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10 effective techniques to master persuasive essay writing and convince any audience.

As a skilled communicator, your ability to persuade others is crucial in many areas of life. Whether you’re presenting an argument, advocating for a cause, or simply trying to convince someone of your point of view, your persuasive essay can be a powerful tool. However, crafting an essay that truly convinces your reader requires more than just strong opinions and eloquent language. It requires a strategic approach that combines logical reasoning, emotional appeal, and effective writing techniques.

1. Craft a Compelling Introduction: Your introduction is the first impression you make on your reader, so it’s essential to capture their attention right from the start. Consider using a captivating anecdote, a thought-provoking question, or a shocking statistic to engage your audience and set the tone for your essay. By immediately grabbing their interest, you increase the chances that they’ll continue reading and be open to your persuasive arguments.

2. Clearly Define Your Position: Before launching into the main body of your essay, make sure to clearly state your position on the topic. This will help your reader understand your stance and follow your line of reasoning throughout the essay. Use concise and assertive language to communicate your position, and consider reinforcing it with strong evidence or expert opinions that support your viewpoint.

3. Appeal to Emotions: While rational arguments are important, emotions often play a significant role in persuasive writing. Connect with your reader on an emotional level by using vivid descriptions, personal anecdotes, or powerful metaphors. By eliciting an emotional response, you can create a deeper connection with your audience and make your arguments more compelling.

Choose a compelling topic that ignites your passion

When crafting a persuasive essay, it is crucial to select a topic that not only captivates and engages your readers but also resonates strongly with you. By choosing a compelling topic that ignites your passion, you will be able to infuse enthusiasm and conviction into your writing, making it more convincing and persuasive.

While it may be tempting to select a popular or trending topic, it is essential to choose something that you deeply care about and have a genuine interest in. Your passion for the subject matter will shine through in your writing, capturing the attention and interest of your readers.

• Explore your hobbies and personal interests.
• Reflect on societal issues that deeply affect you.
• Consider topics that challenge conventional thinking.
• Analyze current events and their impact on your community or society as a whole.
• Look for subjects that inspire debate and differing opinions.
• Examine topics that align with your values and beliefs.

By choosing a topic that you are not only knowledgeable about but also passionate about, you will have a stronger emotional connection to your writing. This emotional connection will allow you to effectively convey your argument, influence your readers’ perspectives, and ultimately convince them to see things from your point of view.

Remember, the key to writing a persuasive essay lies in your ability to convey your ideas convincingly. By selecting a compelling topic that ignites your passion, you will have a solid foundation for crafting a persuasive essay that will resonate with readers and leave a lasting impact. So, take the time to explore your interests and choose a topic that truly captivates you.

Conduct thorough research to gather supporting evidence

Gathering strong evidence is a vital step in writing a persuasive essay. Convincing your readers requires you to present compelling facts, statistics, expert opinions, and examples that support your arguments. To achieve this, it is crucial to conduct thorough research to collect relevant and reliable information.

Begin by determining the main points you want to convey in your essay. These points should align with your thesis statement and support your overall argument. Once you have a clear idea of what you are trying to communicate, start gathering supporting evidence.

Research various credible sources such as academic journals, books, reputable websites, and expert interviews. Look for information that directly relates to your topic and can be used to reinforce your arguments. Be sure to verify the credibility and reliability of your sources to ensure the accuracy of the information.

Take notes as you conduct your research, highlighting key points, supporting evidence, and any quotes or statistics that you may want to include in your essay. It is essential to organize your findings in a way that makes sense and flows logically in your essay.

When using statistics or data, make sure to cite the sources properly to give credit to the original authors and establish your credibility as a writer. This will also allow your readers to verify the information themselves if they wish to do so.

By conducting thorough research and gathering strong supporting evidence, you will be able to present a persuasive and well-supported argument in your essay. This will not only convince your readers but also showcase your knowledge, understanding, and dedication to the topic at hand.

Develop a clear and concise thesis statement

One of the most important aspects of writing a persuasive essay is developing a thesis statement that is clear, concise, and compelling. A thesis statement serves as the main argument or central idea of your essay. It sets the tone for the entire piece and helps to guide your reader through your argument.

When developing your thesis statement, it’s essential to choose a strong and persuasive statement that clearly states your position on the topic. Avoid vague or ambiguous language that can confuse your reader and weaken your argument. Instead, use strong and specific language that clearly conveys your main point.

Your thesis statement should be concise, meaning it should be expressed in a clear and straightforward manner. Avoid unnecessary words or phrases that can dilute your message and make it less powerful. Instead, focus on getting your point across in as few words as possible while still maintaining clarity and impact.

Additionally, your thesis statement should be compelling and persuasive. It should motivate your reader to continue reading and consider your argument. Use persuasive language and strong evidence to support your thesis statement and convince your reader of its validity.

In summary, developing a clear and concise thesis statement is crucial for writing a persuasive essay. Choose a strong statement that clearly conveys your position, use concise language to express your point, and make your statement compelling and persuasive. By doing so, you will create a strong foundation for your entire essay and increase your chances of convincing your reader.

Use persuasive language and rhetorical devices

When it comes to crafting a compelling persuasive essay, one must master the art of persuasive language and employ various rhetorical devices. The way you choose your words and structure your sentences can make all the difference in captivating and convincing your readers.

One effective technique is to use strong and powerful language that evokes emotion and creates a sense of urgency. The use of vivid and descriptive words can paint a picture in the minds of your readers, making your arguments more relatable and engaging.

Additionally, employing rhetorical devices such as metaphors, similes, and analogies can effectively convey your message and help your readers understand complex ideas. By drawing comparisons and creating associations, you can make abstract concepts more tangible and easier to grasp.

Another valuable device is repetition. By repeating key phrases or ideas throughout your essay, you can emphasize your points and reinforce your arguments. This technique can help make your arguments more memorable and leave a lasting impact on your readers.

Furthermore, using rhetorical questions can encourage your readers to think critically about your topic and consider your perspective. By posing thought-provoking questions, you can guide your readers towards your desired conclusions and make them actively engage with your essay.

Lastly, employing the use of anecdotes and personal stories can make your essay more relatable and establish a connection with your readers. By sharing real-life examples or experiences, you can offer concrete evidence to support your arguments and establish credibility.

In conclusion, mastering persuasive language and employing rhetorical devices can greatly enhance the effectiveness of your persuasive essay. By choosing your words carefully, using powerful language, and incorporating various rhetorical techniques, you can captivate your readers and present your arguments in a compelling and convincing manner.

Address counterarguments and refute them with strong evidence

When writing a persuasive essay, it is crucial to anticipate and address potential counterarguments to strengthen your argument. By acknowledging opposing viewpoints and then refuting them with strong evidence, you can demonstrate the credibility and validity of your own position.

One effective way to address counterarguments is to acknowledge them upfront and present them in an objective and unbiased manner. By doing so, you show that you have considered different perspectives and are willing to engage in a fair and balanced discussion. This approach also helps you connect with readers who may initially hold opposing views, as it shows respect for their opinions and demonstrates your willingness to engage in thoughtful debate.

To effectively refute counterarguments, it is important to use strong evidence that supports your own position. This can include data, statistics, expert opinions, research findings, and real-life examples. By providing convincing evidence, you can demonstrate the superiority of your argument and weaken the credibility of counterarguments. Be sure to cite credible sources and use persuasive language to present your evidence in a convincing way.

In addition to providing strong evidence, it is also important to anticipate and address potential weaknesses in your own argument. By acknowledging and addressing these weaknesses, you can show that you have thoroughly considered your stance and are able to respond to potential criticisms. This helps to build trust and credibility with your readers, as they can see that you are aware of the limitations of your argument and have taken steps to address them.

In conclusion, addressing counterarguments and refuting them with strong evidence is a crucial component of persuasive writing. By acknowledging opposing viewpoints and providing solid evidence to support your own position, you can strengthen your argument and convince readers to adopt your point of view. Remember to always approach counterarguments objectively, use persuasive language, and address any potential weaknesses in your own argument. By doing so, you can create a compelling and persuasive essay that will resonate with your readers.

Edit and proofread your essay for grammar and clarity

Once you’ve completed your persuasive essay, the work isn’t quite finished. It’s essential to go back and review your writing with a critical eye, focusing on grammar and clarity. This final step is crucial in ensuring that your arguments are effectively communicated and that your reader can easily understand and follow your points.

First and foremost, pay attention to grammar. Look for any errors in your sentence structure, verb tense, subject-verb agreement, and punctuation. Make sure that your sentences are clear and concise, without any unnecessary or confusing phrases. Correct any spelling mistakes or typos that may have slipped through the cracks.

Next, consider the overall clarity of your essay. Read through each paragraph and ensure that your ideas flow logically and cohesively. Are your arguments supported by evidence and examples? Are your transitions smooth and seamless? If necessary, revise or rearrange your paragraphs to strengthen the overall structure of your essay.

It’s also important to check for any ambiguous or vague language. Make sure that your words and phrases have precise meanings and can be easily understood by your reader. Consider whether there are any areas where you could provide more clarification or add further details to strengthen your points.

When editing and proofreading, it can be helpful to read your essay out loud. This can help you identify any awkward or convoluted sentences, as well as any areas where you may have used repetitive or redundant language. Reading aloud also allows you to hear the natural rhythm and flow of your writing, giving you a better sense of how your words will be perceived by the reader.

Finally, consider seeking feedback from others. Share your essay with a trusted friend, family member, or teacher and ask for their input. They may be able to offer valuable suggestions or catch any errors that you may have missed. Sometimes, a fresh set of eyes can provide a new perspective and help you improve your essay even further.

By taking the time to edit and proofread your essay for grammar and clarity, you can ensure that your persuasive arguments are presented in the most effective and compelling way possible. This attention to detail will not only demonstrate your strong writing skills, but it will also increase the chances of convincing your reader to see things from your perspective.

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How to Write a Persuasive Essay: Tips and Tricks

Allison Bressmer

Most composition classes you’ll take will teach the art of persuasive writing. That’s a good thing.

Knowing where you stand on issues and knowing how to argue for or against something is a skill that will serve you well both inside and outside of the classroom.

Persuasion is the art of using logic to prompt audiences to change their mind or take action , and is generally seen as accomplishing that goal by appealing to emotions and feelings.

A persuasive essay is one that attempts to get a reader to agree with your perspective.

Ready for some tips on how to produce a well-written, well-rounded, well-structured persuasive essay? Just say yes. I don’t want to have to write another essay to convince you!

How Do I Write a Persuasive Essay?

What are some good topics for a persuasive essay, how do i identify an audience for my persuasive essay, how do you create an effective persuasive essay, how should i edit my persuasive essay.

Your persuasive essay needs to have the three components required of any essay: the introduction , body , and conclusion .

That is essay structure. However, there is flexibility in that structure.

There is no rule (unless the assignment has specific rules) for how many paragraphs any of those sections need.

Although the components should be proportional; the body paragraphs will comprise most of your persuasive essay.

How Do I Start a Persuasive Essay?

As with any essay introduction, this paragraph is where you grab your audience’s attention, provide context for the topic of discussion, and present your thesis statement.

TIP 1: Some writers find it easier to write their introductions last. As long as you have your working thesis, this is a perfectly acceptable approach. From that thesis, you can plan your body paragraphs and then go back and write your introduction.

TIP 2: Avoid “announcing” your thesis. Don’t include statements like this:

• “In my essay I will show why extinct animals should (not) be regenerated.”
• “The purpose of my essay is to argue that extinct animals should (not) be regenerated.”

Announcements take away from the originality, authority, and sophistication of your writing.

Instead, write a convincing thesis statement that answers the question "so what?" Why is the topic important, what do you think about it, and why do you think that? Be specific.

How Many Paragraphs Should a Persuasive Essay Have?

This body of your persuasive essay is the section in which you develop the arguments that support your thesis. Consider these questions as you plan this section of your essay:

• What arguments support your thesis?
• What is the best order for your arguments?
• What evidence do you have?
• Will you address the opposing argument to your own?
• How can you conclude convincingly?

TIP: Brainstorm and do your research before you decide which arguments you’ll focus on in your discussion. Make a list of possibilities and go with the ones that are strongest, that you can discuss with the most confidence, and that help you balance your rhetorical triangle .

What Should I Put in the Conclusion of a Persuasive Essay?

The conclusion is your “mic-drop” moment. Think about how you can leave your audience with a strong final comment.

And while a conclusion often re-emphasizes the main points of a discussion, it shouldn’t simply repeat them.

TIP 1: Be careful not to introduce a new argument in the conclusion—there’s no time to develop it now that you’ve reached the end of your discussion!

TIP 2 : As with your thesis, avoid announcing your conclusion. Don’t start your conclusion with “in conclusion” or “to conclude” or “to end my essay” type statements. Your audience should be able to see that you are bringing the discussion to a close without those overused, less sophisticated signals.

If your instructor has assigned you a topic, then you’ve already got your issue; you’ll just have to determine where you stand on the issue. Where you stand on your topic is your position on that topic.

Your position will ultimately become the thesis of your persuasive essay: the statement the rest of the essay argues for and supports, intending to convince your audience to consider your point of view.

If you have to choose your own topic, use these guidelines to help you make your selection:

• Choose an issue you truly care about
• Choose an issue that is actually debatable

Simple “tastes” (likes and dislikes) can’t really be argued. No matter how many ways someone tries to convince me that milk chocolate rules, I just won’t agree.

It’s dark chocolate or nothing as far as my tastes are concerned.

Similarly, you can’t convince a person to “like” one film more than another in an essay.

You could argue that one movie has superior qualities than another: cinematography, acting, directing, etc. but you can’t convince a person that the film really appeals to them.

Once you’ve selected your issue, determine your position just as you would for an assigned topic. That position will ultimately become your thesis.

Until you’ve finalized your work, consider your thesis a “working thesis.”

This means that your statement represents your position, but you might change its phrasing or structure for that final version.

When you’re writing an essay for a class, it can seem strange to identify an audience—isn’t the audience the instructor?

Your instructor will read and evaluate your essay, and may be part of your greater audience, but you shouldn’t just write for your teacher.

Think about who your intended audience is.

For an argument essay, think of your audience as the people who disagree with you—the people who need convincing.

That population could be quite broad, for example, if you’re arguing a political issue, or narrow, if you’re trying to convince your parents to extend your curfew.

Once you’ve got a sense of your audience, it’s time to consult with Aristotle. Aristotle’s teaching on persuasion has shaped communication since about 330 BC. Apparently, it works.

Aristotle taught that in order to convince an audience of something, the communicator needs to balance the three elements of the rhetorical triangle to achieve the best results.

Those three elements are ethos , logos , and pathos .

Ethos relates to credibility and trustworthiness. How can you, as the writer, demonstrate your credibility as a source of information to your audience?

How will you show them you are worthy of their trust?

• You show you’ve done your research: you understand the issue, both sides
• You show respect for the opposing side: if you disrespect your audience, they won’t respect you or your ideas

Logos relates to logic. How will you convince your audience that your arguments and ideas are reasonable?

You provide facts or other supporting evidence to support your claims.

That evidence may take the form of studies or expert input or reasonable examples or a combination of all of those things, depending on the specific requirements of your assignment.

Remember: if you use someone else’s ideas or words in your essay, you need to give them credit.

ProWritingAid's Plagiarism Checker checks your work against over a billion web-pages, published works, and academic papers so you can be sure of its originality.

Find out more about ProWritingAid’s Plagiarism checks.

Pathos relates to emotion. Audiences are people and people are emotional beings. We respond to emotional prompts. How will you engage your audience with your arguments on an emotional level?

• You make strategic word choices : words have denotations (dictionary meanings) and also connotations, or emotional values. Use words whose connotations will help prompt the feelings you want your audience to experience.
• You use emotionally engaging examples to support your claims or make a point, prompting your audience to be moved by your discussion.

Be mindful as you lean into elements of the triangle. Too much pathos and your audience might end up feeling manipulated, roll their eyes and move on.

An “all logos” approach will leave your essay dry and without a sense of voice; it will probably bore your audience rather than make them care.

Once you’ve got your essay planned, start writing! Don’t worry about perfection, just get your ideas out of your head and off your list and into a rough essay format.

After you’ve written your draft, evaluate your work. What works and what doesn’t? For help with evaluating and revising your work, check out this ProWritingAid post on manuscript revision .

After you’ve evaluated your draft, revise it. Repeat that process as many times as you need to make your work the best it can be.

When you’re satisfied with the content and structure of the essay, take it through the editing process .

Grammatical or sentence-level errors can distract your audience or even detract from the ethos—the authority—of your work.

You don’t have to edit alone! ProWritingAid’s Realtime Report will find errors and make suggestions for improvements.

You can even use it on emails to your professors:

Try ProWritingAid with a free account.

How Can I Improve My Persuasion Skills?

You can develop your powers of persuasion every day just by observing what’s around you.

• How is that advertisement working to convince you to buy a product?
• How is a political candidate arguing for you to vote for them?
• How do you “argue” with friends about what to do over the weekend, or convince your boss to give you a raise?
• How are your parents working to convince you to follow a certain academic or career path?

As you observe these arguments in action, evaluate them. Why are they effective or why do they fail?

How could an argument be strengthened with more (or less) emphasis on ethos, logos, and pathos?

Every argument is an opportunity to learn! Observe them, evaluate them, and use them to perfect your own powers of persuasion.

Be confident about grammar

Check every email, essay, or story for grammar mistakes. Fix them before you press send.

Allison Bressmer is a professor of freshman composition and critical reading at a community college and a freelance writer. If she isn’t writing or teaching, you’ll likely find her reading a book or listening to a podcast while happily sipping a semi-sweet iced tea or happy-houring with friends. She lives in New York with her family. Connect at linkedin.com/in/allisonbressmer.

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• How to write an essay introduction | 4 steps & examples

How to Write an Essay Introduction | 4 Steps & Examples

Published on February 4, 2019 by Shona McCombes . Revised on July 23, 2023.

A good introduction paragraph is an essential part of any academic essay . It sets up your argument and tells the reader what to expect.

The main goals of an introduction are to:

• Catch your reader’s attention.
• Give background on your topic.
• Present your thesis statement —the central point of your essay.

This introduction example is taken from our interactive essay example on the history of Braille.

The invention of Braille was a major turning point in the history of disability. The writing system of raised dots used by visually impaired people was developed by Louis Braille in nineteenth-century France. In a society that did not value disabled people in general, blindness was particularly stigmatized, and lack of access to reading and writing was a significant barrier to social participation. The idea of tactile reading was not entirely new, but existing methods based on sighted systems were difficult to learn and use. As the first writing system designed for blind people’s needs, Braille was a groundbreaking new accessibility tool. It not only provided practical benefits, but also helped change the cultural status of blindness. This essay begins by discussing the situation of blind people in nineteenth-century Europe. It then describes the invention of Braille and the gradual process of its acceptance within blind education. Subsequently, it explores the wide-ranging effects of this invention on blind people’s social and cultural lives.

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Table of contents

Step 1: hook your reader, step 2: give background information, step 3: present your thesis statement, step 4: map your essay’s structure, step 5: check and revise, more examples of essay introductions, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about the essay introduction.

Your first sentence sets the tone for the whole essay, so spend some time on writing an effective hook.

Avoid long, dense sentences—start with something clear, concise and catchy that will spark your reader’s curiosity.

The hook should lead the reader into your essay, giving a sense of the topic you’re writing about and why it’s interesting. Avoid overly broad claims or plain statements of fact.

Examples: Writing a good hook

Take a look at these examples of weak hooks and learn how to improve them.

• Braille was an extremely important invention.
• The invention of Braille was a major turning point in the history of disability.

The first sentence is a dry fact; the second sentence is more interesting, making a bold claim about exactly  why the topic is important.

• The internet is defined as “a global computer network providing a variety of information and communication facilities.”
• The spread of the internet has had a world-changing effect, not least on the world of education.

Avoid using a dictionary definition as your hook, especially if it’s an obvious term that everyone knows. The improved example here is still broad, but it gives us a much clearer sense of what the essay will be about.

• Mary Shelley’s  Frankenstein is a famous book from the nineteenth century.
• Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is often read as a crude cautionary tale about the dangers of scientific advancement.

Instead of just stating a fact that the reader already knows, the improved hook here tells us about the mainstream interpretation of the book, implying that this essay will offer a different interpretation.

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Next, give your reader the context they need to understand your topic and argument. Depending on the subject of your essay, this might include:

• Historical, geographical, or social context
• An outline of the debate you’re addressing
• A summary of relevant theories or research about the topic
• Definitions of key terms

The information here should be broad but clearly focused and relevant to your argument. Don’t give too much detail—you can mention points that you will return to later, but save your evidence and interpretation for the main body of the essay.

How much space you need for background depends on your topic and the scope of your essay. In our Braille example, we take a few sentences to introduce the topic and sketch the social context that the essay will address:

Now it’s time to narrow your focus and show exactly what you want to say about the topic. This is your thesis statement —a sentence or two that sums up your overall argument.

This is the most important part of your introduction. A  good thesis isn’t just a statement of fact, but a claim that requires evidence and explanation.

The goal is to clearly convey your own position in a debate or your central point about a topic.

Particularly in longer essays, it’s helpful to end the introduction by signposting what will be covered in each part. Keep it concise and give your reader a clear sense of the direction your argument will take.

As you research and write, your argument might change focus or direction as you learn more.

For this reason, it’s often a good idea to wait until later in the writing process before you write the introduction paragraph—it can even be the very last thing you write.

When you’ve finished writing the essay body and conclusion , you should return to the introduction and check that it matches the content of the essay.

It’s especially important to make sure your thesis statement accurately represents what you do in the essay. If your argument has gone in a different direction than planned, tweak your thesis statement to match what you actually say.

To polish your writing, you can use something like a paraphrasing tool .

You can use the checklist below to make sure your introduction does everything it’s supposed to.

Checklist: Essay introduction

My first sentence is engaging and relevant.

I have introduced the topic with necessary background information.

I have defined any important terms.

My thesis statement clearly presents my main point or argument.

Everything in the introduction is relevant to the main body of the essay.

You have a strong introduction - now make sure the rest of your essay is just as good.

• Argumentative
• Literary analysis

This introduction to an argumentative essay sets up the debate about the internet and education, and then clearly states the position the essay will argue for.

The spread of the internet has had a world-changing effect, not least on the world of education. The use of the internet in academic contexts is on the rise, and its role in learning is hotly debated. For many teachers who did not grow up with this technology, its effects seem alarming and potentially harmful. This concern, while understandable, is misguided. The negatives of internet use are outweighed by its critical benefits for students and educators—as a uniquely comprehensive and accessible information source; a means of exposure to and engagement with different perspectives; and a highly flexible learning environment.

This introduction to a short expository essay leads into the topic (the invention of the printing press) and states the main point the essay will explain (the effect of this invention on European society).

In many ways, the invention of the printing press marked the end of the Middle Ages. The medieval period in Europe is often remembered as a time of intellectual and political stagnation. Prior to the Renaissance, the average person had very limited access to books and was unlikely to be literate. The invention of the printing press in the 15th century allowed for much less restricted circulation of information in Europe, paving the way for the Reformation.

This introduction to a literary analysis essay , about Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein , starts by describing a simplistic popular view of the story, and then states how the author will give a more complex analysis of the text’s literary devices.

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is often read as a crude cautionary tale. Arguably the first science fiction novel, its plot can be read as a warning about the dangers of scientific advancement unrestrained by ethical considerations. In this reading, and in popular culture representations of the character as a “mad scientist”, Victor Frankenstein represents the callous, arrogant ambition of modern science. However, far from providing a stable image of the character, Shelley uses shifting narrative perspectives to gradually transform our impression of Frankenstein, portraying him in an increasingly negative light as the novel goes on. While he initially appears to be a naive but sympathetic idealist, after the creature’s narrative Frankenstein begins to resemble—even in his own telling—the thoughtlessly cruel figure the creature represents him as.

If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

• Ad hominem fallacy
• Post hoc fallacy
• Appeal to authority fallacy
• False cause fallacy
• Sunk cost fallacy

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Your essay introduction should include three main things, in this order:

• An opening hook to catch the reader’s attention.
• Relevant background information that the reader needs to know.
• A thesis statement that presents your main point or argument.

The length of each part depends on the length and complexity of your essay .

The “hook” is the first sentence of your essay introduction . It should lead the reader into your essay, giving a sense of why it’s interesting.

To write a good hook, avoid overly broad statements or long, dense sentences. Try to start with something clear, concise and catchy that will spark your reader’s curiosity.

A thesis statement is a sentence that sums up the central point of your paper or essay . Everything else you write should relate to this key idea.

The thesis statement is essential in any academic essay or research paper for two main reasons:

• It gives your writing direction and focus.
• It gives the reader a concise summary of your main point.

Without a clear thesis statement, an essay can end up rambling and unfocused, leaving your reader unsure of exactly what you want to say.

The structure of an essay is divided into an introduction that presents your topic and thesis statement , a body containing your in-depth analysis and arguments, and a conclusion wrapping up your ideas.

The structure of the body is flexible, but you should always spend some time thinking about how you can organize your essay to best serve your ideas.

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Writing a Persuasive Essay

Persuasive essays convince readers to accept a certain perspective. Writing a persuasive essay therefore entails making an argument that will appeal to readers, so they believe what you say has merit. This act of appealing to readers is the art of persuasion, also known as rhetoric. In classical rhetoric, persuasion involves appealing to readers using ethos, pathos, and logos.

In this tutorial, we refer to the sample persuasive draft and final paper written by fictional student Maggie Durham.

THE ART OF PERSUASION

Ethos refers to establishing yourself as a credible source of information. To convince an audience of anything, they must first trust you are being earnest and ethical. One strategy to do this is to write a balanced discussion with relevant and reliable research that supports your claims. Reliable research would include quoting or paraphrasing experts, first-hand witnesses, or authorities. Properly citing your sources, so your readers can also retrieve them, is another factor in establishing a reliable ethos. When writing for academic purposes, expressing your argument using unbiased language and a neutral tone will also indicate you are arguing fairly and with consideration of others having differing views.

When you appeal to your readers’ emotions, you are using pathos. This appeal is common in advertising that convinces consumers they lack something and buying a certain product or service will fulfill that lack. Emotional appeals are subtler in academic writing; they serve to engage a reader in the argument and inspire a change of heart or motivate readers toward a course of action. The examples you use, how you define terms, any comparisons you draw, as well as the language choices you use can draw readers in and impact their willingness to go along with your ideas.

Consider that one purpose of persuasion is to appeal to those who do not already agree with you, so it will be important to show that you understand other points of view. You will also want to avoid derogatory or insulting descriptions or remarks about the opposition. You wouldn’t want to offend the very readers you want to persuade.

Establishing an appeal of logos is to write a sound argument, one that readers can follow and understand. To do this, the facts and evidence you use should be relevant, representative, and reliable, and the writing as a whole should be well organized, developed, and edited.

STEPS FOR WRITING PERSUASIVELY

Step one: determine the topic.

The first step in writing a persuasive essay is to establish the topic. The best topic is one that interests you. You can generate ideas for a topic by prewriting, such as by brainstorming whatever comes to mind, recording in grocery-list fashion your thoughts, or freewriting in complete sentences what you know or think about topics of interest.

Whatever topic you choose, it needs to be:

• Interesting : The topic should appeal both to you and to your intended readers.
• Researchable : A body of knowledge should already exist on the topic.
• Nonfiction : The information about the topic should be factual, not based on personal opinions or conspiracy theories.
• Important : Your reader should think the topic is relevant to them or worthy of being explored and discussed.

Our sample student Maggie Durham has selected the topic of educational technology. We will use Maggie’s sample persuasive draft and final paper as we discuss the steps for writing a persuasive essay.

Step Two: Pose a Research Question

Once you have a topic, the next step is to develop a research question along with related questions that delve further into the first question. If you do not know what to ask, start with one of the question words: What? Who? Where? When? Why? and How? The research question helps you focus or narrow the scope of your topic by identifying a problem, controversy, or aspect of the topic that is worth exploration and discussion. Some general questions about a topic would be the following:

• Who is affected by this problem and how?
• Have previous efforts or polices been made to address this problem? – What are they?
• Why hasn’t this problem been solved already?

For Maggie’s topic of educational technology, potential issues or controversies range from data privacy to digital literacy to the impact of technology on learning, which is what Maggie is interested in. Maggie’s local school district has low literacy rates, so Maggie wants to know the following:

• Are there advantages and/or disadvantages of technology within primary and secondary education?
• Which types of technology are considered the best in terms of quality and endurance?
• What types of technology and/or programs do students like using and why?
• Do teachers know how to use certain technologies with curriculum design, instruction, and/or assessment?

Step Three: Draft a Thesis

A thesis is a claim that asserts your main argument about the topic. As you conduct your research and draft your paper, you may discover information that changes your mind about your thesis, so at this point in writing, the thesis is tentative. Still, it is an important step in narrowing your focus for research and writing.

The thesis should

1. be a complete sentence,

2. identify the topic, and

3. make a specific claim about that topic.

In a persuasive paper, the thesis is a claim that someone should believe or do something. For example, a persuasive thesis might assert that something is effective or ineffective. It might state that a policy should be changed or a plan should be implemented. Or a persuasive thesis might be a plea for people to change their minds about a particular issue.

Once you have figured out your research question, your thesis is simply the answer. Maggie’s thesis is “Schools should supply technology aids to all students to increase student learning and literacy rates.” Her next step is to find evidence to support her claim.

Step Four: Research

Once you have a topic, research question, and thesis, you are ready to conduct research. To find sources that would be appropriate for an academic persuasive essay, begin your search in the library. The Purdue Global Library has a number of tutorials on conducting research, choosing search teams, types of sources, and how to evaluate information to determine its reliability and usefulness. Remember that the research you use will not only provide content to prove your claim and develop your essay, but it will also help to establish your credibility as a reliable source (ethos), create a logical framework for your argument (logos), and appeal to your readers emotionally (pathos).

Step Five: Plan Your Argument; Make an Outline

Once you have located quality source information—facts, examples, definitions, knowledge, and other information that answers your research question(s), you’ll want to create an outline to organize it. The example outline below illustrates a logical organizational plan for writing a persuasive essay. The example outline begins with an introduction that presents the topic, explains the issue, and asserts the position (the thesis). The body then provides the reasoning for the position and addresses the opposing viewpoints that some readers may hold. In your paper, you could modify this organization and address the opposing viewpoints first and then give the reasoning for your viewpoints, or you can alternate and give one opposing viewpoint then counter that with your viewpoint and then give another opposing viewpoint and counter that with your viewpoint.

The outline below also considers the alternatives to the position—certainly, there are other ways to think about or address the issue or situation. Considering the alternatives can be done in conjunction with looking at the opposing viewpoints. You do not always have to disagree with other opinions, either. You can acknowledge that another solution could work or another belief is valid. However, at the end of the body section, you will want to stand by your original position and prove that in light of all the opposing viewpoints and other perspectives, your position has the most merit.

Sample Outline of a Persuasive Argument

• 1. Introduction: Tell them what you will tell them.
• a. Present an interesting fact or description to make the topic clear and capture the reader’s attention.
• b. Define and narrow the topic using facts or descriptions to illustrate what the situation or issue is (and that is it important).
• c. Assert the claim (thesis) that something should be believed or done about the issue. (Some writers also briefly state the reasons behind this claim in the thesis as Maggie does in her paper when she claims that schools should supply tablets to students to increase learning , engagement, and literacy rates ).
• 2. Body: Tell them.
• a. Defend the claim with logical reasons and practical examples based on research.
• b. Anticipate objections to the claim and refute or accommodate them with research.
• c. Consider alternate positions or solutions using examples from research.
• d. Present a final point based on research that supports your claim in light of the objections and alternatives considered.
• 3. Conclusion: Tell them what you told them.
• a. Recap the main points to reinforce the importance of the issue.
• b. Restate the thesis in new wording to reinforce your position.
• c. Make a final remark to leave a lasting impression, so the reader will want to continue this conversation and ideally adopt the belief or take the action you are advocating.

In Maggie’s draft, she introduced the topic with facts about school ratings in Texas and then narrowed the topic using the example of her local school district’s literacy rates. She then claimed the district should provide each student a tablet in order to increase learning (and thus, literacy rates).

Maggie defends her claim with a series of examples from research that proved how access to tablets, technology-integrated curriculums, and “flipped classrooms” have improved literacy rates in other districts. She anticipates objections to her proposal due to the high cost of technology and counter argues this with expert opinions and examples that show partnerships with businesses, personalized curriculums that technology makes possible, and teacher training can balance the costs. Maggie included an alternative solution of having students check out tablets from the library, but her research showed that this still left students needing Wi-Fi at home while her proposal would include a plan for students to access Wi-Fi.

Maggie concluded her argument by pointing out the cost of not helping the students in this way and restated her thesis reaffirming the benefits, and then left the reader with a memorable quote.

Click here to see Maggie’s draft with feedback from her instructor and a peer. Sample Persuasive Draft

Feedback, Revision, and Editing

After you write a draft of your persuasive essay, the next step is to have a peer, instructor, or tutor read it and provide feedback. Without reader feedback, you cannot fully know how your readers will react to your argument. Reader feedback is meant to be constructive. Use it to better understand your readers and craft your argument to more appropriately appeal to them.

Maggie received valuable feedback on her draft from her instructor and classmate. They pointed to where her thesis needed to be even more specific, to paragraphs where a different organization would make her argument more convincing, to parts of the paper that lacked examples, sentences that needed revision and editing for greater clarity, and APA formatting that needed to be edited.

Maggie also took a critical look at her paper and looked back at her writing process. One technique she found helpful was to read her paper aloud because it let her know where her wording and organization were not clear. She did this several times as she revised and again as she edited and refined her paper for sentence level clarity and concision.

In the end, Maggie produced a convincing persuasive essay and effective argument that would appeal to readers who are also interested in the way technology can impact and improve student learning, an important topic in 2014 when this paper was written and still relevant today.

Click here to see Maggie’s final draft after revising and editing. Sample Persuasive Revised

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A Comprehensive Guide on How to Write a Persuasive Essay

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A persuasive essay is a potent literary tool designed to sway the reader's opinion and evoke a response. Unlike other types of essays , the primary goal here is not merely to inform or entertain but to persuade. In this guide, we'll explore what exactly a persuasive essay is, delve into its main components, and provide practical tips on how to write a persuasive essay that leaves a lasting impression.

What is a Persuasive Essay?

At its core, a persuasive essay aims to convince the reader to adopt a particular viewpoint or take a specific action. It's an artful blend of logical reasoning and emotional appeal, carefully crafted to sway opinions and inspire action. Whether addressing a controversial social issue, advocating for a change in policy, or expressing an individual opinion, the persuasive essay is a vehicle for influencing minds.

How to Write a Persuasive Essay: The Main Components

1. Introduction: Capturing Attention and Stating the Thesis The introduction serves as the gateway to your persuasive essay. Begin by grabbing the reader's attention with a compelling hook—an anecdote, a surprising fact, or a thought-provoking question. After capturing their interest, clearly state your thesis, which should encapsulate the main argument you'll be advocating throughout the essay. Make sure it's concise, focused, and sets the stage for what follows.

2. Body Paragraphs: Building the Argument The body of your persuasive essay is where you present your case in detail. Each paragraph should focus on a single point that supports your thesis. Begin with a topic sentence that introduces the main idea of the paragraph, followed by supporting evidence, examples, and logical reasoning. Be sure to anticipate counterarguments and address them in a respectful manner. This not only strengthens your position but also demonstrates a thorough understanding of the topic.

3. Ethos, Pathos, and Logos: The Triad of Persuasion A persuasive essay is most effective when it appeals to the audience's emotions, ethics, and logic. Ethos involves establishing credibility and showcasing your expertise or authority on the subject. Pathos appeals to the reader's emotions, invoking empathy or stirring passions. Logos relies on logical reasoning, presenting evidence and sound arguments to support your claims. Striking a balance between these three elements ensures a well-rounded and convincing essay.

4. Counterarguments and Rebuttal: Strengthening Your Position Acknowledge opposing viewpoints to demonstrate fairness and open-mindedness. Addressing counterarguments head-on not only strengthens your position but also shows that you've thoroughly considered different perspectives. Craft a persuasive rebuttal by presenting additional evidence or showcasing flaws in the opposing argument. This not only reinforces your stance but also reinforces your credibility as a thoughtful and informed writer.

5. Conclusion: Leaving a Lasting Impression End your essay with a powerful conclusion that backs your thesis and leaves a lasting impression. Summarise the key points from the body paragraphs and restate your thesis in a compelling way. Avoid introducing new information in the conclusion; instead, focus on leaving the reader with a clear understanding of your perspective and a sense of urgency or importance regarding your argument.

Writing a Persuasive Essay: Practical Tips

Know Your Audience: Tailor Your Approach Understanding your audience is crucial when crafting a persuasive essay. Consider their values, beliefs, and potential biases. Tailor your language and arguments to resonate with your target audience, making your persuasive efforts more effective.

Thorough Research: The Foundation of Persuasion Before diving into writing, conduct thorough research on your chosen topic. Familiarise yourself with relevant facts, statistics, and expert opinions. A well-researched essay not only strengthens your argument but also enhances your credibility as a writer.

Craft a Strong Thesis Statement: The Heart of Your Essay Your thesis statement is the focal point of your persuasive essay. Ensure it is clear, concise, and debatable. A strong thesis sets the tone for the entire essay and provides a roadmap for both the writer and the reader.

Use Persuasive Language: Engage and Convince Choose your words carefully to create a persuasive impact. Employ strong, vivid language that evokes emotion and captivates the reader. Be mindful of your tone, striking a balance between confidence and humility.

Revise and Edit: Polish Your Persuasive Gem The final step in crafting a persuasive essay is thorough revision and editing. Review your essay for clarity, coherence, and consistency. Check for grammatical errors, ensure a smooth flow of ideas, and confirm that your arguments are well-supported by evidence.

The refinement of your work is just as crucial as its creation. Let our team of skilled editors meticulously edit and proofread your essay , providing valuable insights to elevate your writing to its highest potential.

Writing a Persuasive Essay: A Skill That Goes Beyond Academia

Mastering the art of persuasion through essay writing is a valuable skill that extends beyond academia. Whether advocating for social change or expressing a personal viewpoint, a persuasive essay equips you to articulate your ideas effectively and influence others. By understanding the main components and following practical tips, you can confidently navigate the terrain of persuasive writing, leaving a lasting impact on your readers.

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6.4: Persuasive Essays

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Writing a Persuasive Essay

Choose a topic that you feel passionate about. If your instructor requires you to write about a specific topic, approach the subject from an angle that interests you. Begin your essay with an engaging introduction. Your thesis should typically appear somewhere in your introduction. Be sure to have a clear thesis that states your position and previews the main points your essay will address.

Start by acknowledging and explaining points of view that may conflict with your own to build credibility and trust with your audience. Also state the limits of your argument. This too helps you sound more reasonable and honest to those who may naturally be inclined to disagree with your view. By respectfully acknowledging opposing arguments and conceding limitations to your own view, you set a measured and responsible tone for the essay.

Make your appeals in support of your thesis by using sound, credible evidence. Use a balance of facts and opinions from a wide range of sources, such as scientific studies, expert testimony, statistics, and personal anecdotes. Each piece of evidence should be fully explained and clearly stated. Make sure that your style and tone are appropriate for your subject and audience. Tailor your language and word choice to these two factors, while still being true to your own voice.

Finally, write a conclusion that effectively summarizes the main argument and reinforces your thesis. See the sample persuasive essay at the end of this section, “The Value of Technical High Schools in Georgia’s Business Marketplace,” by student Elizabeth Lamoureux. Please note that this essay uses the MLA style of documentation, for which you can find guidelines at Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab (OWL) website: http://owl.english.purdue.edu .

Sample Persuasive Essay

In this student paper, the student makes a persuasive case for the value of technical high schools in Georgia. As you read, pay attention to the different persuasive devices the writer uses to convince us of her position. Also note how the outline gives a structure to the paper that helps lead the reader step-by-step through the components of the argument.

Student Outline

Elizabeth Lamoureux

English 1101 Honors

April 25, 2013

Thesis : Technical high schools should be established in every county in Georgia because they can provide the technical training that companies need, can get young people into the workforce earlier, and can reduce the number of drop outs.

• Education can focus on these specific technical fields.
• Education can work with business to fill these positions.
• Apprenticeship programs can be a vital part of a student’s education.
• Apprenticeship programs are integral to Germany’s educational program, providing a realistic model for technical high schools in Georgia.
• Students train during their high school years for their chosen profession.
• Students begin to work in a profession or trade where there is a need.
• Students will become independent and self-supporting at the age of eighteen when many of their peers are still dependent upon their parents.
• Students can make more money over the course of their lifetimes.
• Students are more motivated to take courses in which they have an interest.
• Students will find both core and specialized classes more interesting and valuable when they can see the practical application of the subjects.
• Students would be able to earn a living wage while still taking classes that would eventually lead to full-time employment.
• Students would learn financial skills through experience with money management.

Student Essay

The Value of Technical High Schools in Georgia’s Business Marketplace

Businesses need specialized workers; young people need jobs. It seems like this would be an easy problem to solve. However, business and education are not communicating with each other. To add to this dilemma, emphasis is still put on a college education for everyone. Samuel Halperin, study director of the Commission on Work, Family, and Citizenship for the W. T. Grant Foundation, co-authored two reports: “The Forgotten Half: Non-College Youth in America” and “The Forgotten Half: Pathways to Success for America’s Youth and Young Families.” Halperin states: “While the attention of the nation was focused on kids going to college . . . the truth is that 70 percent of our adults never earn a college degree” (qtd. in Rogers). According to an article in Issues in Science and Technology, the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that there will be more need for skills obtained through “community colleges, occupational training, and work experience” (Lerman). As Anne C. Lewis points out, although the poor job situation is recognized as detrimental to American youth, President Bush tried to get rid of career and technical education (CTE) and “promote strictly academic programs.” Luckily, Congress did not support it (Lewis 5). The figure for U.S. teen joblessness in October 2009 was 27.6 percent, the highest since World War II (Karaim). According to Thomas E. Persing, Americans are “disregarding the 50 percent who enter college and fail to graduate. . . .” Since everyone does not want or need to go to college, young people need an alternative choice, namely, technical high schools. Technical high schools should be established in every county in Georgia because they can provide the technical training that companies need, can get young people into the work force earlier, and can reduce the number of drop outs.

Technical high schools provide students with the technical training that companies need. By getting input from businesses on exactly what their specialized needs are, school systems could adapt their curricula to accommodate the needs of businesses. According to an article in Issues in Science and Technology, “employers report difficulty in recruiting workers with adequate skills.” The article goes on to say that “the shortage of available skills is affecting their ability to serve customers, and 84% of the firms say that the K-12 school system is not doing a good job preparing students for the workplace” (Lerman). Education can work with businesses to provide them with the workforce they need, and students can learn the skills they need through apprenticeship programs.

Business can be further involved by providing these apprenticeship programs, which can be a vital part of a student’s education. Currently, Robert Reich, economist and former Secretary of Labor, and Richard Riley, Secretary of Education, have spoken up for apprenticeship programs (Persing). In these programs, not only do students learn job-specific skills, but they also learn other skills for success in the work place, such as “communication, responsibility, teamwork, allocating resources, problem-solving, and finding information” (Lerman). Businesses complain that the current educational system is failing in this regard and that students enter the workforce without these skills.

The United States could learn from other countries. Apprenticeship programs are integral to Germany’s educational program, for example. Because such large numbers of students in a wide array of fields take advantage of these programs, the stigma of not attending college is reduced. Timothy Taylor, the Conversable Economist, explains that most German students complete this program and still have the option to pursue a postsecondary degree. Many occupations are represented in this program, including engineering, nursing, and teaching. Apprenticeship programs can last from one to six years and provide students with a wage for learning. This allows both business and student to compete in the market place. According to Julie Rawe, “under Germany’s earn-while-you-learn system, companies are paying 1.6 million young adults to train for about 350 types of jobs. . . .”

A second important reason technical high schools should be promoted in Georgia is that they prepare students to enter the work force earlier. Students not interested in college enter the work force upon high school graduation or sooner if they have participated in an apprenticeship or other cooperative program with a business. Students train during their high school years for their chosen profession and often work for the company where they trained. This ensures that students begin to work in a profession or trade where there is a need.

Another positive factor is that jobs allow students to earn a living upon graduation or before. Even though students are considered adults at eighteen, many cannot support themselves. The jobs available to young people are primarily minimum wage jobs which do not provide them with enough resources to live independently. One recent study indicates that the income gap is widening for young people, and “In March 1997, more than one-fourth of out-ofschool young adults who were working full-time were earning less than the poverty line income standard of just over $16,000 annually for a family of four” (“The Forgotten Half Revisited”). Conversely, by entering the work force earlier with the skills businesses need, young people make more money over their lifetimes. Robert I. Lerman considers the advantages:

Studies generally find that education programs with close links to the world of work improve earnings. The earnings gains are especially solid for students unlikely to attend or complete college. Cooperative education, school enterprises, and internship or apprenticeship increased employment and lowered the share of young men who are idle after high school.

Young people can obviously profit from entering the work force earlier.

One of the major benefits of promoting technical high schools in Georgia is that they reduce the number of dropouts. According to an article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the figure for dropouts for the Atlanta metro area is about thirty-four percent (McCaffrey and Badertscher A16). The statistic for Germany’s dropout rate is less than nine percent (Rawe). As Rawe maintains, students stay in school because they cannot get the job if they do not have the diploma. Beyond the strong incentive of a job, students are more motivated to take courses in which they have an interest. In addition to the specialized career classes, students are still required to take core classes required by traditional high schools. However, practical application of these subjects makes them more interesting and more valuable to the students.

Another reason students drop out is to support their families. By participating in a program in which they are paid a wage and then entering that job full time, they no longer need to drop out for this reason. It is necessary for many students to contribute financially to the family: by getting a job earlier, they can do this. Joining the work force early also provides students with financial skills gained through experience with money management.

The belief of most Americans that everyone needs to have a college education is outdated. The United States needs skilled employees at all levels, from the highly technical to the practical day to day services society needs to sustain its current standard of living. Germany is doing this through its apprenticeship programs which have proven to be economically successful for both businesses and workers. If the State of Georgia put technical high schools in every county, businesses would get employees with the skills they need; young people would get into good paying jobs earlier, and schools would have fewer dropouts.

Works Cited

“The Forgotten Half Revisited: American Youth and Young Families, 1988-2008.” American Youth Policy Forum . N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2012.

Karaim, Reed. “Youth Unemployment.” CQ Global Researcher 6 Mar. 2012: 105-28. Web. 21 Apr. 2012.

Lerman, Robert I. “Building a Wider Skills Net for Workers: A Range of Skills Beyond Conventional Schooling Are Critical to Success in the Job Market, and New Educational Approaches Should Reflect These Noncognitive Skills and Occupational Qualifications.” Issues in Science and Technology 24.4 (2008): 65+. Gale Opposing Viewpoints in Context . Web. 21 Apr. 2012.

Lewis, Anne C. “Support for CTE.” Tech Directions 65.3 (2005): 5-6. Academic Search Complete. Web. 11 Apr. 2012.

McCaffrey, Shannon, and Nancy Badertscher. “Painful Truth in Grad Rates.” Atlanta Journal-Constitution 15 Apr. 2012: A1+. Print.

Persing, Thomas E. “The Role of Apprenticeship Programs.” On Common Ground . Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute, Fall 1994. Web. 16 Apr. 2012.

Rawe, Julie. “How Germany Keeps Kids From Dropping Out.” Time Magazine U.S. Time Magazine, 11 Apr. 2006. Web. 16 Apr. 2012.

Rogers, Betsy. “Remembering the ‘Forgotten Half.’” Washington University in St. Louis Magazine Spring 2005. Web. 21 Apr. 2012.

Taylor, Timothy. “Apprenticeships for the U.S. Economy.” Conversableeconomist.blogspot.com. Conversable Economist , 18 Oct. 2011. Web. 16 Apr. 2012.

Writing a Persuasive Essay

View in pdf format, the introduction.

Simply enough, the introductory paragraph introduces the argument of your paper. A well-constructed introductory paragraph immediately captures a reader’s interest and gives appropriate background information about the paper’s topic. Such a paragraph might include a brief summary of the ideas to be discussed in body of the paper as well as other information relevant to your paper’s argument. The most important function of the introductory paragraph, however, is to present a clear statement of the paper’s argument. This sentence is your paper’s thesis. Without a thesis, it is impossible for you to present an effective argument. The thesis sentence should reflect both the position that you will argue and the organizational pattern with which you will present and support your argument. A useful way to think about the construction of a thesis sentence is to view it in terms of stating both the “what” and the “how” of the paper’s argument. The “what” is simply the basic argument in your paper: what exactly are you arguing? The “how” is the strategy you will use to present this argument. The following are helpful questions for you to consider when formulating a thesis sentence:

• What is the argument that I am trying to convince the reader to accept?
• How exactly do I expect to convince the reader that this argument is sound?

Once you have answered these questions, the next step is to synthesize these answers into a single thesis sentence, or, if necessary, two thesis sentences.

For example: You want to convince your reader that the forces of industry did not shape American foreign policy from the late 19th century through 1914, and you plan to do this by showing that there were other factors which were much more influential in shaping American foreign policy. Both of these elements can be synthesized into a thesis sentence:

Fear of foreign influence in the Western hemisphere, national pride, and contemporary popular ideas concerning both expansion and foreign peoples had significantly more influence on American foreign policy than did the voices of industrialists.

This sentence shows the position you will argue and also sets up the organizational pattern of your paper's body.

The body of your paper contains the actual development of your paper’s argument. Each body paragraph presents a single idea or set of related ideas that provides support for your paper’s argument. Each body paragraph addresses one key aspect of your paper’s thesis and brings the reader closer to accepting the validity of your paper’s argument. Because each body paragraph should be a step in your argument, you should be mindful of the overall organization of your body paragraphs. The first step in writing an effective body paragraph is the construction of the first sentence of this paragraph, the topic sentence. Just as the thesis sentence holds together your essay, the topic sentence is the glue binding each individual body paragraph. A body paragraph’s topic sentence serves two main purposes: introducing the content of the paragraph and introducing the next step of your argument. It is important to keep in mind that the goal of the topic sentence is to advance your paper's argument, not just to describe the content of the paragraph. For example: The first part in your thesis on page two states that fear of foreign influence in the Western Hemisphere had more influence on American foreign policy than did industry. Thus, you need to elaborate on this point in your body paragraphs. An effective topic sentence for one of these paragraphs could be:

American fear of foreign influence was a key factor in the United States’ actions in the Spanish-American War. Subsequent body paragraphs might offer further evidence for the idea presented in this body paragraph.

A good way to test the strength of both your topic sentences and your argument as a whole is to construct an outline of your paper using only your paper's thesis statement and topic sentences. This outline should be a logical overview of your paper's argument; all of your paper’s topic sentences should work together to support your thesis statement.

The Conclusion

A basic purpose of your paper’s concluding paragraph is both to restate the paper’s argument and to restate how you have supported this argument in the body of the paper. However, your conclusion should not simply be a copy of your introduction. The conclusion draws together the threads of the paper’s argument and shows where the argument of your paper has gone. An effective conclusion gives the reader reasons for bothering to read your paper. One of the most important functions of this paragraph is to bring in fresh insight. Some possible questions to consider when writing your conclusion are:

• What are some real world applications of this paper’s argument?
• Why is what I am writing about important?
• What are some of the questions that this paper’s argument raises?
• What are the implications of this paper’s argument?

While the organization and structure described in this handout are necessary components of an effective persuasive essay, keep in mind that writing itself is a fluid process. There are no steadfast rules that you need to adhere to as you write. Simply because the introduction is the first paragraph in your essay does not mean that you must write this paragraph before any other. Think of the act of writing as an exploration of ideas, and let this sense of exploration guide you as you write your essay.

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How to Write a Persuasive Essay (This Convinced My Professor!)

Table of contents

Meredith Sell

You can make your essay more persuasive by getting straight to the point.

In fact, that's exactly what we did here, and that's just the first tip of this guide. Throughout this guide, we share the steps needed to prove an argument and create a persuasive essay.

This AI tool helps you improve your essay > This AI tool helps you improve your essay >

Key takeaways: - Proven process to make any argument persuasive - 5-step process to structure arguments - How to use AI to formulate and optimize your essay

Why is being persuasive so difficult?

"Write an essay that persuades the reader of your opinion on a topic of your choice."

You might be staring at an assignment description just like this 👆from your professor. Your computer is open to a blank document, the cursor blinking impatiently. Do I even have opinions?

The persuasive essay can be one of the most intimidating academic papers to write: not only do you need to identify a narrow topic and research it, but you also have to come up with a position on that topic that you can back up with research while simultaneously addressing different viewpoints.

That’s a big ask. And let’s be real: most opinion pieces in major news publications don’t fulfill these requirements.

The upside? By researching and writing your own opinion, you can learn how to better formulate not only an argument but the actual positions you decide to hold. 

Here, we break down exactly how to write a persuasive essay. We’ll start by taking a step that’s key for every piece of writing—defining the terms.

What Is a Persuasive Essay?

A persuasive essay is exactly what it sounds like: an essay that persuades . Over the course of several paragraphs or pages, you’ll use researched facts and logic to convince the reader of your opinion on a particular topic and discredit opposing opinions.

While you’ll spend some time explaining the topic or issue in question, most of your essay will flesh out your viewpoint and the evidence that supports it.

The 5 Must-Have Steps of a Persuasive Essay

If you’re intimidated by the idea of writing an argument, use this list to break your process into manageable chunks. Tackle researching and writing one element at a time, and then revise your essay so that it flows smoothly and coherently with every component in the optimal place.

1. A topic or issue to argue

This is probably the hardest step. You need to identify a topic or issue that is narrow enough to cover in the length of your piece—and is also arguable from more than one position. Your topic must call for an opinion , and not be a simple fact .

It might be helpful to walk through this process:

• Identify a random topic
• Ask a question about the topic that involves a value claim or analysis to answer
• Answer the question

That answer is your opinion.

Let’s consider some examples, from silly to serious:

Topic: Dolphins and mermaids

Question: In a mythical match, who would win: a dolphin or a mermaid?

Answer/Opinion: The mermaid would win in a match against a dolphin.

Topic: Autumn

Question: Which has a better fall: New England or Colorado?

Answer/Opinion: Fall is better in New England than Colorado.

Topic: Electric transportation options

Question: Would it be better for an urban dweller to buy an electric bike or an electric car?

Answer/Opinion: An electric bike is a better investment than an electric car.

Your turn: Walk through the three-step process described above to identify your topic and your tentative opinion. You may want to start by brainstorming a list of topics you find interesting and then going use the three-step process to find the opinion that would make the best essay topic.

2. An unequivocal thesis statement

If you walked through our three-step process above, you already have some semblance of a thesis—but don’t get attached too soon! 

A solid essay thesis is best developed through the research process. You shouldn’t land on an opinion before you know the facts. So press pause. Take a step back. And dive into your research.

You’ll want to learn:

• The basic facts of your topic. How long does fall last in New England vs. Colorado? What trees do they have? What colors do those trees turn?
• The facts specifically relevant to your question. Is there any science on how the varying colors of fall influence human brains and moods?
• What experts or other noteworthy and valid sources say about the question you’re considering. Has a well-known arborist waxed eloquent on the beauty of New England falls?

As you learn the different viewpoints people have on your topic, pay attention to the strengths and weaknesses of existing arguments. Is anyone arguing the perspective you’re leaning toward? Do you find their arguments convincing? What do you find unsatisfying about the various arguments? 

Allow the research process to change your mind and/or refine your thinking on the topic. Your opinion may change entirely or become more specific based on what you learn.

Once you’ve done enough research to feel confident in your understanding of the topic and your opinion on it, craft your thesis. 

Your thesis statement should be clear and concise. It should directly state your viewpoint on the topic, as well as the basic case for your thesis.

Thesis 1: In a mythical match, the mermaid would overcome the dolphin due to one distinct advantage: her ability to breathe underwater.

Thesis 2: The full spectrum of color displayed on New England hillsides is just one reason why fall in the northeast is better than in Colorado.

Thesis 3: In addition to not adding to vehicle traffic, electric bikes are a better investment than electric cars because they’re cheaper and require less energy to accomplish the same function of getting the rider from point A to point B.

Your turn: Dive into the research process with a radar up for the arguments your sources are making about your topic. What are the most convincing cases? Should you stick with your initial opinion or change it up? Write your fleshed-out thesis statement.

3. Evidence to back up your thesis

This is a typical place for everyone from undergrads to politicians to get stuck, but the good news is, if you developed your thesis from research, you already have a good bit of evidence to make your case.

Go back through your research notes and compile a list of every …

… or other piece of information that supports your thesis. 

This info can come from research studies you found in scholarly journals, government publications, news sources, encyclopedias, or other credible sources (as long as they fit your professor’s standards).

As you put this list together, watch for any gaps or weak points. Are you missing information on how electric cars versus electric bicycles charge or how long their batteries last? Did you verify that dolphins are, in fact, mammals and can’t breathe underwater like totally-real-and-not-at-all-fake 😉mermaids can? Track down that information.

Next, organize your list. Group the entries so that similar or closely related information is together, and as you do that, start thinking through how to articulate the individual arguments to support your case. 

Depending on the length of your essay, each argument may get only a paragraph or two of space. As you think through those specific arguments, consider what order to put them in. You’ll probably want to start with the simplest argument and work up to more complicated ones so that the arguments can build on each other. 

Your turn: Organize your evidence and write a rough draft of your arguments. Play around with the order to find the most compelling way to argue your case.

4. Rebuttals to disprove opposing theses

You can’t just present the evidence to support your case and totally ignore other viewpoints. To persuade your readers, you’ll need to address any opposing ideas they may hold about your topic. 

You probably found some holes in the opposing views during your research process. Now’s your chance to expose those holes. 

Take some time (and space) to: describe the opposing views and show why those views don’t hold up. You can accomplish this using both logic and facts.

Is a perspective based on a faulty assumption or misconception of the truth? Shoot it down by providing the facts that disprove the opinion.

Is another opinion drawn from bad or unsound reasoning? Show how that argument falls apart.

Some cases may truly be only a matter of opinion, but you still need to articulate why you don’t find the opposing perspective convincing.

Yes, a dolphin might be stronger than a mermaid, but as a mammal, the dolphin must continually return to the surface for air. A mermaid can breathe both underwater and above water, which gives her a distinct advantage in this mythical battle.

While the Rocky Mountain views are stunning, their limited colors—yellow from aspen trees and green from various evergreens—leaves the autumn-lover less than thrilled. The rich reds and oranges and yellows of the New England fall are more satisfying and awe-inspiring.

But what about longer trips that go beyond the city center into the suburbs and beyond? An electric bike wouldn’t be great for those excursions. Wouldn’t an electric car be the better choice then? 

Certainly, an electric car would be better in these cases than a gas-powered car, but if most of a person’s trips are in their hyper-local area, the electric bicycle is a more environmentally friendly option for those day-to-day outings. That person could then participate in a carshare or use public transit, a ride-sharing app, or even a gas-powered car for longer trips—and still use less energy overall than if they drove an electric car for hyper-local and longer area trips.

Your turn: Organize your rebuttal research and write a draft of each one.

5. A convincing conclusion

You have your arguments and rebuttals. You’ve proven your thesis is rock-solid. Now all you have to do is sum up your overall case and give your final word on the subject. 

Don’t repeat everything you’ve already said. Instead, your conclusion should logically draw from the arguments you’ve made to show how they coherently prove your thesis. You’re pulling everything together and zooming back out with a better understanding of the what and why of your thesis. 

A dolphin may never encounter a mermaid in the wild, but if it were to happen, we know how we’d place our bets. Long hair and fish tail, for the win.

For those of us who relish 50-degree days, sharp air, and the vibrant colors of fall, New England offers a season that’s cozier, longer-lasting, and more aesthetically pleasing than “colorful” Colorado. A leaf-peeper’s paradise.

When most of your trips from day to day are within five miles, the more energy-efficient—and yes, cost-efficient—choice is undoubtedly the electric bike. So strap on your helmet, fire up your pedals, and two-wheel away to your next destination with full confidence that you made the right decision for your wallet and the environment.

3 Quick Tips for Writing a Strong Argument

Once you have a draft to work with, use these tips to refine your argument and make sure you’re not losing readers for avoidable reasons.

1. Choose your words thoughtfully.

If you want to win people over to your side, don’t write in a way that shuts your opponents down. Avoid making abrasive or offensive statements. Instead, use a measured, reasonable tone. Appeal to shared values, and let your facts and logic do the hard work of changing people’s minds.

Choose words with AI

You can use AI to turn your general point into a readable argument. Then, you can paraphrase each sentence and choose between competing arguments generated by the AI, until your argument is well-articulated and concise.

2. Prioritize accuracy (and avoid fallacies).

Make sure the facts you use are actually factual. You don’t want to build your argument on false or disproven information. Use the most recent, respected research. Make sure you don’t misconstrue study findings. And when you’re building your case, avoid logical fallacies that undercut your argument.

A few common fallacies to watch out for:

• Strawman: Misrepresenting or oversimplifying an opposing argument to make it easier to refute.
• Appeal to ignorance: Arguing that a certain claim must be true because it hasn’t been proven false.
• Bandwagon: Assumes that if a group of people, experts, etc., agree with a claim, it must be true.
• Hasty generalization: Using a few examples, rather than substantial evidence, to make a sweeping claim.
• Appeal to authority: Overly relying on opinions of people who have authority of some kind.

The strongest arguments rely on trustworthy information and sound logic.

Research and add citations with AI

We recently wrote a three part piece on researching using AI, so be sure to check it out . Going through an organized process of researching and noting your sources correctly will make sure your written text is more accurate.

3. Persuasive essay structure

If you’re building a house, you start with the foundation and go from there. It’s the same with an argument. You want to build from the ground up: provide necessary background information, then your thesis. Then, start with the simplest part of your argument and build up in terms of complexity and the aspect of your thesis that the argument is tackling.

A consistent, internal logic will make it easier for the reader to follow your argument. Plus, you’ll avoid confusing your reader and you won’t be unnecessarily redundant.

The essay structure usually includes the following parts:

• Intro - Hook, Background information, Thesis statement
• Topic sentence #1 , with supporting facts or stats
• Concluding sentence
• Topic sentence #2 , with supporting facts or stats
• Concluding sentence Topic sentence #3 , with supporting facts or stats
• Conclusion - Thesis and main points restated, call to action, thought provoking ending

Are You Ready to Write?

Persuasive essays are a great way to hone your research, writing, and critical thinking skills. Approach this assignment well, and you’ll learn how to form opinions based on information (not just ideas) and make arguments that—if they don’t change minds—at least win readers’ respect. ‍

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How to Write a Persuasive Essay

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Helpful tips for writing a successful persuasive essay

Last updated: May 19, 2016

A persuasive essay uses reason to demonstrate that certain ideas are more valid than others in academic writing . The purpose of such an essay is to encourage readers to accept a particular viewpoint or act in a particular way. A persuasive essay must be based on sound logic and must contain factual evidence to support the argument.

How to write a persuasive essay

Take a stance. What do you think about the issue? What side will you take? Be aware of any prejudices you might have that could color your argument. What resolution will you suggest?

Know your audience. Determine if your audience will agree with your position and why they may not. You must be able to understand both sides of the issue in order to successfully argue your point of view.

Thoroughly research your topic. The point of a persuasive essay is to provide detailed and compelling evidence—you should be able to disprove the opposing argument. It will likely be necessary to undertake library-based research in order to accomplish this.

Think about the structure of your essay. Determine what evidence you will include and the order in which you will present it. Remember, it must be logical.

Support your argument . Use hard facts . You can gather these from your research, observations, or personal experiences. But be careful! In order to avoid plagiarism , you must cite your sources. You should always use verifiable statistics. It is important to be able to back up your argument with data. In order to further strengthen the argument in your persuasive essay, try using one or two direct quotes from experts on the topic. Finally, provide meaningful examples to enhance and clearly illustrate your argument.

How to organize your persuasive essay

The introduction. The introduction in your persuasive essay should grab the readers' attention and provide background information about your subject. It should end with a clear statement of your thesis.

The body. The body should consist of all the arguments that support your thesis. Each paragraph should focus on one particular point. Next, include one or two paragraphs to succinctly explain and refute the most compelling opposing argument.

The conclusion. The conclusion should restate the main argument and supporting points. After all, the point of a persuasive essay is to convert your readers to your point of view.

Take a breather

Take a day or two off. Let your essay sit and your mind rest. Then, read your persuasive essay with fresh eyes. Ask yourself if your essay is logical and convincing. Will your readers be persuaded by your argument? Did you provide enough evidence in the way of facts, statistics, quotes, and examples?

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How to Write an Introduction for a Persuasive Speech

Last Updated: October 2, 2023 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Gale McCreary and by wikiHow staff writer, Kyle Hall . Gale McCreary is the Founder and Chief Coordinator of SpeechStory, a nonprofit organization focused on improving communication skills in youth. She was previously a Silicon Valley CEO and President of a Toastmasters International chapter. She has been recognized as Santa Barbara Entrepreneurial Woman of the Year and received Congressional recognition for providing a Family-Friendly work environment. She has a BS in Biology from Stanford University. There are 8 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 154,237 times.

A persuasive speech is meant to convince an audience to agree with your point of view or argument relating to a specific topic. While the body of your persuasive speech is where the bulk of your argument will go, it’s important that you don’t overlook the introduction. A good introduction will capture your audience’s attention, which is crucial if you want to persuade them. Fortunately, there are some simple rules you can follow that will make the introduction to your persuasive essay more engaging and memorable.

Organizing Your Introduction

• For example, if your speech is about sleep deprivation in the workplace, you could start with something like “Workplace accidents and mistakes related to sleep deprivation cost companies $31 billion every single year.”
• Or, if your speech is about animal rights, you could open with a quote like “The English philosopher Jeremy Bentham once said, ‘The question is not, Can they reason? Nor, Can they talk? But, Can they suffer?’”
• For a speech about unpaid internships, you could start with a relevant anecdote like “In 2018, Tiffany Green got her dream internship, unpaid, working for a rental company. Unfortunately, a few months later Tiffany returned home from work to find an eviction notice on the door of her apartment, owned by that same rental company, because she was unable to pay her rent.

• For example, your thesis statement could look something like “Today, I’m going to talk to you about why medical marijuana should be legalized in all 50 states, and I’ll explain why that would improve the lives of average Americans and boost the economy.”

• For example, if you’re a marine biologist who’s writing a persuasive speech about ocean acidification, you could write something like “I’ve studied the effects of ocean acidification on local marine ecosystems for over a decade now, and what I’ve found is staggering.”
• Or, if you’re not an expert on your topic, you could include something like “Earlier this year, renowned marine biologist Ayana Elizabeth Johnson published a decade-long study on the acidification of our oceans, and what she found is deeply concerning.”

• For example, you could sum up your conclusion by writing something like, “To show you that a shorter work week would benefit not only employees but also their employers, first I will touch on the history of the modern average work week. Then, I’ll discuss the mental and physical toll that a long work week can take on a person. Finally, I’ll wrap up by going over fairer, better systems that we as a society could implement.”

• For example, if you time yourself giving your speech (introduction included) and it takes you 5 minutes, your introduction should only take up about 45 seconds of your speech.
• However, if you were giving a speech that’s 20 minutes long, your introduction should be around 3 minutes.
• On average, you’ll want about 150 words for every 1 minute you need to speak for. For example, if your introduction should be 2 minutes, you’d want to write around 300 words.

Tip: If you know how long your speech is going to be before you write it, make the first draft of your introduction the right length so you don’t have to add or delete a lot later.

Polishing Your Writing

• To make your writing more conversational, try to use brief sentences, and avoid including jargon unless you need it to make your point.
• Using contractions, like “I’ll” instead of “I will,” “wouldn’t” instead of “would not,” and “they’re” instead of “they are,” can help make your writing sound more conversational.

Tip: An easy way to make your writing more concise is to start your sentences with the subject. Also, try to limit the number of adverbs and adjectives you use.

• For example, if your audience will be made up of the other students in your college class, including a pop culture reference in your introduction might be an effective way to grab their attention and help them relate to your topic. However, if you’re giving your speech in a more formal setting, a pop culture reference might fall flat.

• For example, you could write something like, “I know a lot of you may strongly disagree with me on this. However, I think if you give me a chance and hear me out, we might end up finding some common ground.”
• Or, you could include a question like “How many of you here tonight have ever come across plastic that's washed up on the beach?” Then, you can have audience members raise their hands.

• You can even record yourself reading your introduction to get a sense of how you'll look delivering the opening of your speech.

Example Introduction for a Persuasive Speech

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• ↑ https://open.lib.umn.edu/communication/chapter/11-2-persuasive-speaking/
• ↑ https://2012books.lardbucket.org/books/public-speaking-practice-and-ethics/s12-introductions-matter-how-to-be.html
• ↑ https://www.middlesex.mass.edu/ace/downloads/tipsheets/persvsargu.pdf
• ↑ https://www.speechanddebate.org/wp-content/uploads/Tips-for-Writing-a-Persuasive-Speech.pdf
• ↑ https://open.lib.umn.edu/publicspeaking/chapter/14-1-four-methods-of-delivery/
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/academic_writing/essay_writing/argumentative_essays.html
• ↑ https://www.gvsu.edu/speechlab/connecting-with-the-audience-26.htm
• ↑ https://www.gvsu.edu/speechlab/practicing-presentations-33.htm

About This Article

To write an introduction for a persuasive speech, start with a hook that will grab your audience's attention, like a surprising statistic or meaningful quote. Then, introduce your thesis statement, which should explain what you are arguing for and why. From here, you'll need to demonstrate the credibility of your argument if you want your audience to believe what you're saying. Depending on if you are an expert or not, you should either share your personal credentials or reference papers and studies by experts in the field that legitimize your argument. Finally, conclude with a brief preview of the main points you'll cover in your speech, so your audience knows what to expect and can follow along more easily. For more tips from our co-author, including how to polish your introduction, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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Here’s a dilemma: you work so hard on your persuasive essay, do in-depth research, develop strong arguments, but in the end, you get a low grade. And all this happens because your introduction isn’t convincing enough. As you can see, understanding how to start a persuasive essay in an effective manner is crucial. Fortunately, you are in the right place. Keep reading our guide to find useful tips on beginning a persuasive essay. From crafting an irresistible hook to formulating your main statement, you will find plenty of helpful suggestions. By the way, we’ve got some good examples to share. So let’s get started.  

Importance of Knowing How to Start a Persuasive Essay

Before discussing how to start off a persuasive essay, you should keep in mind that you must hook your audience from the very beginning. Your reader should understand what you are going to say and why it is important. Still, you shouldn’t lay all your cards on the table and reveal your arguments. Your main thesis statement should be presented after some context. An introduction is used to convince the reader not just of your opinion, but of the entire paper being worth reading. Therefore, one should take an especially reasonable approach. Further, we will share some helpful tips on drawing up a good introduction and give real examples.  But first, be sure to prepare a persuasive essay outline template .

How to Start a Good Persuasive Essay: Main Elements

Before starting a persuasive essay, you should think about its structure in detail. An introduction will be effective if you compile it based on our scheme. When drawing up an introductory part, you should include such elements:

• Background information (context)
• Main definitions (if there are any)
• Topic-related thesis.

This structure makes it possible to convey any idea in a concise way. Remember: An opening paragraph should be short while writing a persuasive essay . All you need is to present a clear idea which will potentially hook the reader. Giving some hint on the gist of writing will be enough.

Starting a Persuasive Essay with a Hook

One idea that always works is starting a persuasive essay with a hook. You should make it clear about your topic in advance. Thus, you will attract reader’s attention. You should choose a strong sentence that will hook your addressee and may give them a particular idea. You can start persuasive essays with any question related to your topic or with an interesting fact. Quite often students use statistical data or quotes of some experts in their field of knowledge. This is the first step towards persuasion. It demonstrates that the subsequent text won’t be inferior. But just having an effective hook won’t be sufficient, so you should gradually prepare your reader. And we will learn more about this in the next section. In the meantime, have you already considered hiring a persuasive essay writer ? Our writers are academic-savvy and can create a great persuasive essay quickly and efficiently. 

Background Information in Persuasive Essay

In an introductory paragraph of a persuasive essay after the hook, we recommend outlining some topic’s context. Focus reader’s attention on background information. Here’s what you can include to develop your topic further:

• Historical or geographical facts
• Key characteristics.

This section should not only familiarize your readers with some background facts that you have researched. You also should smoothly lead to a thesis statement.

How to Write a Persuasive Essay Thesis

Your writing should begin with a strong persuasive essay thesis statement. Your thesis should introduce the topic and offer your viewpoint on some matter. Besides, it should list several arguments you are going to discuss in the main body. This statement will complete an introduction. Then, you will proceed to presenting the gist of an essay. Keep in mind several things that make a persuasive essay thesis stronger. First of all, a claim that you make should be debatable. This means that other people may have an opposing viewpoint. Secondly, your thesis statement should have a reasonable scope. Don’t make it too narrow, and, yet, this statement should be focused. Now that you know what elements should be included in your persuasive essay introduction, let’s discuss some writing tips.  

How to Start a Strong Persuasive Essay: Main Tips

While working on your text, you will surely need tips on how to start a persuasive essay. By following our hacks, you will be able to convey important information to readers. Based on our experience in preparing academic texts, we have developed some recommendations. Our writing tips will make your persuasive essay introduction as informative and attractive as possible. Meanwhile, some of these suggestions may be applied to other types of academic writing.  

Tip 1: Brainstorm Your Topic Before Starting a Persuasive Essay

Don’t rush to start writing right away – you should think about some good persuasive essay topics to begin your essay. The most effective way is to work on any topic in line with the purpose that you have set for yourself. Focus on any subject that you are genuinely interested in and do preliminary research. Make sure you have enough supporting facts that prove your opinion. Follow these steps to make your persuasive essay topic irresistible:  

• Summarize well-known facts on your topic.
• Highlight controversial points.
• Prepare points for further argumentation.

This way, you will know whether you should conduct any additional research. Besides, you will know if there is enough information that can convince readers of your point of view.

Tip 2: Provide a Hook for Your Persuasive Essay Introduction

An introduction of persuasive essay won’t be complete without a hook. If you fail to include it, such paper will unlikely captivate reader’s attention. A catchy hook helps to break the ice between your writing and readers. In turn, an increased attention ensures that your audience understands your topic well. Here are several things you may include in your hook to make it more effective:  

• Quotes It’s a good idea if they relate to the topic and bring readers to the main subject.
• Joke It is a great opportunity to dilute this formal environment and create some positive vibe.
• Question It is good when it’s rhetorical and makes readers think. In fact, this will help you involve readers in an action or some kind of dialogue.
• Statistics It works, if numbers are related to your research. Choose the most relevant data.
• Counterargument Starting with an opposite opinion is a great way to refute this counterargument from the very beginning. This technique helps you intrigue readers at an early stage.

These recommendations may help you create a good hook that will attract readers, so use them wisely.

Tip 3: Create a Context for Your Persuasive Essay

When working on your persuasive essay introduction, be sure that you provide some background on the topic. Put readers in some context. You are more than welcome to use any statistical facts, numbers or in-depth definition. Historical or biographical details will work as well. Your task is to set an exact direction of thoughts. But don’t reveal any arguments and proofs in this section – you will do that later. Mention why this problem should be investigated, with more precise explanations being provided in body paragraphs. With the clear context, it will be much easier to perceive any idea. On top of that, given the proper background, there should be no doubts about your argument. Consider our best college essay writing services to speed the process up.

Tip 4: Write a Thesis Statement for Your Persuasive Essay Intro

How to start a persuasive essay thesis? It is easy: just write 1-2 sentences that clearly describe your main claim. Remember that your whole essay will be based on this statement. So, when crafting the thesis statement, make sure that you will be able to prove it. Make it sound logical – your statement shouldn’t be based on some blind guesses. Readers should understand your point and what they will find in the following paragraphs. Feel free to list your arguments, but don’t overdo it with extra details. Save more room for in-depth thoughts that will be covered in body paragraphs.  

Tip 5: Start Persuasive Essay Briefly

Start a persuasive essay with some brief information on what one will learn from the text. Choose the main theses, provide them in a concise way, so as not to overload the reader’s mind. Mention the importance of your topic – your reader should be convinced that this essay is worth reading. Although your opinion should be arguable, this doesn’t mean that you can write vague sentences. Refer to those facts that resonate with your central statement. Long story short, be concise and stay on point. Buy essay online  that may be of help to you if anything seems too vague right now.  

Tip 6: Be Convincing in Your Persuasive Essay Introduction

When you try to start a persuasive essay, chances are that you will come across advice to use credible references. While this is all good and well, we suggest focusing more on the convincing arguments – your personal opinion. Indicate that your paper has been written based on personal experience and resulted from your own research. With this approach, the fact that it includes your thoughts won’t surprise anyone. You shouldn’t write about the truths known to everyone interested in this topic. You should better provide your ideas on why your thesis is correct. Explain why you have decided on this position. This is a polemical style that will trigger a number of debates.  

Persuasive Essay Introduction Examples

If you don’t know how to start a persuasive essay, examples will surely be useful for you. After all, this is a good opportunity to get acquainted with successful patterns and include the best of them in your text. For instance, you can see ways of structuring arguments in an actual example and use it as the basis for your own essay. Still, you should choose your own arguments related to the topic. It all may sound complicated. For this reason, we will introduce an example of what a convincing introduction structure may be like.  

How to Start a Persuasive Essay About a Book: Example

Before finding out how to start a persuasive essay about a book, decide on the literature. However, regardless of any genre and author, your topic will be dedicated to providing your opinion. Focus on your position and provide 3 arguments that you will discuss further. Our example will help you make it clear.

Persuasive Essay Introduction on Gun Control: Example

Your opinion on such an important topic as gun control should sound convincing. Before deciding on how to start a persuasive essay on gun control, make readers believe you have chosen some weighty thesis to develop further. Let’s look at an example.  

How to Start Off a Persuasive Essay About Debates: Example

It is not difficult to work out the topic of debates. But before you find out how to start off a persuasive essay about debates, highlight the thesis that you support. You should specify the purpose of an essay in an introduction and avoid unsupported value judgments.  

Starting a Persuasive Essay on Too Much Homework: Example

Before deciding on how to  write a persuasive essay  on too much homework, you should keep in mind that this topic is quite unusual. To define your position, you should prepare strong arguments; statistics will make an especially good hook.  

Writing a Persuasive Essay on Starting a Colony: Template

To write an introduction of a persuasive essay on starting a colony, you should take on a strong stance on this matter. Be clear and convey the need for this action. Give general arguments, referring to historical practice – this will convince an audience to accept your point.

Final Thoughts

An introduction of a persuasive essay should be effective. After all, it’s the first thing that the readers will see. So, to make a persuasive essay introduction informative and convincing, you should make arguments clear and prepare your arguments. Include such elements in your introduction:

• Hook to attract the readers’ attention
• Personal opinion and proprietary research
• Thesis statement.

By using the above-listed recommendations, you will create a really high-quality introduction for an essay, where you will specify your position and convince readers of the topic's importance. BTW, a free essay maker might help you generate a persuasive essay. Use it to simplify the process.

If you are struggling with your persuasive essay, entrust this task to our academic writers. Share your requirements and our experts will work miracles in a timely manner.

FAQ About Persuasive Essay Introductions

1. what comes first in a persuasive essay.

When writing a persuasive essay introduction, you should indicate the problem you are going to cover. Specify some types and characters that are important to readers. Don’t forget about presenting your personal achievements and opinions. But make sure that you don’t dilute your first paragraph. An introduction should be to the point, just like the rest of writing.

2. How to start a persuasive essay about littering?

Before deciding on how to start a persuasive essay about littering, you should  outline  the issue. In our case, this is litter that pollutes our planet, with its influence having already been proven by hundreds of studies. Highlight the fact that litter doesn’t only harm our planet in general, but also does affect us directly. Prove it by an argument that it accumulates in the environment. These can be the places we work, live and have fun in, which is harmful to our health.  

3. How can I create a hook for an essay about refugees?

Many people ask how to start a persuasive essay with a hook when it comes to writing a paper about refugees. We recommend describing some feelings and loneliness that this category of people experiences. Make an emotional hook to evoke the readers’ moral side. This will work, and you will get readers interested. After all, this is the most important aspect of any type of writing.

Daniel Howard is an Essay Writing guru. He helps students create essays that will strike a chord with the readers.

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10.9 Persuasion

Learning objectives.

• Determine the purpose and structure of persuasion in writing.
• Identify bias in writing.
• Assess various rhetorical devices.
• Distinguish between fact and opinion.
• Understand the importance of visuals to strengthen arguments.
• Write a persuasive essay.

The Purpose of Persuasive Writing

The purpose of persuasion in writing is to convince, motivate, or move readers toward a certain point of view, or opinion. The act of trying to persuade automatically implies more than one opinion on the subject can be argued.

The idea of an argument often conjures up images of two people yelling and screaming in anger. In writing, however, an argument is very different. An argument is a reasoned opinion supported and explained by evidence. To argue in writing is to advance knowledge and ideas in a positive way. Written arguments often fail when they employ ranting rather than reasoning.

Most of us feel inclined to try to win the arguments we engage in. On some level, we all want to be right, and we want others to see the error of their ways. More times than not, however, arguments in which both sides try to win end up producing losers all around. The more productive approach is to persuade your audience to consider your opinion as a valid one, not simply the right one.

The Structure of a Persuasive Essay

The following five features make up the structure of a persuasive essay:

• Introduction and thesis
• Opposing and qualifying ideas
• Strong evidence in support of claim
• Style and tone of language
• A compelling conclusion

Creating an Introduction and Thesis

The persuasive essay begins with an engaging introduction that presents the general topic. The thesis typically appears somewhere in the introduction and states the writer’s point of view.

Avoid forming a thesis based on a negative claim. For example, “The hourly minimum wage is not high enough for the average worker to live on.” This is probably a true statement, but persuasive arguments should make a positive case. That is, the thesis statement should focus on how the hourly minimum wage is low or insufficient.

Acknowledging Opposing Ideas and Limits to Your Argument

Because an argument implies differing points of view on the subject, you must be sure to acknowledge those opposing ideas. Avoiding ideas that conflict with your own gives the reader the impression that you may be uncertain, fearful, or unaware of opposing ideas. Thus it is essential that you not only address counterarguments but also do so respectfully.

Try to address opposing arguments earlier rather than later in your essay. Rhetorically speaking, ordering your positive arguments last allows you to better address ideas that conflict with your own, so you can spend the rest of the essay countering those arguments. This way, you leave your reader thinking about your argument rather than someone else’s. You have the last word.

Acknowledging points of view different from your own also has the effect of fostering more credibility between you and the audience. They know from the outset that you are aware of opposing ideas and that you are not afraid to give them space.

It is also helpful to establish the limits of your argument and what you are trying to accomplish. In effect, you are conceding early on that your argument is not the ultimate authority on a given topic. Such humility can go a long way toward earning credibility and trust with an audience. Audience members will know from the beginning that you are a reasonable writer, and audience members will trust your argument as a result. For example, in the following concessionary statement, the writer advocates for stricter gun control laws, but she admits it will not solve all of our problems with crime:

Although tougher gun control laws are a powerful first step in decreasing violence in our streets, such legislation alone cannot end these problems since guns are not the only problem we face.

Such a concession will be welcome by those who might disagree with this writer’s argument in the first place. To effectively persuade their readers, writers need to be modest in their goals and humble in their approach to get readers to listen to the ideas. See Table 10.5 “Phrases of Concession” for some useful phrases of concession.

Table 10.5 Phrases of Concession

Try to form a thesis for each of the following topics. Remember the more specific your thesis, the better.

• Foreign policy
• Television and advertising
• Stereotypes and prejudice
• Gender roles and the workplace
• Driving and cell phones

Collaboration

Please share with a classmate and compare your answers. Choose the thesis statement that most interests you and discuss why.

Bias in Writing

Everyone has various biases on any number of topics. For example, you might have a bias toward wearing black instead of brightly colored clothes or wearing jeans rather than formal wear. You might have a bias toward working at night rather than in the morning, or working by deadlines rather than getting tasks done in advance. These examples identify minor biases, of course, but they still indicate preferences and opinions.

Handling bias in writing and in daily life can be a useful skill. It will allow you to articulate your own points of view while also defending yourself against unreasonable points of view. The ideal in persuasive writing is to let your reader know your bias, but do not let that bias blind you to the primary components of good argumentation: sound, thoughtful evidence and a respectful and reasonable address of opposing sides.

The strength of a personal bias is that it can motivate you to construct a strong argument. If you are invested in the topic, you are more likely to care about the piece of writing. Similarly, the more you care, the more time and effort you are apt to put forth and the better the final product will be.

The weakness of bias is when the bias begins to take over the essay—when, for example, you neglect opposing ideas, exaggerate your points, or repeatedly insert yourself ahead of the subject by using I too often. Being aware of all three of these pitfalls will help you avoid them.

The Use of I in Writing

The use of I in writing is often a topic of debate, and the acceptance of its usage varies from instructor to instructor. It is difficult to predict the preferences for all your present and future instructors, but consider the effects it can potentially have on your writing.

Be mindful of the use of I in your writing because it can make your argument sound overly biased. There are two primary reasons:

• Excessive repetition of any word will eventually catch the reader’s attention—and usually not in a good way. The use of I is no different.
• The insertion of I into a sentence alters not only the way a sentence might sound but also the composition of the sentence itself. I is often the subject of a sentence. If the subject of the essay is supposed to be, say, smoking, then by inserting yourself into the sentence, you are effectively displacing the subject of the essay into a secondary position. In the following example, the subject of the sentence is underlined:

Smoking is bad.

I think smoking is bad.

In the first sentence, the rightful subject, smoking , is in the subject position in the sentence. In the second sentence, the insertion of I and think replaces smoking as the subject, which draws attention to I and away from the topic that is supposed to be discussed. Remember to keep the message (the subject) and the messenger (the writer) separate.

Developing Sound Arguments

Does my essay contain the following elements?

• An engaging introduction
• A reasonable, specific thesis that is able to be supported by evidence
• A varied range of evidence from credible sources
• Respectful acknowledgement and explanation of opposing ideas
• A style and tone of language that is appropriate for the subject and audience
• Acknowledgement of the argument’s limits
• A conclusion that will adequately summarize the essay and reinforce the thesis

Fact and Opinion

Facts are statements that can be definitely proven using objective data. The statement that is a fact is absolutely valid. In other words, the statement can be pronounced as true or false. For example, 2 + 2 = 4. This expression identifies a true statement, or a fact, because it can be proved with objective data.

Opinions are personal views, or judgments. An opinion is what an individual believes about a particular subject. However, an opinion in argumentation must have legitimate backing; adequate evidence and credibility should support the opinion. Consider the credibility of expert opinions. Experts in a given field have the knowledge and credentials to make their opinion meaningful to a larger audience.

For example, you seek the opinion of your dentist when it comes to the health of your gums, and you seek the opinion of your mechanic when it comes to the maintenance of your car. Both have knowledge and credentials in those respective fields, which is why their opinions matter to you. But the authority of your dentist may be greatly diminished should he or she offer an opinion about your car, and vice versa.

In writing, you want to strike a balance between credible facts and authoritative opinions. Relying on one or the other will likely lose more of your audience than it gains.

The word prove is frequently used in the discussion of persuasive writing. Writers may claim that one piece of evidence or another proves the argument, but proving an argument is often not possible. No evidence proves a debatable topic one way or the other; that is why the topic is debatable. Facts can be proved, but opinions can only be supported, explained, and persuaded.

On a separate sheet of paper, take three of the theses you formed in Note 10.94 “Exercise 1” , and list the types of evidence you might use in support of that thesis.

Using the evidence you provided in support of the three theses in Note 10.100 “Exercise 2” , come up with at least one counterargument to each. Then write a concession statement, expressing the limits to each of your three arguments.

Using Visual Elements to Strengthen Arguments

Adding visual elements to a persuasive argument can often strengthen its persuasive effect. There are two main types of visual elements: quantitative visuals and qualitative visuals.

Quantitative visuals present data graphically. They allow the audience to see statistics spatially. The purpose of using quantitative visuals is to make logical appeals to the audience. For example, sometimes it is easier to understand the disparity in certain statistics if you can see how the disparity looks graphically. Bar graphs, pie charts, Venn diagrams, histograms, and line graphs are all ways of presenting quantitative data in spatial dimensions.

Qualitative visuals present images that appeal to the audience’s emotions. Photographs and pictorial images are examples of qualitative visuals. Such images often try to convey a story, and seeing an actual example can carry more power than hearing or reading about the example. For example, one image of a child suffering from malnutrition will likely have more of an emotional impact than pages dedicated to describing that same condition in writing.

Writing at Work

When making a business presentation, you typically have limited time to get across your idea. Providing visual elements for your audience can be an effective timesaving tool. Quantitative visuals in business presentations serve the same purpose as they do in persuasive writing. They should make logical appeals by showing numerical data in a spatial design. Quantitative visuals should be pictures that might appeal to your audience’s emotions. You will find that many of the rhetorical devices used in writing are the same ones used in the workplace. For more information about visuals in presentations, see Chapter 14 “Creating Presentations: Sharing Your Ideas” .

Writing a Persuasive Essay

Choose a topic that you feel passionate about. If your instructor requires you to write about a specific topic, approach the subject from an angle that interests you. Begin your essay with an engaging introduction. Your thesis should typically appear somewhere in your introduction.

Start by acknowledging and explaining points of view that may conflict with your own to build credibility and trust with your audience. Also state the limits of your argument. This too helps you sound more reasonable and honest to those who may naturally be inclined to disagree with your view. By respectfully acknowledging opposing arguments and conceding limitations to your own view, you set a measured and responsible tone for the essay.

Make your appeals in support of your thesis by using sound, credible evidence. Use a balance of facts and opinions from a wide range of sources, such as scientific studies, expert testimony, statistics, and personal anecdotes. Each piece of evidence should be fully explained and clearly stated.

Make sure that your style and tone are appropriate for your subject and audience. Tailor your language and word choice to these two factors, while still being true to your own voice.

Finally, write a conclusion that effectively summarizes the main argument and reinforces your thesis. See Chapter 15 “Readings: Examples of Essays” to read a sample persuasive essay.

Choose one of the topics you have been working on throughout this section. Use the thesis, evidence, opposing argument, and concessionary statement as the basis for writing a full persuasive essay. Be sure to include an engaging introduction, clear explanations of all the evidence you present, and a strong conclusion.

Key Takeaways

• The purpose of persuasion in writing is to convince or move readers toward a certain point of view, or opinion.
• An argument is a reasoned opinion supported and explained by evidence. To argue, in writing, is to advance knowledge and ideas in a positive way.
• A thesis that expresses the opinion of the writer in more specific terms is better than one that is vague.
• It is essential that you not only address counterarguments but also do so respectfully.
• It is also helpful to establish the limits of your argument and what you are trying to accomplish through a concession statement.
• To persuade a skeptical audience, you will need to use a wide range of evidence. Scientific studies, opinions from experts, historical precedent, statistics, personal anecdotes, and current events are all types of evidence that you might use in explaining your point.
• Make sure that your word choice and writing style is appropriate for both your subject and your audience.
• You should let your reader know your bias, but do not let that bias blind you to the primary components of good argumentation: sound, thoughtful evidence and respectfully and reasonably addressing opposing ideas.
• You should be mindful of the use of I in your writing because it can make your argument sound more biased than it needs to.
• Facts are statements that can be proven using objective data.
• Opinions are personal views, or judgments, that cannot be proven.
• In writing, you want to strike a balance between credible facts and authoritative opinions.
• Quantitative visuals present data graphically. The purpose of using quantitative visuals is to make logical appeals to the audience.
• Qualitative visuals present images that appeal to the audience’s emotions.

Writing for Success Copyright © 2015 by University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

How to Write a Persuasive Essay: Step-by-Step Guide + Examples

Have you ever tried to get somebody round to your way of thinking? Then you should know how daunting the task is. Still, if your persuasion is successful, the result is emotionally rewarding.

A persuasive essay is a type of writing that uses facts and logic to argument and substantiate such or another point of view. The purpose is to assure the reader that the author’s position is viable. In this article by Custom-writing experts, you can find a guide on persuasive writing, compelling examples, and outline structure. Continue reading and learn how to write a persuasive essay!

⚖️ Argumentative vs. Persuasive Essay

• 🐾 Step-by-Step Writing Guide

🔗 References

An argumentative essay intends to attack the opposing point of view, discussing its drawbacks and inconsistencies. A persuasive essay describes only the writer’s opinion, explaining why it is a believable one. In other words, you are not an opponent; you are an advocate.

A persuasive essay primarily resorts to emotions and personal ideas on a deeper level of meaning, while an argumentative one invokes logic reasoning. Despite the superficial similarity of these two genres, argumentative speech presupposes intense research of the subject, while persuasive speech requires a good knowledge of the audience.

🐾 How to Write a Persuasive Essay Step by Step

These nine steps are the closest thing you will find to a shortcut for writing to persuade. With practice, you may get through these steps quickly—or even figure out new techniques in persuasive writing.

📑 Persuasive Essay Outline

Below you’ll find an example of a persuasive essay outline . Remember: papers in this genre are more flexible than argumentative essays are. You don’t need to build a perfectly logical structure here. Your goal is to persuade your reader.

Note that the next section contains a sample written in accordance with this outline.

Persuasive Essay Introduction

• Hook: start with an intriguing sentence.
• Background: describe the context of the discussed issue and familiarize the reader with the argument.
• Definitions: if your essay dwells upon a theoretical subject matter, be sure to explain the complicated terms.
• Thesis statement: state the purpose of your piece of writing clearly and concisely. This is the most substantial sentence of the entire essay, so take your time formulating it.

Persuasive Essay Body

Use the following template for each paragraph.

• Topic sentence: linking each new idea to the thesis, it introduces a paragraph. Use only one separate argument for each section, stating it in the topic sentence.
• Evidence: substantiate the previous sentence with reliable information. If it is your personal opinion, give the reasons why you think so.
• Analysis: build the argument, explaining how the evidence supports your thesis.

Persuasive Essay Conclusion

• Summary: briefly list the main points of the essay in a couple of sentences.
• Significance: connect your essay to a broader idea.
• Future: how can your argument be developed?

⭐ Persuasive Essay Examples

In this section, there are three great persuasive essay examples. The first one is written in accordance with the outline above, will the components indicated. Two others are downloadable.

Example #1: Being a Millionaire is a Bad Thing

Introduction.

Paragraph #1

Paragraph #2

Paragraph #3

Example #2: Teachers or Doctors?

The importance of doctors in the period of the COVID-19 pandemic is difficult to overstate. The well-being of the nation depends on how well doctors can fulfill their duties before society. The US society acknowledges the importance of doctors and healthcare, as it is ready to pay large sums of money to cure the diseases. However, during the lockdown, students and parents all around the world began to understand the importance of teachers.

Before lockdown, everyone took the presence of teachers for granted, as they were always available free of charge. In this country, it has always been the case that while doctors received praises and monetary benefits, teachers remained humble, even though they play the most important role for humanity: passing the knowledge through generations. How fair is that? The present paper claims that even in the period of the pandemic, teachers contribute more to modern society than doctors do.

Example #3: Is Online or Homeschool More Effective?

The learning process can be divided into traditional education in an educational institution and distance learning. The latter form has recently become widely popular due to the development of technology. Besides, the COVID-19 pandemic is driving the increased interest in distance learning. However, there is controversy about whether this form of training is sufficient enough. This essay aims to examine online and homeschooling in a historical and contemporary context and to confirm the thesis that such activity is at least equivalent to a standard type of education.

Persuasive Essay Topics

• Why do managers hate the performance evaluation?
• Why human cloning should be prohibited.
• Social media have negative physical and psychological effect on teenagers.
• Using cell phones while driving should be completely forbidden.  
• Why is business ethics important?
• Media should change its negative representation of ageing and older people.
• What is going on with the world? 
• Good communication skills are critical for successful business.
• Why capitalism is the best economic system.  
• Sleep is extremely important for human health and wellbeing.
• Face-to-face education is more effective than online education.
• Why video games can be beneficial for teenagers.
• Bullies should be expelled from school as they encroach on the school safety.
• Why accountancy is a great occupation and more people should consider it as a future career.
• The reasons art and music therapy should be included in basic health insurance.
• Impact of climate change on the indoor environment.
• Parents should vaccinate their children to prevent the spread of deadly diseases.
• Why celebrities should pay more attention to the values they promote.
• What is wrong with realism? 
• Why water recycling should be every government’s priority.
• Media spreads fear and panic among people.
• Why e-business is very important for modern organizations.
• People should own guns for self-protection.  
• The neccessity of container deposit legislation.
• We must save crocodiles to protect ecological balance.
• Why we should pay more attention to renewable energy projects.
• Anthropology is a critically relevant science.  
• Why it’s important to create a new global financial order.
• Why biodiversity is crucial for the environment?
• Why process safety management is crucial for every organization.
• Speed limits must not be increased.
• What’s wrong with grades at school ?
• Why tattoos should be considered as a form of fine art.  
• Using all-natural bath and body products is the best choice for human health and safety.
• What is cancel culture?
• Why the Internet has become a problem of modern society.
• Illegal immigrants should be provided with basic social services.
• Smoking in public places must be banned for people’s safety and comfort.
• Why it is essential to control our nutrition.
• How to stimulate economic growth? 
• Why exercise is beneficial for people.  
• Studying history is decisive for the modern world.
• We must decrease fuel consumption to stop global warming.
• Why fighting social inequality is necessary.
• Why should businesses welcome remote work? 
• Social media harms communication within families.
• College athletes should be paid for their achievements.
• Electronic books should replace print books.
• People should stop cutting down rainforest.  
• Why every company should have a web page.
• Tips To Write An Effective Persuasive Essay: The College Puzzle, Stanford University
• 31 Powerful Persuasive Writing Techniques: Writtent
• Persuasive Essay Outline: Houston Community College System
• Essays that Worked: Hamilton College
• Argumentative Essays // Purdue Writing Lab
• Persuasion – Writing for Success (University of Minnesota)
• Persuasive Writing (Manitoba Education)
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A federal judge temporarily blocked Iowa from enforcing a new law that makes it a state crime for someone to enter Iowa after being deported or denied entry into the United States.

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF IOWA UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff, VS. Case No. 4:24-cv-00162-SHL-SBJ STATE OF IOWA; KIMBERLY REYNOLDS, in her official capacity as Governor of the State of Iowa; BRENNA BIRD, in her official capacity as Attorney General of the State of Iowa; IOWA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY; and STEPHAN K. BAYENS, in his official capacity as Commissioner of Iowa Department of Public Safety, Defendants. ORDER GRANTING MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF IOWA IOWA MIGRANT MOVEMENT FOR JUSTICE; JANE DOE; and ELIZABETH ROE, VS. Plaintiffs, Case No. 4:24-cv-00161-SHL-SBJ BRENNA BIRD, in her official capacity as Attorney General of the State of Iowa; KIMBERLY GRAHAM, in her official capacity as Polk County Attorney; and ZACH HERRMANN, in his official capacity as Clayton County Attorney, Defendants. ORDER GRANTING MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION 1

I. INTRODUCTION. Dissatisfied with how the United States Government is handling immigration, the Iowa Legislature decided to take matters into its own hands by enacting new legislation (known as Senate File 2340) that, among other things: (i) imposes criminal penalties under state law for certain immigration-related offenses; and (ii) requires state court judges to order noncitizens to return to the foreign countries from which they came. As a matter of politics, the new legislation might be defensible. As a matter of constitutional law, it is not. Under binding Supreme Court precedent, Senate File 2340 is preempted in its entirety by federal law and thus is invalid under the Supremacy Clause. The Court therefore GRANTS the motions for preliminary injunction filed by Plaintiffs in these related cases and ENJOINS the enforcement of Senate File 2340 pending further proceedings. II. BACKGROUND. A. Senate File 2340. On April 10, 2024, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signed into law Senate File 2340, which adds Chapter 718C to the Iowa Code. The law goes into effect on July 1, 2024, and creates two new criminal offenses under Iowa law. The first, codified at Iowa Code § 718C.2(1), states: 1. A person who is an alien commits an offense if the person enters, attempts to enter, or is at any time found in this state under any of the following circumstances: a. b. The person has been denied admission to or has been excluded, deported, or removed from the United States. The person has departed from the United States while an order of exclusion, deportation, or removal is outstanding. Iowa Code § 718C.1(1) defines “alien” to “mean[] the same as defined in 8 U.S.C. § 1101, as of January 1, 2023." As of January 1, 2023, “alien” was defined as “any person not a citizen or national of the United States." 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(3).¹ A violation of § 718C.2(1) is generally an aggravated misdemeanor, although it can be a class “C” or “D” felony if the person has qualifying prior convictions or satisfies other conditions. See id. § 718C.2(2). The second new criminal offense is codified at § 718C.5(1), which states: 1. A person who is an alien commits an offense if all of the following are true: 1 The definition of “alien" remains the same today. 2

a. The person has been charged with or convicted of an offense under this chapter. b. C. A judge has issued an order under this chapter for the person to return to the foreign nation from which the person entered or attempted to enter. The person failed to comply with the order. A violation of § 718C.5(1) is a class "C" felony. Id. § 718C.5(2). Following a person's initial appearance on the charge of violating §§ 718C.2(1) or 718C.5(1), a state court judge is permitted to issue a written order “discharg[ing] the person and requir[ing] the person to return to the foreign nation from which the person entered or attempted to enter...." Id. § 718C.4(3). Such an order is permitted only with the person's consent, and only if the person has not been previously convicted of an offense under Chapter 718C. Id. If a person charged with an offense under Chapter 718C does not consent to an order requiring them to return to the foreign nation, the State may continue with the prosecution under §§ 718C.2(1) or 718C.5(1). Id. Section 718C.6 states: “A court may not abate the prosecution of an offense under this chapter on the basis that a federal determination regarding the immigration status of the person is pending or will be initiated." "Upon a person's conviction of an offense under [Chapter 718C], the judge shall enter in the judgment in the case an order requiring the person to return to the foreign nation from which the person entered or attempted to enter. An order issued under this subsection takes effect on completion of the term of confinement or imprisonment imposed by the judgment." Id. § 718C.4(4). Such an order must identify the "manner of transportation of the person to a port of entry" and the “law enforcement officer or state agency responsible for monitoring compliance with the order.” Id. § 718C.4(5). Iowa Code § 718C.1(2) defines “port of entry" to "mean[] a port of entry in the United States as designated by 19 C.F.R. pt. 101." According to the Code of Federal Regulations, there are two ports of entry in Iowa: the Des Moines International Airport and Quad Cities International Airport. See 19 C.F.R. § 101.3.2 B. The Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice Plaintiffs. Plaintiff Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice (“Iowa MMJ") is a statewide membership- based legal service and advocacy organization headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa. (Iowa MMJ 2 The Quad Cities International Airport is actually in Moline, Illinois, and thus it appears that the Code of Federal Regulations is inaccurate. This is not material to the outcome here. 3

Docket³ ECF 9-5, ¶ 3.) Its legal staff provides immigration representation and consultations to noncitizens, advising over 2,400 clients in 2023. (Id., ¶¶ 6, 9.) Iowa MMJ's advocates seek to improve immigrants' lives in four ways, through issue campaigns, narrative change, coalition building, and civic engagement. (Id., ¶¶ 10–15.) Erica Johnson, Iowa MMJ's founding executive director, asserts that Senate File 2340 will frustrate Iowa MMJ's ability to keep providing services. (Id., 2, 25, 36.) She explains that Senate File 2340 will require Iowa MMJ to expand their intake process to analyze potential state criminal prosecution for immigration offenses, which will divert legal staff's attention away from other priorities and toward things like helping clients fill out Freedom of Information Act requests to compile a full immigration profile, which wasn't previously required. (Id., ¶¶ 27, 29.) As a result, Iowa MMJ won't be able to serve as many clients and its grant funding, which requires Iowa MMJ to meet specific deliverables, may be jeopardized. (Id., 25.) Iowa MMJ's legal staff also will need to analyze Senate File 2340's effect on past clients and defend clients against prosecution in state court, which, again, will pull resources away from current projects. (Id., ¶¶ 30–31.) Iowa MMJ's new focus on these areas will impede its ability to represent lawful permanent residents in their naturalization applications, help those with DACA renew their status, and represent Afghan evacuees, all of which are currently among Iowa MMJ's "core" services. (Id., ¶¶25, 35.) According to Johnson, Iowa MMJ's advocacy work has already changed to accommodate Senate File 2340. (Id., ¶ 36.) Before the bill passed, staff devoted significant resources to opposing it. (Id., ¶ 37.) After it was enacted, staff started educating the community about its consequences. (Id., 38.) When staff are fielding calls from members about the bill and preparing fact sheets and arranging speakers to discuss Senate File 2340, they can't engage in grassroots efforts or traditional outreach activities, both of which are "core" advocacy functions. (Id., ¶¶ 39-41.) Johnson expects Senate File 2340 to continue to frustrate Iowa MMJ's advocacy goals even after the public is educated; for example, the law will break down community bonds and damage other relationships Iowa MMJ has worked for years to cultivate. (Id., ¶ 43.) Plaintiffs Jane Doe and Elizabeth Roe are members of Iowa MMJ. (Id., ¶¶ 23–24.) Doe is a lawful permanent resident of the United States and citizen of Mexico. (Iowa MMJ Docket ECF 9-3, 2.) She is a 68-year-old widow with five children and seventeen grandchildren. (Id.) She has never been convicted of a crime. (Id., ¶ 3.) In 2000, Doe and her children came to the United States 3 All references to the “Iowa MMJ Docket” are to the electronic case filings in Case No. 4:24-cv-00161. 4

to reunite with her husband, who was a United States citizen. (Id., ¶¶ 5, 9.) In 2005, she returned to Mexico after her mother passed away. (Id., ¶ 10.) When Doe tried to reenter the United States a few months later, she was stopped by immigration officials, detained for about half a day, and sent back to Mexico. (Id.) She was issued a removal order. (Id.) Because Doe's husband had U.S. citizenship, he was able to file a petition for her to return to the United States. (Id., ¶ 12.) However, he died before it was approved. (Id.) After his death, the petition was converted to a widow petition and eventually approved, with her prior removal order being waived. (Id., ¶¶ 13–15.) As a result of the approval, Doe obtained a green card and became a lawful permanent resident. (Id., ¶¶ 14–15.) She settled in Garnavillo, Iowa, because two of her daughters live in Iowa for work. (Id., ¶ 16.) She is using the pseudonym “Jane Doe” because she is scared of being prosecuted under the law and removed to Mexico. (Id., ¶ 17.) She also wants to avoid the stress and anxiety of having her name made public. (Id., ¶ 20.) Roe is a lawful permanent resident of the United States and citizen of Columbia. (Iowa MMJ Docket ECF 9-4, ¶ 2.) She is forty years old and married to a United States citizen. (Id.) She has never been convicted of a crime. (Id., ¶ 3.) She came to the United States for the first time in September 2016 to reunite with her brothers, both of whom are United States citizens. (Id., ¶ 6.) Immigration officials detained her at the border for twenty-four hours and gave her an expedited removal order. (Id., ¶ 7.) However, they released her from custody and allowed her to go to Iowa, subject to the requirement that she report to the immigration office every month. (Id.) In February 2017, Roe was deported for missing a reporting date. (Id., ¶¶ 8-9.) She married her husband in Columbia in April 2018, and he applied for her to obtain a green card and return to the United States to live with him. (Id., ¶ 10.) Her prior removal order was waived as part of the green card application process, and the application was eventually approved. (Id., ¶¶ 11, 13.) She returned to the United States as a lawful permanent resident in May 2023. (Id., ¶ 13.) She now lives in Des Moines, Iowa. (Id., ¶ 4.) She is using the pseudonym “Elizabeth Roe” because she is afraid of the consequences of her true name becoming public. (Id., ¶ 16.) C. Potential Impacts of Senate File 2340 on Federal Immigration Laws and International Relations. The United States submitted three Declarations regarding the impact of Senate File 2340. The first is from Eric Jacobstein, who is employed by the United States Department of State as 5

Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs. (United States Docket+ ECF 7-2, ¶ 1.) According to Jacobstein, Senate File 2340 threatens to harm United States foreign relations in four ways: (1) it antagonizes foreign governments; (2) it threatens to undermine the federal government's comprehensive policy framework for addressing regional irregular migration; (3) it is inconsistent with the United States' treaty obligations; and (4) it risks reciprocal and retaliatory treatment of United States citizens abroad. (Id., ¶ 8.) As it relates to animosity with foreign governments, Jacobstein says the Mexican government has already expressed concerns about SF 2340 in public statements and during meetings with State Department and White House officials. (Id., ¶ 11.) The Mexican government expressed similar concerns with a recent bill enacted in Texas, known as “S.B. 4,” which has considerable overlap with Senate File 2340. (Id., ¶ 12.) Like S.B. 4, Jacobstein says one of the challenges with Senate File 2340 is that it permits Iowa state judges to order removal of a person to the country from which the person entered, without knowing whether the person is a citizen of that country or if that country will accept them. (Id., ¶ 13.) This will “frustrate the United States' relations with other countries regarding noncitizen removals and likely other important bilateral issues." (Id.) According to Jacobstein, Senate File 2340 also affects the efficacy of federal actions to secure the border and stem irregular migration. (Id., ¶ 15.) He says that “[d]iplomatic discussions concerning migration are delicate and cannot be successful if the government does not speak with one voice." (Id., ¶ 16.) As it relates to comprehensive foreign policy strategy, Jacobstein says the United States "must establish long-term strategic partnerships with the governments in the [North and Central American] region to catalyze structural change to root out corruption and impunity, improve security and the rule of law, and increase economic opportunity." (Id., ¶ 18.) The United States has used an executive order, Executive Order 14010, to “outline[] a comprehensive foreign-policy framework to collaboratively manage migration." (Id., ¶ 19.) This has resulted in cooperative strategies with foreign governments like Mexico. (Id., ¶¶ 19–21.) These strategies are designed, among other things, to strengthen asylum systems and regularization programs in countries other than the United States. (Id., ¶ 22.) Jacobstein says Senate File 2340 undermines these efforts because it is inconsistent with the United States' treaty obligations and therefore damages the country's credibility. (Id., ¶¶ 23-24.) 4 All references to “United States Docket" are to the electronic case filing system in Case No. 4:24-cv-00162. 6

Speaking of treaty obligations, Jacobstein says Senate File 2340 is inconsistent with the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (the "Convention Against Torture"), which prohibits the return of noncitizens to countries where they face torture. (Id., ¶ 25.) Similarly, under the 1967 United Nations Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees (the "Refugee Protocol”), noncitizens may be entitled to withholding of removal if they will face persecution in the country to which they would be returned on the basis of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. (Id.) Jacobstein points out that Senate File 2340 contains no exception for an individual who fears persecution or torture and therefore could result in “refoulement,” which occurs when a noncitizen is constructively or actually forced to return to a place where the noncitizen will face persecution or torture. (Id., ¶¶26-27.) Not only would this potentially violate the United States' treaty obligations, it also would compromise the United States' credibility in negotiations with foreign governments on the same and similar issues. (Id., ¶¶ 28–29.) Finally, Jacobstein says Senate File 2340 will create a risk of reciprocal and retaliatory treatment of United States citizens at home and abroad. (Id., ¶ 30.) For example, he points out that Russia passed a law in 2012 banning the adoption of Russian children by United States citizens in retaliation for the United States passing a law designed to punish Russian officials for the death of a Russian prisoner. (Id.) Jacobstein reiterates that "it is critically important that national immigration policy be governed by a uniform legal regime, and that decisions regarding the development and enforcement of immigration policy be made by the federal government, so that the United States can speak to the world with one voice." (Id., ¶ 32.) The United States' second Declaration is from Ted Kim, the Associate Director of the Refugee, Asylum and International Operations (“RAIO”) Directorate within the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS"), U.S. Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”). (United States Docket ECF 7-3, ¶ 1.) Kim's Declaration focuses on the asylum application process in the United States, which is a detailed and comprehensive process designed to ensure that noncitizens are not returned to countries where they may be tortured or persecuted. (Id., ¶¶ 4-8.) Federal asylum laws and regulations are designed, among other things, to satisfy the United States' obligations under the nonrefoulement provisions of the Convention Against Torture and Refugee Protocol. (Id., ¶¶ 4–5.) Asylum applications can be filed proactively by noncitizens to USCIS or defensively in removal proceedings before the Department of Justice's Executive Office for 7

Immigration Review (“EOIR”). (Id., ¶ 6.) Either way, specially trained federal officials and judges evaluate whether the noncitizen has a credible fear of persecution or torture. (Id., ¶¶ 14–15.) According to Kim, Senate File 2340 “does not appear to have any of the safeguards in place for asylum applicants, or for noncitizens seeking withholding of removal or protection under the Convention Against Torture that are available under U.S. law.” (Id., ¶ 16.) Accordingly, in his view, Senate File 2340 will impact potential and actual asylum applicants, as well as noncitizens applying for statutory withholding from removal and protection under the Convention Against Torture. (Id., ¶ 17.) “Furthermore, noncitizens detained under SF 2340, or removed from the United States, would be unable to participate fully in federal immigration proceedings,” thus potentially impacting the outcome of those proceedings. (Id., ¶ 18.) The United States' third and final Declaration is from Russell Hott, the Deputy Executive Associate Director of DHS, United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”), and Enforcement and Removal Operations (“ERO”). (United States Docket ECF 7-4, ¶ 1.) ICE is responsible for enforcing more than 400 federal statutes, and its mission includes removing noncitizens who lack lawful immigration status or are otherwise removable under federal law. (Id., ¶ 6.) For non-detained individuals alone, ICE manages a docket of more than 7.2 million cases. (Id., 7.) There are over 6,000 immigration officers employed by ERO, plus another 6,100 Special Agents employed by ICE's law enforcement component, Homeland Security Investigations. (Id., ¶ 8.) Effective November 29, 2021, the Secretary of Homeland Security issued Department-wide guidance prioritizing DHS's limited law enforcement resources on the apprehension and removal of noncitizens who threaten national security, public safety, and border security. (Id., ¶¶ 9–10.) Hott's Declaration summarizes the removal process under the Immigration and Nationality Act, which involve due process protections, multiple avenues for relief, and several layers of review by immigration judges and Article III judges. (Id., ¶¶ 11-17.) Hott says that Senate File 2340 "does not appear to ensure comparable procedures,” but rather requires state court judges to proceed with prosecutions under Iowa Code Chapter 718C even if federal proceedings are pending or may be initiated. (Id., ¶ 18.) According to Hott, as of April 14, 2024, ICE has almost 5,000 cases involving a final order of removal for a person with a last claimed address in Iowa. (Id., ¶ 19.) In addition, ERO has more than 23,000 cases involving non-detained noncitizens who provided a last claimed address in Iowa. (Id.) If Iowa imposes criminal penalties for unlawful reentry by noncitizens, it might lead those 8

citizens to depart Iowa for other states, thus straining ICE's resources to try to find them. (Id., ¶ 20.) Moreover, Hott says Iowa has not identified a mechanism for effectuating and verifying the return of noncitizens to the country from which they entered, thus creating the risk of potential confusion and strained relationships. (Id., ¶ 21.) The immigration laws passed by Iowa and other states, if allowed to go into effect, will create “a piecemeal system of immigration" and force the federal government to “navigate an impossible patchwork of regulations affecting the enforcement of federal law." (Id., 22.) D. Procedural Posture. On May 9, 2024, the Iowa MMJ Plaintiffs filed their Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief against Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird, Polk County Attorney Kimberly Graham, and Clayton County Attorney Zach Herrmann. (Iowa MMJ Docket ECF 1.) Later the same day, the United States filed its Complaint against the State of Iowa, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, Iowa Attorney General Bird, the Iowa Department of Public Safety, and Iowa Department of Public Safety Commissioner Stephan Bayens. (United States Docket ECF 1.) Both the Iowa MMJ Plaintiffs and United States seek a declaratory judgment and preliminary and permanent injunctive relief enjoining the enforcement of Senate File 2340. On May 10, 2024, the Iowa MMJ Plaintiffs formally moved for a preliminary injunction, supported by declarations. (Iowa MMJ Docket ECF 9.) The United States followed suit three days later, also supported by declarations. (United States Docket ECF 7.) In the Iowa MMJ Case, Defendants Graham and Herrmann have agreed to comply with any injunction the Court might enter but otherwise have agreed with the Iowa MMJ Plaintiffs to a stay. (Iowa MMJ Docket ECF 26, ECF 33.) All other Defendants resist the motions for preliminary injunction. (Iowa MMJ Docket ECF 36; United States Docket ECF 19.) These Defendants did not submit declarations or present other factual evidence; rather, they resist the motions for preliminary injunction entirely on legal grounds. (For simplicity, this Order will use the term “Defendants” or the “State" to refer to all Defendants other than Graham and Herrmann.) The Court has not formally consolidated the two cases. In the interest of efficiency, however, the Court did hold a single hearing on the two motions for preliminary injunction. The Court is likewise issuing this single ruling to address both motions, although the unique features of each case will be discussed where relevant below. 9

III. PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION STANDARD. "A preliminary injunction is an extraordinary remedy never awarded as of right." Tumey v. Mycroft AI, Inc., 27 F.4th 657, 664 (8th Cir. 2022) (quoting Winter v. Nat. Res. Def. Council, Inc., 555 U.S. 7, 24 (2008)). “[T]he burden of establishing the propriety of an injunction is on the movant." Turtle Island Foods, SPC v. Thompson, 992 F.3d 694, 699 (8th Cir. 2021). The Court must consider four factors: “(1) the threat of irreparable harm to the movant; (2) the state of the balance between this harm and the injury that granting the injunction will inflict on other parties litigant; (3) the probability that [the] movant will succeed on the merits; and (4) the public interest.” Sleep No. Corp. v. Young, 33 F.4th 1012, 1016 (8th Cir. 2022) (alteration in original) (quoting Dataphase Sys., Inc. v. C L Sys., Inc., 640 F.2d 109, 113 (8th Cir. 1981) (en banc)). "While no single factor is determinative, the probability of success factor is the most significant.” Carson v. Simon, 978 F.3d 1051, 1059 (8th Cir. 2020) (cleaned up). For actions that seek to enjoin the enforcement of a duly enacted state statute, the moving parties must show that they are likely to prevail on their claims. D.M. by Bao Xiong v. Minn. State High Sch. League, 917 F.3d 994, 1000 (8th Cir. 2019). This is a higher standard than applies in other preliminary injunction cases. See id. "We apply a heightened standard in such instances because the duly enacted state statute constitutes government action based on presumptively reasoned democratic processes, and such action is entitled to a higher degree of deference and should not be enjoined lightly." Id. (internal punctuation and citation omitted). With respect to the remaining three factors, a plaintiff “is not required to prove with certainty the threat of irreparable harm, but it must prove that 'irreparable injury is likely in the absence of an injunction.”” Sleep No. Corp., 33 F.4th at 1018 (quoting Winter, 555 U.S. at 22). “Irreparable harm occurs when a party has no adequate remedy at law, typically because its injuries cannot be fully compensated through an award of damages.” Gen. Motors Corp. v. Harry Brown's, LLC, 563 F.3d 312, 319 (8th Cir. 2009). “In balancing the equities, [the Court] weigh[s] ‘the threat of irreparable harm' shown by the movant against ‘the injury that granting the injunction will inflict on other parties litigant.”” MPAY Inc. v. Erie Custom Comput. Applications, Inc., 970 F.3d 1010, 1020 (8th Cir. 2020) (quoting Dataphase Sys., 640 F.2d at 113.) This “requires a court to distinguish between weak or illusory injuries and very real threats of injuries.” Rodriguez v. Molina, 608 F. Supp. 3d 791, 798 (S.D. Iowa 2022) (cleaned up). It considers harm to both the litigants and other interested parties, like the public. Wachovia Sec., L.L.C. v. Stanton, 571 F. Supp. 10

2d 1014, 1047 (N.D. Iowa 2008). The last factor, the public interest, “invites the court to indulge in broad observations about conduct that is generally recognizable as costly or injurious.” Id. at 1048. IV. LEGAL ANALYSIS: STANDING. A. Legal Background. As a preliminary matter, the Court must decide whether: (a) the United States has standing to challenge Section 45 of Senate File 2340, which requires state court judges to enter orders requiring certain noncitizens to return to the foreign countries from which they came; and (b) the Iowa MMJ Plaintiffs have standing to challenge any aspect of Senate File 2340. To establish standing, “a plaintiff must present a ‘case' or 'controversy' within the meaning of Article III of the Constitution." Braden v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 588 F.3d 585, 591 (8th Cir. 2009). "This 'irreducible constitutional minimum of standing' requires a showing of ‘injury in fact' to the plaintiff that is ‘fairly traceable to the challenged action of the defendant,' and 'likely [to] be redressed by a favorable decision.”” Id. (quoting Lujan v. Defs. of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555, 560–61 (1992)). "Whether a plaintiff has shown such an injury ‘often turns on the nature and source of the claim asserted."" Id. (quoting Warth v. Seldin, 422 U.S. 490, 500 (1975)). “[T]he question whether he has a cognizable injury sufficient to confer standing is closely bound up with the question of whether and how the law will grant him relief.” Id. B. The United States Has Standing to Challenge Senate File 2340 in Its Entirety. Defendants argue that the United States lacks standing to challenge Section 4 because it imposes requirements on state court judges, none of whom are defendants. (United States Docket ECF 19, p. 18.)7 To support their argument, Defendants rely on the Eighth Circuit's decision in Digital Recognition Network, Inc. v. Hutchinson, which involved a constitutional challenge to an Arkansas statute making it unlawful to use automatic license plate reader systems. 803 F.3d 952, 955 (8th Cir. 2015). The Arkansas statute was not enforceable by state or local prosecutors, but rather through private actions for damages. Id. at 958. The Eighth Circuit therefore held that the plaintiff did not have standing to sue the Arkansas Governor or Attorney General. Id. at 957–58. 5 Codified at Iowa Code § 718C.4. 6 Defendants concede that the United States has standing to challenge the portions of Senate File 2340 other than Section 4. 7 All citations are to the page numbers in the upper righthand corner of each page, which are auto-populated by the electronic case filing system. These page numbers are often different than those placed by the parties at the bottom of each page. 11

Defendants are overreading Digital Recognition Network. Unlike a damages award in a private lawsuit under the Arkansas law, the judicial order contemplated by Section 4 only comes into effect if the Attorney General or a County Attorney pursues charges against someone under the criminal provisions of Senate File 2340. The United States' injury is therefore “fairly traceable" to these officials. See id. at 957 (quoting Bennett v. Spear, 520 U.S. 154, 167 (1997)). In other words, there is a causal connection between the injury to the United States and the conduct of the Attorney General or County Attorney; the injury is not the "result of 'the independent action of some third party not before the court."" Id. (quoting Lujan, 504 U.S. at 560); see also Hawkeye Commodity Promotions, Inc. v. Miller, 432 F. Supp. 2d 822, 835 (N.D. Iowa 2006) (concluding that statutory grant of discretion as to when to enforce a law gives attorney general "some connection with the enforcement” of state law), aff'd sub nom. Hawkeye Commodity Promotions, Inc. v. Vilsack, 486 F.3d 430 (8th Cir. 2007). There is nothing in Digital Recognition Network to suggest standing is absent in these circumstances; to the contrary, the Eighth Circuit has affirmed standing in analogous situations. See 281 Care Comm. v. Arneson, 638 F.3d 621, 631 (8th Cir. 2011) ("When a statute is challenged as unconstitutional, the proper defendants are the officials whose role it is to administer and enforce the statute."). C. The Iowa MMJ Plaintiffs Have Standing to Challenge Senate File 2340 in Its Entirety. Defendants also dispute the standing of the Iowa MMJ Plaintiffs, whom Defendants argue cannot challenge any aspect of Senate File 2340. Defendants argue that Plaintiffs Doe and Roe lack standing because they are lawful permanent residents to whom, in Defendants' view, Senate File 2340 does not apply. (Iowa MMJ Docket ECF 36, p. 17.) Similarly, Defendants argue that Iowa MMJ lacks direct or organizational standing because its Complaint merely identifies: (a) three Iowa MMJ members who are authorized to be in the United States, none of whom, according to Defendants, are at risk of injury if Senate File 2340 goes into effect; and (b) one member, identified as "David," for whom there is insufficient detail to plausibly establish the requirements for standing. (Id., p. 19.) Defendants also argue that Iowa MMJ lacks organizational standing because the diversion of resources the entity claims it will experience from the enactment of Senate File 2340 is self-inflicted and does not constitute an injury-in-fact. (Id., pp. 19–21.) As to Plaintiffs Doe and Roe, Defendants' arguments revolve largely around the proper interpretation of Iowa Code § 718C.2(1), which makes it a criminal offense if “[a] person who is an alien . . . enters, attempts to enter, or is at any time found in this state under any of the following 12

circumstances: a. The person has been denied admission to or has been excluded, deported, or removed from the United States[3] b. The person has departed from the United States while an order of exclusion, deportation, or removal is outstanding.” Defendants argue that criminal liability depends on the person's current immigration status and that the statute does not apply to someone who was previously deported or removed but is now lawfully in the United States. Defendants' argument is difficult to square with the statutory language. Each of Plaintiffs Doe and Roe is an “alien[] . . . in this state. . . [who] has been denied admission to or has been excluded, deported, or removed from the United States." Id. In Doe's case, this occurred when she tried to reenter the United States after returning to Mexico following her mother's death in 2005; in Roe's case, it occurred when she was deported for failing to report to the immigration office in February 2017. There is no exception in § 718C.2(1) for an alien whose removal order has been waived or who otherwise has been granted permission to be in the country after previously having been “denied admission” or “excluded, deported, or removed.” To the contrary, the statute’s repeated and insistent use of the past tense-i.e., “denied,” “excluded,” “deported,” and "removed" indicates that a person will be criminally liable based on what happened in the past, not based on current legal status. Or, at least, this interpretation of the statute is plausible enough to give Doe and Roe standing, as it gives them a credible fear of prosecution. See Ark. Right to Life State Pol. Action Comm. v. Butler, 146 F.3d 558, 560 (8th Cir 1998) (“Plaintiffs, however, are not required to expose themselves to arrest or prosecution under a criminal statute in order to challenge a statute in federal court."); see also Babbitt v. United Farm Workers Nat. Union, 442 U.S. 289, 302 (1979) (holding that standing existed even though criminal penalty provision had not yet been applied, as fear of prosecution was not “imaginary or wholly speculative” where provision "on its face" proscribed the proposed conduct and state "ha[d] not disavowed" any intention of invoking it). Defendants urge the Court to avoid this problem by applying the principle that courts should “interpret a statute to avoid doubt as to its constitutionality.” Crowell v. State Pub. Def., 845 N.W.2d 676, 689 (Iowa 2014). To that end, Defendants argue that Iowa Code § 718C.2(1) was modeled after the federal illegal reentry statute, 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a), and therefore should be interpreted the same way. There is, however, a glaring problem with this argument. True, the federal and Iowa statutes start in the same place by making it a crime for an alien to be present after having been “denied admission, excluded, deported, or removed or ha[ving] departed the 13

United States while an order of exclusion, deportation, or removal is outstanding.” The federal statute goes on, however, to state that a person has not committed the offense of illegal reentry if: (A) prior to his reembarkation at a place outside the United States or his application for admission from foreign contiguous territory, the Attorney General has expressly consented to such alien's reapplying for admission; or (B) with respect to an alien previously denied admission and removed, unless such alien shall establish that he was not required to obtain such advance consent under this chapter or any prior Act. 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a)(2). In other words, a person with lawful permanent resident status has a defense under federal law to the charge of illegal reentry. See United States v. Sandoval-Gonzalez, 642 F.3d 717, 724 (9th Cir. 2011). But there is no comparable language in Iowa Code § 718C.2(1). This difference between the Iowa and federal illegal reentry statutes is crucially important in two respects. First, as a matter of pure statutory interpretation, 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a)(1) and Iowa Code § 718C.2(1) both use the past tense to describe the circumstances that constitute illegal reentry; i.e., a person is guilty if the person is present or tries to reenter the country but "has been denied admission, excluded, deported, or removed or has departed the United States while an order of exclusion, deportation, or removal is outstanding.” If, as Defendants argue, this language refers only to current immigration status despite the repeated use of the past tense, there would have been no reason for Congress to insert defenses into 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a)(2) for noncitizens with permanent legal status. The fact that Congress inserted those defenses therefore shows that it deliberately used the past tense in 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a)(1). It would be odd to conclude that the Iowa Legislature used the very same words in the very same (past) tense in Iowa Code § 718C.2(1) and yet was referring to current or prevailing legal status, present tense. Yet this is Defendants' argument: they want the Court to interpret the same words in the two statutes in two different ways. This is not a persuasive argument. Second, and relatedly, given that the Iowa statute is modeled in every other way on the federal statute, the Court must give effect to the Iowa Legislature's conspicuous decision not to include the defenses that exist under federal law. See State v. Iowa Dist. Ct. for Johnson Cnty., 730 N.W.2d 677, 679 (Iowa 2007) (“Statutory text may express legislative intent by omission as well as inclusion."). Indeed, the Iowa Supreme Court has recognized that when state and federal statutes address the same topic, differences between the two matter. See, e.g., EMC Ins. Grp. v. Shepard, 960 N.W.2d 661, 672 (Iowa 2021) (refusing to apply federal law definition of key term in state statute; “such a change in the legislative definition must come from the legislature"); MidAmerica 14

Sav. Bank v. Miehe, 438 N.W.2d 837, 838 (Iowa 1989) (refusing to adopt federal standards where the Iowa Legislature "adopted federal law for some, but certainly not all, purposes" relating to the object of the legislation). The Iowa Supreme Court has similarly recognized that when "Congress includes particular language in one section of a statute but omits it in another section of the same Act, it is generally presumed that Congress acts intentionally and purposely in the disparate inclusion or exclusion." Oyens Fees & Supply, Inc. v. Primebank, 808 N.W.2d 186, 193 (Iowa 2011) (quoting Chestnut v. Montgomery, 307 F.3d 698, 701-02 (8th Cir. 2002)). Here, these principles of statutory construction dovetail and require the Court to conclude the Iowa Legislature was not trying to “mirror” federal illegal reentry law in every respect when it enacted Senate File 2340, but rather wanted to take Iowa's law in a different direction than federal law by removing defenses. See Jama v. Immigr. & Customs Enf't, 543 U.S. 335, 341 (2005) ("We do not lightly assume that Congress has omitted from its adopted text requirements that it nonetheless intends to apply."). The canon of constitutional avoidance allows the Court to “interpret the statute, not rewrite it.” Jennings v. Rodriguez, 583 U.S. 281, 286 (2018); accord In re Det. Of Wygle, 910 N.W.2d 599, 617 (Iowa 2018) ("If fairly possible, we will construe a statute to avoid doubt as to constitutionality." (emphasis added)). Here, Defendants want the Court to rewrite Senate File 2340 by interpreting the past tense to mean the present tense and add defenses the Iowa Legislature intentionally chose not to include. This the Court cannot do. See Jennings; 583 U.S. at 286; United States v. Stevens, 559 U.S. 460, 480–81 (2010). There are other problems with Defendants' interpretation, too, including that their interpretation of § 718C.2(1) conflicts with their interpretation of § 718C.6, which prohibits a state court from abating the prosecution of an illegal reentry offense against someone even if a federal determination regarding the person's immigration status is pending or will be initiated. Defendants argue that because § 718C.6 only forbids abatement as to pending and yet-to-be-initiated federal determinations, the Iowa Legislature must have intended to require abatement when a federal determination is already final. (United States Docket ECF 28, pp. 43-44.) In other words, Defendants urge the Court to apply the doctrine of expressio unius est exclusio alterius to conclude that the Iowa Legislature created a “default rule” of abatement of prosecutions in § 718C.6 whenever the United States has given someone permanent legal status. But Defendants also argue that the Iowa Legislature did not intend for people with permanent legal status to be prosecuted 15

under § 718C.2(1) in the first place. It is difficult to understand why § 718C.6 would need to be interpretated to mandate prosecutorial abatement when there has been a final federal determination of someone's lawful status if § 718C.2(1) doesn't permit the arrest or prosecution of such a person at all. In these circumstances, Defendants are effectively admitting the problem they have with the plain language of § 718C.2(1), which applies to people previously “denied admission” or "excluded, deported, or removed" without regard to current status. This captures Doe and Roe. Because Plaintiffs Doe and Roe satisfy the statutory language as written, they will "commit[] an offense” if they are “at any time found in this state. . . ." It follows that they have a credible fear of prosecution, and thus standing to challenge Senate File 2340. The Attorney General's promise not to prosecute people within Senate File 2340's plain language doesn't change this. See Stevens, 559 U.S. at 480 ("We would not uphold an unconstitutional statute merely because the Government promised to use it responsibly.”). Indeed, although the Attorney General has the discretionary authority to get involved in local prosecutions, she cannot control the charging decisions made in the first instance by the ninety-nine County Attorneys in Iowa. See Iowa Code § 13.2(1)(b) (granting discretionary authority to the Attorney General to “[p]rosecute and defend . . . all actions and proceedings. in which the state may be a party or interested, when, in the attorney general's judgment, the interest of the state requires such action, or when requested to do so by the governor, executive council, or general assembly”). It follows that Doe and Roe have a credible fear of prosecution irrespective of how the Attorney General purports to interpret the law. See St. Paul Area Chamber of Com. v. Gaertner, 439 F.3d 481, 486 (8th Cir. 2006) (concluding that plaintiffs had credible fear of prosecution despite previous failure to enforce statute where county attorneys had “taken an oath” to enforce state law); United Food & Com. Workers Int'l Union, AFL-CIO, CLC v. IBP, Inc., 857 F.2d 422, 429 (8th Cir. 1988) (holding that standing existed even though state officials had no "present plan" to enforce statute because state's position "could well change”). Moreover, even as to the Attorney General, Senate File 2340 is so new that there is no longstanding “state policy” of non-enforcement that the Court could rely upon to conclude that Doe and Roe lack a credible fear of prosecution. See Gaertner, 439 F.3d at 486. Once the standing of Doe and Roe is established, the standing of Plaintiff Iowa MMJ is established as well. “An association has standing to bring suit on behalf of its members when [1] its members would otherwise have standing to sue in their own right, [2] the interests at stake are 16

germane to the organization's purpose, and [3] neither the claim asserted nor the relief requested requires the participation of individual members in the lawsuit." Friends of the Earth, Inc. v. Laidlaw Env't Servs. (TOC), Inc., 528 U.S. 167, 181 (2000). The association “need not establish that all of its members would have standing to sue individually so long as it can show that ‘any one of them' would have standing." Iowa League of Cities v. E.P.A., 711 F.3d 844, 869 (8th Cir. 2013) (quoting Warth, 422 U.S. at 511), enforced sub nom. Iowa League of Cities v. Env't Prot. Agency, No. 11-3412, 2021 WL 6102534 (8th Cir. Dec. 22, 2021). The first and third requirements for organizational standing are satisfied because Doe and Roe have standing, and Iowa MMJ seeks “only declaratory and prospective injunctive relief," which makes participation by individual members unnecessary. See Heartland Acad. Cmty. Church v. Waddle, 427 F.3d 525, 533 (8th Cir. 2005). The second requirement—whether the "interests at stake are germane to the organization's purpose”—is also satisfied because Doe's and Roe's right to remain in Iowa as lawful residents goes to the heart of Iowa MMJ's work. See, e.g., Miss. Coal. for Env't v. FERC, 544 F.3d 955, 957 (8th Cir. 2008) (where organization's mission was preserving the environment, organization had standing to challenge action that increased risk of environmental harm). (See also Iowa MMJ Docket ECF 9-5, ¶ 4.) Therefore, Iowa MMJ has standing based on its members Doe and Roe. Although David is not separately named as a plaintiff, he nonetheless gives Iowa MMJ an alternative basis for standing because the Complaint alleges sufficient facts to plausibly establish that David would have standing in his own right. The Complaint alleges that David is an Iowa MMJ member who was deported but returned to the United States shortly after removal to care for his mother and sister. (Iowa MMJ Docket ECF 1, ¶ 14.) The Complaint further states that he graduated from high school in Iowa in 2007 and is at risk of being arrested for violating Senate File 2340. (Id., ¶ 60.) In context, these allegations are fairly read to mean David is in Iowa given that he: (a) graduated from high school here; (b) is an Iowa MMJ Member; (c) asserts a fear of arrest for violating Senate File 2340, which could only occur if he is in Iowa (or intends to try to enter); and (d) never claims to reside anywhere else. David therefore has a credible fear of prosecution under Senate File 2340. See Babbitt, 442 U.S. at 302. Moreover, unlike Doe and Roe, both of whom are legally present in the United States under federal law, David does not allege lawful permanent resident status, and thus he is at risk of prosecution even under Defendants’ proffered interpretation of Senate File 2340's illegal reentry provisions. See id. 17

For these reasons, the Court concludes that Plaintiffs Doe and Roe have individual standing and Plaintiff Iowa MMJ has organizational standing. It is unnecessary for the Court to decide whether Iowa MMJ has standing based on the impact of Senate File 2340 on its own resources. V. LEGAL ANALYSIS: DATAPHASE FACTORS. A. Plaintiffs Are Likely to Succeed on the Merits. 1. The United States Has a Viable Cause of Action in Equity. Turning to the merits, Defendants argue, first, that the United States has failed to state a viable claim because the Supremacy Clause does not create a cause of action where none otherwise would exist. (United States Docket ECF 19, p. 17.) This argument emanates from Armstrong v. Exceptional Child Center, Inc., in which health care providers sued state officials in Idaho for allegedly violating federal law by setting reimbursement rates too low for services covered by Medicaid. 575 U.S. 320, 323–24 (2015). The Supreme Court held that the providers had no cause of action under the Supremacy Clause, nor could they proceed in equity. Id. at 327, 329. Defendants' reliance on Armstrong is unpersuasive. Three years before Armstrong, the Supreme Court decided Arizona v. United States, holding that federal immigration laws preempted an Arizona law imposing criminal penalties for immigration-related offenses and authorizing state officials to investigate and make arrests for immigration violations. 567 U.S. 387 (2012). The United States initiated Arizona by suing Arizona officials in equity for violating the Supremacy Clause. Id. at 393. Defendants' argument here, if accepted, would mean the Supreme Court unnecessarily reached the merits in Arizona and should have concluded the United States did not have a cause of action in the first place. In other words, Defendants' position is that the Supreme Court missed a threshold and outcome-determinative issue. Defendants are misinterpreting Armstrong. Although it held that the Supremacy Clause does not independently create a cause of action, Armstrong also reaffirmed the well-established principle that equity will provide such a cause of action in appropriate circumstances. Id. at 327– 28. Those circumstances did not exist in Armstrong because the relevant statute reflected Congress's intent to foreclose equitable relief. Id. There is nothing in Armstrong to suggest, however, that the United States cannot bring a cause of action in equity to try to establish federal preemption of state law. Id. To the contrary, both before and after Armstrong, courts have consistently entertained lawsuits brought by the United States in equity to enjoin a state law based on the Supremacy Clause. See, e.g., United States v. Washington, 596 U.S. 832 (2022); United 18

States v. California, 921 F.3d 865, 876 (9th Cir. 2019); United States v. South Carolina, 720 F.3d 518, 523-24 (4th Cir. 2013); United States v. Alabama, 691 F.3d 1269, 1279 (11th Cir. 2012); see also United States v. Texas, 557 F. Supp. 3d 810, 820 (W.D. Tex. 2021) (“[T]he United States has brought many lawsuits under the Supremacy Clause in the years since Armstrong without any questioning of the Supremacy Clause as the basis for a federal cause of action.") As Defendants have not cited a single case to the contrary, the Court has little difficulty rejecting their position that the United States has not stated a viable cause of action. 2. Plaintiffs Are Likely to Prevail in Arguing that Federal Immigration Laws Preempt Senate File 2340. --- ---- The next question is whether the United States and Iowa MMJ Plaintiffs are likely to succeed on their preemption arguments. The Western District of Texas (Ezra, J.) recently analyzed this issue in the context of a Texas law, S.B. 4, that contains similar language to Senate File 2340. See United States v. Texas, F. Supp. 3d 2024 WL 861526 (W.D. Tex. Feb. 29, 2024). The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has not yet issued a final decision on appeal from Judge Ezra's ruling, but it did issue an extensive interlocutory ruling denying Texas's request for a stay of enforcement of the injunction. See United States v. Texas, 97 F.4th 268 (5th Cir. 2024). Both the Fifth Circuit and Judge Ezra concluded that S.B. 4 is likely unconstitutional on preemption grounds under Arizona, 567 U.S. 387. This Court finds their analysis persuasive and equally applicable to Senate File 2340. In Arizona, the Arizona Legislature enacted a law that created two new immigration-related criminal offenses, one for failure to comply with federal alien-registration requirements and the other for seeking or engaging in work in Arizona as an unauthorized alien. 567 U.S. at 393–94. The law also contained provisions giving state and local law enforcement officers the authority to make warrantless arrests of people believed to be removable from the United States and to make a “reasonable attempt . . . to determine the immigration status" of any person stopped, detained, or arrested, if “reasonable suspicion exists that the person is an alien and is unlawfully present in the United States.” Id. at 407, 411. The Supreme Court held that the two new criminal provisions were preempted by federal law and therefore properly enjoined. Id. at 403, 407. It further held that the provision authorizing state and local law enforcement officers to make warrantless arrests of people suspected of being removable was also preempted by federal law and properly enjoined. Id. at 410. It reversed the entry of injunctive relief, however, as to the provision requiring state and local law enforcement officers to investigate the immigration status of anyone they arrest if there 19

is reasonable suspicion that the person is in the country unlawfully, holding that “[t]here is a basic uncertainty about what the law means and how it will be enforced. At this stage, without the benefit of a definitive interpretation from the state courts, it would be inappropriate to assume [the law] will be construed in a way that creates a conflict with federal law.” Id. at 415. Unlike Senate File 2340 (and S.B. 4 in Texas), the Arizona law at issue in Arizona did not impose state criminal penalties for the crime of illegal reentry. The Arizona law did, however, "replicate[]" federal alien-registration laws by "add[ing] a state-law penalty for conduct proscribed by federal law.” Id. at 400, 403. The Supreme Court held that Arizona was preempted from doing so because Congress fully occupied the field of alien registration, leaving no room for additional state regulation. Id. at 401. It did not matter that the Arizona law “ha[d] the same aim as federal law and adopt[ed] its substantive standards” because “States may not enter, in any respect, an area the Federal Government has reserved for itself." Id. at 402. The Fifth Circuit and Judge Ezra concluded that the Supreme Court's logic applies with equal force to state law attempts to criminalize illegal reentry. See Texas, 97 F.4th at 279–82; Texas, 2024 WL 861526, at *11–18. The Fifth Circuit explained that “Congress enacted the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to establish a ‘comprehensive federal statutory scheme for regulation of immigration and naturalization' and to set ‘the terms and conditions of admission to the country and the subsequent treatment of aliens lawfully in the country.”” Id. at 279–80 (quoting DeCanas v. Bica, 424 U.S. 351, 353, 359 (1976)). S.B. 4 interfered with this comprehensive federal scheme by criminalizing behavior “already prohibited by the INA.” Id. at 280. According to the Fifth Circuit, this is just as problematic in the context of illegal reentry as it is in the context of the alien-registration statute at issue in Arizona; in both places, “[p]ermitting the State to impose its own penalties for the federal offenses here would conflict with the careful framework Congress adopted." Id. (quoting Arizona, 567 U.S. at 402). In arguing otherwise, Defendants try to distinguish Arizona by pointing out that the Arizona law criminalized alien-registration violations that were not criminal offenses under federal law. The Arizona law therefore went further than federal law. Like the Fifth Circuit and Judge Ezra, however, the Court concludes that there is no reasonable way to interpret Arizona as forbidding state law attempts to criminalize alien registration violations but allowing state law attempts to criminalize illegal reentry. The underlying problem is the same in either context: Congress “left no room” for state regulation because such regulation would “frustrate federal 20

policies" and interfere with the comprehensive scheme established under federal law. See Arizona, 567 U.S. at 399, 402; see Texas, 97 F.4th at 279–86. It follows that Senate File 2340 is field preempted. See Texas, 97 F.4th at 286 (holding that the federal government has occupied the “entire field of unlawful entry and reentry of noncitizens as well as removal” (internal punctation omitted)). Arizona would compel this conclusion irrespective of whether there are substantive differences between the criminal provisions of Senate File 2340 and the federal illegal reentry statute because field preemption makes any such differences irrelevant. Nonetheless, it is worth noting that Senate File 2340 also would be preempted under principles of conflict preemption, which "exists where 'compliance with both state and federal law is impossible,' or where 'the state law stands as an obstacle to the accomplishment and execution of the full purposes and objectives of Congress."" Pharm. Rsch. & Mfgrs. of Am. v. McClain, 95 F.4th 1136, 1140 (8th Cir. 2024) (quoting Oneok, Inc. v. Learjet, Inc., 575 U.S. 373, 377 (2015)). Here, under federal law, people like Plaintiffs Doe and Roe are not criminally liable for illegal reentry because, although they were previously removed from the United States, they later obtained permanent legal status and thus now have a meritorious defense to an illegal reentry charge. See 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a)(2). By contrast, under Iowa Code § 718C.2(1), permanent legal status is not a defense, and thus Doe and Roe have criminal exposure. Meaning: the State of Iowa can arrest them and put them in jail for something the United States has given them permission to do. This is untenable. See Texas, 2024 WL 861526, at *21 (holding that S.B. 4 “plainly conflicts with federal law by instructing state judges to disregard pending federal defenses"); see also South Carolina, 720 F.3d at 530 (“In essence, [state law] operate[s] to criminalize unlawful presence, a stance plainly at odds with federal law.”). Equally untenable is the fact that Senate File 2340 prohibits state court judges from abating prosecutions for illegal reentry while the person being prosecuted seeks relief under federal law. See Iowa Code § 718C.6 ("A court may not abate the prosecution of an offense under this chapter on the basis that a federal determination regarding the immigration status of the person is pending or will be initiated."). The point is clear: Senate File 2340 does not permit federal immigration law to run its course. Under principles of conflict preemption, this violates the Supremacy Clause. See Texas, 97 F.4th at 291 (giving state judges power to make removal decisions without notice to or consent from the federal government “conflict[s] with federal law” and “sidesteps the sensitive issues that federal immigration officers are to consider”) 21

The fact that Senate File 2340 compels Iowa state court judges to issue orders requiring noncitizens to return to the foreign nation from which they came makes the conflict preemption problem even worse. See Iowa Code § 718C.4(4). Congress has established an intricate and specialized system, with multiple layers of review by trained immigration officials and judges, for determining when someone can be removed from this country and where they must go. See Texas, 97 F.4th at 284–85. Importantly, noncitizens are not always returned to the foreign nation from which they came; instead, there are sometimes national security, border security, or foreign affairs reasons for sending them elsewhere. See Jama, 543 U.S. at 348. By contrast, Senate File 2340 recognizes none of this nuance and instead bluntly requires state court judges to order aliens to leave the United States and return to the foreign nation from which they came. Again, this creates an untenable dichotomy between federal and state law in an area where the Supreme Court has recognized that the United States must speak with a single, harmonious voice. See Texas, 97 F.4th at 291 (recognizing it “significantly conflict[s]" with federal law when state court judges are permitted to select the countries to which noncitizens will be removed). Although it would not matter to the outcome, the Court is not persuaded by Defendants' argument that Iowa Code § 718C.4(4) merely requires Iowa state court judges to perform a "ministerial" function. There is nothing “ministerial" about issuing an order “requiring the person to return to the foreign nation from which the person entered or attempted to enter,” particularly when noncompliance with the order is punishable by imprisonment. See Texas, 2024 WL 861526, at *15–16 (rejecting Texas's position that removal order was not a true “removal” and concluding instead that such orders are an “especially problematic intrusion on federal prerogatives"). Indeed, Senate File 2340 even requires the state court judge to identify the “manner of transportation of the person to a port of entry” and the “law enforcement officer or state agency responsible for monitoring compliance with the order.” Iowa Code § 718C.4(5). This is for all intents and purposes an order of removal, except that it: (i) is issued by judges who have no training or experience with the nuances of the removal process (not that Iowa Code § 718C.4(4) allows any nuance anyway); (ii) does not contain the safeguards that are present under federal law; and (iii) makes no attempt to account for the complexities associated with deciding whether to remove someone and to where. The bottom line is that Senate File 2340 is preempted by federal law under principles of both field and conflict preemption. See Arizona, 567 U.S. at 409 (“[T]he removal process is 22 22

entrusted to the discretion of the Federal Government.”). The United States and Iowa MMJ Plaintiffs are therefore likely to prevail on their claims under the Supremacy Clause. 8 3. The Remaining Dataphase Factors Weigh in Favor of Injunctive Relief. Because the likelihood of success factor is the most important to determining whether to award injunctive relief, see Carson, 978 F.3d at 1059, the Court's analysis of the merits goes a long way toward making such relief appropriate. Nonetheless, the Court also will analyze the other three Dataphase factors: threat of irreparable harm, balance of harms, and public interest. See Sleep No. Corp., 33 F.4th at 1016 (listing factors). As to irreparable harm, some courts have held that “Supremacy Clause violations trigger a presumption of irreparable harm,” see United States v. Idaho, 623 F. Supp. 3d 1096, 1115 (D. Idaho 2022), or that the “United States has shown irreparable harm as a matter of law" in such circumstances, Texas, 2024 WL 861526, at *38. The parties have not cited- -nor has the Court independently located- –an Eighth Circuit case using such strong language, and thus the Court will not treat irreparable harm as automatic or even presumed when the United States shows a likelihood of success on preemption. Nonetheless, persuasive authority recognizes that the United States clearly would suffer some level of significant harm when a state tries to enforce its own immigration laws that are likely preempted by federal law. See, e.g., South Carolina, 720 F.3d at 533; Alabama, 691 F.3d at 1301 (“The United States suffers injury when its valid laws in a domain of federal authority are undermined by impermissible state regulations."). This makes sense: the whole point of field preemption, in particular, is that the federal regulatory scheme is “so pervasive that Congress left no room for the States to supplement it." Arizona, 567 U.S. at 399 (quoting Rice v. Santa Fe Elevator Corp., 331 U.S. 218, 230 (1947)). In the context of Senate File 2340, the potential harms include, inter alia: (a) permanent legal residents facing a risk of prosecution and criminal punishment under state law despite having permission under federal law to be present in the United States; (b) state court prosecutions for illegal reentry moving forward even when defendants are in the process of applying for legal status under federal law; (c) untrained state court judges entering orders requiring noncitizens to leave the United States following an adjudicatory process with fewer safeguards and far less 8 Because the United States and Iowa MMJ Plaintiffs are likely to prevail on their claims under the Supremacy Clause, the Court need not address their likelihood of prevailing under the Foreign Commerce Clause. See Richland/Wilkin Joint Powers Auth. v. U.S. Army Corps of Eng'rs, 826 F.3d 1030, 1040 (8th Cir. 2016) (plaintiff must only establish a likelihood of success on "any one of" its claims). 23

sophistication than the federal system; (d) state court judges requiring noncitizens to return to countries where they might not be accepted or might face persecution or torture, in violation of federal laws and treaties; (e) noncitizens being delivered to a port of entry with no clear mechanism for what happens next; and (f) corresponding impacts on international relations and foreign affairs. Collectively, these harms are significant enough to make the threat of irreparable harm factor weigh in favor of injunctive relief as to both the United States and Iowa MMJ Plaintiffs. See Texas, 2024 WL 861526, at *38-40; see also South Carolina, 720 F.3d at 533 (“The irreparable injury to the nation's foreign policy if the relevant sections take effect has been clearly established by the United States. And for individual, unlawfully present immigrants and others, the likelihood of chaos resulting from South Carolina enforcing its separate immigration regime is apparent."). Regarding the balance of harms and public interest factors, the Eighth Circuit has held that they "drop from the case" altogether if a plaintiff establishes preemption and irreparable harm. Bank One v. Guttau, 190 F.3d 844, 847-48 (8th Cir. 1999) (“[The party challenging the state legislation] will be entitled to injunctive relief no matter what the harm to the State, and the public interest will perforce be served by enjoining the enforcement of the invalid provisions of state law."). More recently, the Eighth Circuit has held that those two factors “merge” when the party opposing the injunction is a state official acting in his or her official capacity. See Eggers v. Evnen, 48 F.4th 561, 564-65 (8th Cir. 2022). In an abundance of caution, the Court will not disregard the balance of harm and public interest factors altogether, but rather will follow Eggers v. Evnen by treating them as one-and-the-same. The crucial question is whose interest prevails in a situation where the United States and State of Iowa are on opposite sides of the case, as both sides can credibly claim injury to the public when they are enjoined from executing their respective laws as they see fit. See Texas, 97 F.4th at 295-96 (recognizing that both the United States and Texas face potential irreparable harm). The Fifth Circuit held that in the areas of immigration and foreign affairs, it is the federal interest that prevails, as “state and local interests are subservient to those of the nation at large.” Id. at 296 (citing Hines v. Davidowitz, 312 U.S. 52, 63–64 (1941)). The Fourth and Eleventh Circuits agree. See Alabama, 691 F.3d at 1301 (“[W]e discern no harm from the state's nonenforcement of invalid legislation."); South Carolina, 720 F.3d at 533 (affirming entry of preliminary injunction). This Court finds these cases persuasive and therefore concludes that the “merged” balance of harm and 24

public interest factors weigh in favor of injunctive relief when, as here, the state law is likely preempted by federal law. See also Guttau, 190 F.3d at 847–48. This conclusion does not change even if, as Defendants argue, Senate File 2340 should be interpreted the same way as federal law. In that scenario, Iowa is not trying to enforce any unique interest, but rather is trying to help (or, one might say, to compel) the United States to carry out federal immigration laws. The federal interest remains just as paramount in this circumstance as it would be if the federal and state laws diverged. See Arizona, 567 U.S. at 401 (“Field preemption reflects a congressional decision to foreclose any state regulation in the area, even if it is parallel to federal standards."). In sum, the Dataphase factors weigh in favor of injunctive relief for both the United States and Iowa MMJ Plaintiffs as to the provisions of Senate File 2340 making illegal reentry a state law crime, requiring state court judges to enter orders requiring noncitizens to leave, and forbidding the abatement of state criminal prosecutions even when defendants have initiated or intend to initiate federal proceedings to establish lawful status. Because Defendants admit these provisions cannot be severed from the remaining aspects of Senate File 2340 (see United States Docket ECF 28, p. 51), the Court concludes that the Dataphase factors weigh in favor of preliminary injunctive relief as to Senate File 2340 as a whole. VI. CONCLUSION. The United States and Iowa MMJ Plaintiffs have established a likelihood of success on the merits of their position that federal immigration law preempts Senate File 2340 under both conflict and field preemption. For this reason, and because the remaining preliminary injunction factors also weigh in favor of injunctive relief, the Court GRANTS the motions for preliminary injunction filed by the United States and Iowa MMJ Plaintiffs in their respective cases. Defendants are hereby ENJOINED from enforcing Senate File 2340 pending further proceedings. IT IS SO ORDERED. Dated: June 17, 2024 STEPHEN H. LOCHER U.S. DISTRICT JUDGE 25