Crafting Compelling 26-Line Persuasive Essays: Tips for a Stellar STAAR Performance

1. 26-Line Persuasive Essay Tips and Tricks for a Great Score STAAR: March 31st

2. Persuasive Writing KWL Create three columns in your journal.

8. Keep this in mind… • Good writing starts with good thinking • So, pre-write! • Quality > quantity • EXPLAIN yourself CLEARLY • Assume your reader has NO IDEA what you’re writing about! • Being vague/general = low score • ALWAYS revise and edit your writing

9. More Persuasive Tips • Take a CLEAR position (and maintain it!) • You don’t have to be an expert in anything or have specific background knowledge to do well • Use detailed, specific examples to support your thinking (this is what STAAR Graders want to see!) • Use a concession and a refutation (this is what makes it persuasive • You may write in 1st (“I”) or 3rd (“They/he/she”) person as long as your writing is PERSUASIVE

10. Elements of a Persuasive Essay • Hook • Thesis • Evidence • Analysis • Evidence • Analysis • Concession • Refutation • Call to Action HOW MANY PARAGRAPHS? 5

11. Recommended Format • The 26-line essay is a shortened version of what you’ve ALREADY DONE before! • Hook & Claim (Thesis) • Ev1 Ev21 Analysis– 1st evidence & explanation • Ev2 Ev2 Analysis– 2nd evidence & explanation • Ev3 Ev3 Analysis– 3rd evidence & explanation (or concession & refutation) • Conclusion – review thesis & call to action

12. HOOK • Startling Statement • All human beings are capable of the most gruesome crimes imaginable. It is only because of the customs and controls of civilization that people do not become savages. • Thematic Statement • It is not the absence of fear that defines courage, but the ability of one to force oneself to take action in spite of fear. • Embedded quote that relates to the topic of your paper • Nelson Mandela once gave an insightful speech where he explained that “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.” • NOT the quote on the front page of the prompt

13. TRANSITION (can be a few words or a whole sentence) • Connect the Hook to the topic of your paper • This is a common misconception… • While that may be true…. • Mandela accurately pointed out… • This applies to….. • In the real world… • Use transition words

14. Claim (THESIS) • ANSWER THE PROMPT (but do not just repeat it!) • Take a side(make a CLAIM) and outline WHY you are taking that side • Example: Living in a big city is better than a small town because there are more cultural opportunities and things to do, both of which will provide positive learning experiences.

15. BODY PARAGRAPH 1: Personal • Topic Sentence = Outline your first point • SPECIFIC evidence of a personal* experience (explain in two sentences) • Analysis (one-two sentences explaining how this example supports your claim) *personal means anything that happened to you or someone you know

16. BODY PARAGRAPH 2: Global • Topic Sentence = Transition into your second point… • (_____ is not the only instance where this is true….) • Refer back to the previous paragraph and then move forward with the topic • Evidence of a global example (two sentences) • Analysis (one-two sentences)

17. How do I effectively persuade with my evidence? • Use specific NON-FICTION examples: from your life, from your experience, from your knowledge about the world and modern life… like current events, history, etc. • If using FICTION, don’t choose an example that is too complicated to explain or not common knowledge • ALWAYS WRITE WHAT YOU KNOW! Don’t use false evidence. Don’t make up facts or hypothetical situations.

18. BODY PARAGRAPH 3: C/R • Topic Sentence (introduce the counter argument; transition words needed here, too) • Evidence (give example of the other side) • Analysis • This is your refutation • Explain why they are wrong and your point is still the strongest! • If you don’t do this, you have just ruined your whole paper!!

19. CONCLUSION • Refer back to the thesis • End with a call to action and make it thematic!

20. NO NO NO NO • “IF”: Do NOT state hypothetical situations • These essays receive LOW scores • Examples: • If you were to go to the store…. • If Johnny had just picked up his water bottle… • “YOU” • Do NOT address the reader • It is NEVER appropriate in academic writing

21. Practice Prompt Think carefully about the following statement: “Some people define themselves by what they believe, while others allow their actions to speak for them.” Write an essay stating your position on which is more important: what a person thinks or what a person does.

22. Brainstorm • What is your position? Do actions speak louder than words? • What EVIDENCE can you use to support your position? • Think of your personal experiences, famous stories, current events, or history • Use YOUR knowledge about YOUR life and YOUR experiences. Use YOUR knowledge about the world around you. • EXPLAIN your EVIDENCE CLEARLY!!

23. How can we improve this example? For example, a lot of people posted about the ice bucket challenge. Just because people made a video doesn’t mean they did anything. People that donated money would actually help.

24. Revision • For example, during the recent Ice Bucket Challenge which raised money for the ALS Association, many people participated by posting videos of the challenge on their social media. However, their participation did not ensure any difference to be made for those suffering from ALS. Those participants who took action and donated money to research for ALS were the real difference makers and contributed over $100 million dollars to the ALS Association in order to help them find a cure for victims of Lou Gehrig's Disease.

25. Body Paragraph • Topic Sentence • Explain Evidence (2-3 sentences) • Connect Evidence to thesis (1-2 sentences) • Concluding sentence/transition

26. STAAR Student Examples Part two

27. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: “Honesty is always the best policy”?

28. Let’s see some examples… Read the following quotation. What I like about cities is that everything is king-size, the beauty and the ugliness —Joseph Brodsky Although large cities are exciting places to live, small towns have their own special characteristics. Think carefully about this idea. Write an essay stating your position on whether it is better to live in a large city or in a small town.

29. Directions… Be sure to — • state your position clearly • use appropriate organization • provide specific support for your argument • choose your words carefully • edit your writing for grammar, mechanics, and spelling

30. Page 2 Example… 3

31. Page 2 Example… • The writer of this satisfactory essay establishes the clear position that small towns are better than big cities. He uses a compare/contrast organizational strategy to focus on the negatives of living in cities (paragraph two) versus the positives of living in small towns (paragraph three). Within each body paragraph, the writer moves quickly from idea to idea, and the flow of the essay from sentence to sentence is not always seamless. However, the argument is largely convincing because the writer uses appropriate reasons and evidence. Specific word choice helps the writer establish a consistent persuasive tone, which contributes to the quality of the essay.

32. Page 3 Example… 3

33. Page 3 Example… • The writer immediately establishes a clear position that a big city provides the best career opportunities. The writer supports her position with appropriate examples taken from a movie and a television show. Both examples feature characters that relocate to big cities in search of careers in the arts. Although the writer’s synopsis of what happens to each character shows that the opportunity would not have been available in a small town, the overall development of her body paragraphs could be more specific (it was an opportunity she wouldn’t have received in her small town; the big city makes her dream of a career in dance one step closer). Overall, the strong focus, the controlled progression of ideas, and the good command of conventions outweigh the somewhat general development in this satisfactory writing performance.

34. Page 4 Example… 4

35. Page 4 Example… • In this concise, accomplished writing performance, the writer uses a compare/contrast organizing structure to develop the argument. He establishes a clear position in the last sentence of the first paragraph and maintains a tone that is appropriate to the persuasive task throughout the essay. Meaningful transitions (e.g., “The people are the seller, though”) and strong sentence-to-sentence connections make the writer’s train of thought easy to follow. The writer uses his own unique experiences as a basis for writing and connects ideas in interesting ways. For example, cities provide opportunities, from fresh fruit to social interactions, that small towns cannot provide. By recounting his discussion with a man on a bus, the writer effectively supports the idea that living in a city allows you to learn from all kinds of people. Purposeful and precise word choice further contributes to the quality and clarity of the essay.

36. Page 5 Example… 2

37. Page 5 Example… • Although the writer provides the clear thesis that he thinks living in a large city is better than living in a small town, the evidence he uses in paragraph two to support his argument is weakened by his focus on the negatives as well as on the positives of living in a large city. In paragraph three, the writer further weakens his argument by discussing the mostly positive aspects of living in a small town. Overall, these problems cause the argument to be largely unconvincing, demonstrating that the writer has only a limited understanding of the persuasive writing task.

38. Page 6 Example… 4

39. Page 6 Example… • In this thoughtful and engaging essay, the writer argues that small towns are better places to live because “you can actually know and love the people and places around you.” The argument is skillfully crafted because the writer combines cause/effect and compare/contrast organizational strategies, which are particularly well suited to the persuasive task. Using specific evidence, the writer develops the idea that, in small towns, people are truly connected to those around them, as opposed to city-dwellers, who sacrifice personal connections for convenience. The writer concludes the essay with a call to action, demonstrating a thorough understanding of the persuasive task. The specific word choice and overall strength of the conventions further contribute to the effectiveness of the essay.