You have read and analyzed at least two books and multiple
short stories this semester. Now it’s time to put that reading to
good use and try to convince others that important, meaningful
ideas can be found in literature. In these pages, you will learn the
basics of good persuasion and more specifically, how to write an
argumentative literary essay. In other words, produce an essay
that will allow your reader to look at a work of literature in a
whole new light. (As in, “Wow, I never really thought of it like
that before!) You have done the heavy lifting (all that reading).
For this challenge, you’ll want to find the most interesting ideas
and the STRONGEST evidence to support them, and write a
convincing essay of no more than two pages.
Read this slowly. Stop and insert comments. Highlight key phrases
you don’t want to forget. When you read about concepts you don’t
understand or are things you don’t usually do well, insert comments!
Reflect upon what you have read and make notes about what you wish to
write.
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Persuasion is ….
the attempt to change the mindset of the audience (listener, reader,
viewer).
a strategy that takes many forms (advertising, manipulation, debate,
argument, criticism, sales)
a technique that may be subtle or blunt.
not necessarily a strategy to “convince” someone or make them think
as you do. That might be the lofty goal, but even powerful arguments
can be unsuccessful in converting an audience.
An argumentative (or persuasive) essay will tend to address claims and
counterclaims (that is, the other side of the issue) when focused on a topic
with varied, distinct opinions.
However, an argumentative literary essay is less concerned with
“debate,” but rather intends to take a powerful idea - usually about
universal issues - and show how the text in question proves the validity of
this idea. So, the essay:
 Establishes a broad, compelling thesis;
 Builds on that thesis with strong ideas derived from the text;
 Uses specific, STRONG textual examples that act as undeniable
evidence that prove the validity of the thesis.
II. STUDENT SAMPLE
Read the following introduction from a student essay on “the human
condition” that used “Flowers for Algernon” as the textual proof:
The writer has done the following:
 Found a strong, authoritative quote from a great writer and
summarized the quote as the introduction to the big concept.
 The writer transitions to a compelling thesis at the start of the second
paragraph in the form of a question.
 Next, the writer explains the idea over the third and fourth sentences.
 Finally, the writer provides direct, textual evidence to show how this
idea is illustrated within “Flowers for Algernon.”
 The writer later goes on to directly quote specific portions of the text
as well.
III. Keys to successful persuasion:
1) The opening must exemplify SIMPLICITY.
- A single idea, well stated, regardless of its form, allows the mind to
accept the potential credibility of the message.
- Failure to achieve this acceptance dooms the essay.
- Avoid distracting thoughts. Present the RESULT of your thought
process, not the process itself!
- Leave complexity for the main body of the essay, especially embedded
with the supporting detail.
2) The body must maintain the tone set by the opening.
- Your choices (humor, anger, darkness, etc.) should remain consistent
throughout.
- Consistency allows for a clear voice and does not risk confusing the
reader.
- Your content, syntax, and vocabulary must be used to sell the reader.
Do not try to impress the reader with your "expansive" knowledge of the
topic.
3) The conclusion should play upon the introduction (without repetition) and
expand upon the central idea.
- Close the sale with one last nugget of insight.
- Devices such as rhetorical questions, a call to action, or a moral
conundrum might serve your purpose.
- As with the opening, SIMPLICITY is critical; leave with one clear idea.
IV. KEY QUESTIONS TO ASK:
When gathering evidence and then adding it to your essay, ask yourself:
* Is this really the most compelling detail to support my main idea?
* How will this detail further my goal to sell the main idea?
* Does this detail require quotable text?
* Does this evidence have complementary detail that validates its use?
* Is this detail presented with clarity, conciseness, and using appropriate
transitional devices?
* Does the evidence stand on its own, or do I need to add opinion to clarify
its purpose?
V. This is one possible way to organize evidence before you write:
Student reflections:
VI. So, how do you start the essay? Here are some possible
strategies:
1) Use a “hook.” Create an interesting scene or idea that leads into your
main idea.
Ex. I work hard to make straight A's; but for the life of me, I have no idea what
I am accomplishing.
2) Use an anecdote, or story, to set the scene before stating your main
idea.
Ex.: One of the most shocking recent statistics about public education shows
that roughly 25 percent of teens in American high schools fail to graduate. While
many of these young people see no incentive for acquiring a diploma and drop out
as a result, most of them do have the requisite intelligence and fundamental skills
to complete this critical stage in their lives.
3) Use a straightforward opening that clearly states your main idea and
primary supporting ideas, but do so using specific, powerful language with
carefully-chosen sentence structure.
Ex.: Charlie Gordon is our worst nightmare. The narrator of "Flowers for
Algernon," a simple man who briefly becomes an intellectual monster, represents
humanity's contradictory aspirations toward our own potential as a species. At the
height of his brain power, Charlie is a soulless automaton; at his worst, he is a
broken creature worthy of pity. In either case, he is feared, mocked, and
misunderstood.
VII. How do I write a strong thesis?
Remember what you read earlier: It’s all about one central idea that is
stated clearly. So your thesis will include this idea and show, in a brief
summary, the major concepts you’ll be discussing. The earlier example
from Algernon is a good one, but here are two more, these focusing on The
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain.
SAMPLE A:
“... Huck progresses on not only a literal journey, but a much deeper moral
journey. He faces many challenges posed to every child while growing up, such as
thinking for oneself and deciding what is right and wrong. Huck is still learning
about human nature and their actions. Using Huck’s ignorance of the world, Twain
highlights the flaws in human biases and dispositions.”
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The highlighted part is the actual thesis statement. This is the paper’s
grand idea and what the writer will attempt to prove. What comes
right before helps to explain or summarize the big ideas that will be
used to support the thesis. In your writing, the “big ideas” could be
written before or after the thesis, depending upon your approach.
Also, see how the writer made connections to his own life and the
world around him? That’s a BIG plus!!
SAMPLE B:
“Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn is a book of satire and a criticism of society
as it was during the nineteenth century. By using the character of Huckleberry
Finn, Twain gets to poke fun and observe society through the eyes of a Southern
12-year-old boy. If Twain had chosen to make this character an adult, he wouldn’t
have gotten away with the harsh criticisms and dialogue he had chosen to use in
the book.”
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This is similar to the first sample, but this time the writer adds a
second sentence to the thesis that says, “I’m going to show you how
using a boy instead of a man as the main character made it possible
for Twain to poke fun at society.” This fully tells us what to expect
afterward, and we’ll be looking for detailed evidence to prove this.
VIII. What does a body paragraph look like?
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The form is straightforward: Begin by stating the SINGLE IDEA that
you will support in that paragraph, show how that idea is visible in the
story IN A GENERAL WAY, and then provide very specific, detailed
evidence. Think of it like an inverted pyramid:
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You might switch between general and specific a few times in a
paragraph, and you might also be able to reach a conclusion in the
same paragraph. See these student samples:
“Huck’s moral evolution first becomes evident when he admits Jim must have
feelings like ‘white folks.’ Jim sorely misses his children and expresses his desire
to see them again to Huck. Huck determines Jim must have emotions like ‘white
folks,’ but also admits, ‘It don’t seem natural, but I reckon it’s so.’ This is an
example of him beginning to think for himself on the true issue of slavery being
morally correct or not, with remnants of his learned behavior in the phrase, ‘It
don’t seem natural.’ ”
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Do you see what the writer did here? In the first sentence, we have
the “big idea” sentence of the paragraph, followed by the general
example (2nd sentence), then the specific textual reference (3rd
sentence). The writer then puts it all together with his own conclusion.
Sometimes, you might have multiple text examples to use to support
the same big idea, so the paragraph might be longer and more
complex.