Persuasive Essay

Take out a piece of paper and take notes

What is a persuasive essay?

 The purpose of a persuasive essay is to convince or persuade the audience to do something or think in a certain way.  A persuasive essay gives reasons, supported by facts and examples, to convince an audience to take a specific action.

Guidelines to follow when writing a persuasive essay

       State your stance/goal clearly.

Include at least three strong reasons that support the goal.

Support, or elaborate, each reason with facts and examples.

Anticipate possible objections and answer them Arrange your reasons in the most persuasive order Use persuasive but polite language End by summarizing your reasons and calling your audience to action.

What do we need to think about when writing an effective Persuasive essay?

 Audience  Voice  Introduction  Supporting Paragraphs  Conclusion

Where do we begin?

 Read the topic  Take a stance  Brainstorm the issue  Have facts or supporting details to substantiate your stance.

The Problem

 At the last PTA (Parent Teacher Association) meeting, the following issues were discussed:  Illegal activity around our school at night  Recent shooting near the school  Recent vandalism of school property

The Solution

  One way to solve the problem would be to persuade community leaders and the Superintendent of CPS by writing letters to him asking for money to buy the equipment needed to keep our school campus safe.

What equipment do you think our school needs?



The Prompt Recently, there has been an increase in violence and vandalism in and around our school’s campus. Students have reported graffiti on school property and neighbors have reported suspicious activity brought about by the lack of sufficient lighting on the school campus at night. Write a persuasive essay asking community leaders to provide our school with the necessary tools to prevent violence and vandalism in and around our schools campus.

Timeline

           Day 1- Go over prompt in class, brainstorm, begin your graphic organizer in class Homework: Complete graphic organizer Day 2- Look over graphic organizer with a partner and conference with Ms. Moon or Mrs. Hagy Homework: Write first draft of your essay Day 3- Peer edit draft one Homework: Write second draft Day 4- Conference with Ms. Moon or Mrs. Hagy Homework: Write final draft Day 5- Conference with Ms. Moon or Mrs. Hagy Homework: Write final draft

Day 6- Turn in: Graphic Organizer, draft one, draft two and final draft stapled together.

Now…

 In groups, begin brainstorming, you have 10 minutes  What did your group come up with?

 Begin working on your graphic organizer

Do you think people of all ages should exercise?

1.

Persuasive Paragraph

Working with groups of no more than four write a persuasive paragraph about why exercise is or is not important.

2.

Generate a general statement expressing your point of view.

3.

Include two to three strong reasons to support your stance. 4.

Wrap it up and share with the class.

The beginning….

 True or False – people who use graphic organizers create a better paper. Let’s talk about graphic organizers.  True or False – people should do additional research to further solidify their stance  True or False – students should write a draft, come back to it, revise the draft, repeat steps until complete.

Next few slides deal with



Transition Words



Introduction



Conclusion

Transitional Words/Phrases

As you proceed through your text you need to use transitions and links for coherence. Readers expect to move with ease from one sentence to the other and from one paragraph to the next…… Your document must “FLOW”.

What is this?

Why reference a grasshopper? Do not force readers to grapple with “grasshopper prose,” which jumps suddenly from one idea to another without obvious connections. Your paper needs to flow.

Make your writing coherent, with all the parts connecting clearly to one another with transitional expressions, context links, and word links.

Use connecting words like this, that, these, and those to refer to something mentioned at the end of the previous sentence or paragraph.

Transitional Expressions

Adding an idea: also, in addition, further , furthermore, moreover

Contrasting:

however, nevertheless, nonetheless, on the other hand, in contrast, still, rather, conversely

Showing time order:

later, subsequently, meanwhile, previously, finally

Showing result:

consequently, therefore, thus, hence, accordingly, for this reason, as a result

More of the same…

Affirming:

of course, in fact, certainly, obviously, to be sure, undoubtedly, indeed Adding an aside: Incidentally, by the way, besides Giving Examples: for example, for instance (Google: 323,000 hits)

Summarizing:

In short, generally, overall, all in all, in conclusion

Last year we mentioned

Transitional Phrases:

Page 501

Qualifiers –

Almost, often, usually, some, maybe, most, probably in most cases

Concessions:

even though, while it is true that, I agree that, admittedly, I cannot argue with, granted Transitional words: therefore, thus, another, besides, better ,best, strongest

Do not overkill the use of transitions.

Too many of them, used too often, give writing a heavy and mechanical flavor. It is all about the flow, organization, and integration of your paper.

The Introduction

Imagine you are at a party and a random person walks up to you and says, “Capital

punishment (death penalty) should be

abolished immediately.” You are surprised. You wonder where this position came from and why you are being challenged with it. Maybe you think the person is strange, pushy, and why in the world did he target you.

Now imagine a reader picking up a piece of your writing. Just like people at a party, readers need to know about the issue. Here are a few key points……

How to Write a Good Introduction

1.

Do not assume your reader knows your assigned prompt/topic/question. 2.

Provide context and background information to set up your topic. Lead readers to expect a statement of your point of view.

4.

Establish the tone from the onset of the paper: informative, persuasive, serious, personal, informal.

5.

Engage the readers’ interest; provide a hook (attention grabber) that will make the readers want to continue reading.

1.

What to Avoid

Avoid becoming overly general and telling readers the obvious, such as “Crime is a big problem” or “In this fast-paced world, TV is a popular form of entertainment”.

2.

Do not refer to your writing intentions – “In this essay, I will….” Do not make extravagant claims, such as “This essay will prove that bilingual education works for every student.” 3.

Do not restate the assigned essay question.

What is the Hook?

 Surprising statistics  A challenging question  A pithy quotation  An unusual fact  A relevant anecdote  Interesting background details  An intriguing opinion statement.

Conclusion

Think of your conclusion as completing a circle.

  You have taken your readers on a journey from the presentation of the topic in your introduction, to your thesis, to supporting evidence and discussion including specific examples. Remind readers the purpose of your journey. Recall the main idea of the paper and make a strong statement about it. Leave the readers feeling complete with a full understanding of the topic.

Key Points for a Conclusion

1.

Include a summary of the points you have made, but keep it short and use fresh wording.

2.

Frame your essay by reminding the reader of something you referred to in your introduction and by reminding the reader of your “topic”.

3.

End on a strong note: a quotation, a question, a suggestion, a reference to an anecdote in the introduction, a humorous and insightful comment, a call to action, or a look to the future.