Words, Phrases, and Arguments to Use in Persuasive Writing

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Updated on July 22, 2019

Persuasive writing is tough for kids to get used to, especially if they’re not argumentative by nature. A few tools and shortcuts can help your child learn how to write well enough to convince someone (even you!) to change his mind about an issue that really matters to him or her.

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Persuasive Strategies and Devices

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There are common persuasion techniques sometimes referred to as persuasive devices that can be used to back up an argument in writing. Knowing the names of the strategies and how they work can make it easier to remember them when it’s time to write. The five common persuasive strategies are:

Pathos: Pathos involves using emotional language that is designed to draw the reader in and make them feel for you. For example: "If my allowance isn’t increased, I won’t be able to go out with my friends and do everything they do."
Big Names: The big names strategy involves using the names of experts or well-known people who support your position. For example: "Dad agrees that increasing my allowance will..."
Research and Logos: These strategies involve using studies, data, charts, illustrations, and logic to back up her position and points. For example: "As you can see in the pie chart, at my age the average child’s allowance is..."
Ethos: The ethos strategy of persuasion involves using language that shows that the writer is trustworthy and believable. For example: "As you may recall, I’ve always been willing to put ten percent of my allowance in my bank account, thus..."
Kairos: This type of argument creates a sense of urgency about how this is the right moment to act. For example: "If I don’t get an increase in my allowance today, I will miss out on the chance to..."

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Phrases and Words to Use in Persuasive Writing

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Once your child has figured out the techniques she can use in her persuasive writing, she will need to find some words and phrases that help her to be convincing. Using phrases like "I think" or "It seems that" don’t convey a sense of confidence in her position. Instead, she needs to use word combinations that show how much she believes in what she is writing.

Phrases to Illustrate a Point: For instance, for example, specifically, in particular, namely, such as, like
Phrases to Introduce an Example: For example, thus, as an example, in the instance of, in other words, to illustrate
Phrases to Make Suggestions: To this end, keeping this in mind, for this purpose, therefore
Phrases to Transition Between Information: Also, furthermore, additionally, besides that, equally as important, similarly, likewise, as a result, otherwise, however
Phrases to Contrast Points: On the other hand, nevertheless, despite, in spite of, yet, conversely, instead, by the same token
Phrases for Conclusions and Summarizing: With this in mind, as a result of, because of this, for this reason, so, due to, since, finally, in short, in conclusion

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Other Handy Phrases for Persuasive Writing

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Some phrases don’t easily fit into a category and are just good for general use in persuasive writing. Here are a few to remember:

I am certain. . .
I’m sure that you can see that . . .
What needs to be done/what we need to do. . .
I ask you to think about . . .
I am writing in order to . . .
Nevertheless . . .
On the other hand . . .
It has come to my attention that . . .
If you move forward with . . .
Obviously. . .
Surely . . .
Regardless . . .
If [ ] were to happen, then . . .
This can be fixed by . . .
Although it may seem...

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Your Citation

Morin, Amanda. "Words, Phrases, and Arguments to Use in Persuasive Writing." ThoughtCo, Feb. 16, 2021, thoughtco.com/words-to-make-a-persuasive-argument-2086735. Morin, Amanda. (2021, February 16). Words, Phrases, and Arguments to Use in Persuasive Writing. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/words-to-make-a-persuasive-argument-2086735 Morin, Amanda. "Words, Phrases, and Arguments to Use in Persuasive Writing." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/words-to-make-a-persuasive-argument-2086735 (accessed June 5, 2023).