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Writing persuasively is not easy. At times, persuasive writing can even feel a bit manipulative. Really, isn’t writing persuasively merely an attempt to coerce a hopefully impartial audience into trusting your arguments, judgments, and proclamations? Why should any audience trust what you have to say?

But, if you think about it, all writing is inherently pursuasive. A novel requires that a writer persuade the reader into accepting the book’s picture of the universe, be it Middle Earth, Holland in the 1600s, or in a galaxy far, far away — we have to accept that the world of the book is an actual world and suspend our disbelief in things like hobbits and aliens if we are to enjoy the story. Similarly, writing that makes no bones about being blatantly persuasive, like op-ed articles, legal briefs, and persuasive essays, also has to operate in such a way that the audience trusts the word of the writer and opens up their mind to accept, or at the very least consider, the writer’s position.

Writing persuasively is difficult, but there are things you can do to make your arguments more cogent and appealing to readers.

5. Earn your reader’s trust.

The best way to earn a reader’s trust is to come across as an intelligent writer. If you make grammatical errors, give misconstrued facts, or appear as if you aren’t an expert on your topic, you automatically undermine yourself as an intelligent writer, thereby weakening the sanctity of your argument. Writing well is the simplest way to come across as an intelligent writer. People are swayed by an eloquent writer: just look at the eloquent speeches of compelling orators like Martin Luther King, Jr., and Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi,  who were able to start entire movements on the power of their words.

4. Back your writing up with facts.

A well-stated opinion is all good and well, but the real meat of an argument comes from strong factual evidence. Lawyers don’t win cases based on arguments alone. Lawyers win cases based on who has the most compelling evidence that backs up the arguments they make. If you write a persuasive essay, make sure that each of your paragraphs has as least one powerful fact that backs up your position. If you are writing a persuasive essay on a piece of literature, for instance, facts can be theoretical ‘proof’ from a literary theorist (writing a Freudian interpretation of “Othello” would obviously require that you quote Sigmund Freud himself) or a quote from a published paper in a literary journal or a strong quote from the literature itself.

3. Explain, and then argue, a contrary point of view.

Every great debater knows in order to win a debate, you have to premeditate the opposition and then disprove it. The same goes for writing a persuasive essay. Having an idea of strong points of opposition is not only crucial in order to construct a solid argument, but it’s also simply good practice in critical thinking. If you know some oppositions that might arise in your reader’s mind while reading your essay, think of responses to that opposition and embed the responses in your writing. That way, you advance your argument and counterpoint your reader’s contention in one fell stroke.

2. Be passionate about what you are writing.

Even if you don’t believe in your own argument — as in, you were assigned a topic to argue from your teacher and you have no choice but to argue it in your paper — you have to write as if you do believe. Passionate writing comes from using strong, specific language. The more specific your language is, the more precisely you can carve your argument, the stronger and better your argument will seem. Passionate writing also requires reinforcement. Don’t repeat your ideas, but keep the central argument in your mind while writing your paper and think of every sub-argument, every piece of constructing evidence, as a way to reinforce or strengthen the central position.

1. Be interesting.

The best way to not persuade a reader is to bore them. If I can’t make it to the end of an op-ed piece, there is no way I’m going to believe or be persuaded by what the writer is saying. Good writing is inherently interesting. Use your oratorical fireworks to wow your readers so that every next line, every following word, is something the reader wants to arrive at. Don’t make them trudge through your writing. If you aren’t sure of how to make your writing interesting, ask yourself what you would be interested in if you were an impartial reader who was faced with your paper. Would it be something you would want to read? If yes, great! If no, then work your way through the problem until you arrive at a satisfactory place.

Just because Eduify is a productivity tool doesn’t mean we don’t appreciate the plethora of websites out there that aid procrastination.  Everyone procrastinates, and our philosophy is that sometimes you have to work hard (and use things like our quote capture, our easy editing, and our plagiarism check) because you procrastinated so much in the last week. In a strange, circular way, we all keep each other in business. So, without further ado, here are 10 websites we’ve been using to procrastinate lately.

10. Facebook. It goes without saying that Facebook needs to be on this list. Of course everyone in your life cares about your ‘5 favorite cheeses’ on LivingSocial, so why don’t you go ahead and waste more time by announcing this crucial piece of information? Stalking your friends (as well as random strangers) is such a good way to kill important time.

9. FML. Schadenfreude, right at your fingertips. These remind me of the “embarassing stories” section of trashy magazines like Cosmopolitan, except way more trashy and way more funny. You think you had a bad day? Check out some of this site and you’ll feel a whole lote better. And then, after you feel better, you will continue to procrastinate.

8. Post Secret. This site, which posts user-submitted secrets on postcard format, is not only interesting to look at, but it’s actually thought-provoking, unlike some of the other counterparts on this list. No wonder it became such a hit on the internet. It’s actually compelling. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll procrastinate.

7. StumbleUpon. If mindlessly surfing the web is your cup of tea, StumbleUpon is here to help. This site brings you personalized recommendations from all over the web, as you click through each site. I’ve actually discovered some pretty amazing websites through StumbleUpon, and it’s worth checking out if you desperately don’t want to get anything done.

6. Texts from last night. It’s the new FML. It’s FML, except meaner. TFLN include some amazing gems, most of which were written while obviously inebriated, and promises to suck many hours of productivity from your life. Don’t click the link unless you want to still be glued to your same spot in front of the computer, at the same website, an hour from now!

5. YouTube. YouTube will suck not only hours of your life, but days, weeks, months, years. Use at your own discretion. If someone sends you a link about David at the Dentist, Sneezing Panda, a video about some little girl talking about Star Wars, Evolution of Dance, or any other mindless minute-long clip, avoid with every fiber of resistance in your body, unless you want to enter the YouTube’s wormhole of procrastination.

4. Orisinal. If you’re into games but are sick of playing Solitaire on your computer, check out Orisinal. These are some of the most beautiful games I’ve ever seen, with adorable names like “Morning Sunshine,” “Bum Bum Koala,” and “These Little Pigs.” So, so, precious. But don’t let the gorgeous exterior fool you. These are just procrastination tools shrouded in lovely disguise.

3. This American Life. I have spent innumerable hours of my life staring off into space, letting my adolescent crush on Ira Glass sprout and flower, as I listen to his radio show This American Life. NPR is the only reason to listen to the radio, and luckily for us, it is now possible to listen to NPR on the web. Procrastination has never been classier.

2. Cute Overload. LOLCats were so three years ago. Now, we’ve evolved past having to see caption to just being able to appreciate the wonderful simplicity of things-so-cute-you-want-to-squeeze-them-until-they-die. My god, who knew baby pigs were so amazingly cute? What about little tiny chickens? Oh my god, chihuahua puppy!

1. FreeRice. This site helps you procrastinate, but you can justify it because your time wasting goes toward a good cause. Structured like a vocabulary test, FreeRice asks you to answer multiple choice questions on word meanings, donating 10 grains of rice to the United Nations World Food Program for every question you answer correctly.

For those who wan’t to do the opposite of procrastinate – that is, be more productive – check out our tips on how to stay productive and avoid procrastination, here!

You’ve all heard it before. Everyone needs to get more sleep. Every few months or so, a new sleep study is published and hits the media circuit, and we’re told that a lack of sleep affects our memory, job performance, brain functioning, mood, proneness to accidents, stress levels, among much else. For teens, who the National Sleep Foundation states need 9.25 hours of sleep each night, proper sleep is particularly important. We all know WHY we need to get more sleep, but for some of us, the question isn’t of why but of how. How does one, a stressed out student with papers to write on deadline and a series of tests to take for five different classes, get more sleep when they can barely calm down enough to eat a proper meal?

It may seem difficult to squeeze in a good night’s sleep when you’re so busy with everything else, but what is daunting is not impossible with the right attitude and these 5 tips on how to get more sleep.

5. Want to get enough sleep.

Like all things, you need to make sleep a priority if you are going to get enough of it! If you plan your day around getting enough sleep, you’re more likely to do so. And why wouldn’t you plan your day around sleeping? Sleep is, by the way, nearly half of your life. All in all, it’s probably the most bioloically important thing for you to do all day. So plan around it.

4. Don’t OD on caffeine.

Not only can caffeine be harmful for you, but drinking coffee or Red Bull close to your bed time can severely throw your whole schedule off balance. Instead of drinking a soda while doing late night homework, stick to water or a non-caffeinated drink.

3. Establish a sleep schedule.

Bedtime isn’t just for elementary school. Most adults I know try to set a bedtime and stick with it. Not merely helpful for getting enough sleep, a set bedtime is also an effective way to set structure into your day. Knowing you should be in bed by a certain time makes it more likely you will try extra hard to get everything you need to get done during the day, done.

2. Nap away.

Napping isn’t bad for sleep as long as you don’t sleep too much. Power napping can actually increase productivity. Have you ever dozed off briefly and woken up feeling refreshed, renewed, reenergized? Conversely, have you ever taken a four hour nap only to awaken into a sluggish fuge? 20 minutes is the time to aim for during your power nap. Studies have shown that this amazing 20 minute siesta is more effective in brightening up that cognitive state than 20 more minutes of sleep any given morning.

1. Lists, Lists, Lists.

Make a to-do list that structures your day. Writing down things you need to do will make it easier for you to remember your tasks – so you don’t forget anything or leave things to the last minute. Take things one step at a time. Instead of focusing on the length of your list and scaring yourself out with the gargantuan nature of everything you have to do, do one thing at a time and cross things off as you go. Focus on each individual leg of the race, not on the race itself. Doing so will diminish your stress, as well as make your day more productive so that you can go to sleep at night with an easy conscience.

And one more, for good measure…

You can actually trick your body into going to sleep at night. One thing I like to do when I go to sleep is focus on my breathing, like in yoga, with deep inhales and exhales. Then I pretend that every little part of my body is falling asleep one bit at a time. “My feet are asleep,” I think, then focus on the feeling that I’m losing sensation in my toes, that they’re falling asleep. By the time I get to my head, I’m usually already asleep.

If that doesn’t work, you can always count sheep. It’s a tried and true remedy, because it works!

We are so happy Eduify has added more users this week to its beta than ever before. And, that you’re using our product! Welcome, new students and avid writers! We hope that with us, you can write better, smarter, and more efficiently.

The first rule about Eduify is that you don’t talk about Eduify. Just kidding, we want you to tell everyone you know! By doing so, you’ll win points which you can convert to coins, which you can use to purchase services on the site. So the first real rule of Eduify is that you should share our services with your friends. Eduify is a social platform that enables students to interact with and help one another in writing assignments, so the more friends you have on Eduify, the better it works for you!

In honor of this weeks “more users than ever” added to beta, we want to tell you the top 10 reasons to use Eduify.

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Eduify’s help platform launches web services on Microsoft Azure Services Platform
to become a 24/7 writing coach for today’s struggling students

SAN FRANCISCO, CA: Wednesday, 18 March 2009—Eduify™, provider of web-based solutions for students that help them research faster, write better and receive help on-demand, today announced the launch of its new online writing help platform designed for high school and college students.  Everyday, more than 32 million students in the US struggle with writing assignments because they lack the technology and expertise to succeed. Nearly 4 out of 5 US high school students are not proficient—let alone advanced—writers according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Eduify is here to help.

Eduify is like a writing coach that is always by your side. The service provides online applications to edit and store documents, capture and discover research, find writing tutorials and models, safeguard against plagiarism and receive expert writing coaching on demand. Eduify’s service integrates with social networks giving students everywhere the community, applications and help to immediately improve their writing.

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