essay writing prompts

Learning How To Distinguish Good Persuasive Essays Topics

It's not so much a matter of if you will be asked to persuade your readers to read your good persuasive essay but rather when. Persuasive essays are common in both high school and college. The basic structure of the essay remains that used throughout most essay writing activities. That is you have an introduction, a series of main paragraphs and finish with the conclusion.

But it is the style or purpose of the essay which is so relevant in this article. A persuasive essay is one where the writer has to be persuasive. They have to convince the reader, usually their teacher or professor, that the writer's opinion on a topic is well thought out, well explained and well argued.

Choice of topic is everything

If you want to be successful in any form of essay writing and particularly in a persuasive essay, you must choose an appropriate topic. But what do we mean by appropriate. How can you learn to distinguish between good and bad persuasive essay topics?

There are a number of things you should look for

  • Does the topic divide public opinion?
  • Do you have a particular leaning towards one side of the argument?
  • Is there an abundance of relevant source material?

It's no good choosing a persuasive essay topic which does not ignite passions. If people have a ‘take it or leave it’ attitude to the topic you have chosen, you have chosen badly. Find a topic which excites the passions. Find a topic which deeply divides attitudes within the community. Only when there are definite and different points of view can you find a really good persuasive essay topic.

But that's not enough. You have to become involved in this particular persuasive essay topic. You cannot afford to take an even handed approach to the topic. You must be strongly in favour of one side of the argument. If you can explain how the other side of the argument fails to make its case, so much the better. A well-read writer will always win higher scores from the reader. Higher scores should be your aim.

And the best persuasive essay topics are those which also have an abundance of resource material. Can you bone up on the subject and thus seriously mount your case? Unless you have plenty of facts to support your argument, you won’t be persuasive at all.