Persuasive Writing

Persuasive Writing

Write to a Persuasive Prompt • Many people have expressed concern about the starting time for high school. The school board has suggested that school begin two hours later and end two hours later. Take a position on this proposal, and write a multiple-paragraph letter to the school board to persuade them to agree with your position.

Overview Exposition vs. Persuasion

Exposition vs. Persuasion • Expository writing • has a narrow topic. • stays focused on the main ideas. • is elaborated using reasons, well-chosen and specific details, examples, and/or anecdotes to support ideas. • includes information that is interesting, thoughtful, and necessary for the audience. • is organized with an introduction, supporting paragraphs with main points and elaboration, and an effective conclusion. • uses transitions to connect ideas. • shows commitment to topic with voice and language appropriate for audience and purpose. • uses specific words and phrases that help the reader understand ideas.

Exposition vs. Persuasion • Persuasive writing • has a clear position and is focused on that position. • has more than one argument to support a position. • is elaborated by using reasons, well-chosen and specific details, examples, anecdotes, facts, and/or statistics as evidence to support arguments. • is organized to make the best case for a position. • anticipates and refutes the opposing position. • begins with an opening, including a statement of position, and ending with an effective persuasive conclusion, such as a call for action. • uses transitions to connect position, arguments, and evidence. • shows commitment to position by writing in a voice appropriate for audience and purpose. • uses words, phrases, and persuasive strategies that urge or compel the reader to support a position.

Persuasive Writing – definition • In persuasive writing, a writer takes a position FOR or AGAINST an issue and writes to convince the reader to believe or do something.

Characteristics of Persuasive Writing • Clear position • Audience awareness • Persuasive language • Rhetorical questions • Semantics: Connotation vs. Denotation • Euphemism • Persuasive strategies • Inclusion of statistics • Expert testimony

Organizational Structures Order of Importance Causal Chain Concession/Rebuttal (or counter argument) Cause and Effect Problem/Solution Definition Combination of several structures Introductions Explanation/Definition Scenario/Anecdote Questioning Conclusions Call to action Predict outcome Offer a solution Assessment Characteristics of Persuasive Writing

Purposes of Persuasion • Support a cause • Urge people to action • Promote change • Refute a theory • Arouse sympathy • Stimulate interest • Win agreement • Solve a problem

Persuasion is PowerfulUse it to: • Urge people to action

Persuasion is PowerfulUse it to: • Support a cause

Persuasion is PowerfulUse it to: • Stir up sympathy

Persuasion is PowerfulUse it to: • Prove something wrong

Persuasion is PowerfulUse it to: • Make a change

Persuasion is PowerfulUse it to: • Get people to agree with you

Persuasion is PowerfulUse it to: • Create interest

What Persuades You? • Why do you decide to go along with something? • How do you convince others to go along with you? • How persuasive are you?

Who Should Win? • You will be working in small groups. • There are only enough _______ today for one group. Think of reasons why your group should get the ______. Persuade the class that your group should be rewarded. • Your group’s task is work together to write your best arguments. You will have 15 minutes. • Your classmates will be voting for the best group. Keep in mind that you will not be able to vote for your own group.

Who Should Win? Present Your Case • Appoint a member of your group to draw a number to decide which team presents its case first. • Decide how you will present your information (one or more people). • Present your case when it’s your turn. • Teams should present without interruption or questions. • Take notes about each team’s position, arguments, and support (noting the team’s number).

Who Should Win? Vote and Discuss • Vote on which group presented the best case. • You cannot vote for your own team. • Each individual can only vote once. • Discuss why you voted the way you did. • Discuss the persuasive strategies you used or observed.

Persuasive Writing Essentials Audience Awareness Firm Position Persuasive Language Organizational Structure

Persuasive Language Position Persuasive writing is recursive in nature. All of the essential elements are constantly working together to make the best case for the position. Organizational Structures Audience Awareness Assessment Persuasive Writing

Audience Awareness • Know your audience before you start writing. • The audience is who will read your writing. • The audience may include your teacher, your parents, your friends, or the President of the United States. • Think about the needs of your reader (audience) so you can give reasons that will persuade him/her.

Audience Awareness • Knowing your audience helps you to decide • how to connect with the ideas, knowledge, or beliefs of the person or group. • what information to include. • how informal or formal the language should be.

Audience Awareness – example Dear Mrs. Gillingham, Imagine you were a student, sitting in algebra when your teacher says, “Okay, get out your homework.” You rustle around in your backpack for a while until you realize -- oh no! You left your homework at home, perfectly done.

Audience Awareness – application • Form groups of 3 or 4. • Write a short letter persuading someone to give your group a video game. • You will find out your audience by drawing a card. Your teacher holds the cards. Don’t tell anyone who your audience is. Keep it secret. • Do not include the name of the audience in your letter. Where you would put the name, draw a blank line.

Audience Awareness – follow up • Each group will read its letter without naming the audience. • As you listen, write down who you think the audience might be. • Discuss why it was difficult or easy to figure out the audience.

Clear Position The writer must have a clear position and stay focused on that position. Generally, the position is stated in the opening paragraph or introduction.

Clear Position – example Anxiety creases the brows of many students trying to finish their homework on time. If they don’t finish on time, they won’t get any credit. Having a no late homework rule is a very bad idea. Students’ grades will drop, their work will be of lesser quality, and school won’t feel as welcoming. Students won’t be able to do work worth a lot of merit.

Clear Position – Find the Position Statement I think late homework should be accepted. Imagine you were a student sitting in your math class when your teacher says, “Okay, get out your homework!” You rustle around in your backpack for a while until you realize – oh no! You left your homework at home perfectly done. The teacher comes by your desk and you say, “I am sorry. I left my homework at home. My mom just had a baby, so I was taking care of her, and I just ran out the door without it.” Your teacher smiles at you. “It’s okay. I understand. Just bring it in tomorrow.” Isn’t that a better situation than “Oh too bad! You don’t get any credit for it”?

Clear Position – Find the Position Statement “I’m sorry!” “Sorry isn’t good enough! This assignment was due yesterday, not today.” Here I am on my knees begging for mercy at my teacher’s feet. Tears forming in my eyes, I feel like an out-of-order water fountain ready to explode! I sigh and back away like a puppy dog with its tail between its legs. I slump back down in my plastic, red chair and stare at the metal desk. “I worked so hard,” I muttered silently to myself. The teacher turned her back on me and continued on with today’s lesson. I am against the no late homework rule because some students did the work but forgot it at home, and others forgot about the assignment but make it up the next day.

Clear Position – application • Choose one of the purposes for persuasion. • Work with a partner to choose an appropriate issue for that purpose. • Write a strong position statement for that issue and purpose. This should be a complete sentence. • Write an introductory paragraph that includes your position.

Persuasive Language • Connotation and denotation • Define the following words. Generate connotations. Discuss which words have positive, neutral, or negative connotations. • Group, throng, mob • Insinuate, suggest, imply • Slow, challenged, retarded • Thin, skinny, scrawny • Gentle, benign, harmless • Persnickety, selective, finicky, picky • Create your own groupings of words with similar denotations, but varying connotations.

Persuasive Language Euphemism • A euphemism is the substitution of a mild, indirect, or vague expression for an expression thought of as harsh or blunt. • Discuss the following and generate more euphemistic expressions for each blunt word or expression. • Pass away vs. To die • Powder Room vs. Toilet • Humanitarian Intervention vs. War

Persuasive Language • Persuasive language is choosing just the right words or phrases to use at just the right time with just the right audience. • Strong words trigger strong feelings. • Seizes • Snarls • Dumbstruck • Effective choice of connotations • Mean or strict • Late fee or extended-viewing fee • Used or pre-owned • Surge or escalate • Repeated words or phrases for emphasis • I have a dream…(Martin Luther King, Jr.)

Persuasive Language –Find Words that Could Be More Effective You are a high school student. Essay in one hand, you go to class. “I’m done!” You smile. The teacher takes the essay out of your hands and throws it away. She says, “It’s a day late!” You look at your hard work. The teacher didn’t look at it! The No Late Homework Rule is bad.

Persuasive Language Imagine yourself as a high school student. Five page essay in one hand, you rush into the classroom. “I’m done! I’m done!” you pant, beaming proudly. The teacher seizes the essay out of your grasp and tears it to pieces before your eyes. She snarls, “It’s a day late!” On your knees, you stare dumbstruckat your hard work, ripped to shreds. The teacher didn’t even glance at it! The No Late Homework Rule is a cruel, horriblerule.

Audience Awareness and Persuasive Language – application • A philanthropic foundation is giving away an all-expense paid trip to Disneyland. Write a letter persuading this foundation that you deserve the gift. • Select and use the precise language that would be the most persuasive for this audience. • Underline specific words or phrases that you think are the most persuasive for your audience.

Cause/Effect Problem/Solution Definition Persuasive Organizational Structures Order of Importance Causal Chain Concession/Rebuttal

Organizational Structures • The persuasive structures you select depend on the ideas in your paper and your audience. • Persuasive organization frequently is very different from expository organization. • As we look at different structures, we will see how they effect the organization of the paper.

Organizational Structure – Order of Importance Support for a position prioritized from most to least or least to most important

Order of Importance Homework should be abolished because students are too busy after school to make up for what teachers can’t seem to find time to teach during the day. Some students are athletes or participate in club activities while many students spend their after-school time working. These young adults don’t have time to re-work algebra problems! If you’re a successful athlete, you may be lucky enough to get money to go to college – that’s more important than recopying an essay! Clubs may serve as practice for the work force. But what really counts in a teen’s life would be to work in order to live, help out the family by taking care of siblings, or save money for college. In the face of these responsibilities or chances to improve life, what student would instead choose to review history notes?

Order of Importance –Discuss Approaches Recently, a citizen’s group proposed a change to the rules for obtaining a driver’s license. The group has proposed that high school students have at least a “B” average in order to get a driver’s license. Take a position on this proposal. Write a letter to the editor of your local paper to persuade voters to agree with your position.

Order of Importance – application • Think about the prompt on the previous slide. • Take a position on the issue. • Brainstorm arguments that support your position. • List your arguments in two ways: • From most important to least important. • From least important to most important. • Discuss • Which order seems to be the best fit for your audience? • Why?

Of most importance Primarily Significantly Of particular concern Foremost, furthermore The most, greatest In particular Most bothersome Particularly difficult The worst Of greatest concern Of less (or least) importance Order of Importance – Transitional Phrases

Prompt Recently, a citizen’s group proposed a change to the rules for obtaining a driver’s license. The group has proposed that high school students have at least a “B” average in order to get a driver’s license. Take a position on this proposal. Write a letter to the editor of your local paper to persuade voters to agree with your position. Apply the order of importance strategy to your paper. Select and apply appropriate transitions as you write. Order of Importance – application

Organizational Structure – Causal Chain A culminating chain of events where one action leads to the next (snowball or domino effect)

Causal Chain For me school starts at 7:30, which means I need to leave my house at 7:00 or 7:05. But for other students who ride the bus they must be ready far earlier than that. I see people half asleep standing outside waiting for that big yellow bus to take them to a long, tiring day at school. I think if school started later it would put many people at ease. Even if you get that extra half an hour of sleep, it can do wonders. You won’t be tired for that first period test, you won’t have to take that nap second period and miss your history notes, and you won’t miss breakfast and have to spend class time counting down the minutes to lunch. Many things would be so much better if school started later.

Causal Chain – Definition • This is about a ballooning cause and effect. • Event A causes event B, which in turn causes event C, etc. • This organizational structure may be used for an entire essay or just a portion of it.

Causal Chain • Read the sample papers. • Identify the sections of each paper that match the definition of causal chain.

Persuasive Writing