely struggle to sift through all the information and different sides of the issue and winnow them down to one streamlined essay. For example, choosing to write an essay about how WWII impacted American life more than WWI wouldn’t be a great idea because you’d need to analyze all the impacts of both the wars in numerous areas of American life. It’d be a huge undertaking. A better idea would be to choose one impact on American life the wars had (such as changes in female employment) and focus on that. Doing so will make researching and writing your persuasive essay much more feasible.

List of 113 Good Persuasive Essay Topics

Below are over 100 persuasive essay ideas, organized into ten categories. When you find an idea that piques your interest, you’ll choose one side of it to argue for in your essay. For example, if you choose the topic, “should fracking be legal?” you’d decide whether you believe fracking should be legal or illegal, then you’d write an essay arguing all the reasons why your audience should agree with you.

Arts/Culture

• Should students be required to learn an instrument in school?
• Did the end of Game of Thrones fit with the rest of the series?
• Can music be an effective way to treat mental illness?
• With e-readers so popular, have libraries become obsolete?
• Are the Harry Potter books more popular than they deserve to be?
• Should music with offensive language come with a warning label?
• What’s the best way for museums to get more people to visit?
• Should students be able to substitute an art or music class for a PE class in school?
• Are the Kardashians good or bad role models for young people?
• Should people in higher income brackets pay more taxes?
• Should all high school students be required to take a class on financial literacy?
• Is it possible to achieve the American dream, or is it only a myth?
• Is it better to spend a summer as an unpaid intern at a prestigious company or as a paid worker at a local store/restaurant?
• Should the United States impose more or fewer tariffs?
• Should college graduates have their student loans forgiven?
• Should restaurants eliminate tipping and raise staff wages instead?
• Should students learn cursive writing in school?
• Which is more important: PE class or music class?
• Is it better to have year-round school with shorter breaks throughout the year?
• Should class rank be abolished in schools?
• Should students be taught sex education in school?
• Should students be able to attend public universities for free?
• What’s the most effective way to change the behavior of school bullies?
• Are the SAT and ACT accurate ways to measure intelligence?
• Should students be able to learn sign language instead of a foreign language?
• Do the benefits of Greek life at colleges outweigh the negatives?
• Does doing homework actually help students learn more?
• Why do students in many other countries score higher than American students on math exams?
• Should parents/teachers be able to ban certain books from schools?
• What’s the best way to reduce cheating in school?
• Should colleges take a student’s race into account when making admissions decisions?
• Should there be limits to free speech?
• Should students be required to perform community service to graduate high school?
• Should convicted felons who have completed their sentence be allowed to vote?
• Should gun ownership be more tightly regulated?
• Should recycling be made mandatory?
• Should employers be required to offer paid leave to new parents?
• Are there any circumstances where torture should be allowed?
• Should children under the age of 18 be able to get plastic surgery for cosmetic reasons?
• Should white supremacy groups be allowed to hold rallies in public places?
• Does making abortion illegal make women more or less safe?
• Does foreign aid actually help developing countries?
• Are there times a person’s freedom of speech should be curtailed?
• Should people over a certain age not be allowed to adopt children?

Government/Politics

• Should the minimum voting age be raised/lowered/kept the same?
• Should Puerto Rico be granted statehood?
• Should the United States build a border wall with Mexico?
• Who should be the next person printed on American banknotes?
• Should the United States’ military budget be reduced?
• Did China’s one child policy have overall positive or negative impacts on the country?
• Should DREAMers be granted US citizenship?
• Is national security more important than individual privacy?
• What responsibility does the government have to help homeless people?
• Should the electoral college be abolished?
• Should the US increase or decrease the number of refugees it allows in each year?
• Should privately-run prisons be abolished?
• Who was the most/least effective US president?
• Will Brexit end up helping or harming the UK?

• What’s the best way to reduce the spread of Ebola?
• Is the Keto diet a safe and effective way to lose weight?
• Should the FDA regulate vitamins and supplements more strictly?
• Should public schools require all students who attend to be vaccinated?
• Is eating genetically modified food safe?
• What’s the best way to make health insurance more affordable?
• What’s the best way to lower the teen pregnancy rate?
• Should recreational marijuana be legalized nationwide?
• Should birth control pills be available without a prescription?
• Should pregnant women be forbidden from buying cigarettes and alcohol?
• Why has anxiety increased in adolescents?
• Are low-carb or low-fat diets more effective for weight loss?
• What caused the destruction of the USS Maine?
• Was King Arthur a mythical legend or actual Dark Ages king?
• Was the US justified in dropping atomic bombs during WWII?
• What was the primary cause of the Rwandan genocide?
• What happened to the settlers of the Roanoke colony?
• Was disagreement over slavery the primary cause of the US Civil War?
• What has caused the numerous disappearances in the Bermuda triangle?
• Should nuclear power be banned?
• Is scientific testing on animals necessary?
• Do zoos help or harm animals?
• Should scientists be allowed to clone humans?
• Should animals in circuses be banned?
• Should fracking be legal?
• Should people be allowed to keep exotic animals as pets?
• What’s the best way to reduce illegal poaching in Africa?
• What is the best way to reduce the impact of global warming?
• Should euthanasia be legalized?
• Is there legitimate evidence of extraterrestrial life?
• Should people be banned from owning aggressive dog breeds?
• Should the United States devote more money towards space exploration?
• Should the government subsidize renewable forms of energy?
• Is solar energy worth the cost?
• Should stem cells be used in medicine?
• Is it right for the US to leave the Paris Climate Agreement?
• Should athletes who fail a drug test receive a lifetime ban from the sport?
• Should college athletes receive a salary?
• Should the NFL do more to prevent concussions in players?
• Do PE classes help students stay in shape?
• Should horse racing be banned?
• Should cheerleading be considered a sport?
• Should children younger than 18 be allowed to play tackle football?
• Are the costs of hosting an Olympic Games worth it?
• Can online schools be as effective as traditional schools?
• Do violent video games encourage players to be violent in real life?
• Should facial recognition technology be banned?
• Does excessive social media use lead to depression/anxiety?
• Has the rise of translation technology made knowing multiple languages obsolete?
• Was Steve Jobs a visionary or just a great marketer?
• Should social media be banned for children younger than a certain age?
• Which 21st-century invention has had the largest impact on society?
• Are ride-sharing companies like Uber and Lyft good or bad for society?
• Should Facebook have done more to protect the privacy of its users?
• Will technology end up increasing or decreasing inequality worldwide?

Tips for Writing a Strong Persuasive Essay

After you’ve chosen the perfect topic for your persuasive essay, your work isn’t over. Follow the three tips below to create a top-notch essay.

Do Your Research

Your argument will fall apart if you don’t fully understand the issue you’re discussing or you overlook an important piece of it. Readers won’t be convinced by someone who doesn’t know the subject, and you likely won’t persuade any of them to begin supporting your viewpoint. Before you begin writing a single word of your essay, research your topic thoroughly. Study different sources, learn about the different sides of the argument, ask anyone who’s an expert on the topic what their opinion is, etc. You might be tempted to start writing right away, but by doing your research, you’ll make the writing process much easier when the time comes.

Make Your Thesis Perfect

Your thesis is the most important sentence in your persuasive essay. Just by reading that single sentence, your audience should know exactly what topic you’ll be discussing and where you stand on the issue. You want your thesis to be crystal clear and to accurately set up the rest of your essay. Asking classmates or your teacher to look it over before you begin writing the rest of your essay can be a big help if you’re not entirely confident in your thesis.

Consider the Other Side

You’ll spend most of your essay focusing on your side of the argument since that’s what you want readers to come away believing. However, don’t think that means you can ignore other sides of the issue. In your essay, be sure to discuss the other side’s argument, as well as why you believe this view is weak or untrue. Researching all the different viewpoints and including them in your essay will increase the quality of your writing by making your essay more complete and nuanced.

Summary: Persuasive Essay Ideas

Good persuasive essay topics can be difficult to come up with, but in this guide we’ve created a list of 113 excellent essay topics for you to browse. The best persuasive essay ideas will be those that you are interested in, have enough evidence to support your argument, and aren’t too complicated to be summarized in an essay.

After you’ve chosen your essay topic, keep these three tips in mind when you begin writing:

• Do your research
• Make your thesis perfect
• Consider the other side

What's Next?

Need ideas for a research paper topic as well? Our guide to research paper topics has over 100 topics in ten categories so you can be sure to find the perfect topic for you.

Thinking about taking an AP English class? Read our guide on AP English classes to learn whether you should take AP English Language or AP English Literature (or both!)

Deciding between the SAT or ACT? Find out for sure which you will do the best on . Also read a detailed comparison between the two tests .

Christine graduated from Michigan State University with degrees in Environmental Biology and Geography and received her Master's from Duke University. In high school she scored in the 99th percentile on the SAT and was named a National Merit Finalist. She has taught English and biology in several countries.

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How to Write a Persuasive Essay?

• Smodin Editorial Team
• May 5, 2024

At first glance, crafting a persuasive essay might seem like a walk in the park. You choose a stance, gather supporting evidence, and present it to your audience. But is it really that simple?

As any student or teacher knows, not every persuasive essay is a straight A. If you’ve ever submitted your work expecting a top grade only to receive feedback that your argument was flawed or unconvincing, you know the frustration it may bring.

The truth is that crafting a persuasive argument requires more than just presenting facts. You need to appeal to your readers’ logic and emotions . Your narrative must make sense, be enjoyable to read, and also be unique.

Today, we will cover six simple ways to propel your persuasive essays to the next level so that you can bring home any grade you desire.

1. Don’t Rush the Process

Did you know that every word of published content undergoes multiple revisions? This is true for articles, blogs, books, periodicals, and essays.

In an academic setting, many students assume that the one or two drafts that make their way to the grading pile are the only ones that matter, but that isn’t the case.

Good writing requires numerous revisions to get it right. If you want your persuasive essay to stand out from the rest, it’s always good to write at least one draft before you submit it for grading.

Thankfully, it’s never been easier to generate a high-quality essay. Tools like Smodin’s Essay Writer can help you develop content with just a few short words.

Unlike many other AI tools, Smodin gives you complete control of the process. You’ll be able to create an engaging essay with a clear flow that is a joy for your teacher or professor to read.

The software’s AI-powered algorithms also generate accurate references from Google Scholar and other selected resources.

Instead of sitting at your desk, pulling your hair out of frustration, let Smodin guide you through the essay writing process with confidence.

2. Know Your Audience

One crucial yet often underestimated aspect of essay writing is understanding your audience. This means knowing who your readers are and tailoring your writing to resonate with their core emotions.

For example, if you’re a student writing an essay for a history class, your audience is simple: it’s your professor.

Similarly, suppose you’re writing an essay for a scholarly journal or publication. In that case, your audience will include the people who approve the essay for publication and the readers who will eventually see it once it’s publicly shared.

Many people fail at essay writing simply because they don’t study their core audience. 

You must remember that your readers are human beings, and all human beings have certain biases and preferences.

Understanding these biases and preferences can help you craft your essay in a way that appeals directly to your reader’s interests and beliefs.

Do everything you can to study your audience. Get in their heads and figure out how they think, and then use this knowledge to appeal to their core emotions.

Professional copywriters get paid big bucks to understand their readers’ emotions when selling goods or services. You might not be “selling” anything in a monetary sense, but you are selling your writing to achieve the desired result.

To become a successful essay writer, start to think like a salesperson. What would impress your reader? What can you write about that no one else is writing about?

Once you figure that out, you’ve already done half the work.

3. Understand the Modes of Persuasion

Now that you fully understand your audience, the next step is crafting a compelling argument. Here, take a moment to understand the three forms of reasoning.

Ethos refers to establishing your credibility or character as a writer. To effectively persuade your audience, the reader(s) must see you as trustworthy and knowledgeable about your topic.

Demonstrating a solid understanding of the subject matter and that you have put in the time and effort to master it.

Pathos, on the other hand, appeals to your readers’ emotions. The goal is to make your readers feel something, influencing their perspective or decision-making process.

For students, this may mean tapping into the topic’s emotional undercurrents or appealing to certain biases to engage the teacher or professor.

This means structuring your essay in a way that makes logical sense and using statistics, factual evidence, and sound reasoning to back up your claims. All arguments should have a strong, rational foundation.

To effectively write a persuasive essay, you must combine ethos, pathos, and logos.

Remember, teachers, professors, editors, and review board members have tens, if not hundreds, of essays to read. You must craft a comprehensive argument that hits all the buttons to stand out.

If you’re desperate to get an A on your upcoming essay, consider using Smodin’s AI Grader to get personalized feedback on your essay or article.

This way, you can take your essay and revise it before submitting it. And that’s undoubtedly better than begging a teacher or professor to grant you a rewrite.

4. Directly Address Opposing Arguments

It’s one thing to pick a position and stick to it; it’s another to ignore opposing views completely.

When crafting a compelling argument, you must—at some point—address dissenting opinions and points of view. Failing to do this will only weaken your own argument. Here are a few tips to incorporate this effectively into your writing.

Know the Counterarguments

You can only address opposing arguments if you research them first. Study a topic’s counterarguments just as much as you study your position.

When discussing opposing arguments, you need to be objective and free of bias. If you misrepresent or oversimplify these things, you will undermine your credibility and weaken your essay.

Use Rebuttal Techniques

Once you’ve addressed the opposing view, you must rebut it using logical reasoning, evidence, and other persuasive techniques. (Think like a lawyer.) Here are a few common strategies.

• Evidence-based techniques: Simply use more recent data or studies to challenge the validity of the opposing argument.
• Logic techniques: No argument is 100% (even yours). Identify the fallacies in the opposing argument and explain why the conclusion is flawed.
• Comparative techniques: Lastly, directly compare your thesis and explain why your viewpoint is more sound. If done correctly, this can be your essay’s most validating point.

Link EVERYTHING Back to Your Thesis

While researching a topic, you may find yourself buried in a pile of peripheral arguments that may or may not relate to the topic at hand. Cut it if you can’t directly link an argument or counterargument to your thesis.

Don’t be Afraid To Concede

As counterintuitive as it may seem, acknowledging the strength of a counterargument can enhance your credibility. You can concede a point without undermining your overall position by showing that your thesis still stands regardless of the concessions.

Of course, sifting through dozens of academic articles or essays can be time-consuming. To greatly expedite the research process, you can use Smodin’s Text Summarizer to analyze large bodies of text and condense them into something more digestible.

5. Write in Your Voice — And Always Read Your Writing Out Loud

Don’t spend too much time trying to use fancy words or complicated sentences. Yes, grammar, syntax, and punctuation are essential, but your main focus should always be clear and genuine communication.

Occasionally consulting a thesaurus is no big deal, but if you’re constantly fluffing your text with words that feel unnatural, you’re probably detracting from your essay’s message.

Reading your essay out loud is a great way to check its flow. If you try to read your own words and stumble over them, chances are something is wrong.

Good writing should flow seamlessly from one word to the next, from one sentence to the next, and from one paragraph to the next.

Ideally, you should be able to sit on your essay for a while — say three days or up to a week — and then come back to it when your mind is fresh.

Read your words with a clear mind and see if you can follow the logic of your own argument. If it doesn’t sound right, consider using Smodin’s AI re-writer.

This tool can examine your own writing and revise it to make it sound fresh or take existing content and edit it to make it sound completely unique.

6. Always Maintain Academic Integrity

This probably goes without saying, but you should always do your absolute best to maintain academic integrity with your writing. The last thing you want is to be flagged for plagiarized or AI-generated content.

Thankfully, these are two areas where Smodin can help. Our AI Content Detector can easily detect whether your writing contains AI-generated content. At the same time, our Plagiarism Checker can ensure your essay doesn’t contain any direct text from published academic articles.

Taken together, Smodin’s AI offers a comprehensive toolset that gives students and academics everything they need to write a persuasive essay.

Try Smodin for free today to see if It is what you need to improve your writing.

Q: How Do I Choose a Strong Stance for My Persuasive Essay?

Select a topic that you are passionate about AND for which you can find ample supporting evidence. You should also choose a topic that allows for a clear argument against the opposing side.

Q: What Are the Best Places To Find Supporting Evidence for My Essay?

Scholarly journals, news organizations, or books from respected and well-known academic authors are always a good place to start. You can use tools like Google Scholar or JSTOR to scope out academically accepted articles and data.

Q: How Can I Be Sure My Persuasive Essay Is Easy To Read?

You always want to use a clear and engaging writing style. Ideally, you should write in a unique way that helps you stand out from the other essays. Including interesting facts or anecdotes in a logical and easy-to-follow manner and using variety in sentence structure and vocabulary can also enhance readability. Just don’t force it.

Q: How Can I Strengthen My Rebuttal of the Opposing Arguments?

Understanding the counterarguments is the first step to overcoming them. When you respond to an argument with well-researched evidence that presents a better solution or perspective, you solidify your case and make it more compelling and credible to your reader(s).

Q: What if I Want To Change My Thesis After I Begin Writing?

If you find better evidence for an argument while doing your research, revising your thesis halfway through the writing process is perfectly fine. This adaptability will only strengthen your writing in the long run.

Q: How Long Should I Spend on Research?

Generally, spend as much time as you need to understand the topic without wasting too much time. It’s common to waste hours or days on research without writing a single word. Again, AI tools like Smodin can help with procedural tasks and free up your mind for more exciting tasks.

Q: What Is the Best Way To Conclude a Persuasive Essay?

A strong conclusion should be thorough without being overly wordy. You want to restate your thesis in light of the arguments you presented and summarize the main points of your essay. Consider leaving a call-to-action or a thought-provoking question in the last paragraph that will leave a lasting impression on the reader.

Writing a winning persuasive essay involves more than presenting arguments and facts. You need to carefully craft a narrative that appeals to your reader’s logic, emotions, and ethical values.

By tapping into AI tools like Smodin AI, you can outline strategies, conduct research, and expedite the writing process with just a few simple prompts and minutes of your time.

You must make a well-rounded effort to ensure your essays are streamlined, powerful, and highly engaging. This type of writing will resonate with academic readers and ensure you get the desired grade.

Do your best to enjoy the writing process and learn to have fun with it. With these new AI-enhanced technological advancements at your fingertips, essay writing can be more accessible than ever before. Tap into their unlimited power to make your writing stand out in any academic setting!

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Argumentative vs Persuasive Essay: How Do They Compare?

by  Antony W

August 10, 2023

It’s easy to assume that an argumentative essay is synonymous to persuasive essay writing because they both convince your audience to agree with your point of view.

But the two are different not only in terms of purpose but also in terms of the tone used in writing and the expected results.

In this comparison post, we’ll tell you the difference between persuasive and argumentative essay , our goal being to help you approach both assignments the right way.

What is an Argumentative Essay?

An argumentative essay writing is an assignment that requires students to pick a topic, investigate it, collect and evaluate evidence, choose a position, and then defend their stand.

For an essay to be considered argumentative, it must be clear and concise and feature a logical transition between the introduction , body paragraphs , and the conclusion .

Argumentative essays require evidential support, which can be either factual, statistical, historical, or logical.

What is a Persuasive Essay?

A persuasive essay is an assignment written to persuade.

An author uses first and second person point of view to express their conviction in a way that shows their thinking is the best.

Persuasive writing tends to be somewhat aggressive in approach, but in most cases, it tends to be emotional, passionate, and personal.

Argumentative vs Persuasive Essay

Let’s take a closer look on argumentative vs persuasive essay below.  

Keep in mind that this guide focuses mostly on the differences between the two  types of essays . 

Differences in Starting Point

You’re going to put very little work to persuasive essay writing and therefore you’ll find it easier to write. That’s because it has quite a simpler starting point.

When it comes to writing this essay, all you have to do is to identify the topic you’d like to cover and choose your side.

An argumentative essay is completely different in terms of its starting point. You have to choose a topic, research it in-depth, and then decide which side you’d like to support using reasonable and sufficient evidence.

Differences in Writing Technique

Difference in tone.

Argumentative essay writing requires an authoritative tone in order to make your ideas clear.

To demonstrate your authoritativeness on the topic, and to prove to the reader that you can argue your points, you need to use a formal tone as well as the right language to complete the essay. 

More often than not, your arguments have to reflect a consistent use of a somewhat complex language, as it’s necessary to fill the assignment with the technical terms related to the subject.

It’s a completely different case in persuasive writing.

Here’s where you write as if you’re talking a friend, and therefore you can use a more relaxed tone that identifies with your readers’ emotions, sense of humor, intelligence, and sometimes ego.

Difference in Purpose

The purpose of persuasive writing is to express your thoughts and beliefs in hope to convince your audience to share your point of view.

You may have a claim in persuasive writing, but there are often no solid and undeniable facts to present so as to defend your position.

For what it’s worth, especially since the primary goal is to sway the reader in hope that they either agree with you or take an action, often a persuasive essay tends to use a non-formal kind of debate and emotional appeal.

The purpose of an argument is completely different. Authors need to invest in research and come up with compelling arguments to defend their positions. 

Instead of swaying your audience, you present the evidence for or against an argument and let your audience decides whether to take your stand or to write off your argument completely.

Difference in Conclusion

In argumentative essay writing, your conclusion should demonstrate two things.

First, demonstrate the position you take in the argument, and second, let the reader know that they can recognize other point of view.

By doing so, you not only demonstrate that you put effort in researching your topic but also establish that your stand is the best among all in relation to the topic in question.

The conclusion of a persuasive essay isn’t as robust and may not even be as convincing.

First, the end of the essay tries to put a reader in the position to accept that an author’s thoughts are the only source of information on the subject in question.

In a way, the assumption is that the author expects the reader will recognize and agree with their stand.

Argumentative vs Persuasive Essay: Get Writing Help

Let’s face it:

Writing an argumentative or persuasive essay isn’t always as easy, especially if you have so many other assignments to complete.

If we’re being honest, sometimes the best way to beat your deadline is to seek academic writing help.

At Help for Assessment, we invest a lot of time and resources to help students understand, complete, and submit their essays on time.

So if you don’t have the time to complete the papers yourself, and you need help from an academic writing service that has written thousands of essays already, you can count on us to help you complete the work.

About the author 

Antony W is a professional writer and coach at Help for Assessment. He spends countless hours every day researching and writing great content filled with expert advice on how to write engaging essays, research papers, and assignments.

Difference Between Argumentative And Persuasive Essays

People often consider persuasive essays and argumentative essays synonymous with each other. They can’t be blamed for it as the nature of the two types, to an extent, is somewhat similar. When you develop a deeper understanding of the two types, you will be amazed that key points separate them apart.

• 1 Starting point
• 5 End Result
• 6 Viewpoint

Starting point

You can easily observe that perfect essay writers know the difference between Persuasive and argumentative essays. It is evident from the way they start each type. Argumentative essays require a lot of research. Before you begin writing this essay, you need to read a substantial amount of material and look for facts related to the topic. Once you have invested an adequate amount of time researching the subject and have collected several shreds of evidence, you will take a position based on a solid fact at the start of the essay. In the scenario of persuasive vs. argumentative, the reader can instantly detect the difference between the two the way a compelling essay starts. Unlike an argumentative essay, you don’t need to conduct a lot of research and spend quite a while finding facts about the topic. You can start with an opinion that you strongly believe in. From the start of the persuasive essay, the writer tries to convince the audience to have faith in his opinion. However, in argumentative essays, writers establish that their stance is better by referring to research or simply stating a fact at the start of the essay.

The difference between persuasive and argumentative types of writing can be understood by understanding the goals of writing behind both types. An argumentative essay aims to make the audience acknowledge that you have a stronger stance on a particular topic. You want your audience to know that your case is valid and should be considered more logical and acceptable. The goal is to put up a point in front of the audience using undeniable facts and references to research to show you have a stronger stance based on logic than the other opposing stance. However, in the context of argumentative vs. persuasive, the persuasive essay’s goal is not only to make your audience acknowledge that your case is stronger. The goal is to completely convince your audience to agree with your point of view. This is done by persuading the audience that your stance is the only one they should believe in.  The success of persuasive and argumentative writers depends on how well they have written, keeping their goal of writing for the particular type.

Perhaps the best way to understand the persuasive vs. argumentative essay phenomenon is to investigate how significant the audience is for both types. As far as a persuasive essay is concerned, knowing your audience is very important. Because the intention is to persuade the audience by using emotional appeals and mentioning experiences the audience can relate to. As a writer, you will need to know about the mindset of our audience and the principles they believe in. You will also have to consider their background and the age group your audience belongs to. Writing for medical students will be different from writing for lawyers.

Similarly, you won’t be able to appeal to your audience from an older age group using the same ideals that you will use to convince youngsters. In comparison to the writer of an argumentative essay, the factor of the audience is not that significant. Irrespective of which age group and background your audience belongs to, argumentative writing aims to prove your stance by stating facts. These facts and pieces of evidence stand true no matter who your audience is. Therefore, having good awareness about your audience is not mandatory in argumentative writing.

A key difference between persuasive and argumentative essay is the purpose of writing. The purpose of argumentative writing is to focus on evidence to strengthen your argument. It requires good research skills as you need to collect pieces of evidence that are undeniable. On the other hand, the primary purpose of persuasive writing is not to focus solely on presenting undeniable facts. But the focus is more on consuming your energy in swaying away your audience using sentimental appeals and non-formal types of debate. In argumentative writing, the writer has a purpose to simply put the arguments in the form of facts in front of the audience. The writer is not bothered about whether the audience is completely convinced. However, in persuasive writing, the writers intentionally try to make the audience adopt the same point of view that the writers believe in.

One effective way of differentiating between persuasive writing and argumentative writing is by focusing on the intended result of these two types of writing. The ideal outcome for an argumentative essay is establishing the point that the writer has a much better argument based on facts. The reader gets to know the arguments from both sides, but ultimately the reader acknowledges that the writer has stronger arguments in comparison. While on the other hand, the ideal result for persuasive writing will be that audience believes the viewpoint of the writer to be completely true and the only thing that matters for them. It is clear by observing these two types of writing that they both are different.

To understand argumentative essays and the difference between them and persuasive essays, one needs to pay attention to the viewpoint both these types of writing have. In persuasive writing, only one side is presented, which is the writer’s side, and the writer tries his best to make the audience focus and believe on that side. The writer presents his viewpoint as the only sensible way to think. Whereas in argumentative essays, different perspectives are put forward, and the writers accept that other arguments exist, but their argument is stronger. Putting multiple perspectives allows them to counter their opposing views, giving them an impression of being fair-minded.

In an argumentative essay, the writer’s attitude is more authoritative as presenting facts and shreds of evidence with strong conviction. The idea is to share the argument in facts and let the audience know that you have a point worthy of consideration. The writer is least bothered about whether the audience agrees or not. While the approach is more aggressive in persuasive writing, the writers are very passionate about convincing their audience, and the writer uses more personal and emotional language.

The tone in an argumentative essay is a more authoritative one; the writers portray themselves as an authority on the matter, which is why more formal language is used to create a formal tone. Complex jargon is used in argumentative writing to have that authoritative effect. On the other hand, the tone is friendlier and relaxed, which appeals to readers’ emotions in persuasive writing.

The differences between argumentative and persuasive may seem subtle, but knowing the difference matters a lot if you want to be an expert on both types of writing. You will write clearly and more effectively once you know the difference, and you will get good grades in your academic studies.

Essay vs Research Paper: Know The Complete Difference in Detail

Students always get confused between an essay and a research paper. In our today’s blog, we will clear your all doubts about Essay Vs Research Paper. It will help you to understand an essay and research paper. Meanwhile, I’ll start by telling you the definitions.

Teachers nowadays seem to be determined to make students so busy with the Essays. As a result, Students can’t get any relaxation after class. They assign so much work related to essays or research assignments.

Many students do not become familiar with the difference between both. They thought both are the same as they both are academic writing. Sometimes it’s hard to explain the essay vs research paper. 

The students have confusion in their mind regarding both. In this blog, you will come to know the difference between both. After knowing the difference between essay vs research paper, you can effectively write it in a better way.

Table of Contents

Overview of an Essay:

One of the most common types of writing is writing essays. In starting of the elementary school level and then at the middle school level, you come to know about the small essays, which are the starting point of creating the lengthy essay writing as you will go to the higher classes.

The essays are the shortest piece of writing, not more than 1000 words. The essays help teachers to know about the students writing, reading, analyzing skills. While writing an essay, students also develop the art of exposition or persuasion. 

Essays can be written in various shapes or forms, such as it can be like a story or can be as narrative. In the essay, students have to describe, create, and persuade. 

As a whole, essay writing needs creativity as compared to other formal writings.  

Types of essay:

Essays are one of the essential parts of the formal education systems. So, The students need to follow the format while writing an essay. It helps in developing writing skills in students.

At the time of their academics study, students give knowledge about the format of the five-paragraph essay. It includes the introduction, the body of three paragraphs along with the main thesis or conclusion.  

The ability of the students judge by the logic and factualness they add in their essay writing.

The types of essays are as follows:

Academic essays:.

It helps in measuring the intellectual abilities of students. Through this essay, the student’s capability of organizing their thoughts are revealed. 

Descriptive Essays:

The descriptive essay includes a description of a particular topic or something. It affects the physical, emotional, or intellectual sense of the audience.  

Narrative Essays:

It is like narrating a story to the audience. It includes flashbacks, flash forward, or climax in the essay.

Comparison Essays:

The comparison essay includes a comparison and contrast between two or more than two people or objects. 

Philosophical Essays:

In it, the writer defends a claim and also provides a reason for it. This is called a philosophical essay.

The Prime Objective of Essay Writing-

Essay writing plays an important role for the readers as an essay is written for them. Following are the prime objective of essay writing-

1 Notify your readers

An informative and good essay needs to include information that must be accurate and useful. If you want your reader to understand the concept, you have to give detailed information. 

2 Influence your readers

A persuasive essay’s main goal is to influence the reader to take action regarding something. Thus, if you want to achieve this objective, you have to support your point with accurate facts to influence the readers to make changes in some particular area.

3 Give a proper explanation

One of the main objectives of essay writing is to describe a specific topic to the readers. You have to give a complete explanation of the topic if you want your readers to understand the main point of your writing.   

4 Add some entertaining point  

If you want to grab the reader’s attention and keep them engaged throughout the essay, you have to hold your audience through jokes, humor, and other methods. 

Overview of a research paper:

A research paper includes a piece of writing that is plagiarism-free or depth research of a particular topic. The research paper itself includes the word ‘research’ which means the repetitive search done in various directions to collect the main points or ideas of the topic.

The research papers may be quantitative or qualitative papers. The students have to do in-depth research on the question or topic. Also, add some reliable sources in the paper, which can be shown as the form of references. If you are researching the subject in which you have an interest, then try to make it informative.   

It can prepare in various kinds of citation formats like APA, MLA, or Chicago. The research paper requires consistent focus, in-depth research, or gives a detailed understanding of the subject. It includes the opinions and facts that are reliable. Sometimes a research paper is also known as a research project or term paper. 

The thesis statements must include in the research paper by the given topic. Most students write down the following types of the research paper are as follows:

Argumentative research paper:

In this type of research paper, the student selects a controversial topic. The writer develops the introduction and tells the audience about the subject. It also includes a thesis. 

Analytical Research Paper:

In this type of paper, students are required to mention criticism of the subject in the form of questions.

Definition paper:

It explains the facts without including the writer’s personal view. Utilizing the various sources to create the research paper is important.   

Experimental research paper:

In this type of research paper, you have to explain the process you used in your experimentation with a complete analysis of data, and after that, you write the report.

Survey research paper:

In this, you have to collect the data from respondents, analyze the information, and represent the results in a report. 

Why is research paper writing important?

The following points explain why research paper writing is important-

1 Attain knowledge through researching

A person can attain new knowledge of a specific concept with the help of research. The positive point of research paper writing is that people become knowledgeable after doing proper research.   

2 A route of improving public awareness

A research paper always includes new ways of finding the unique aspects of a specific aspect. For example, if the purpose of writing the research paper is to find out the ways of how to settle in a foreign country, the research result includes the information that helps the public in knowing that.

3 Business success is boosted by research

The research result can help various companies in terms of working and growth. For example, if in the research they find that they have to focus on the marketing part more then top authorities of the company put focus on that. 

From the above discussion, Now you get the knowledge of essays and research papers. Now we will discuss essay vs research paper:

Material, Types, Structure, Methodology

How is a research paper different from other types of paper.

Various writing papers follow a particular format. All have the same foundations, but the way of explanation is different. Now we all know the essay vs research paper. Let’s discuss different types of papers that are different from research paper-

• Argumentative research paper

It needs appropriate research of the subject and an argument related to it. Moreover, you have to invest more time in writing it.

• Analytical research paper

Analytical research papers need deep analysis of the subject matter. In this, several points of view explain along with the right facts and evidence. 

• Persuasive research paper

The meaning is clear from its name itself. Its main goal is to influence the reader so that they can start thinking like the writer. Through the writing skills, the writer convinces the reader on a particular point of view.

• Informative research paper

It is written to give information to the reader regarding a specific topic. In this, the explanation of the matter is in a general way. It is shorter in length as compared to a standard research paper.

Conclusion:

From the above discussion, now you know about essay vs research papers. It will help you in writing both as you have clarity about both. If you are still facing any problem

Our team is always available for your help. Then you can hire essay help or research paper writing service from us.

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Persuasive vs Argumentative Writing: Which One Will Make Your Point Stand Out?

As students and writers, we frequently encounter argumentative vs persuasive writing. What is the difference between them? Persuasive and argumentative essays are two common forms that may initially appear quite similar yet possess distinct characteristics. You might find yourself pondering, what are their distinctive features? In this article, we will delve into the difference that set these two essay types apart, examine their respective purposes and techniques, and answer the often-asked question of whether are persuasive and argumentative essays the same. By understanding their unique attributes and difference, you can better navigate the process and produce more substantial, more compelling essays.

What Is Persuasive Writing?

The starting point of persuasive writing is typically a desired outcome or a belief held by the writer. As the name suggests, it endeavours to sway the audience towards embracing the writer’s point of view. To achieve this, you need to know what is a persuasive essay and follow the guide on persuasive essay writing for crafting a paper that captivates the audience. The tone of persuasive writing frequently takes on an informal and subjective character, utilizing anecdotes and personal experiences to affect the reader’s emotions.

The target audience for this essay usually comprises a specific group or individuals whom the writer’s argument may influence. This paper style is inherently one-sided, concentrating on the writer’s perspective while disregarding opposing viewpoints. Sometimes it is hard to understand the peculiarities of persuasive writing, but a persuasive essay writing service can help you. The ultimate aim is to persuade the audience to adopt the writer’s position instead of presenting writing argumentative conclusions.

In a compelling essay, the author might employ various tactics to enhance the persuasiveness of their argument to complete the difference between persuasion and argument. These could include using rhetorical devices, such as parallelism or repetition, to emphasize key points; sharing stories that evoke an emotional response.

What Is Argumentative Writing?

An argumentative essay, in contrast, endeavours to prove a point or stance through logical reasoning and purpose. The starting point for argumentative is typically a hypothesis or question that the writer seeks to answer or substantiate. Argumentative essays are defined by their formal tone, objectivity, and the inclusion of multiple perspectives on the topic, ensuring a comprehensive analysis.

The audience for argumentative essays is usually more academic, as the writer strives to investigate and scrutinize the subject. Unlike convincing writing, argumentative relies on facts, statistics, and expert opinions to bolster its assertions. Don’t feel shy to buy an argumentative essay online .

The tone of persuasive writing is investigative and analytical work rather than compelling and passionate.

In an argumentative essay, the writer must carefully examine various aspects of how to write argumentative essays , anticipate potential counterarguments, and provide rebuttals to strengthen their position. By doing so, the writer demonstrates their thorough understanding of the topic and showcases their critical thinking skills.

In addition, you should remember what is the difference between argumentative and persuasive writing to make your work clear. Argumentative essays require the writer to be well-informed about the subject, as they must address different viewpoints. In contrast, the argumentative essay might rely more on emotional appeals, anecdotes, and personal experiences to persuade the reader.

Structural Differences

The primary structural distinction between argumentative and persuasive essays lies in the presentation of perspectives and evidence.

Argumentative essays focus on presenting multiple perspectives on a topic, ensuring a comprehensive analysis that enables readers to form their own opinions. These essays include various viewpoints, counterarguments, and relevant evidence to provide a complete understanding of the issue. If you need assistance with essay writing, don’t hesitate to seek help from a website that writes essays for you . They can help you to improve your skills and provide you with practical advice on the difference between argumentative and persuasive essay papers.

In contrast, persuasive essays aim to convince the audience of the writer’s viewpoint by emphasizing emotionally charged arguments and anecdotes. The primary goal is to sway the reader towards the writer’s perspective, often downplaying or even omitting opposing viewpoints. This structure focuses more on persuasion than a balanced evaluation of the topic.

In conclusion, the difference between these essays lies in their purpose, technique, tone, audience, point of view, attitude, and presentation of perspectives. While argumentative essays are investigative, analytical, and objective, aiming to provide a well-rounded analysis of a topic, persuasive essays focus on influencing the audience using emotional appeal and subjective arguments.

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