Persuasive Writing Examples: From Essays to Speeches

Persuasive writing is very common in ad campaigns where marketing wants to convince you to buy something. There’s an entire psychology behind ad campaigns. Expert marketers look for ways to convince customers to buy their products. Sometimes, they’ll make promises — true or false — and other times they’ll use words with a sense of urgency like “today” or “now.” Let’s explore a few examples.

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• Why risk making a mistake on your tax returns or missing out on added money in your bank account? Trust the experts at 123 Accounting to ensure you get the biggest tax refund possible.
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Persuasive essays are a great way to formulate sound arguments and distribute them to the public. If nothing else, these types of essays may be a requirement at some point in your academic career. You'll need a great persuasive essay topic to get started. Let’s take a look at a few excerpts from persuasive essays. Each of these could stand as the thesis statement in a well-crafted argument.

• The death penalty is a good deterrent for criminals. Beyond that, it is fair because the Bible supports “an eye for an eye.” We need to keep the death penalty on the books.
• Marijuana should be legalized. We are putting too many people in prison and spending too much money to incarcerate them for nonviolent crimes.

Rather than just an excerpt of a persuasive essay, sink your teeth into a short example of what a persuasive example might look like.

Mandatory minimum sentencing is harmful to the human race. It is a form of discrimination; many people receive long sentences for minor crimes. We should overturn mandatory minimum sentencing rules and give judges more leeway in their decision-making.
Mandatory minimum sentences are one of the worst forms of discrimination. Because judges need to have a minimum sentence, they hand down sentences that don’t completely fit the crime. Someone that commits a minor crime receives a harsh punishment despite circumstances. For example, a man steals to try to feed his starving child and gets sentenced to the minimum requirement despite his circumstances.
Furthermore, mandatory minimum sentences should be overturned to create a fair justice system. Rather than trying to meet a mandatory minimum, judges should be able to look at all the evidence and circumstances within a case and make a ruling accordingly. They shouldn’t just hand out sentences because they need to meet a quota.
Lastly, removing mandatory minimum sentences could allow judges to use their own best judgment. After hearing all the evidence in the case, they could make a decision based on knowledge and their experience. They wouldn’t just be handing down an unfair, and quite honestly unjust, verdict.
As you can clearly see, mandatory minimum sentences should be taken away. Rather than having a minimum to meet, judges should be able to use their own judgment and discretion in a case after looking at all the evidence. Don’t you think mandatory minimums are against our own human rights?

A powerful persuasive speech stands the chance of rocking an entire nation. Presidential candidates rally for months before an election year. Small town councils meet regularly, often to listen to persuasive speeches about the community. At some point in your college career, you might even find yourself in a public speaking class that will ask you to deliver a persuasive speech. Explore some examples of persuasive speeches at work.

• Are you tired of seeing your paychecks slashed by unjust tax deductions? We work hard to provide for our families and then wind up only being able to live paycheck to paycheck. If you vote for me, I’ll make sure your taxes are lowered and you get the government services that you depend on. Imagine everything you’ll be able to do with more wiggle room in your monthly income. Cast your vote today.

• Raising taxes is wrong because people should be entitled to keep their own money and because an increase in tax revenue will be stifling to businesses. We should keep taxes low or even reduce tax rates to encourage growth.

Check out a short example of a persuasive speech in action.

Every day as you walk down Maple St., you might notice the small little garden flourishing under the sunlight. What you might not realize is that garden goes to feed everyone. It’s a staple of our community. And, we need to act now to save our community garden.
This beautiful staple of our community is ten years in the making, with enough organic vegetables to feed every mouth in this neighborhood. Hud & Co. has no right to come into our town and pave a parking lot over one of our most prominent food sources. Many people depend on that food to survive. Where else can you find free fresh food to give your family? Where else can you find the coming together of a community to make sure everyone can eat? It isn’t just about a garden, it’s a way of life and a chemical free meal.
Don’t let Hud & Co. take away our way of life for nothing more than extra parking spaces. Come rally with me this Friday night. Together, we will stand in their way and protect our beloved town.

Has a review ever made you pick up a book? Do you remember being sparked to action by an editorial in a paper? Reviews and editorials present an opinion about a book, movie, event, or topic. Using the reviewer’s personal opinion, they tell the reader why they should or shouldn’t check something out or learn more about it. Explore a few examples of persuasive reviews and editorials.

One of the most common forms of persuasive reviews is book reviews. Dive into a simple example of a book review.

Upon first cracking the old worn cover of this historical fiction, I began to wonder what I’d gotten myself into. Beyond just being a great classic, Pride and Prejudice gives us a look into history. It tells us about the hierarchy of the time and exactly where women stood. But it did more than that. Within her first few words, Austen works to suck you into a world much different than your own.

An editorial presents an opinion on an issue, like a political stance. Check out a short example of a persuasive editorial.

School is not only for learning from books, it’s about learning about yourself. As you grow and change, throughout your formative years, you learn so much about your own style and personality. But that freedom of expression is taken away when uniforms are instilled in schools. According to a study by Pearson in Time magazine, school uniforms stunted the personal growth of more than 70% of youth. When freedom of expression is taken away, it’s hard for adolescents to truly develop a sense of self.

In each example, the goal is to get someone to do something or support something. Sound reasoning is required to convince the audience that there’s a benefit to their taking action. Do you know who was the master of reason? Aristotle himself. He developed the three modes of reasoning - ethos, logos and pathos. That is, ethics, logic and emotion. Why not let Aristotle lead you down the pathway to persuasive success?