examples of persuasive writing grade 5

Elementary Assessments

Elementary Assessments

51 Amazing Persuasive Writing Prompts for 5th Grade Students

Motivate 5th graders to take a stance on a subject using these persuasive writing prompts for 5th grade learners.

These journal prompts encourage fifth graders to confidently express their opinions and help them to strengthen their writing skills.

So add a few of these persuasive writing prompts for 5th grade into your lesson plans this week.

Persuasive Writing Prompts for 5th Grade

1. Should students sit-in on parent-teacher conferences? Why or why not?

2. What are your thoughts about birthday parties held during school hours? Do you think it should be allowed or disallowed?

3. Should schools encourage students to brush their teeth right after lunch?

4. Do you think schools should be strict with the dress code?

5. Is it still necessary to learn cursive writing? Why or why not?

6. Should school extend until the summer? Explain.

7. What is your opinion on fifth graders receiving an allowance for completing chores? Do you think it’s a good idea? Why or why not?

8. Should we have a class pet? If so, what kind fits best with the classroom environment?

9. In your opinion, do you think persuasive writing prompts for 5th grade help you to express your thoughts and develop your writing skills? Why or why not?

10. Should students sit wherever they want in class? Why or why not?

11. Do zoos protect or harm animals? Why do you think this?

12. Should there be a limit to how much time children watch TV each day? If you think so, what should the limit be and why?

13. What are your thoughts on bikers being held accountable for wearing a helmet?

14. Should cell phones be allowed in classrooms with elementary students?

15. Is tap or bottled water the better choice? Why?

16. Should children be forced to play with someone known as a bully? Explain your thinking.

17. Do you think homework should be given every night? Why or why not?

18. Should schools require students to wear uniforms? Explain.

19. Persuade someone you know to adopt a pet that has no home.

20. Should stores require shoppers to bring their own grocery bags? Why or why not?

21. Convince the principal to extend recess for any extra twenty minutes every Friday.

22. Should schools sell junk food to kids after school? Why or why not?

23. Persuade your mom to let you have dessert after dinner tonight.

24. Should every child learn to play a musical instrument? Why or why not?

25. In your opinion, should candy or gum be allowed in the classroom? What are the advantages and disadvantages?

26. Should elementary students be required to learn a second language ? Why do you think doing so or not doing so is a good idea?

27. How do you feel about people learning how to cook when they are children? Good idea or not?

28. Should schools require standardized testing? What are the benefits and downfalls of state testing?

29. Convince your family to take you to the restaurant of your choice.

30. Imagine that you are running for class president. Give reasons why your classmates should vote for you.

31. Should the school have an A, B, C, D, or F grading system or simply Pass/Fail? Explain your thinking.

32. Convince the teacher to organize reading buddies with another grade level.

33. Should the teacher eat lunch with students every day? Why or why not?

34. Should fifth graders be allowed to have social media accounts in order to communicate with friends? Why or why not?

35. Persuasive writing prompts for 5th grade students should be eliminated from the school’s curriculum.

36. Which career is best and why?

37. Persuade a friend to try a new food.

38. Yoga should be taught in P.E. class.

39. Persuade a friend to attend a sporting event with you.

40. A laptop is better than a desktop. Do you agree?

41. Persuade someone to pick you to be on his/her sports team.

42. Soccer is better than basketball.

43. Every grade level should raise money for a local charity.

44. Spelling tests should no longer be given.

45. What’s the best time of the year?

46. State testing should not occur in fifth grade.

47. Junk food should not be sold at school.

48. Students should be able to check out library books from the school during the summer.

49. Persuade a friend to sleep over this weekend.

50. Convince your dad to prepare your favorite meal.

51. Fifth graders should have special privileges.

Final Thoughts: Persuasive Writing Prompts for 5th Grade

Now you have a collection of persuasive writing prompts for 5th grade to use during writer’s workshop.

For support, teach students how to respond well to these prompts.

If you liked these persuasive writing prompts for 5th grade, you may also like … 5th grade opinion writing prompts

Persuasive Writing Examples and Prompts for Kids

A child enjoying persuasive writing with easy examples.

Is your student stepping into the world of persuasive writing?

As a parent, it’s fun to watch your child learn the art of forming and supporting an argument.

(Plus, it’s a significant step toward critical thinking.)

If they need extra help, here are a few persuasive writing examples for kids along with 20 writing prompts to make it fun!

Why Persuasive Writing Is Important for Elementary Writers

Teaching persuasive writing is important because it’s a fundamental step in helping your child think critically.

By arguing a topic, your student will need to examine both sides, which is an essential component of critical thinking. Persuasive writing also inspires formation of opinion and sharing that opinion effectively.

Students as young as elementary-school age can learn to write persuasively. In fact, we’ll share some quick examples of persuasive essays for kids below.

First, let’s discuss the structure of a “mini” persuasive essay.

(If you have an older student, read our step-by-step guide to writing a persuasive essay .)

A Simplified Structure for Persuasive Writing

Of course, expectations and writing guidelines become more involved for older students, but elementary-aged students should keep it simple.

The basic features of persuasive writing can be broken down into 5 steps:

A topic sentence introduces the argument and clearly expresses the writer’s viewpoint. For a younger child, this is simply a straightforward statement that clearly expresses “this is my opinion.”

The next three steps list “pros” that support their topic statement. Each argument should be distinctly stated.

Again, for an elementary-aged student, arguments can be brief and can simply be a list of reasons.

The concluding statement wraps up by summarizing the arguments and restating the opinion.

If this method of persuasive writing sounds complicated at first, rest assured, it’s not.

Let’s look at how you can easily reinforce this structure for your students, along with some examples.

Homeschool Mom Tip: Use a “Persuasive Text Structure” Poster

One effective method of teaching and reinforcing the persuasive writing model is by using a “persuasive structure” chart or poster.

A visual representation of the steps involved in persuasive writing is important for a few reasons:

One other tip I recommend is breaking up essay-style writing with creative writing assignments. ( Try these one-sentence writing prompts! ).

Kid-Friendly Persuasive Writing Examples

Along with tools like a poster, providing simple examples of persuasive writing is another helpful way to teach this new concept.

Here are a few examples of elementary-level persuasive paragraph examples that will give both you and your student an idea of what to expect.

Example 1: A Persuasive Argument About Cats

Cats are the best pets. They can be left alone all day without getting mad. Cats don’t bark, so they are not noisy like dogs. You don’t have to let cats go outside to use the bathroom. As you can see, cats are less work and easier to take care of than dogs.

Example 2: A Persuasive Argument About Meal Choices

French fries should be served with every meal. First, French fries are delicious. Second, French fries are made of potatoes, which are vegetables, and they can air-fried without oil. Also, French fries don’t cost a lot of money. Because they are tasty, cheap, and can be cooked in a healthy way, French fries a perfect side dish to every meal.

Example 3: A Persuasive Argument Against Littering

You should never litter because it is wrong. Littering pollutes the Earth. Littering is throwing trash around outside, which looks ugly. Littering can also make you sick if it has germs on it. Littering is wrong because it makes the world a dirty, unsanitary place to live.

20 Persuasive Writing Prompts for Kids

When you provide a step-by-step structure and supply examples of what is expected, you set your student up for writing success.

The final step in teaching persuasive writing to kids effectively is to present them with an antidote to the dreaded blank page.

To assist you with that, we’ve come up with 20 persuasive writing topics for your students to make it easier for them to get them started on their persuasive essays.

If they can’t come up with their own topics, one of these prompts should spark their interest.

These ideas for persuasive essays cover a wide variety of topics, so there should be something for everyone.

Plus, since persuasive writing is closely related to debate, you can also use these prompts as persuasive debate topics for kids :

I hope these persuasive texts and prompts for kids are helpful to you!

If you haven’t already, don’t forget to provide a few persuasive paragraph examples for your students to gain inspiration (and eliminate overwhelm).

If your student is entering 6th grade or above , we have a complete course that teaches students to write skillfully, think critically, and speak clearly as they explore the history of ideas! As a bonus in these dark days, Philosophy Adventure also teaches students to discern truth from error:

examples of persuasive writing grade 5

will your children recognize truth?

About the author.

Jordan Mitchell

Ideas, Inspiration, and Giveaways for Teachers

We Are Teachers

35 Strong Persuasive Writing Examples (Speeches, Essays, Ads, and More)

Learn from the experts.

The more we read, the better writers we become. Teaching students to write strong persuasive essays should always start with reading some top-notch models. This round-up of persuasive writing examples includes famous speeches, influential ad campaigns, contemporary reviews of famous books, and more. Use them to inspire your students to write their own essays. (Need persuasive essay topics? Check out our list of 60 interesting ideas here! )

Persuasive Speech Writing Examples

Many persuasive speeches are political in nature, often addressing subjects like human rights. Here are some of history’s most well-known persuasive writing examples in the form of speeches.

I Have a Dream by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Sample lines: “And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”

Woodrow Wilson’s War Message to Congress, 1917

Sample lines: “There are, it may be, many months of fiery trial and sacrifice ahead of us. It is a fearful thing to lead this great peaceful people into war, into the most terrible and disastrous of all wars, civilization itself seeming to be in the balance. But the right is more precious than peace, and we shall fight for the things which we have always carried nearest our hearts—for democracy, for the right of those who submit to authority to have a voice in their own governments, for the rights and liberties of small nations, for a universal dominion of right by such a concert of free peoples as shall bring peace and safety to all nations and make the world itself at last free.”

Chief Seattle’s 1854 Oration

Sample lines: “I here and now make this condition that we will not be denied the privilege without molestation of visiting at any time the tombs of our ancestors, friends, and children. Every part of this soil is sacred in the estimation of my people. Every hillside, every valley, every plain and grove, has been hallowed by some sad or happy event in days long vanished. Even the rocks, which seem to be dumb and dead as they swelter in the sun along the silent shore, thrill with memories of stirring events connected with the lives of my people, and the very dust upon which you now stand responds more lovingly to their footsteps than yours, because it is rich with the blood of our ancestors, and our bare feet are conscious of the sympathetic touch.”

Women’s Rights Are Human Rights, Hillary Rodham Clinton

Sample lines: “What we are learning around the world is that if women are healthy and educated, their families will flourish. If women are free from violence, their families will flourish. If women have a chance to work and earn as full and equal partners in society, their families will flourish. And when families flourish, communities and nations do as well. … If there is one message that echoes forth from this conference, let it be that human rights are women’s rights and women’s rights are human rights once and for all.”

I Am Prepared to Die, Nelson Mandela

Sample lines: “Above all, My Lord, we want equal political rights, because without them our disabilities will be permanent. I know this sounds revolutionary to the whites in this country, because the majority of voters will be Africans. This makes the white man fear democracy. But this fear cannot be allowed to stand in the way of the only solution which will guarantee racial harmony and freedom for all. It is not true that the enfranchisement of all will result in racial domination. Political division, based on color, is entirely artificial and, when it disappears, so will the domination of one color group by another. … This then is what the ANC is fighting. Our struggle is a truly national one. It is a struggle of the African people, inspired by our own suffering and our own experience. It is a struggle for the right to live.”

The Struggle for Human Rights by Eleanor Roosevelt

Sample lines: “It is my belief, and I am sure it is also yours, that the struggle for democracy and freedom is a critical struggle, for their preservation is essential to the great objective of the United Nations to maintain international peace and security. Among free men the end cannot justify the means. We know the patterns of totalitarianism—the single political party, the control of schools, press, radio, the arts, the sciences, and the church to support autocratic authority; these are the age-old patterns against which men have struggled for 3,000 years. These are the signs of reaction, retreat, and retrogression. The United Nations must hold fast to the heritage of freedom won by the struggle of its people; it must help us to pass it on to generations to come.”

Freedom From Fear by Aung San Suu Kyi

Sample lines: “Saints, it has been said, are the sinners who go on trying. So free men are the oppressed who go on trying and who in the process make themselves fit to bear the responsibilities and to uphold the disciplines which will maintain a free society. Among the basic freedoms to which men aspire that their lives might be full and uncramped, freedom from fear stands out as both a means and an end. A people who would build a nation in which strong, democratic institutions are firmly established as a guarantee against state-induced power must first learn to liberate their own minds from apathy and fear.”

Harvey Milk’s “The Hope” Speech

Sample lines: “Some people are satisfied. And some people are not. You see there is a major difference—and it remains a vital difference—between a friend and a gay person, a friend in office and a gay person in office. Gay people have been slandered nationwide. We’ve been tarred and we’ve been brushed with the picture of pornography. In Dade County, we were accused of child molestation. It is not enough anymore just to have friends represent us, no matter how good that friend may be.”

The Strike and the Union, Cesar Chavez

Sample lines: “We are showing our unity in our strike. Our strike is stopping the work in the fields; our strike is stopping ships that would carry grapes; our strike is stopping the trucks that would carry the grapes. Our strike will stop every way the grower makes money until we have a union contract that guarantees us a fair share of the money he makes from our work! We are a union and we are strong and we are striking to force the growers to respect our strength!”

Nobel Lecture by Malala Yousafzai

Sample lines: “The world can no longer accept that basic education is enough. Why do leaders accept that for children in developing countries, only basic literacy is sufficient, when their own children do homework in algebra, mathematics, science, and physics? Leaders must seize this opportunity to guarantee a free, quality, primary and secondary education for every child. Some will say this is impractical, or too expensive, or too hard. Or maybe even impossible. But it is time the world thinks bigger.”

Persuasive Writing Examples in Advertising Campaigns

Ads are prime persuasive writing examples. You can flip open any magazine or watch TV for an hour or two to see sample after sample of persuasive language. Here are some of the most popular ad campaigns of all time, with links to articles explaining why they were so successful.

Nike: Just Do It

The iconic swoosh with the simple tagline has persuaded millions to buy their kicks from Nike and Nike alone. Teamed with pro sports star endorsements, this campaign is one for the ages. Blinkist offers an opinion on what made it work.

Dove: Real Beauty

Beauty brand Dove changed the game by choosing “real” women to tell their stories instead of models. They used relatable images and language to make connections, and inspired other brands to try the same concept. Learn why Global Brands considers this one a true success story.

Wendy’s: Where’s the Beef?

Today’s kids are too young to remember the cranky old woman demanding to know where the beef was on her fast-food hamburger. But in the 1980s, it was a catchphrase that sold millions of Wendy’s burgers. Learn from Better Marketing how this ad campaign even found its way into the 1984 presidential debate.

De Beers: A Diamond Is Forever

Diamond engagement ring on black velvet. Text reads "How do you make two months' salary last forever? The Diamond Engagement Ring."

A diamond engagement ring has become a standard these days, but the tradition isn’t as old as you might think. In fact, it was De Beers jewelry company’s 1948 campaign that created the modern engagement ring trend. The Drum has the whole story of this sparkling campaign.

Volkswagen: Think Small

Americans have always loved big cars. So in the 1960s, when Volkswagen wanted to introduce their small cars to a bigger market, they had a problem. The clever “Think Small” campaign gave buyers clever reasons to consider these models, like “If you run out of gas, it’s easy to push.” Learn how advertisers interested American buyers in little cars at Visual Rhetoric.

American Express: Don’t Leave Home Without It

AmEx was once better known for traveler’s checks than credit cards, and the original slogan was “Don’t leave home without them.” A simple word change convinced travelers that American Express was the credit card they needed when they headed out on adventures. Discover more about this persuasive campaign from Medium.

Skittles: Taste the Rainbow

Bag of Skittles candy against a blue background. Text reads "Share the rainbow, taste the rainbow" (Persuasive Writing Examples)

These candy ads are weird and intriguing and probably not for everyone. But they definitely get you thinking, and that often leads to buying. Learn more about why these wacky ads are successful from The Drum.

Maybelline: Maybe She’s Born With It

Smart wordplay made this ad campaign slogan an instant hit. The ads teased, “Maybe she’s born with it. Maybe it’s Maybelline.” (So many literary devices all in one phrase!) Fashionista has more on this beauty campaign.

Coca-Cola: Share a Coke

Seeing their own name on a bottle made teens more likely to want to buy a Coke. What can that teach us about persuasive writing in general? It’s an interesting question to consider. Learn more about the “Share a Coke” campaign from Digital Vidya.

Always: #LikeaGirl

Girl kicking a sign that says "Can't be brave". Text reads "Unstoppable #likeagirl"

Talk about the power of words! This Always campaign turned the derogatory phrase “like a girl” on its head, and the world embraced it. Storytelling is an important part of persuasive writing, and these ads really do it well. Medium has more on this stereotype-bashing campaign.

Editorial Persuasive Writing Examples

Original newspaper editorial "Yes Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus" (Persuasive Writing Examples)

Source: New York Daily News

Newspaper editors or publishers use editorials to share their personal opinions. Noted politicians, experts, or pundits may also offer their opinions on behalf of the editors or publishers. Here are a couple of older well-known editorials, along with a selection from current newspapers.

Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus (1897)

Sample lines: “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! How dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus. It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias.”

What’s the Matter With Kansas? (1896)

Sample lines: “Oh, this IS a state to be proud of! We are a people who can hold up our heads! What we need is not more money, but less capital, fewer white shirts and brains, fewer men with business judgment, and more of those fellows who boast that they are ‘just ordinary clodhoppers, but they know more in a minute about finance than John Sherman,’ we need more men … who hate prosperity, and who think, because a man believes in national honor, he is a tool of Wall Street.”

America Can Have Democracy or Political Violence. Not Both. (The New York Times)

Sample lines: “The nation is not powerless to stop a slide toward deadly chaos. If institutions and individuals do more to make it unacceptable in American public life, organized violence in the service of political objectives can still be pushed to the fringes. When a faction of one of the country’s two main political parties embraces extremism, that makes thwarting it both more difficult and more necessary. A well-functioning democracy demands it.”

The Booster Isn’t Perfect, But Still Can Help Against COVID (The Washington Post)

Sample lines: “The booster shots are still free, readily available and work better than the previous boosters even as the virus evolves. Much still needs to be done to build better vaccines that protect longer and against more variants, including those that might emerge in the future. But it is worth grabbing the booster that exists today, the jab being a small price for any measure that can help keep COVID at bay.”

If We Want Wildlife to Thrive in L.A., We Have To Share Our Neighborhoods With Them (Los Angeles Times)

Sample lines: “If there are no corridors for wildlife movement and if excessive excavation of dirt to build bigger, taller houses erodes the slope of a hillside, then we are slowly destroying wildlife habitat. For those people fretting about what this will do to their property values—isn’t open space, trees, and wildlife an amenity in these communities?”

Persuasive Review Writing Examples

Image of first published New York Times Book Review

Source: The New York Times

Book or movie reviews are more great persuasive writing examples. Look for those written by professionals for the strongest arguments and writing styles. Here are reviews of some popular books and movies by well-known critics to use as samples.

The Great Gatsby (The Chicago Tribune, 1925)

Sample lines: “What ails it, fundamentally, is the plain fact that it is simply a story—that Fitzgerald seems to be far more interested in maintaining its suspense than in getting under the skins of its people. It is not that they are false: It is that they are taken too much for granted. Only Gatsby himself genuinely lives and breathes. The rest are mere marionettes—often astonishingly lifelike, but nevertheless not quite alive.”

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Washington Post, 1999)

Sample lines: “Obviously, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone should make any modern 11-year-old a very happy reader. The novel moves quickly, packs in everything from a boa constrictor that winks to a melancholy Zen-spouting centaur to an owl postal system, and ends with a scary surprise. Yet it is, essentially, a light-hearted thriller, interrupted by occasional seriousness (the implications of Harry’s miserable childhood, a moral about the power of love).”

Twilight (The Telegraph, 2009)

Sample lines: “No secret, of course, at whom this book is aimed, and no doubt, either, that it has hit its mark. The four Twilight novels are not so much enjoyed, as devoured, by legions of young female fans worldwide. That’s not to say boys can’t enjoy these books; it’s just that the pages of heart-searching dialogue between Edward and Bella may prove too long on chat and too short on action for the average male reader.”

To Kill a Mockingbird (Time, 1960)

Sample lines: “Author Lee, 34, an Alabaman, has written her first novel with all of the tactile brilliance and none of the preciosity generally supposed to be standard swamp-warfare issue for Southern writers. The novel is an account of an awakening to good and evil, and a faint catechistic flavor may have been inevitable. But it is faint indeed; novelist Lee’s prose has an edge that cuts through cant, and she teaches the reader an astonishing number of useful truths about little girls and about Southern life.”

The Diary of Anne Frank (The New York Times, 1952)

Sample lines: “And this quality brings it home to any family in the world today. Just as the Franks lived in momentary fear of the Gestapo’s knock on their hidden door, so every family today lives in fear of the knock of war. Anne’s diary is a great affirmative answer to the life-question of today, for she shows how ordinary people, within this ordeal, consistently hold to the greater human values.”

Persuasive Essay Writing Examples

First paragraph of Thomas Paine's The American Crisis

From the earliest days of print, authors have used persuasive essays to try to sway others to their own point of view. Check out these top examples.

The American Crisis by Thomas Paine

Sample lines: “These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value.”

Politics and the English Language by George Orwell

Sample lines: “As I have tried to show, modern writing at its worst does not consist in picking out words for the sake of their meaning and inventing images in order to make the meaning clearer. It consists in gumming together long strips of words which have already been set in order by someone else, and making the results presentable by sheer humbug.”

Letter From a Birmingham Jail by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Sample lines: “We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed. Frankly, I have yet to engage in a direct action campaign that was ‘well timed’ in the view of those who have not suffered unduly from the disease of segregation. For years now I have heard the word ‘Wait!’ It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity. This ‘Wait’ has almost always meant ‘Never.’ We must come to see, with one of our distinguished jurists, that ‘justice too long delayed is justice denied.'”

Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau

Sample lines: “Even voting for the right is doing nothing for it. It is only expressing to men feebly your desire that it should prevail. A wise man will not leave the right to the mercy of chance, nor wish it to prevail through the power of the majority. There is but little virtue in the action of masses of men.”

Go Gentle Into That Good Night by Roger Ebert

Sample lines: “‘Kindness’ covers all of my political beliefs. No need to spell them out. I believe that if, at the end of it all, according to our abilities, we have done something to make others a little happier, and something to make ourselves a little happier, that is about the best we can do. To make others less happy is a crime.”

What are your favorite persuasive writing examples to use with students? Come share your ideas in the WeAreTeachers HELPLINE group on Facebook .

Plus, the big list of essay topics for high school (100+ ideas) ..

Find strong persuasive writing examples to use for inspiration, including essays, speeches, advertisements, reviews, and more.

Jill Staake is a Contributing Editor with WeAreTeachers. She has a degree in Secondary English Education and has taught in middle and high school classrooms. She's also done training and curriculum design for a financial institution and been a science museum educator. She currently lives in Tampa, Florida where she often works on her back porch while taking frequent breaks for bird-watching and gardening.

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6 Successful Persuasive Writing Strategies

Persuasive writing is any written work that tries to convince the reader of the writer’s opinion. Aside from standard writing skills, a persuasive essay author can also draw on personal experience, logical arguments, an appeal to emotion, and compelling speech to influence readers.

Persuasive writing relies on different techniques and strategies than other written works: In a persuasive essay, it’s not enough to simply inform; you also have to convince the reader that your way of thinking is best. So to help you get started, this guide explains all the basics and provides persuasive writing examples.

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What is persuasive writing?

Unlike other forms of writing meant to share information or entertain, persuasive writing is specifically written to persuade , which is to say it convinces the reader to agree with a certain point of view.

Persuasive essays are most closely related to argumentative essays , in that both discuss a serious issue with logical arguments and offer conclusive resolutions. The main difference between a persuasive essay and an argumentative essay is that persuasive essays focus more on personal experience and appeal to emotions, whereas argumentative essays mostly stick to the facts.

Moreover, argumentative essays discuss both sides of an issue, whereas persuasive essays focus only on the author’s point of view. The language and tone in persuasive essays tend to be more conversational as well—a tactic of persuasive speech intended to build a more personal and intimate relationship between the author and reader.

>>Read More: The Only Guide to Essay Writing You’ll Ever Need

Why is persuasive writing important?

For starters, there’s always a demand for persuasive writing in the world of business. Advertising, website copywriting, and general branding all rely heavily on persuasive messaging to convince the reader to become a customer of their company.

But persuasive writing doesn’t always have to be self-serving. Historically speaking, persuasive essays have helped turn the tide in many political and social movements since the invention of the printing press.

As you can see from the persuasive writing examples below, the techniques of persuasive speech can help change or challenge majority beliefs in society. In fact, if you look into any major cultural movement of the last few centuries, you’ll find persuasive writing that helped rally the people behind a cause.

Ethos, logos, and pathos in persuasive writing

There are lots of ways to persuade people, but some methods are more effective than others. As we mention in our guide on how to write a persuasive essay , good persuasive writing utilizes what’s known as the modes of persuasion : ethos, logos, and pathos.

First put forth by Aristotle in his treatise Rhetoric from 367–322 BCE, ethos, logos, and pathos have since become the core of modern persuasive speech and should be incorporated into any persuasive essay. Let’s break them down individually.

The ancient Greek word for “character” or “spirit,” ethos in persuasive writing refers to how the author presents themself. Authorities on an issue are most likely to convince the reader, so authors of persuasive writing should establish their credibility as soon as possible.

Aristotle suggests that the author demonstrates their useful skills, virtue, and goodwill toward the reader to present themselves in the best light.

The ancient Greek word for “logic” or “rationale,” logos refers to using logical arguments and evidential data. A good writer doesn’t rely only on persuasive speech—they also back up their perspective with statistics and facts.

Logos isn’t just about backing up arguments with plenty of research (although that is essential). In persuasive writing, logos also refers to structuring your argument in the best way possible. That includes knowing how to start an essay , progressing your points in the right order, and ending with a powerful conclusion .

The ancient Greek word for “suffering” or “experience,” pathos involves an author’s appeal to emotion. As much as we’d like to think of ourselves as logical creatures, study after study has shown that humans tend to make decisions more from emotions than from reason—and a good persuasive writer is well aware of this.

Persuasive speech often “tugs at the heartstrings.” The author might share a personal experience, such as describing a painful event to either win the reader’s sympathy or urge them to consider someone else’s feelings.

Aristotle emphasizes the importance of understanding your reader before employing pathos, as different individuals can have different emotional reactions to the same writing.

Persuasive writing tips and strategies

1 choose wording carefully.

Word choice —the words and phrases you decide to use—is crucial in persuasive writing as a way to build a personal relationship with the reader. You want to always pick the best possible words and phrases in each instance to convince the reader that your opinion is right.

Persuasive writing often uses strong language, so state things definitively and avoid “ hedging .” Persuasive writing also takes advantage of emotive language—words and phrases that describe feelings—to encourage the reader to form sentimental connections to the topic.

Wordplay like puns, rhymes, and jokes also works as a good memory tool to help the reader remember key points and your central argument.

2 Ask questions

Questions are great for transitioning from one topic or paragraph to another , but in persuasive writing, they serve an additional role. Any question you write, your reader will instinctively answer in their head if they can, or at least they’ll wonder about it for a moment.

Persuasive writers can use questions to engage the reader’s critical thinking. First, questions can be used to plant ideas and lead the reader straight to the author’s answers. Second, if you’ve presented your evidence clearly and structured your argument well, simply asking the right question can lead the reader to the author’s conclusion on their own—the ultimate goal of persuasive writing.

3 Write a clear thesis statement

A thesis statement openly communicates the central idea or theme of a piece of writing. In a persuasive essay, your thesis statement is essentially the point of view that you’re trying to convince the reader of.

It’s best to include a clear, transparent thesis statement in the introduction or opening of your essay to avoid confusion. You’ll have a hard time trying to convince the reader if they don’t know what you’re talking about.

4 Draw a persuasion map

A persuasion map is like an outline of your argument, designed as a writing tool to help writers organize their thoughts. While there are different formats to choose from, they all typically involve listing out your main points and then the evidence and examples to back up each of those points.

Persuasion maps work great for people who often lose track of their ideas when writing or for people who have trouble staying organized. It’s a great tool to use before you write your outline, so you know everything you want to include before deciding on the order.

5 Speak directly to the reader

As we’ve mentioned above, the relationship between the author and reader is quite significant in persuasive writing. One strategy to develop that bond is to speak directly to the reader, sometimes even addressing them directly as “you.”

Speaking to the reader is an effective strategy in writing. It makes the writing feel more like a conversation, even if it is one-sided, and can encourage the reader to lower their defenses a little and consider your points with an open mind.

6 Repeat your main arguments

Repetition is a classic technique in persuasive writing as a way to get ideas into your readers’ heads. For one thing, repetition is an excellent memory aid, as any teacher will tell you. The more someone hears something, the more likely they are to remember it. In persuasive writing, however, repetition can also influence readers’ way of thinking.

Repeating the same idea over and over essentially normalizes it. When combined with substantial evidence and rationality, repetition can make even radical ideas seem more grounded.

Examples of persuasive writing

As mentioned above, persuasive essays have assisted in many major historical events and movements, often when society was undergoing a significant shift in beliefs. Below are three such persuasive writing examples from different periods of American history:

Persuasive writing FAQs

What is persuasive writing?

Persuasive writing is a text in which the author tries to convince the reader of their point of view. Unlike academic papers and other formal writing, persuasive writing tries to appeal to emotion alongside factual evidence and data to support its claims.

What is an example of persuasive writing?

Some famous examples of persuasive writing throughout history include Common Sense by Thomas Paine, the Declaration of Rights of the Women of the United States by Susan B. Anthony, et al., and Letter from Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King, Jr.

What are different types of persuasive writing?

While persuasive essays are the most famous example of persuasive writing, the same style also applies to writing in advertising, journalistic op-ed pieces, public speeches, public service announcements, and critical reviews.

examples of persuasive writing grade 5

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Writing Prompts for 5th Grade

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examples of persuasive writing grade 5

By fifth grade, students are developing basic fluency as writers. In order to hone their skills, fifth graders should practice supporting claims with factual information, conveying information clearly, and writing narratives in a logical order. The following fifth-grade writing prompts encourage students to develop their skills through topics that are meaningful to them.

Narrative Essay Writing Prompts

Narrative essays tell a story based on a student’s personal experience. They encourage students to use descriptive writing to reflect on their experiences, explain them in a logical manner, and draw conclusions from them.

Persuasive Essay Writing Prompts

Persuasive essays are those written to convince another person to agree with the writer or take action. These persuasive essay prompts inspire 5th graders to share their passions with an audience.

Expository Essay Writing Prompts

Expository essays are often called how-to essays. They usually teach the reader something or provide facts about a particular topic.

Creative Writing Essay Prompts

Creative writing allows students to engage their imaginations and story-telling skills while also practicing vital writing skills such as sequence and description.

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Search Printable 5th Grade Persuasive Writing Worksheets
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Example 1: A Persuasive Argument About Cats Cats are the best pets. They can be left alone all day without getting mad. Cats don’t bark, so they are not noisy like dogs. You don’t have to let cats go outside to use the bathroom. As you can see, cats are less work and easier to take care of than dogs.
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5th grade Persuasive Essay Structure Sort by Argument Writing: Parts of an Argument Worksheet Argument Writing: Match the Evidence Worksheet Persuasive Writing: Soda Worksheet Argument Writing: Counter-Arguments Worksheet Journal Writing Task Cards #1 Worksheet Argument Writing: Parts of an Argument #2 Worksheet Opinion Essay: …
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Here are some of history’s most well-known persuasive writing examples in the form of speeches. I Have a Dream by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Sample lines: “And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
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A persuasive essay can be written in several formats. For instance, you can write the usual 5-paragraph essay, or even something longer or shorter. Below are a few sample essays in various common formats. These examples tell you how to remain convincing and persuasive regardless of the essay format you use.
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Level: Grade 5 Back to Top Explanatory Writing My Favorite Place to Go Description My Mother Personal Essay Rules Personal Essay Shadow Fort Description Persuasive Writing Adopting a Pet from the Pound Editorial Letter to the Editor Letter to the Editor Narrative Writing Ann Personal Narrative Grandpa, Chaz, and Me Personal Narrative
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Some famous examples of persuasive writing throughout history include Common Sense by Thomas Paine, the Declaration of Rights of the Women of the United States by Susan B. Anthony, et al., and Letter from Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King, Jr. What are different types of persuasive writing?
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Use these fun and insightful 5th grade persuasive writing prompts to help build their writing skills and give them an increased appreciation for persuasive writing. Persuasive Prompt #1: You are running for president. What laws do you want to put in place? Use these laws to convince people to vote for you by making a campaign …
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GRADE FIVE PERSUASIVE ‐ LEVEL 1. a simple position. vague and limited support for position. little organization. stronger for cues and conventions (2) GRADE FIVE PERSUASIVE ‐ LEVEL 2. general message. simple position and language. some details.
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Fifth grade persuasive writing falls under some of the Common Core guidelines. Read on to find some suggestions on prompts for both students and teachers looking for ideas. School Lunch Menu...
lesson 1: prewriting: persuasive writing Flashcards
vocabulary. Write a word with a prefix that could replace the word or words in italics. _____ I think the director was \mathit {guided \ wrongly} guided wrongly. Verified answer. vocabulary. Write the vocabulary word that fits the clue below. Then write a short definition.
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Use these fifth-grade persuasive writing prompts to test what they’ve learned so far and help build their persuasive writing skills. Writing Prompt #1: You want to change a school rule or put a new rule in place. Convince me why you think this rule should change or why your new rule is a good idea.
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Grade 5 ACT ASPIRE Persuasive/Argumentative Writing Prompts Your local library wants to encourage kids to learn about the past and is trying to decide which resource to use: historical fiction books or movies about historical events. Which would you choose to get kids to learn about the past, and why?
Writing Prompts for 5th Graders
Persuasive essaysare those written to convince another person to agree with the writer or take action. These persuasive essay prompts inspire 5th graders to share their passions with an audience. Pets Day. You’ve just gone to work with your parent for “bring your child to work day.”
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5th Grade Persuasive Essay Example Turkey – The Best Destination To Travel Turkey is a country in southeast Europe. There are a lot of interesting and beautiful things in Turkey, and one of them is the city called Antalya, which is on the south coast of Turkey right by the Mediterranean Sea.
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PERSUASIVE ESSAY EXAMPLES FOR 5TH GRADE Persuasive Essay Examples for Middle School Middle school kids are better acquainted with the essays. These kids learn many things, and by now, essays have become a common part of their homework. If you are a middle school student and looking for some essay examples, …
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⭐ This opinion and persuasive writing unit are perfect for helping your 4th and 5th graders to write opinion essays. Includes both printable PDF & digital Google Slides versions for effective classroom and distance learning. ⭐ This resource is perfect for an interactive notebook!
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Introduce pupils to great examples of persuasive writing examples with this set of exemplar material covering a range of topics designed to interest them. All the classic persuasive writing methods are included: imperative verbs, alliteration, facts, opinions, rhetorical questions, repetition and the rest. Pupils can identify examples of …
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Argumentative essay topics about animals and 5th grade persuasive writing samples. Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including: This means that students parents found the gold will be especially valuable in what they see. Follows, example 6.13 lunenburg and schmidt.