Have you ever wanted to have an effective way to convince someone of your point of view?
Well, persuasive writing might be just the thing for you!
You may have heard of persuasive writing or writing to convince the reader of a particular point.
It is one of the oldest forms of communication and has been used in various contexts such as politics, religion, business, and more.
There are many different types of persuasive writing, but all share the same goal - to convince the reader to see things from the writer's point of view.
However, some types are more effective than others, and it's important to choose the right one for the situation at hand.
So today, we’ll show you different techniques and types of persuasive writing and how you can use them to your advantage.
Let’s roll up our sleeves and get started!
What is Persuasive Writing?
Generally speaking, persuasive writing is any piece of writing that aims to convince the reader to see things from the writer’s point of view.
There are many different types of persuasive writing, and the type you use will depend on your audience, your purpose, and the context of the situation.
For example, if you're trying to persuade your boss to give you a raise, you'll likely use a more formal, professional tone than when trying to convince your friend to go out for drinks.
Similarly, the type of persuasive writing you use when arguing a case in court will be very different from the kind you might use in an essay for school.
Furthermore, persuasive writing greets us at every corner, whether in the form of advertisements, brochures, or media.
Nonetheless, no matter what type of persuasive writing you are doing, you need to use
- strong evidence
- an appeal to emotion, and
- logical reasoning to do it effectively.
Why Do You Need Persuasive Writing?
You need persuasive writing because it is an invaluable tool in the business world.
Think about advertising, website copywriting, eCommerce, general branding, etc.
They rely heavily on persuasive copy to persuade readers to become their customers.
When done right, persuasive writing triggers your audience or customers to take action.
In other words, it is an influential tool that calls to action.
Furthermore, persuasive writing helps you sharpen your writing skills by teaching you how to do research and look for facts.
What’s more, it teaches you how to lay out your arguments concisely and clearly.
Finally, persuasive writing is also a robust asset you can use for more selfless actions:
- donating and charity work
- stirring changes in society, or
- rallying people in favor of a good cause.
What are the Types of Persuasive Writing?
There are three main types of persuasive writing, but in order to fully grasp the principles of persuasive writing and use them to your benefit, we need to go back in time.
To the 4th century BC, to be more precise.
It all started with Aristotle, who set the foundations of persuasive writing, foundations we still use today.
These foundations, or modes, are namely:
- Ethos
- Pathos, and
- Logic.
1. Ethos
Ethos comes from the Greek word “character” or “spirit.”
If we translate it to modern-day persuasive writing, it refers to the way the writer presents themselves.
Therefore, writers must be skillful and virtuous to show they are credible and trustworthy. Furthermore, they should show their authority in their respective industry.
2. Pathos
Pathos originates from ancient Greek, meaning “suffering” or “experience.”
Thus, it represents the writer’s appeal to emotion.
And you probably know this too well yourself.
If we put this in the business world, it is our emotions that trigger our purchasing decisions.
Thus, it is no surprise that good persuasive writers will exploit this fact.
So, for example, the writer might
- share their painful or sobering experience
- show empathy and understanding of the reader’s pain points.
Even more importantly, you should understand your reader and their background to be able to use pathos fully.
3. Logic
Logic is in stark contrast to pathos. It is derived from Greek, and it means “logic” or “rationale.”
Persuasive writing means using logical arguments backed up by thorough research and evidential data.
Furthermore, it also refers to how you put your arguments in the most effective way.
Traveling back to the present day, each of these modes represents the core of persuasive writing.
Furthermore, they helped establish the three main types of persuasive writing.
3 Main Types of Persuasive Writing
Although persuasive writing can come in many shapes and sizes, the following three types are considered the main ones.
1. An argumentative essay - represents the most common type.
The writer makes a claim about a particular topic and then supports that claim with evidence.
The goal is to convince the reader that the writer's position is correct and that the evidence provided supports the claim.
2. A cause-and-effect essay - In this type of essay, the writer explores how one event can lead to another.
The goal is to convince the reader that there is a causal relationship between the two events and that one event led directly to the other.
3. A compare-and-contrast essay - The writer looks at two or more different things and points out their similarities and differences.
The goal is to persuade the reader that one thing is better than another or that they are equally good (or bad).
Additionally, in order to maximize your message and persuade the reader, you can try the following tips and techniques we’ve prepared for you.
6 Persuasive Techniques
To master persuasive writing and elevate your overall writing skills, the following techniques come in handy.
1. Do Your Research
Although most people are triggered into action when you appeal to their emotions, that isn’t enough.
You might deal with a more analytical and logical audience, or your product or service might not address emotional problems.
Therefore, you need to back up your writing with evidence and data.
Furthermore, providing proof makes you more credible and less biased.
In addition, providing facts, case studies, and similar data resonate with the word “truth.” And people believe in something they consider to be indisputable and true.
Thus, providing facts is a powerful hook.
2. Show Empathy
Your audience wants to feel like you know them and their pain points. Moreover, they want a solution to their problems or issues.
The first step in showing empathy is to identify with your audience. You need to know who you are addressing and why what you say matters to them.
Furthermore, how you can help them.
As a result, the audience will naturally be inclined toward your solution because they will feel understood.
3. Use Rhetorical Questions
Rhetorical questions are a great way to grab your audience's attention and start the brainstorming process.
Although they don’t require an answer, they provide a hook because the audience usually continues reading to see if their initial thoughts are right.
Rhetorical questions are also useful emphatic tools because they help emphasize your point and the main focus of your writing.
Whether they make a negative or positive point, introduce the topic, etc., rhetorical questions are a valuable asset to glue your readers to your text.
4. Use Repetition
Repetition is yet another powerful technique to make your writing more persuasive.
But don’t mistake repetition for redundancy.
If you do repetition strategically, it will add value to your writing while emphasizing your core message.
Thus, you can use:
- Paraphrasing
- Story-telling
- Metaphors and other literary devices, etc.
Doing so will gently remind the reader of your message and reinforce it.
Therefore, your lines should be engaging and not redundant.
Let’s look at the following examples:
What makes the first example good is that the writer repeats the keywords in a way that produces value - they show the importance of saving money and budgeting.
On the other hand, the second example doesn’t provide any value.
The message is empty and redundant.
5. Choose Your Vocabulary Wisely
Regardless of the type of content you produce, you need to be careful with your vocabulary.
This is also one of the reasons why knowing your audience is important.
When it comes to vocabulary, try to use:
- Colloquial language - it shows you are on the same wavelength with your audience and they can relate to you.
Moreover, you’ll come across as friendly rather than stiff.
- Jargon words are on the other end of the spectrum compared to colloquial language. Nonetheless, you can put them to good use.
Jargon words are helpful if you are dealing with a professional or intellectual audience. Furthermore, it makes you sound more knowledgeable and, therefore, more authoritative.
- Inclusive language - paired with colloquial language, it will emphasize sharing the same viewpoint as your audience. “We are in this together.”
- Literary devices - hyperbole ( exaggeration), metaphors, similes, puns, etc. They will strengthen your persuasive writing and make it more engaging, colorful, and fun.
6. Adjust Your Tone
No matter how well-crafted your content is, using the wrong tone can be a deal breaker.
There is no one-size-fits-all rule as to which tone you should use.
It will depend on the type of writing and audience.
For example, you can have:
- authoritative,
- logical,
- passionate,
- humorous,
- intelligent
- formal
- encouraging
- neutral tone, etc.
The tone, in combination with vocabulary, will enable you to know what language suits your audience best.
Final Thoughts
Persuasive writing is a powerful tool you can use in many different contexts.
Whether you want to persuade your readers about a certain issue or convince them to take action, these techniques and types of persuasive writing can help you do just that.
Always remember that the key to successful persuasion is understanding your audience and crafting an argument tailored to them.
And there is a tool that can facilitate the writing process for you and saves tons of your blood, sweat, and tears.
TextCortex is an AI-powered writing tool that assists you in creating compelling content in a hassle-free yet efficient way.
Furthermore, you can create a wide range of content from blog posts, product descriptions, emails, ads, social media posts, etc.
TextCortex’s highlights include:
- Rewrite feature helps you tweak and enhance your content.
- Expand feature builds upon your original text.
- Summarize feature provides a summary.
- Change the Voice feature helps you adjust your tone of voice accordingly.
- Long-post feature assists you in crafting in-depth posts.
- Translation feature offers translation in 10+ languages.
- And many more.
Furthermore, TextCortex is an intuitive platform, and all features are accessible from the main menu.
The Chrome extension gives you access to 60+ AI templates for generating various content types.
Moreover, two of our recent editions have been very popular with our users so far and are a great help regarding persuasive writing.
- Text-to-speech feature reads content aloud so you can experience it from the reader's perspective.
- Readability Checker shows the overall score of your text in terms of word count, reading time, and grade level.
You can use TextCortex on over 30 platforms and in any textbox.
Ready to give it a go?
Download the Chrome extension to start creating an effective content that will help you win over any audience.