Getting Help with Persuasive Essay Topics for 6th Graders

The persuasive essay is a common type of essay students will be asked to write throughout their school years. From middle school into high school to college and beyond this is one of the most prevalent types of essays English instructors assign. It is also the essay that you will be asked in other classes outside of English because it is the paper that lends itself well to research and formulating arguments and showing your knowledge and experience with a subject matter. To get started writing a good persuasive essay you need to keep these basic tips in mind as you start looking for a topic and begin your research:

• Be clear in your stance and clearly communicate the stand you are taking on the issue.
• Tell the reader your claims and follow them up with evidence and proof.
• Provide strong, sound evidence that backs up your claim and supports your view.
• Make sure the reader understands and sees the connection between evidence and claims.
• Make sure you mention the opposing viewpoints and address their issues with your claim.

Evidence

There are types of evidence to be used in a persuasive paper. Your paper is only as strong as the evidence you can find to back it up. You can formulate your argument based on emotional pleas or personal feelings but they will not stand up in a debate and are not enough to carry your persuasive paper.

Some tips on how to determine what good strong evidence is in your essay:

• Relevance: it deals directly and specifically with your topic
• Representativeness: remember that a small sampling or group cannot represent a vast population- your evidence needs to accurately and fairly represent your focus group
• Accuracy: use multiple sources when possible to verify and support a single claim
• Details: if you know specifics then give them, especially when it comes to data, figures, or statistics.
• Adequacy: Determine the most important points and pieces of evidence for your point of view and argument and stick with that- there should be a balance so there’s not too much or too little information.

Additional tips to keep in mind:

• Differentiate between facts and speculations.
• Use statistics to support your claims, not to pad your essay with fluff.
• Make use of examples as a mean to clarify and explain your points.
• Use logic at all times and be reasonable in your arguments.
• Keep personal experience and opinions to a minimum.