Persuasive Letter Focused on Persuading the Reader to change his or her Stance or Opinion

Assignment Instructions

Personal Letter – Construct a letter focused on persuading the reader to change his or her stance or opinion. Think about a personal opinion you hold in which someone close to you (friend, family member, etc.) disagrees. Appeal to your reader in an emotional manner using appropriate language and strategies such as motivation, inspiration, etc., to write a personal, passionate letter in an effort to get your reader to agree with your perspective. Kindly play off the reader’s emotions to draw him or her into your argument. Make sure your appeals are legitimate and straightforward so that you avoid using logical fallacies in your efforts.

Begin with an introduction that explains your topic. Make a fluid transition into the thesis where you issue your opinion as well as three reasons that support your claim. Present and argue each of the three reasons in three separate body paragraphs. Finish with a conclusion that summarizes your appeals and makes one final effort to sway your reader.

Sample Persuasive Letter

Dear Friend,

I must say that I am quite disappointed by how you reacted after failing to secure admission slot in your favorite college in town. I have information that you are very devastated and you currently believe that you will never make it in life. You have now taken into binge drinking as a way of soothing your sorrow and life disappointments. What angers me most is the fact that you now consider yourself a failure just because you could not manage to be admitted to the college. You know I hate this mentality. I do not believe that one must have a college degree to be successful in life. To be honest, I believe that this mentality was generated to force students to work hard in class. However, there is nothing more to it than a motivational factor. Having a college degree does not guarantee individual success in life.

I know that our parents have a great respect to education, and they have made most of us believe that college degree is a key to success. However, I highly disagree with this way of thinking. Actually in my opinion, college degree limits individual success, by creating the mentality of being employed. I am sure you wanted to join college so that you may graduate someday and a get a salaried job. This would guarantee you a few thousand dollars per month if you are lucky to be employed. However, what can those few thousand dollars do for you? Have you ever considered that other than paying normal bills there is nothing more to life of college graduates after employment? My friend you need to wake up and dust your coat, there is more to life than just being a college graduates.

John I have lived longer than you, travelled wide, and met many successful people in life. Based on my experience, I can tell you with a lot of confidence that you do not need a college degree to be successful in life. Actually, most successful college graduates are those individuals who kept their certificate aside and venture into other diverse ways of making money. There are so many channels that one can venture into and be successful in life. They include talents, hobbies, own inventions, and affiliate marketing among other things. I can assure you that you only need to identify a problem that you can solve in the society, and you will have all that it takes to be successful.

I agree that education is important in life; however, it does not in any way guarantee success in life. I am sure you know that there is a high rate of unemployment in the country. I am also sure that you know what globalization has done to our job market. We are today competing with outsourced workers and immigrants in the job market. This has resulted to decline in workers’ salaries due to availability of cheap labor. I have seen people struggling to make ends meet despite having college degree and being employed. So you should stop thinking that college degree will in any way solve all your problems and make you a famous tycoon in your community. You need to take life positively and work with what you have. There is no limitation in life. If you look keenly, you will realize some of the people who made serious inventions and became highly successful in life did not have college degree. However, they had a great passion of solving pressing problems in their community, during their existence. This happened when it was considerably hard to gather the required information. However, today we have internet and other technologies that have made research life much easier. This means you can easily build your own knowledge in any idea that you may wish to grow and make unimaginable invention. Moreover, with the current rate growth of internet usage, you can reach an extensive range of people to sell your idea or product. This is why you should stop crying about your lost opportunities and consider the opportunities that this rejection has opened to you.

I know it is considerably hard to change your life and mind after having the dream of joining college for years. However, it is important to accept the new normal and open up your mind to explore new areas of life. Start focusing on other things that can make your life complete and that you will enjoy doing. By devising your own ways of defining success and how to achieve it, you will have the opportunity of working without limitation. This will open up a path that will always have room for new discoveries and new levels of success. This way, you will manage to experience the real success, not just by having enough for all your needs, but also by opening new employment opportunities for future college graduates.

Yours Sincerely

Student’s Name  

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