Initial Publication Date: April 10, 2009

Writing Persuasively


From one-page response essays to five-page lab reports to twenty-page research papers, students are regularly asked to develop and support a point of view in writing.

Arguments - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
A handout for students from the university Writing Center that discusses making a claim, using evidence, reading critically, evaluating counter-arguments, and considering the audience.

Establishing arguments - Purdue University
An on-line resource for students that explains and illustrates effective practices in developing a debatable claim; using evidence to support the claim; organizing an argument; and using rhetorical strategies to persuade

Writing resources - Rice University
A collection of general resources for instructors and students developed by the Cain Project in Engineering and Professional Communication, including topics ranging from how to write a literature review, how to write an abstract, and how to recognize and avoid plagiarism, to how to work with writing mentors. Some of the materials are specific to scientific and technical writing, but most of it is easily generalizable.