During exams, those who practice different memorization techniques know how to effectively use mnemonics as part of creative memory skills in their studies. Now that students have internet access and social networking conveniences, finding mnemonics, on almost any topic, has become as easy as ever. BASTE is one such mnemonic to memorize Persuasive essay structure that can be used as a template to bring the key argument both in the introduction, body as well as in the conclusion of any persuasive essay.

One of the most important purpose of a persuasive essay is to convince or influence an idea, thought, or opinion, or to sell a product or a service. From a college student is applying for universities to a writer, a job seeker to a sales professional persuasion is a part of basic communication skills that enables a person to prove the argument.

BASTE mnemonic stands for

Benefits show the advantages. Generally, successful sales professionals bring the benefits of a product in a convincing manner to attract their prospects. This techniques of emphasizing the benefit can be applied in persuasive college essays too.

Persuasive essay example by a college student on the topic, "Watching TV is good for kids"

"There are three advantages when kids watching TV; one, it builds the language vocabulary. Two, it enables the kids to understand how the whole world works by sitting at home. Three, it brings entertainment and amusement even if when the kids are alone."

A little more research on finding the right powerful precise words can make a big impact while writing any persuasive essay. One of the popular techniques to get the right words is to list the lexicon group of any topic. For instance, to write about a topic on "email etiquette", one can spend time and list all the words that relates to email such as inbox, MS outlook, send, receive, message, out of office and so on.

Statics gives the factual evidence to any argument, and it is one the best ways to convince and sell one's idea. in fact, most business presentations bring factual data in the form of statistics to show the rise, trend or fall of various business scenarios such sales, customer feedback or quality issues. As long as the statistics is from reliable sources, students can use this technique to win over their arguments.

Example of persuasive essay introduction that uses statistics as a persuasive tool on a topic, "Good English is one of the important business skills"

"Across the world, there are more than one billion people who are learning English, and according to business council, there are 375 million second language English speakers. This statistics certainly prove that English is one language that playing a vital role when it comes to improving business communication skills"

Highlighting a testimonial from famous personality or a popular business organization in a persuasive essay brings credibility to the topic of discussion.

Example of a persuasive essay by the college student on a topic, "Use of internet for global development"

"Our own government has recently updated themselves by introducing computerized online national tax submission, and online public grievance handling. This clearly shows how convenient life after internet came into our life."

Words such as caring, love, tenderness, acceptance, freedom can bring emotional impact to the persuasive essays. Words, expressions, phrases and statements that evokes human feelings that touches the heart is one of the common ways to persuade people, and most marketing companies use emotional appeal in their advertisements to attract the customers.

Persuasive essay example by a high school student on a topic, "Present education system should be changed"

"How would you feel when you have all the freedom to choose what you want to study right from your school days? Won't you feel great when you are allowed to choose only those subjects you love the most?"


Before learning anything, finding a creative memory strategy is one of the key study skills for almost every student--from kids to adults. Moreover, learning becomes fun when innovative study techniques are used. BASTE mnemonic can help almost everybody, from high school student to college graduate, business executive to an author, who wish to memorize the basic persuasive essay structure or an persuasive outline.