When you are writing to persuade or to argue a point, your purpose is to convince your reader that your opinion is the right one. There are various methods to consider when writing a persuasive paragraph or essay, and it is important to consider your audience when determining which one to use.
Facts
Use simple, inarguable facts to support your position.
Authority
Turn to someone who is a recognized expert or authority on the subject. Let their opinions and statements support yours.
Examples
Use relevant examples to illustrate your point. Rare or uncommon occurences can be seen as exceptions to the rule and so don't make very good examples. You want examples that will prove your position to be correct at least most of the time.
Predictions
Predicting consequences helps your reader to visualize what might result in the event that a particular thing does or does not happen. Any predictions should be closely related to your subject and backed up with plenty of supportive ecvidence.
Opposition
Anticipating the arguments of your opposition and illustrating that those arguments are either irrelevant or inaccurate is one of the strongest persuasive methods you can use.
The strongest persuasive writing will use
a combination of these techniques.
As with any other paragraph pattern (and no matter which persuasive method you use) it's important to make sure that the language you choose serves your purpose.
When Answering the Opposition When Listing Evidence
Some may say... but / however... first, second, third...
Nevertheless... another / next ...
On the other hand... Finally...
Don't forget to draw conclusions from the evidence and arguments that you've provided!