Persuasive Essay About Animal Abuse
Table of contents:
Writing a persuasive essay about the commercial or domestic abuse of animals can be a difficult and sensitive topic of discussion. When you determine your thesis, carefully think about your beliefs and come up with a focus statement that encapsulates them in accordance with your own feelings.
The first part of your introduction should be the hook, an attention-grabber that makes your audience want to read onward. Then set the expectations for who your audience is: fellow students, zoo owners, domestic pet owners, or perhaps animal abuse activists. Follow that up with your thesis.
Introduction examples
Hook: In domestic abuse situations, the first victim often isn’t a human, but an innocent animal living in the home.
Hook: Animals were never meant to be in cages. No matter the size of the enclosure, how many ‘enrichment activities’ the animal is given, or how beautifully the background is painted, it can’t compare to the animal’s natural habitat.
Hook & Thesis: The average life expectancy of an elephant in a zoo is only sixteen years, compared with a wild elephant’s lifespan of fifty to seventy years. Elephants are magnificent creatures and should not be locked up in cages.
When moving on to the body of your essay, make sure to back up your claims with evidence. Especially in persuasive essays where the topics are very emotional, it’s important to stay rational. That’s not to say that you can’t make an argument based on emotion, but it’s likely to be less successful than one based in facts and figures. The very best arguments start with facts and figures but then move on to an emotional appeal backed up by fact, however.
Body paragraphs examples
Body: In the wild, elephants roam for dozens of miles each day in the company of their relatives, up to as many as ten of them. In zoos, they’re kept in tiny enclosures, with maybe only one other elephant with them. It’s no wonder that they often show signs of misery and boredom. You would too, if you were used to hanging out with all your friends and then suddenly you could no longer speak with them but were shut away in a closet by yourself.
As you draw to a conclusion, reiterate the points of your argument in a shortened form, just to remind your readers of what you’ve told them. Your conclusion is where everything hits home and your audience, hopefully, decides to agree with you, so don’t underestimate its importance.
Conclusion examples
Conclusion: A wild elephant is a beautiful and majestic sight, roaming free across the plains or woodlands with their close relatives and offspring. On the contrary, an elephant in a zoo, stressed out of their mind, often on anti-depressants or stoned on tranquilisers, is an awful sight to see. How would you like it if you were on show, far away from home and everything you love? Next time you visit a zoo, consider it from the perspective of the animal, and avoid contributing to their sad commercial abuse.
