Persuasive Essay

1. Persuasive Essay What is a persuasive essay? • Presents an argument through a well-developed thesis statement. • Supports the thesis with relevant evidence • Addresses opposing viewpoints Keywords: in fact, ultimately ,evidently, nevertheless, furthermore

2. Guidelines for Respondingto a Prompt • Read all parts of the prompt carefully. • Ask: “What do I have to do?” • Ask: “Who is my audience?” • Ask: “What information should I include?”

3. Prompt Your school is thinking of requiring students to wear uniforms. Decide whether you agree or disagree with this proposal. In a five paragraph essay written to your principal, defend your position as to whether or not your school should make this a requirement of students. Be sure to support your thesis by including advantages and disadvantages of wearing a school uniform.

4. Brainstorm Thesis School uniforms should not be required because they discourage individuality and don’t teach students to make responsible decisions. Counterargument / Refutation Body Paragraph #1 Body Paragraph #3 Body Paragraph #2 Main ideaDiscourages Individuality and prevents students from making responsible decisions. Details • Uniforms don’t let students express themselves through their clothes. • Telling students they have to look like everyone else is telling them that being different is wrong. Counterargument / Refutation • Some say that school uniforms would make students’ lives simpler. • However, if students don’t learn to do something simple like deicide what to wear, how will they ever learn Algebra and Economics? Main ideaDoes not teach students to make responsible decisions. Details • Students who aren’t given the opportunity to make practical decisions about clothes wont learn how. • Telling students that they have to look alike is like telling them to follow the crowd. Implementing a rule that requires school uniforms can affect students and society as a whole. Allowing students to wear their own clothes teaches them that individuality is a good thing and that they are expected to make responsible decisions. Conclusion

5. Standard Essay Formula General Statement (Hook): -- Leads the reader into the essay. Called “hook” for narrative essays. Connects essay topics to something the reader can connect with. Introduction Thesis statement: Tells the reader what you will prove in the essay and how you will do it. Body Paragraph #1:Topic sentence: Tells the reader what you will provide in THIS paragraph. Facts, proof, examples:Evidence sentence #1: prove your point with specific details, etc. Evidence sentence #2: Prove your points with specific details, etc. Concluding sentence: Remind the reader what you just proved.Reword the topic sentence, and transition to the next paragraph. Body Body paragraph #2: Same as above Body paragraph #3: Same as above You may focus on the future or a lesson learn about the topic. Conclusion: Reword thesis statement here. Conclusion End with a general statement. Do not “give your opinion” here. That goes in the body paragraph. Do not insert any new information in the conclusion.

6. Outline for Persuasive Essay • Introduction • Hook – America prides itself on the importance of individual expression. • Thesis: School uniforms should not be required because they discourage individuality and they don’t teach students to make responsible decisions • Body Paragraph #1Discourages individuality • Uniforms don’t let students express themselves through their clothes • Telling students they have to look alike is telling them that being different is wrong • Body Paragraph #2Does not teach students to make responsible decisions • Students who are not given the opportunity to make practical decisions about clothes will never learn how • Telling students that they have to look alike is like telling them to follow the crowd • Body Paragraph #3Counterargument / refutations • School uniform supporters feel that uniforms would make students lives’ simpler. • Giving students the opportunity to decide what to wear prepares them for even greater challenges • Conclusion • School uniforms should not be implemented because they discourage individuality. • School uniforms do not teach students to make responsible decisions

7. 6. 2. 7. *** ROUGH DRAFT*** School Uniforms: Looking Beyond the Exterior America is well known across the globe for its diversity. People from all over the world migrates to the United States just to be a part of this international society. It is common knowledge that equality and individualism are a part of America’s famous history; this fact is something that most Americans take pride in. However, the individuality of a future America may be at risk by the education system. A rule that would require students to wear uniforms to school is threatening student individuality. School uniforms should not be required because they discourage individuality and they don’t teach students to make responsible decisions. School uniforms would not encourage individuality among students. It is not uncommon to see a painting by a kindergartener, read a poem by a middle-school student or hear a guitar playing on a high school campus. the reason why it is so common to see these scenes taking place is cuz young people enjoy expressing themselves. However, uniforms do not allow students to express themselves as individuals through their clothes. As a result, individual student voices would become muffled, and students, in effect, would become agitated. Moreover, telling students they have to look alike is like telling them that being different, or being an individual is wrong. This very idea goes against every great American who helped shape the country into what it is today; Americans such as Martin Luther King, Jr., Edgar Allan Poe, and Amelia Earhart changed the course of our nation because of their ability to stand out as individuals. Need to know that being different and that expressing their individuality will not hurt them. Besides challenging individuality, a rule that forces students to wear uniforms would also not teach them to make responsible decisions, on the contrary, students who are not given the opportunity to make practical decisions regarding appropriate school attire will have trouble deciding what is appropriate for the workplace. If a simple decision like this cant be made, it is unreasonable to expect students to make greater decisions later in life like where to live, what college to attend, and what field of work to enter. Also, forcing every student to look alike is like teaching them to follow the crowd. This could result in more students smoking cigarettes after school, and less students doing homework. Responsible decision-making ability is displayed by a student who has his or her own mind, not by someone who does what all of his friends are doing. School uniform supporters argued that uniforms would make student lives simpler. This point may have some merit on the surface. But giving students the task of deciding what to wear can prepare them for greater challenges. If a student cannot learn to do something simple like decide what to wear in the morning, it is not likely that they will easily learn algebra or economics. So instead of complicating students’ lives, the task of deciding what to wear in the morning can prevent laziness and can prepare them for other challenges that might come up throughout the school day. In conclusion, there are many reasons why school uniforms should not be implemented in the school system. If students are forced to wear uniforms, they are not given the opportunity to express their individuality in a positive way, & they are not taught to make good decisions. Public schools allowing students to wear their own clothes could greatly benefit students & society as a whole. 3. 4. 9. 10. 5. 8. 8.

8. School Uniforms: Looking Beyond the Exterior America is well known across the globe for its diversity. People from all over the world migrate to the United States just to be a part of this international society. It is common knowledge that equality and individualism are a part of America’s famous history. This fact is something that most Americans take pride in; however, the individuality of a future America may be at risk due to the education system. A rule that would require students to wear uniforms to school is threatening student individuality. School uniforms should not be required because they discourage individuality and they don’t teach students to make responsible decisions. School uniforms would not encourage individuality among students. It is not uncommon to see a painting by a kindergartener, read a poem by a middle-school student or hear a guitar playing on a high school campus. The reason these scenes are so common is young people enjoy expressing themselves. Unfortunately, uniforms do not allow students to express themselves as individuals through their clothes. As a result, individual student voices would become muffled, and students, in effect, would become agitated. Moreover, telling students they have to look alike is like telling them that being different, or being an individual is wrong. This very idea goes against every great American who helped shape the country into what it is today. Americans such as Martin Luther King, Jr., Edgar Allan Poe, and Amelia Earhart changed the course of our nation because of their ability to stand out as individuals. Young people need to know that being different and expressing their individuality will not hurt them. Besides challenging individuality, a rule that forces students to wear uniforms would not teach them to make responsible decisions. Students who are not given the opportunity to make practical decisions regarding appropriate school attire will have trouble deciding what is appropriate for the workplace. If students cannot make a simple decision like choose their own outfits, it is unreasonable to expect students to make greater decisions later in life like where to live, what college to attend, and what field of work to enter. Also, forcing every student to look alike is like teaching them to follow the crowd. This could result in more students smoking cigarettes after school, and less students doing homework. Responsible decision-making ability is displayed by a student who has his or her own mind, not by someone who does what all of his friends are doing. School uniform supporters argue that uniforms would make students’ lives simpler. This point may have some merit on the surface. On the other hand, giving students the task of deciding what to wear can prepare them for greater challenges. If a student cannot learn to do something simple like decide what to wear in the morning, it is not likely that they will easily learn algebra or economics. So instead of complicating students’ lives, the task of deciding what to wear in the morning can prepare them for other challenges that might come up throughout the school day. In conclusion, there are many reasons why school uniforms should not be implemented in the school system. If students are forced to wear uniforms, they are not given the opportunity to express their individuality in a positive way. Students are also not taught to make good decisions. Public schools allowing students to wear their own clothes could greatly benefit students and society as a whole.