Ten Top Tips for Planning Writing to Persuade

Plan your answer:
· make a list of ideas
· number them to give you a paragraph plan
· remember to add an introduction and a concluding paragraph

1. Define your audience

2. Make your purpose explicit

3. Choose the appropriate form: a letter
· greeting, opening, conclusion, farewell

4. Choose your language with care:
· formal but friendly
· avoid abbreviations, slang, clichés, common sayings
· choose words to influence your reader

5. Pay attention to sentences:
· vary length
· link complex sentences properly with connectives not commas

6. Use paragraphs to give a clear structure:
· make them short, one line to six lines
· leave a line between each paragraph
· one paragraph covers one idea
· link each paragraph to the previous one
· point direction of the paragraph with opening sentence

7. Spell simple and common words accurately

8. Look for opportunities to use different punctuation:
· full stops, commas, question marks, exclamation marks
· colons, semi-colons, speech marks, hyphens

9. Make your content interesting:
· give details
· provide examples, stories, evidence

10. Use deliberate devices to catch the reader’s attention:
· repetition and emphasis
· rhetorical questions
· a surprising opening or conclusion
· unusual images or comparison