Students learn to write a number of forms of writing at school. The three main forms of writing (also called genres) taught at school are narrative, informative and persuasive.



Persuasive writing is writing in which the writer needs to convince someone of his or her point of view or opinion. For example, a student may be asked whether reading books or watching TV is better. The student would present his or her opinion on this topic and would include reasons for that opinion. In writing this way, the student is attempting to persuade the reader to agree with his or her opinion.



How to successfully tackle a persuasive writing task:

What do you think? Do you agree or disagree? Perhaps you can think of ideas for both sides of this topic.



Write to convince a reader of your opinion.
Step 1. Always begin with an introduction. An introduction lets a reader know what you are going to write about.
Step 2. Write your opinion on this topic. Give reasons for your opinion. Explain your reasons for your opinion.
Step 3. Finish with a conclusion. A conclusion sums up your reasons so that a reader is convinced of your opinion.

Remember to:​

• plan your writing
• use paragraphs to organise your ideas 
• write in sentences 
• choose your words carefully to convince a reader of your opinion
• pay attention to your spelling and punctuation
• check and edit your writing so it is clear for a reader



Marking criteria - What teachers look for when marking your writing:​

1.  Audience - Your capacity to orient, engage and persuade the reader.
2. Text structure - The organisation of the structural components of a persuasive text (introduction, body and conclusion) into an appropriate and effective text structure.
3. Ideas - The selection, relevance and elaboration of ideas for a persuasive argument.
4. Persuasive devices - The use of a range of persuasive devices to enhance the writer’s position and persuade the reader.
5. Vocabulary - The range and precision of contextually appropriate language choices.
6. Cohesion - The control of multiple threads and relationships across the text, achieved through the use of referring words, ellipsis, text connectives, substitutions and word associations.
7. Paragraphing - The segmenting of text into paragraphs that assists the reader to follow the line of argument.
8. Sentence structure - The production of grammatically correct, structurally sound and meaningful sentences.
9. Punctuation - The use of correct and appropriate punctuation to aid the reading of the text.
10. Spelling - The accuracy of spelling and the difficulty of the words used.

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