How to Write a Persuasive Essay on Bullying in Schools

Bullying is a major problem in many schools across the world. The media has reported many cases where students injure or even kill other students due to the bullying acts. What is even worse, more and more victims of bullying tend to commit suicide.

Regardless of the society that people live in, bullying is never acceptable. For that reason, all stakeholders in the education sector must work together to find ways of dealing with the problem in order to finally guarantee the safety of all students. One way of helping students to become aware of the issue is to educate them about why bullying has to be discouraged and what to do if someone tries to bully them. One strategy of helping students to understand the issue is to ask them to write a persuasive essay on why bullying is wrong.

In a persuasive essay, it is your job to convince your readers to accept the viewpoint that bullying is wrong and unacceptable. Or, as an option, your essay might even convince them to take a specific action, like supporting those suffering from bullying or working with people who tend to bully others.

A persuasive college essay requires in-depth research, excellent awareness of biases of the target readers, and a perfect understanding of all sides of the issue. A good and convincing persuasive essay shows not only why your point of view is the right one but also demonstrates why those people who go against it are wrong. In a polite and logical way, of course.

Check the Five-Step Writing Process

When it comes to writing a persuasive college essay, this simple five-step writing process is an easy-to-understand approach to getting the idea of how you should cope with the task. Here are some tips from our professional essay writing service for every step of the persuasive essay writing process.

Do the Prewriting Part

This phase is of great importance in the process of persuasive essay writing. At this point, you have to plan every single piece of your essay:

• Pick your special position. Think about the bullying issue and choose the side that you are going to advocate. If it is the side that tells your readers that bullying others is wrong, you have to decide on it at this stage.
• Find out who is going to read your piece. To write an engaging paper, you have to understand your target audience, i.e., their perspective. Are your readers inclined to favor your side? Or, perhaps, they are undecided, and you will have to do more job to convince them?
• Research. In the case of any type of writing, you have to conduct thorough research because all of your arguments, facts, statements, and claims will need a solid basis to ensure the audience will believe you. What is more, you shouldn’t rely on one source only. Make sure to browse various sources online (don’t forget to check the printed ones!), such as StopBullying.gov, AntiBullying.nsw.gov.au, PsychologyToday.com, StudentWellbeingHub.edu.au, and related websites in order to find reference materials. Approach community experts, professors, students, or anyone who knows the matter. Read, listen to what people say, and keep in mind that there is no substitution when it comes to knowledge.
• Sort out the most convincing information. Plus, identify the main points that the representatives of the opposing side have.

Persuasive Essay Outline

Now it is time to organize your persuasive essay. First, plan the main points that you’re going to discuss in each body paragraph. Mind that all of your ideas should be well organized and easily followed by the reader. Language must be clear and precise. Word choice can also have some emotional impact while at the same time completely appropriate for school use. Details to support main ideas may include facts, statistics, examples, and anecdotes.
In case your college tutor did specify the way you have to structure your piece, make sure to incorporate it into your outline. As a rule, the persuasive essay has five or seven paragraphs. They are arranged this way:

The Intro

• Use the good old “hook” to have your readers’ attention. For instance, you might want to tell your readers that the first use of bullying in the work of literature was in 1838. The book called “Oliver Twist” is a famous literary piece by Charles Dickens. The story was one of the first to focus and discuss the bullying among kids. At the same time, you can also mention the year 1862, when the first report of bullying became known. The victim was a soldier named John Flood, who faced long and violent bullying. Eventually, unable to withstand regular bullying, the boy killed his tormenter. However, John Flood was known as a person of kind nature. For that reason, the Queen decided to overturn his death sentence.
• Provide the argument overview.
• End your introduction paragraph with a clear thesis statement that shows what position you take in the question of bullying.

The Body

• Make sure each of your body paragraphs (typically, there are five of them) should be focused on a single piece of evidence. Keep in mind that the persuasive essay should stimulate your readers’ desire to end bullying or to intercede on behalf of someone being bullied, such as a classmate in a school setting. The writer might share an experience with bullying or something heard in the news. You could also discuss common types of bullying in order to help the reader understand what constitutes bullying. The idea is to help the reader develop empathy and understanding for those who have been bullied or tend to be victimized by others.
• Include research-based supporting details in every paragraph and use smooth transition phrases to ensure your paragraphs are linked logically.

The Paragraph with the Opposing Viewpoint

• Let your readers know what kind of opposing views exist when it comes to bullying in schools. Refute each of the key points. For instance, the child who is being targeted also gets an opportunity to learn to handle tough situations, as well as practice standing up for themselves, being empowered, and so on.

The Conclusion
This is the end of the persuasive essay. It takes one paragraph to round up your story by restating and reinforcing your thesis statement together will all the supporting evidence. Don’t give any new information here. Instead, remind your readers what exactly you’ve been talking about and provide space for CTA. If you believe that some areas require further research and discussion of the topic, ensure to let your audience know.

In addition, the persuasive essay should include suggestions on how to recognize incidents or potential incidents of bullying and what to do to stop it. Moreover, you might want to provide some resources for those who are or have been bullied, as well as for those who tend to bully others. It is also important to tell your readers that they shouldn’t be afraid of approaching teachers, professors, parents, and organizations that are there to help deal the bullying. The idea is to prevent or stop bullying.

The Tone

The tone of the persuasive essay is as important as any other part of it. The writer wants to bring his target audience to understanding the issue and make them care about the victims and potential victims of bullying, especially in school and among student social circles.

The tone also needs to be persuasive in nature. It shouldn’t be fake or pretentious. The thing is that a natural tone helps to provide your reader with a reason to care. Has the reader ever been bullied? Did s/he participate in bullying, and if so, why? How can preventing or stopping others from being bullied help the reader? How would s/he feel if their brother, sister, or a friend was bullied? Make sure you sound persuasive and show your readers that you also care about the topic.

The Revision

At this phase, you have to read and reread your persuasive essay, modify it, and reorganize the text if necessary. Your goal is to make the best possible version of it. Here are some crucial points to remember when revising a persuasive essay:

• Have you presented a stable position on bullying? Have you supported it with relevant stats, facts, examples, and quotes?
• Have you picked an attractive “hook” to open up your essay? Does it intrigue your target reader and keep them wanting to read more?
• Do your paragraphs include convincing evidence, each focusing on one supporting issue?
• Have you presented the opposing viewpoint? If yes, is it disproved in a persuasive manner?
• Have you chosen the right words for this type of writing? Do you use the varied structure of the sentences? Have you included smooth transitions between paragraphs?
• Is your conclusion logical? Does it convey the value of your position regarding bullying? Does your concluding paragraph urge your target readers to act or think in a certain way?

If you think that your persuasive essay lacks something, but you can’t say what exactly it is that makes it go wrong, ensure to check your thesis statement again. Does the thesis give the strongest argument possible? Or, perhaps, your thesis statement requires some strengthening? The point here is that when a thesis statement includes a well-built and clear argument, the rest of the text will flow logically and easily.

Some More Words on Integrity

We’ve already covered logos and pathos here above, but ethos must be addressed. If you are making a persuasive argument, you have an ethical obligation not to manipulate or mislead your audience. Your argument should be constructed accurately without relying on fallacies, misinformation, fear tactics, or any other rhetorical device that might somehow trick the audience into agreeing with you. You need to establish trust with your audience.

When you’re assigned a persuasive essay writing task, you should keep in mind the fact that a successful argument is always based on three important rhetorical elements:

• Pathos (passionate reasoning)
  You have to persuade your readers with passion. This simple rule applies to all types of academic assignments. In other words, you tend to work better in the fields that present the greatest interest to you. That’s how it is when it comes to persuasive essays. If you have an opportunity, ensure to choose writing on a topic that you are truly passionate about. Is it cyberbullying? Are you interested in bullying issues among LGBTQ youth? Or, perhaps, you’re more concerned about the prevention of bullying in high schools?
• Logos (logical reasoning)
  Persuade your readers by providing logically supported facts. Don’t be happy just to give some point of view and expect that people will buy it automatically. Reason, reason, reason.
• Ethos (ethical reasoning).
  In the case of the persuasive essay, you’re required to make a strong, convincing argument. However, you’re forbidden to mislead or manipulate your reader. Instead, make sure to build up your argument accurately, without telling lies or providing fake information. Never trick your readers into agreeing with you. Trust is what really matters.

If you look around, you will find persuasive writing in every “cell” of modern life. Newspapers, advertising, politics, blogging are just a few areas where persuasion is a must-have ingredient. The main purpose of the persuasive essay writing process is not to inform, but rather to convince or persuade the target audience to act or think in a particular way. Once you know how to write this kind of project, you’ll learn a wonderful communication skill that will be useful for you in the future.