Three Common Mistakes - Writing Persuasively

Team NTSs Author

This is blog number four in the Writing Persuasively series. It coincides with the launch of the new NTSs mini course - Writing Persuasively.

Three Common Mistakes - Writing Persuasively

Learners and students often ask similar questions or have the same issues when they ask for feedback.

This blog considers Three Common Mistakes. It is intended to help you become aware of them so that you don’t let them happen or you can deal with them if they do occur. (They are also mistakes that you should be aware of when creating most extended text types, not just persuasive writing).

Unclear purpose, aim, outcome or goal.

Writers of extended texts often jump straight in without spending time formulating what they are trying to achieve and what they intend the end of the ‘journey’ of the piece of writing to be.

This approach can work with some texts - they can evolve as they are written.

For example, a series of travel blogs which recount what happens as part of the experience, are written as the writer is actually travelling, and only end when the writer can go no further or has had enough or an event happens which forces the traveller to come to a stop. In this case, the writer does not have a set end to the recounting (plans can go pear-shaped when travelling) - whenever the writer is writing is dependant on what may happen along the way and in the future. The ‘unplanned’ and unexpected element of the travel recount is a vital part of the text type. Another example could be a diary or journal - again, you don’t know what each day will bring, so it’s difficult to plan what you will write about or how you will write in advance.

If you are writing a persuasive text, however, you will want to achieve something - it is your underlying (and possibly explicit) purpose. In this case, you will need to know what you are aiming to achieve at the end, and so therefore your text will need to align with your purpose from the very start.

The common mistake is that if you do no planning and you just start writing, your purpose will become clear as you are writing (perhaps half way through) or you may go off on a tangent - this will then mean you will need to go back and re-write or delete parts of or the entire text as it is not doing what you wanted it to do.

Much better to take some time at the start to think about your purpose and plan properly. And ensure that your purpose is well-formulated, precise and targeted. Vague purposes do not generally produce successful persuasive writing.

You should also consider how explicit your purpose should be in your writing. For example, writing that is designed to encourage readers to spend their money (i.e. selling) should not necessarily make this intention clear. Blatant money-grabbing can put people off if you are wanting to sell something. A more subtle approach may be needed. But writing a text to get donations for a charity can be more obvious and to the point. You need to think about your content and tone, and make a judgement call.

The solution is to take some time to plan before you start writing. Persuasive writing needs to be crafted, and planning should be part of the crafting process. It is not time that is wasted. Even if you are creating a piece of persuasive writing for an exam, you should still take a moment or two after reading the task that has been set to think about what your purpose is and what is the best way to go about achieving that purpose.

Running Out Of Steam

Basically, this means that you do not finish your piece well. You have not left enough time to create an effective end.

Remember - the ending is the last thing that the reader sees - so it has got to be memorable in some way.

You should also look back at the beginning of your piece and make sure that you have addressed what you set out to do at the start.

If the option is available to you, you can leave the ending to write another day. Sometimes having a break can mean that you return to a piece of writing refreshed and can read it as if reading it for the first time, as the reader would experience reading it.

The end of your text could be the perfect time to use a technique from your toolbox - maybe a rhetorical question or short, snappy sentence?

Again, circumstances can affect how much time you have, so if (for example) you were writing in an exam, you would need to ensure that you leave enough time at the end to finish your text appropriately and effectively. Just stopping mid-sentence does not work well as an ending.

Signalling and Signposting

As always, the writer should be aware of the reader - the effect he/she wants to have on the reader and the support the reader may need to stay on the ‘journey’ of the text.

A sprinkling of appropriate words and phrases can keep the text flowing as it should and assist the reader to follow the meaning. This is particularly the case for long extended texts - they require some signalling every now and then to guide the reader. (Short texts don’t really need this aspect of text creation).

I would advise not to overdo the use of these words and phrases i.e. in short, likewise, in addition. And choose them carefully to suit the text as some may not be appropriate for that particular type of writing. An advert for a travel brochure, for instance, would probably sound too formal if you used a phrase like ‘To conclude’ or ‘To summarise’ at the end. Sometimes standard linking words and phrases can sound clumsy if not suited to the text type or audience.

A simple way to find out what language is appropriate is to do some research - find some examples of the text you wish to write and look at how the writers have made their texts cohesive and clear. And remember, ‘variety is the spice of life!’

Persuasive texts need to clear, not confusing. This is a must if you want to get someone to do something.

If would like some more help to improve your writing, especially if you want to influence people, then the Writing Persuasively course is just perfect for you.

It’s enjoyable, practical, and you can sign up one of the first to access it when it is launched by clicking here.

If you want to improve the full range of communication skills, then the Communicating Persuasively course is made for you. And if you want to just upskill how you speak, then the Speaking Persuasively course is what you need.

Next Up: The final blog in the Writing Persuasively series

Categories: : Writing Persuasively