Persuasive Unit

1. Persuasive Unit

2. AOI: Community and Service Moving from “I” to “We” • How do we live in relation to each other? • How can I contribute to the community? • How can I help others?

3. Standards • Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how the author acknowledges and responds to conflicting evidence or viewpoints. • Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is sound and the evidence is relevant and sufficient; recognize when irrelevant evidence is introduced. • Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence. • Integrate multimedia and visual displays into presentations to clarify information, strengthen claims and evidence, and add interest.

4. Persuasion Complete the concept map of the word persuasion.

5. Definition Example Non-Example Key Word Example Non-Example Example Non-Example Analogy

6. Good Persuasive Writing • Serious debatable topic vs. personal preference • Fact vs. opinion • No Fence sitting • Facts, examples, and statistics

7. Persuasive Writing • A good piece of persuasive writing requires serious debatable topics, not a topic that is a matter of personal preference. • Serious debatable topics naturally tend to divide the population into three camps: the pro, the con, and the undecided. • There is never any right or wrong in persuasion. Persuasion is not a black and white concept. There is only effective persuasion and ineffective persuasion. • The purpose of persuasion is to convince the reader (or audience) that a view has merit. At its best it will cause a person to completely agree with a view being presented. At the least it should cause a person to consider the possibility that the view being presented might make sense. • In order for effective persuasion to take place, sound reasoning must be employed.

8. Persuasion is: • Mind changing • Convincing • Getting a reader to admit that a certain view might make sense • Persuasion is not: • A matter of right or wrong • A matter of personal preference

9. Serious debatable topic or personal preference? List A • Should euthanasia (mercy killing) be legal in the United States? • Should women be expected to fight and die on the battlefield in defense of their country? • Should homosexuals be allowed to legally marry each other? List B • Should our school be painted black or brown? • Which animal makes a better pet: a dog or cat? • Which fast food industry giant really makes the best hamburger?

10. Your Turn(on your white board) • Take three minutes and brainstorm a list of 5 serious, debatable topics. • Now create a list of 5 personal preferences.

11. What is pro? What is con? • What is something that you are pro? • What is something that you are con?

12. Choose one of your serious debatable topics and come up with three pro arguments and three con arguments for the topic.

13. Fact vs. Opinion • What is a fact? • What is an opinion?

14. Fact: something that actually exists, something that has actually occurred, or something known by observation or experience to be real or true. • Opinion: a conclusion or judgment held with confidence, but falling short of positive knowledge. Rats are incapable of puking. McDonalds is better than Burger King

15. Fact or Opinion(thumbs up for Fact, “O” for Opinion) • There is less of a reliance on rail transportation for people today than there was one hundred years ago. • A required two year enlistment in the armed forces should be part of every young person’s life. • There are few frontiers left for modern humans to conquer. • The switching from standard time to day light savings time annually accounts for huge energy savings. • The opening of the Panama Canal greatly facilitated the shipping of goods from one North American coast to the other.

16. Write 3 of your own facts and 3 of your own opinions

17. Do you think that teachers should be paid based on student performance? • Write down one opinion and one fact about this issue

18. Read the editorial about school paddling and find three facts and three opinions. Write the sentences down in your journal.

20. Disciplining students with a cane or “paddling” as it is commonly referred to, is still allowed in 20 of the 52 states in the US. A recent case in Wichita Falls, Texas, has brought attention to the issue, after an 11th grade student received a paddling that put him in the hospital. According to The Center for Effective Discipline or CED, corporal punishment exists today mainly in the southern states, where it is ingrained in the customs and traditions of small communities.  CED are committed to educating parents and children about the effects of corporal punishment on children and alternatives in giving discipline.  Since 1998 the 30th of April has been dubbed SpankOut Day USA, to bring about an end to hitting children, and to promote their motto “Raising Responsible (Good) Kids Without Hitting”. CEDhighlight the fact that if students are hit at school, they think it is ok to be hit at home, and the cycle of violence continues. The student from Wichita Falls is currently involved in a legal case which may help bring an end to the hitting of students in Texas.  Recently, legislators in New Mexico voted to end the practice in their state, although it still needs the approval of the local governor before the law is passed. Interestingly, St. Augustine High School, the only remaining catholic school in New Orleans who practiced paddling, have recently banned the practice, only to be met with protests from current students and the school community who want it reinstated.  They say that being able to utilise corporal punishment has contributed to character building and higher graduation rates, and the senior students say they can tell the difference between the older students and the newer ones who have not been exposed to the same traditions.

21. Fence Sitting • What do you think fence sitting means? • What image do you think of when you think of fence sitting?

22. Fence Sitting • Once a writer presents an opinion, s/he never does anything to contradict that opinion. • Once a writer presents an opinion, she uses only facts, examples, and statistics that directly support that opinion. • Fence sitting is an indication of poor thought and planning. • Fence-sitting destroys persuasion.

23. Fence Sitting • The state highway department needs to immediately consider a plan to thin the trees along the shoulders of US 180 along a seven mile stretch north of town. Vehicular accident statistics show that this segment of the roadway is particularly treacherous in the winter. Tree thinning would allow the sun to more easily melt the ice on the roadway.

24. The state highway department needs to immediately consider a plan to thin the trees along the shoulders of US 180 along a seven mile stretch north of town. Vehicular accident statistics show that this segment of the roadway is particularly treacherous in the winter. There are, however, more treacherous sections of the roadway that can be found in the immediate region. Tree thinning would allow the sun to more easily melt the ice on the roadway, but the amount of melting would probably not reduce the number of accidents by any significant number, since speed is responsible for more accidents than the ice.

25. Fact: something that actually exists, something that actually occurred, or something known by observation or experience to be real or true. • Example: a previous case or instance that is identical with or similar to something under consideration. • Statistic: is a unit of numerical information (25%, 10 times greater than, 20% less, 15 people).

26. Plants cannot thrive unless adequate nutrients are present in the soil. • Roses, for example, are particularly susceptible to wilting if reasonable nitrogen is not present. • In our own locale, nursery operators estimate that 10-15% of the rose plants germinated annually die because of inadequate nitrogen in the soil.

27. Fact, example, and statistic • What is a fact? Give an example • What is an example? Give an example • What is a statistic? Give an example

28. Topic: the importance of standardized tests • 1 opinion about the importance of standardized tests • 1 fact about the importance of standardized tests • 1 example about the importance of standardized tests • 1 statistic about the importance of standardized tests

29. Opinion: Parents need to impose tighter supervision upon their children with regard to their television viewing. • Reason 1: Unsupervised TV viewings by impressionable youngsters exposes them to far too much violence. • Reason 2: Unsupervised TV viewing by children can contribute to poor physical fitness. • Reason 3: Too much television viewing on the part of children can lead to delayed social development.

30. Opinion statement: Our school needs to immediately take measures to encourage students to attend school regularly. • Reason: Our declining attendance rate has become a serious problem and an embarrassment for all concerned with the school. • Brainstorm a list of facts, statistics, and examples, then write an actual body paragraph, starting with the reason above.

31. Remember that the Gypsies were not given reparations for loss of property and life during the Holocaust. Do you think that they should be compensated for those losses? (Other groups were given compensation after the war to help them recover – the Gypsies were a group that was not). • You will take the position of being either pro or con in this situation. • Think of two good reasons for your argument and then come up with three examples, facts, or statistics to make your argument stronger.

32. Argument: Gypsies should be compensated for the atrocities they experienced during the Holocaust. • Reason #1 • (f,e, or s) • (f,e, or s) • (f,e, or s) • Reason #2 • (f,e, or s) • (f,e, or s) • (f,e, or s)

33. What are some changes that should be made to South Meadows. • Make a list of five changes that should be considered to make this a better school. • Remember to pick serious debatable topics, not just your personal preferences.

34. Argument: We should change _____ at South Meadows • Reason #1 • (f,e, or s) • (f,e, or s) • (f,e, or s) • Reason #2 • (f,e, or s) • (f,e, or s) • (f,e, or s)

35. Letter to the Principal • Write a letter to Mr. Lomeli where you ask him to make a change about our school. • In your letter you must: • Talk about a serious debatable topic • No fence sitting • After you state your opinion – use facts, stats, and examples to prove your reasons.

36. Structure of a letter Mr. Lomeli, We need to change _____ at South Meadows. The two reasons for this change are: ____________ and ____________. • Reason #1 • (fact) • (example) • (statistic) • Reason #2 • (fact) • (example) • (statistic) Thank you for listening and please consider making this change. Sincerely,

37. The ability to share/understand another person’s emotions and/or thoughts. What is Empathy? What is Apathy? A lack of interest or emotions.

38. Empathy vs. Apathy • What examples of Apathy were apparent in the Holocaust? • What examples of Empathy were apparent in the Holocaust?

39. Imagine that you are reading a newspaper and you come across the following headline. Landlord is finally able to evict a family from his home after they had been living rent free for six months. Now come up with at least three reasons for and three reasons against the landlord’s actions. ProCon How are your arguments empathetic?

40. Appeal to Emotion and Logic • An appeal to emotion and logic is an attempt by the writer to appeal directly to the reader’s common sense or to arouse some particular emotion within the reader that might ultimately cause him to act. (fear, guilt, worry, out-rage). • Appeals to emotion and logic are usually short – one or two sentences. • Appeals to emotion and logic often take the form of a sequence of questions, with each building on the other.

41. How could a person who considers herself a human being make a decision that would hurt the children of her community? • Translation: Let’s make the reader feel guilty, and hopefully she will agree with us. • How could any clear-thinking, well-informed citizen come to any other possible conclusion? • Translation: Let’s congratulate the reader on being such a smart person (but she’s only really smart if she agrees with us. • What kind of mother would subject her baby to such a thing? • Translation: Let’s appeal to basic maternal instinct and change this person’s mind.

42. Appeals to emotion work well with subjects that deal with: • Basic human needs • Human well-being or suffering • Family relationships • Children • Appeals to logic work well with subjects that deal with: • Money • Image or appearance • Right or wrong issues outside the scope of human needs

43. Appeal to Emotion • How did Hitler utilize this tactic during World War II? Try to give specific examples.

44. Letter to the Editor • Read the example letter to the editor • Write your own letter to the editor about an issue. In your letter you need to include a passionate appeal to emotion or logic when making your point.

45. I once again feel a sense of complete disbelief at the funding processes used within our schools ("Artificial turf to be replaced," West Metro Community News, April 7). I am a former public school teacher and currently volunteer at Vose Elementary in Beaverton School District. Vose has 87 percent of its students on free or reduced-cost lunch. I recently purchased a set of glue sticks, geoboards (for geometry) and hand sanitizer for one of the classrooms. I spent $87.53. The district doesn't have the money to provide the basics. It will, however, be able to spend $850,000 to replace artificial turf that is still under warranty. The rationale? The money comes from construction bonds, money that could never be used to purchase classroom supplies. Shouldn't there be a change to the fundamental way money is appropriated? That is, if the students really are the priority. NATALIE HAIMA Tigard

46. Climatic Change and Us • Obama as a President • an international sans Nuclear Weapons • Global Terrorism • Are We Having a Communications Technology Overkill? • Is Texting Taking its Toll on Correct Usage of Language • How Much is just too Much – Parental Restrictions on Children • Children’s Privacy • Value of Friendship • Will we Need Sex Education • Everyday Needs to be Parents Day • Your Role Model inside the Family • How Obesity Ostracizes • The Obsession With Weight-loss • Say No To Junk Food • Being Vegetarian – Key To Healthy Life • Blast from the Past – Reviving Old Methods of Recreation to Stay Fit • The Dreadful Drugs • No Smoking Please • Teenage Love • Cultivating the Habit of Reading • Are Curse Words Dominating Your Speech • Celebrity Worship • Fashion for kids • The Tinsel Town Effects • Your Perception of a Teacher • Awareness of Social Responsibility • Effects and Causes of Ozone Depletion

47. How to Write a Letter to the Editor • Pick a topic that you feel passionate about. Relate it to an issue very recently discussed in the publication to which you are writing. • Think of new ways to discuss the topic and present unique solutions to the problem. • Write clearly and concisely. Most newspapers and have limitations on space. • Include your major points within the first few paragraphs. • Sign your name • Keep in mind that most publications verify by phone or in writing that you, and not someone attributing these opinions to you, authored the letter. • If your letter is going to be shortened, it will usually be the final paragraphs, so don't save your point for the end.

48. Advertising • How is advertising a form of persuasion? • Do you think that advertising is effective? • Which advertising campaigns do you think are the most effective?

49. Homework • Bring in an advertisement from a magazine, a newspaper, or any other example you can bring into the class or share.

50. Verbal abuse can be just as horrific, but you don’t have to suffer in silence. Call the abuse helpline for advice and support.