89 for your side. However, it is important to use reasoning and understanding to refute them.
If you don’t sound fair, or simply present emotional reasons why your side is best, you have
weakened your argument. You must show that your idea is most legitimate in part because
other ideas are weak or incorrect.
Key verbs that will help you identify a call to write a persuasive essay include:
■
criticize: express your judgment about the strengths and weaknesses of your
topic, and draw conclusions
■
evaluate: assess the topic based on its strengths and weaknesses, drawing con-
clusions
■
justify: defend or uphold your position on the topic, using convincing evi-
dence
■
prove: confirm or verify that something is real or true using evidence, exam-
ples, and sound reasoning
