Persuasive Writing Assignment

The writing required in college courses may be different than anything you’ve encountered before. English classes taken in middle school, and sometimes in the early years of highschool, provide the basics, but many students lose these skills before they begin college. In addition, for nontraditional students who haven’t studied English in a while, making transition to academic writing can be difficult. Professors in all majors expects students to enter their courses in the first semester of college.

Assignments that require you to support a position, claim or opinion involve a persuasive writing approach. These papers are framed with a thesis statement, which introduces a focused assertion. Examples include: “Fast food consumption is linked

to heart disease in low-income communities,” and “The chemicals used in pesticides pose the most significant threat to our health in the 21st century.” The remainder of the paper provides a logical argument and relevant evidence that supports the claim presented in the thesis. Tips for writing argument papers include: Clearly describe the central issue, position or premise. Provide evidence that supports the position presented in your thesis statement. Develop a conclusion based on the evidence you provided. Research papers can take multiple forms, depending on the purpose and specific requirements of your class assignment. This format can be used to describe the methods used in your own research project, present the results of a research project and to describe the research that has already been

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completed in an area of interest.

Some assignments require a combination of these approaches. These papers typically include formal sections, such as an introduction, review of existing research literature,

analysis, discussion of results and conclusion. Tips for writing research papers include: Develop a clear and focused research question, hypothesis, thesis or topic. Identify relevant sources, including previous research reports. Analyze the results found in your sources. Describe how results answer your research question, prove or disprove your hypothesis, support your thesis or expand knowledge of your topic.

Similar to argument and persuasive essays, expository papers require you to research an idea or concept and provide supporting evidence. This type of writing includes a thesis statement, as well as the logical presentation of sources that address the idea you are exploring in your paper. A five-paragraph format is typical for expository essays: (1) introduction paragraph, (2-4) three body paragraphs, (5) conclusion paragraph. This form of writing is often used to evaluate your knowledge of a topic and can be included in exams. Tips for writing expository papers include: Determine the approach required for the assignment: compare and contrast, cause and effect, procedure or process. Write a concise thesis statement that presents your topic, but does not include opinion.Research existing information about your topic. Provide objective evidence and relevant information

found in your research. Provide a conclusion that connects supporting information with the thesis statement.
There are different writing styles, each with a different purpose or audience. There are situations in which one style will be more appropriate than another, and there is a variety of strategies you can use to approach the work.