How to Write A Persuasive Paper

Reasoned Argument vs. Assertion of Opinion

The single most important requirement for a college-level paper is that it should present a reasoned argument which persuades your reader that the thesis your paper advances is a valid one. On first glance, it may seem that the questions we ask you to write about are asking for your opinion, since there may be no single "correct" way to answer them.

Do not fall into this trap.

The paper assignments call for you to answer the question with a reasoned argument. Some arguments are better than others; and assertions of opinion are the worst of all. So, if you are to earn a passing grade in this writing-intensive course, it is crucial for you to understand the difference between a reasoned argument and an assertion of opinion.

An assertion is a statement which is not supported by logic or evidence.

It is simply presented in the form of a declaration: "X is true."
Examples of assertions would be statements such as the following:

• "International trade is good for everybody";

or

• "America is losing out in the world economy."

Upon reading or hearing a statement such as this you may be left wondering what reasons there are for believing that such a statement could be true.
In other words, Why would that be?

• Why would trade be generally beneficial?

or

• Why would Americans be hurt by the world economy?

You may wonder what the explanation of such an effect could be.
In other words, How might this work?

• How does trade create benefits?

or

• How does the world economy harm people?

You may also wonder what evidence there might be to indicate that the statement is in fact true. In other words, Is that really correct?

• Are there historical cases or current examples of the beneficial effects of trade?

or

• Are there historical cases or current examples of the harmful effects of trade?

Because they are presented as simple declarations without supporting reasons, explanations, or evidence, assertions of opinion are the least persuasive kind of statement.

Assertions may express the opinion of the person making the statement - for example, "I feel that X is true" - but they cannot explain why you should accept the statement. When you are seeking to persuade someone else, an assertion is the weakest way to do so because the other person is not forced to confront your reasons, explanations, or evidence with their own. If you simply assert "X is true," the other person can respond with an equally simple counter-assertion, "No, X is not true." In the absence of reasons or evidence on either side, there is no way to evaluate these two assertions or to choose one over the other: it is simply your word against theirs. This is why small children often fall into infinitely repeating a cycle of assertions ("is so!") and counter-assertions ("is not!"). Without the skills to develop and evaluate reasoned arguments, there is no way for them to settle their disagreement.

This is how a reasoned argument differs from an assertion of opinion: it provides reasons, explanation, and evidence which we can use to evaluate a particular statement and which we can present to others in order to try and persuade them that our evaluation of the statement is valid.

So after reviewing the reasons, explanation, and evidence in support of a particular statement, we might (or might not) say:

• "There are persuasive reasons why X could be true."
• "There is a plausible explanation of how X could occur."
• "There is evidence which suggests that X is in fact true."

The strongest kind of argument would combine reasons, explanation, and evidence so that we could say "There are logical reasons to believe that X could be true, AND we have a plausible explanation of how X might happen, AND the evidence suggests that X is in fact true."

This is infinitely more persuasive than simply asserting "I feel X is true," which has neither logic nor evidence to back it up.

Of course, even if you are able to support your position with reasons, explanation, and evidence, this does not guarantee that you are correct or insure that others will accept your reasoned argument as a persuasive one. They may very well have logical reasons for believing otherwise, and evidence to support their own position. By insisting on reasoned argument, however, you make it possible to evaluate differing positions in terms of the logic and evidence that supports them instead of falling into a vicious circle of assertion and counter-assertion such as: "Is so!"; "Is not!".

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