The Writing Company · with the Mayor

Write to Persuade

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Write to Persuade

When you persuade, your reader starts on the other side of the river. They do not believe you yet. That is why you build.

An argument is a bridge you build for a reader who starts on the other side. Here is what holds it up, and what each part does.

A claim that spans the river

Say what you believe, plainly, in one sentence. The reader should know exactly where you want to take them before you build a thing.
Reasons that are the pillars

At least three. Ask of each one: will my reader believe this? A reason that only convinces people already on your bank is not a pillar.
A footing of proof under every pillar

Back each reason with one more sentence: an example, a fact, or what would happen without it. Proof is what carries a doubter's weight.
A far bank with a signpost

End by returning to what you believe, and tell the reader what to do once they are across. An argument is a conversation with a reader who is allowed to push back.

Spend your tools

The craft moves you already know still do the work, pointed at an argument.

Nelson · Specific nouns

A noun names a person, a place, a thing, or an idea, so name it precisely. "Food" files under vague. "Fried eggs and mashed potatoes" files under done.

We made food. We fried eggs and mashed potatoes.

The Mayor · Voice

Every piece of writing has a reader. Match your words to yours. A story for a friend sounds warm and easy, not like a report to the principal.

The subject prepared a meal for the aforementioned parents. We were making a real dinner, and neither of us had a clue.

Connie · Sentence variety

A short sentence lands hard. A longer one, joined with a conjunction, gives your reader room to breathe. Try both, and let them take turns.

The butter burned and the kitchen filled with smoke and we opened a window. The butter burned. Smoke filled the kitchen, so we threw open a window and kept going.

The Mayor · Three-part structure

A story stands on three parts: a beginning that opens the door, a middle where something goes wrong, and an ending that earns its feeling. Point to all three, and you have built a story.

A pile of things that happened, in no real order. We decided to cook. The kitchen fell apart. They ate every bite, and I was proud.

The Persuade Plan

Same three moves as always, one more trip. When you persuade, the Plan it move is the Bridge.

The Mayor's Power Plan

Pick it. Choose the belief worth arguing, and know who is standing on the far bank.
Plan it. Set your pillars and their footings before you write.
Pour it on. Write, and keep asking: would this pillar hold my reader's weight?

The Bridge

A bridge stands because the pillars hold the span and the footings hold the pillars.

Your claim spans the river: say what you believe, plainly.
Your reasons are the pillars: at least three the reader will believe.
Every pillar needs a footing of proof: an example, a fact, or a what-if.
The far bank: return to your claim and tell the reader what to do.

Watch the Mayor plan it

Watch me build a bridge from that same night in Garvin's kitchen. My claim: every kid should learn to cook.

Pick it. Every kid should learn to cook. I believe it, I can back it, and I know exactly one anniversary dinner that proves it.

Plan it.

My claim, spanning the river Every kid should learn to cook.
My pillars (three reasons) 1. Cooking lets kids do real things for real people. 2. Cooking teaches you to handle small disasters. 3. Kids who cook eat braver.
The footings (proof under each) 1. Garvin and I made a dinner his parents actually ate, and nobody handed it to us. 2. Our butter burned and the kitchen went gray, and we opened a window and kept going. 3. A kid who fried the egg will taste the egg, and curious eaters try the green things.
The far bank Learning to cook made me prouder than anything I did all year. Ask an adult to teach you one dish this week. Start with an egg.

Pour it on. When I draft this, each pillar and its footing becomes its own little paragraph, and I keep asking the bridge question as I go: will this pillar hold my reader's weight? An argument is a conversation with a reader who is allowed to say "prove it."

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