How to Write a Propagandist Essay

Propaganda is an attempt on the part of the writer to influence the opinion of the audience, often by using selective wording or by omitting certain truths or ideas. Writing a propagandist essay is similar in form to writing any other type of essay, but your research, tone and word choice will be quite different. Propaganda is often used in political writing or in advertising, but you can use propaganda techniques to put forth any thesis or idea.

Determine your propaganda's subject, the idea that you want to support or dismiss. While propaganda is often used to promote bad or nefarious ideas, it can be used for altruistic reasons as well. For example, you can write an essay on the perils of smoking, using propaganda techniques to support a topic that many would consider a noble cause.

Research your subject to give yourself a better view of the topic. Don't just read materials that support your side of the argument, as you will need a well-rounded education in the subject to truly slant your argument.

Create an outline for your essay, writing one sentence for each potential paragraph. Organize similar ideas together so that there appears to be a consistent flow of information instead of having each paragraph jump back and forth between ideas.

Compose an introductory paragraph. This paragraph will lay out your thesis for the essay and provide some basic background information on the subject. Include a sentence or two suggesting why this topic is important.

Write the body of the essay, creating a paragraph out of each sentence in your outline. Each paragraph should support the basic thesis that you laid out in the introduction and provide evidence that backs up your claim. Since this essay is designed to be propaganda, your point will be best served if you ignore any information you found that does not support your thesis. Don't try to refute this information -- just act as if it doesn't exist. Use broad and positive statements to suggest your ideas to the audience in simple language that they can understand.

Add adverbs and adjectives to give your words a decided slant. The simple sentence "The politician voted for the bill" has a very different meaning when you write it as "The corrupt politician voted for the pointless bill" or "The noble politician voted for the momentous bill." Don't overdo this or make it too much of a direct attack, unless that is what you are going for, but use enough of the right adjectives and adverbs to subtly get your point across.

Compose your conclusion paragraph. This paragraph will tie together all of the information you mentioned in the essay. Do not simply restate your thesis from the introduction, but rewrite the thesis incorporating the information that you laid out. As a propaganda essayist, you also need to restate the importance of the subject to drive your thesis home with readers.