Types of Persuasive Writing

Different minds have different opinions. That doesn’t mean you
cannot sway people with differing opinions to agree with you. One way to get
people to believe in what you say and follow your suggestions is through
persuasive writing.

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There are different types of persuasive writing depending on
which factor you wish to appeal to. What are those types? Read on to find out.

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3 Types of Persuasive Writing

Logos: Appealing to reasons

This type of persuasive writing focuses on appealing to
people’s logics. To do that, you need strong
arguments backed by facts from credible sources. One way to do that is
charts, graphs, and numbers.

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Let’s say your organization caters to giving people second
chances to turn their lives around and now you’re looking for a grant to expand
your operation. In your proposal, state how many people your organization has helped
for the past years. Use bar graphs or pie charts to show that the vast majority
of people succeeded and only a few turned back to their old way of living.

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Statistics have their ways of persuading people and charts
will make it easier for you to convey the numbers. When your target audience is
a group of people who are required to make choices and decisions based on facts
and numbers, use this type of persuasive writing.

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Pathos: Appealing to emotions

Not everyone makes decisions based on logic alone. Emotions
play an important too. Some people even still follow their emotions even though
their logic goes against it.

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Let’s say you’re calling for donations for hospitality workers
affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. You can appeal to the readers’ emotions by
describing the struggles those
workers had gone through since the pandemic struck. They lost their jobs,
evicted from their apartments, and couldn’t land another job to feed their
families.

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One thing to remember is to never lie to get the effect you
want. Everything you describe must be the truth without a shred of
exaggeration. When the readers smell BS in your story, that’ll just put them
off.

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Ethos: Appealing to characters

If you need examples for the art of persuasion that focuses
on Ethos, just have a look at product
endorsements. Companies know very well that talking about their product’s
features and benefits is not enough. That’s why they use well-known figures to
become their brand ambassadors.

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When millions or even billions of people know and trust your
brand ambassador, your company will be raking in the dough.

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Other examples are op-ed
or opinion pieces you see in newspapers. When you’re a nobody talking about
climate change and what people should do to stop it, your arguments don’t carry
much weight.

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It’s a different story when you have years of experience in
climate study. More so if you have field experience in numerous countries
battling with the effect of climate change. When you can put your character and
knowledge upfront, your persuasion will be much more effective because readers
know they can trust your words.

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OK, those are the three types of persuasive writing you can
use. Please remember that you don’t have to stick to just one type throughout. You
can also use all three in a single essay or article. Just remember to end it
with pathos or appeal to your readers’ emotions. That’s the kind of closing
that gives the most impact.

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Another thing you need to remember is to always proofread your writing
before you publish it. It will be humiliating when you’re writing for a marketing
campaign and yet the article you’re writing still has errors here and there.