HSPA Essay #1:

1. HSPA Essay #1: The Persuasive Essay

2. Persuasive Writing Is… An essay which tries to convince a reader to believe what you believe about a certain topic.

3. Audience Be aware of your audience when writing a persuasive essay. Your audience’s beliefs and values will influence your ability to persuade them and influence the types of evidence you will choose to support your argument.

4. Some Dos and Don’ts Do • Divide into 5 paragraphs • Have a thesis statement in your introduction • Come up with 3 main points to support your argument—these will be your 3 body paragraphs • Have a conclusion that contains a clincher statement • Come up with a catchy title Don’t • Begin with “hello my name is___ and I’m going to write about____” • Take out the word “I” (instead of “I” think we shouldn’t wear uniforms say “Uniforms shouldn’t be required” • Be wishy washy. Pick a side. • Forget to support your opinions with facts and example

5. Tips about quotes and statistics When you are writing your essay, if you want to make up numbers out of your imagination, it is OK. If you want to make up a quote from a magazine, newspaper or TV show; fine, go ahead and do it. Nobody is going to check up on you. The only thing that matters is that your numbers or quotes make sense and help to support the point you are making. On the other hand, if you are writing a real research paper, then, of course, you need to use genuine, valid information.

6. Paragraph 1: Introduction Begin with an interest catcher State the topic of your essay Introduce both sides of the argument Thesis Statement State the side you are defending List three main points of body paragraphs

7. What is an interest catcher? • The most important sentence in your essay is the first sentence, the lead-in, for this is when you “grab” the reader’s attention. • Let’s say your topic is “Should the Death Penalty be abolished?” • Your lead-in could be “Right now, in America, 37% of the convicts on death row are innocent and will be unjustly executed for no good reason!”

8. What is a thesis statement? • A thesis statement is one sentence at the end of your introduction that states your opinion. It needs to be strong. • After you give the pros and cons, now it’s time to say what you think in the thesis statement and give your three reasons to support your opinion: • “I believe that the death penalty should be abolished because many innocent will be unjustly executed, it is against the Bible’s commandment ‘thou shalt not kill’ and it is forbidden by the US Constitution as a cruel and unusual punishment.”

9. Sample Introduction • When was the last time that you spent a day without coming into contact with a computer-related device? You hit a button on your home computer, and instantaneously you learn the temperature and weather conditions, traffic patterns, scheduled activities, and email correspondences for the day. You may even download and print out your lessons! Later, you plan to enter your students’ attendance and grades into a computer at school. For you, as for your students, the computer has become an integral part of your life. A wireless laptop for every student is as vital as a number 2 pencil; however, some school administrators may argue that it is too expensive to provide this resource to all students. Regardless of cost, every high school student must have this valuable resource as part of their school supplies because it is cost effective, provides valuable career training, and is highly motivational by today’s multi-sensory visually-orientated global student.

10. Body Paragraph 1: Main Point 1 Use a transition to begin the paragraph Example: first, the first reason, the first way, to begin with. Main point one should be stated in the topic sentence, which is the first sentence. Add three to four supporting details for main point one Vary sentence structure Remember to save your strongest reason for last to leave the reader with your best thought.

11. Conclusion: Last Paragraph • One possible way to conclude the essay is a call for action to resolve the issue being addressed in your essay. • Another conclusion is a thought-provoking question. • On the other hand, you might choose to end your essay by suggesting the necessary steps to resolve the issue you have identified.

12. Conclusion: Last Paragraph • Here, in your 5th paragraph, you summarize your paper. • Restate your thesis- This is your first sentence in the paragraph. • Briefly give your three supporting reasons again. It is a good idea to paraphrase (say in different words) your thesis and reasons, so that your essay is not too repetitive. • Your conclusion should be a “mirror image” of your introduction; however, you do not need to give the pros and cons again in the concluding paragraph. You just need your thesis, your 3 reasons and your “tag line.” • The “tag line” is the last line of your essay and is the second most important line after the lead-in because this is where you leave the reader with your final thought.