Difficulty: Beginner | Prerequisites: None, though a basic familiarity with essay structure (intro, body, conclusion) will help.
PHI-105 is an introductory critical thinking and philosophy course at Grand Canyon University. The persuasive essay is the course's central written assignment, running across all seven modules. It asks you to pick a position on a debatable topic, defend it with evidence and peer-reviewed sources, and address counterarguments, all while demonstrating the critical thinking principles taught throughout the semester. If you can write a clear, well-supported persuasive essay, you have shown you can do most of what this course is testing for.
You write a 750 to 1,000-word persuasive essay in seven staged steps (topic selection through final draft), using at least three peer-reviewed sources from the GCU Library. The essay must take a clear position, support it with evidence, acknowledge the other side, avoid logical fallacies, and follow APA formatting. Each stage is graded separately, so treating them as checkpoints rather than afterthoughts is the simplest way to do well.
Persuasive essay
A piece of academic writing whose purpose is to convince the reader to adopt a specific position on a debatable issue, using evidence and reasoning rather than emotion alone. Think of it as a structured argument with a clear "here is what I believe, and here is why you should too."
Thesis statement
A single sentence (occasionally two) that states the writer's position and previews the main reasons supporting it. In simple terms, it is the essay's central claim, the one line the entire paper is built around.
Peer-reviewed source (scholarly source)
A journal article that has been evaluated by other experts in the field before publication. Think of it as a source that has passed a quality check by people who know the subject, which is why professors require it over random web pages.
Logical fallacy
An error in reasoning that weakens an argument, such as attacking the person instead of the idea (ad hominem) or assuming that because two things happen together, one caused the other (false cause). In simple terms, it is a shortcut in thinking that feels persuasive but does not hold up.
Counterargument (opposing perspective)
A point someone on the other side of the issue would raise against your position. Acknowledging it and explaining why your position still holds is one of the strongest moves in persuasive writing.
APA Style
The formatting and citation system published by the American Psychological Association, used across many social science and humanities courses. It governs how in-text citations, reference lists, margins, headings, and title pages look.
Writing prompt
The specific question or position statement you are responding to in the essay. In PHI-105, you create this yourself by choosing a topic and deciding whether you are for or against it.
LopesWrite
GCU's plagiarism-detection tool. You submit your final essay through it, and it generates an originality report comparing your text against published sources and other student submissions.
The essay is built across seven modules, each graded independently. Missing a step does not just cost you that grade; it also leaves you without the foundation for the next one.
Module 1, Topic and Audience. Choose a topic from the provided worksheet (or get instructor approval for an alternative). Identify who you are writing for.
Module 2, Brainstorm. Generate ideas, arguments, and potential sources. This is where you map out the landscape of your topic before committing to a structure.
Module 3, Thesis Statement. Commit to a single, clear claim. The thesis must state your position and signal how you will defend it.
Module 4, Outline. Organise your argument into a logical sequence: introduction, body paragraphs (each with a reason and evidence), counterargument, and conclusion.
Module 5, First Draft. Write the full 750 to 1,000-word essay. This is a complete attempt, not a rough sketch.
Module 6, Peer Review. A classmate reviews your draft and you review theirs. The point is to catch weaknesses you cannot see in your own writing.
Module 7, Final Draft. Revise based on peer feedback, polish the prose, confirm APA formatting, and submit through LopesWrite.
The essay is not just a writing exercise; it is the course's main test of whether you can think critically. Four principles run through the grading:
Manage emotions and avoid fallacies. Make your case with logic, not anger or sentimentality. Watch for ad hominem attacks, straw man arguments, false dichotomies, and appeals to emotion in your own draft.
Provide evidence. Every claim needs support, ideally from your three (or more) peer-reviewed sources.
Acknowledge other perspectives. A persuasive essay that ignores the opposing side looks weak. Name the strongest counterargument and explain why your position still holds.
Use facts and figures. Where statistics, data, or concrete examples exist, use them. They carry more weight than generalisation.
A minimum of three peer-reviewed journal articles is required. Use the GCU Library and the PHI-105 Library Guide to find them. "Peer-reviewed" means the article was vetted by subject-matter experts before publication, so avoid popular press, blogs, and unvetted websites.
Your sources do two jobs: they supply evidence for your own claims, and they show the grader you have engaged with the academic conversation around your topic.
The essay must follow APA Style. At a minimum this means:
A title page with a running head, title, your name, and institution
Double spacing throughout, 12-point Times New Roman
In-text citations in author-date format, e.g. (Smith, 2021)
A References page listing every source cited, in hanging-indent format
The APA Style Guide in the Student Success Centre is the definitive reference for this course
Persuasive writing is the backbone of policy briefs, grant proposals, legal arguments, opinion editorials, and marketing copy. The skill of building a structured argument, supporting it with evidence, and pre-empting objections transfers directly to any professional role where you need someone to agree with you, fund you, or change direction.
"Persuasive" means emotional. It does not. The course explicitly penalises fallacies and emotional manipulation. Your persuasion comes from evidence, logic, and acknowledging counterarguments.
You only need sources that agree with you. Wrong. Peer-reviewed sources are also useful for understanding (and then rebutting) the opposing view. Using a source that argues against your position, and explaining why it falls short, is stronger than ignoring it.
The outline is optional busywork. Each of the seven steps is graded. Skipping the outline costs you that grade and usually produces a weaker first draft, because you have not thought through the sequence of your argument.
APA is just a bibliography. APA covers the entire document: title page, headings, in-text citations, margins, font, and the reference list. Formatting errors signal carelessness to the grader.
⚠️ The thesis statement is tested both as a standalone submission (Module 3) and as the anchor of your essay. A vague thesis cascades into a vague essay.
⚠️ Three peer-reviewed sources is the minimum. Falling below that threshold is a rubric-level failure, regardless of how good the writing is.
⚠️ Counterargument acknowledgement is an explicit rubric criterion. An essay that only argues one side will lose marks even if the argument is strong.
⚠️ LopesWrite submission is mandatory. Forgetting to submit through it can result in a zero, no matter how good the paper.
⚠️ Each of the seven parts is graded on its own. Doing a brilliant final draft does not recover a missed brainstorm or outline.
True or false: A persuasive essay should rely primarily on emotional appeals to convince the reader.
False. The course requires evidence-based reasoning and penalises fallacies.
Fill in the blank: The minimum number of peer-reviewed sources required is ___.
Three.
True or false: You create your own writing prompt by choosing a topic and taking a position on it.
True.
Fill in the blank: The plagiarism-detection tool you must submit your essay through is called ___.
LopesWrite.
True or false: The outline step is ungraded and exists only to help you organise your thoughts.
False. Every one of the seven steps is graded independently.
Q: What is the purpose of acknowledging counterarguments in a persuasive essay?
A: Acknowledging counterarguments shows you have considered the issue from multiple angles. It strengthens your credibility and demonstrates critical thinking, which is an explicit grading criterion in PHI-105.
Q: A student writes a passionate essay arguing for animal rights but includes no peer-reviewed sources. What is the most likely outcome under the PHI-105 rubric?
A: The essay would fail the sourcing requirement. The guidelines mandate a minimum of three peer-reviewed journal articles. Passion without evidence does not satisfy the rubric.
Q: Explain the difference between a topic and a thesis statement in the context of this assignment.
A: The topic is the broad subject area (e.g. climate change policy). The thesis statement is your specific, arguable claim about that topic (e.g. "Governments should impose carbon taxes on heavy industry because the economic benefits outweigh the costs"). The topic is chosen in Module 1; the thesis is refined in Module 3.
Q: Why does the assignment require submission through LopesWrite?
A: LopesWrite checks for plagiarism by comparing your text against published sources and other student work. It ensures academic integrity. Submission is mandatory; skipping it can result in a zero.
Q: Name two logical fallacies a student should watch for when writing a persuasive essay.
A: Any two from: ad hominem (attacking the person rather than the argument), straw man (misrepresenting the opposing view to make it easier to attack), false dichotomy (presenting only two options when more exist), appeal to emotion (substituting feelings for evidence), or false cause (assuming correlation equals causation).
This material connects directly to formal and informal logic, because identifying and avoiding fallacies is one of the four grading pillars. If your course covers argument mapping or syllogistic reasoning, those tools apply when you structure your essay's body paragraphs.
It also ties into research methods and information literacy. Knowing how to search a library database, evaluate source credibility, and cite properly are skills that carry into every research-heavy course you take after this one.
Finally, the peer review step in Module 6 connects to collaborative learning and feedback skills. Giving useful feedback on someone else's argument sharpens your ability to spot weaknesses in your own.
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