What is a persuasive/argument essay?
In persuasive writing, a writer takes a position FOR or AGAINST an issue and writes to
convince the reader to believe or do something
Persuasive writing, also known as the argument essay, utilizes logic and reason to show that
one idea is more legitimate than another idea. It attempts to persuade a reader to adopt a
certain point of view or to take a particular action. The argument must always use sound
reasoning and solid evidence by stating facts, giving logical reasons, using examples, and
quoting experts.
When planning a persuasive essay, follow these steps:
1. Choose your position. Which side of the issue or problem are you going to write about,
and what solution will you offer? Know the purpose of your essay.
2. Analyze your audience. Decide if your audience agrees with you, is neutral, or
disagrees with your position.
3. Research your topic. A persuasive essay must provide specific and convincing
evidence. Often it is necessary to go beyond your own knowledge and experience. You
might need to go to the library or interview people who are experts on your topic.
4. Structure your essay. Figure out what evidence you will include and in what order you
will present the evidence. Remember to consider your purpose, your audience, and
your topic.
The following criteria are essential to produce an effective argument:
• Be well informed about your topic. To add to your knowledge of a topic, read
thoroughly about it, using legitimate sources. Take notes.
• Test your thesis. Your thesis, i.e., argument, must have two sides. It must be
debatable. If you can write down a thesis statement directly opposing your own, you
will ensure that your own argument is debatable.
• Disprove the opposing argument. Understand the opposite viewpoint of your position
and then counter it by providing contrasting evidence or by finding mistakes and
inconsistencies in the logic of the opposing argument.
• Support your position with evidence. Remember that your evidence must appeal to
reason.
Here is an essay helper that I would like for you to try when writing a persuasive agrument.
For a detailed explanation of the parts of a persuasive essay, click here.
Here is a list of possible topics for you to write a persuasive essay on:
1. Video Games - Are video games harmful to your health?
2. Social Media - Should parents have a say in how teens use social media?
3. Animal Testing - Is animal testing an experiment in cruelty?
4. Female Athletes - Should female athletes be able to play with the boys?
5. Graffiti – Is graffiti vandalism or art?
6. Cyber bullies – Should schools be responsible for punishing cyber bullies?
7. Junk food – Should junk food be banned at school?
8. Body Image – Do images in media harm teens’ body image?
9. School Uniforms – Should public schools require school uniforms?
10. School Lockers – Should middle school students have all purpose lockers?
Lesson Title: Three-Meal Weather: food-inspired adjectives drive organized writing
Focus Trait: Organization
Support Trait: Word Choice
Step 1:
Go over the key qualities for organization trait:
1. Creating the Lead
2. Using Sequence and Transition Words (click here for some examples, and here for some more)
3. Structuring the Body
4. Ending with a Sense of Resolution
Step 2:
Preview assignment, what is expected of you.
Learning Goal: I will brainstorm strong adjectives that center around food that might fall from the sky. I will compose a three-part piece of writing that describes an entire day of raining food. I will create purposeful paragraphs and create a descriptive story with at least, three parts.
Step 3:
Read the children's storybook, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, written by Judi Barrett. As you read the text, record the powerful words (especially adjectives). Take a peek at several videos from the movie as well.
Children's Novel, audio version, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Trailer for the movie Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs #1
Trailer for the movie Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs #2
Step 4:
Read and respond to the student models of writing. Talk about the organization, since that's the focus of the lesson. You may want to peek at Many Luscious Lollipops: A Book About Adjectives.
Step 5:
Thinking and pre-writing. Using the graphic organizer, brainstorm adjectives and food possibilities before you begin writing. For those who can go further, I challenge you to write a dessert course or an introductory paragraph that introduces the reader to why the crazy weather is happening.
Step 6:
Write! Take your ideas from the discussion, mentor text, and graphic organizer to write purposeful paragraphs within a descriptive story.
Step 7:
To promote response and revision to rough draft writing, you are to rank your use of the trait-specific skills on the revision post-its.
**My introduction “hooks” the reader in an interesting way
**All my ideas are presented in a logical sequence.
**The transitions show where my idea/story moves forward.
**The organization of the whole piece feels natural, not forced.
**My conclusion leaves the reader satisfied.
Step 8:
Editing for conventions. After you apply your revision ideas to your draft and re-write neatly, you are required to find an editor.
Step 9:
Publishing for the portfolio. Students are to have gone through all the steps of the writing process in order to end up with a piece of writing that they like and are proud of.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Language Lesson: "With Your Own Two Hands "
Big Idea: You will be exposed to many different perspectives on whether the world can be changed and how to go about doing it, and you will develop your own perspective on this topic.
Learning Goal: I will write a "Change the World" poem after analyzing artists' points-of-view.
Writing Trait: Idea Development
Step 1: Take out a piece of paper and read the names of the sixteen people:
Galileo
Adolf Hitler
Buddha
Martin Luther King
Michelangelo
Henry Ford
Julius Caesar
Alexander the Great
Jesus Christ
Beethoven
Babe Ruth
George Washington
Wright Brothers
Mother Theresa
Bill Gates
Alexander Graham Bell
Take a minute or two and think about the images, thoughts and feelings each name invokes. Read through the list twice. Do any of the individuals have things in common with each other? How might you break them into groups with shared characteristics?
When you are ready, get with a partner and think of a title for this list that represents the group as a whole. Choose the best title possible. Then, begin to classify the people into four groups of four giving each column a sub-title that states their commonalities. If a name can fit into more than one column, choose the one you feel best represents them. Once finished, repeat the process, creating new groups with different characteristics. Look closer! Your first attempt to classify was probably relatively obvious to you, but the second should be a more creative or deeper look into who these individuals are and how they impacted the world.
Step 2: Pre-Write
Do a quick write, using your writer`s notebook, in which you answer some or all of these questions in your journal.
Q1: What in the world needs to be changed? Big and small.
Q2: Can you change the world? Why or why not?
Q3: Do you have to someday be on a list like the one on the board to have changed the world? Be as honest and realistic
as you can.
Q4: What tools do you possess? Honesty? Sense of humor? A certain skill or personality trait? How might you use what
tools you have to impact the world?
Q5: If you honestly feel you can’t or won’t change the world, why not? Is it because of things you control or is it out
of your hands?"
Step 3: Sharing the Songs
As we listen to two songs, ask yourself what it means to change the world and if you truly believe that individuals such as yourself can have that kind of impact. Look for and list evidence that shows the singer really believes he can change the world with his hands, and what specific things he feels he can change. When the song is over, you will be asked for feedback on whether you feel he is realistic or just a hopeful dreamer?
Ben Harper`s video `With My Own Two Hands`. Here are the lyrics to Ben Harper's song.
We are going to watch the video `Badly Drawn Boy Year of the Rat`. How this an example of someone changing the world with their own two handsÉ
It is important to remember that although both the Ben Harper song and the BDB video represent the optimistic view of changing the world, a more pessimistic view is also valid.
Let`s watch the John Mayer video `Waiting on the World to Change`. Here are the lyrics to John's song. Look for and list evidence that shows why he feels he is more helpless and must “wait” for the world to change rather than changing it himself. Is he realistic or just a pessimistic naysayer? Why?
Finally, we are going to watch the video clip of Hugh Laurie’s “Protest song,” which was originally shown on Saturday Night Live. This is a humorous take on how folk songs of the 60's talked a lot about all the problems of the world and claimed to have easy answers if people would only listen to them, but in reality offered very little in the way of solutions.
How is this video is another example of John Mayer’s stance that it is very difficult to change the world and often have to wait for it to change?
Step 4: Write!!!
You will be--based on the inspiration of the two songs and two videos--writing a poem about your own stance on changing the world. Before planning to write, you will also look at several samples from students who have completed this assignment already.
Good luck and I can't wait to see what you come up with!
Mrs. Dowker
"What Skin are You In?" Lesson
Learning Goal: We will compare who you know you are to who people think you are in an expository essay.
The focus trait for this activity is idea development; students will self-reflect and then "show" themselves to their readers through writing. The support trait is organization; students will create a strong introduction, and their essay's conclusion will somehow link back to their introduction.
Using two songs by India Arie students will explore their own self image. After analyzing the qualities that each student feels that they embody, they will compare these to the qualities that they portray to others. The students will then be creating and taking through the writing process an expository essay comparing who they are internally vs. who they are seen as externally.
"Video" by India Arie (click here for a link to the lyrics)
"I Am Not My Hair" by India Arie ft. Akon (click here for a link to the lyrics)
Writing Traits - Here is a quick little stick people video on the traits!
As you dust off your brain, sharpen your pencil and crack open a new notebook, here are some things to think about writing. Enjoy!
THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO WRITING BETTER THAN YOU NORMALLY DO.
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