On-Level: Beginning Persuasion

As we debated some hot topics, we came across four consistent aspects of persuasion:

1. Starting with a thesis / answer / claim. This is where you tell your audience what you believe, or what you are trying to persuade them to believe or do. This is an essential part of being persuasive. You have to directly state what it is you are being persuasive about.
2. Offering evidence and reasons to support your idea. Some people offered personal anecdotes, some people referred to historical events and/or documents, and some people just gave general reasons to support their main ideas. This is another essential part. You must be able to give reasons, logic, or facts that support your main idea. You have 26 lines to be persuasive, so you develop your thesis with supporting details.
3. Challenging someone's idea with a counter argument. A counter argument is an attack on your thesis (main idea) or your evidence. In other words, you admit that some people may find a fault in your argument. "Some people might say..." It is not essential that you have a counter argument. If you can't think of a good one, don't worry about it. It's optional.
4. Squashing a counter argument with a rebuttal. "Some people might say ___, but they're wrong because..." You only need a rebuttal if you include a counter argument in your essay. If you do a counter argument, then you must include a rebuttal.

Good times!