improving your persuasive writing lesson 1: writing with a purpose lesson 2: elaboration and...

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proving Your Persuasive Writing sson 1: Writing with a Purpose sson 2: Elaboration and Detailed Suppor sson 3: Critique and Peer review ck on any lesson to get started component skills in persuasive writing click here .

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Improving Your Persuasive Writing

Lesson 1: Writing with a Purpose

Lesson 2: Elaboration and Detailed Support

Lesson 3: Critique and Peer review

*Click on any lesson to get started

*For component skills in persuasive writing click here.

In a previous module, you learned the four steps to write a clear and simple persuasive essay. During that lesson, you were provided a topic that directly affected you and your schedule(shortening your lunch period), and it was easy to choose a side.

This lesson will show you how to choose a side when the topic provided doesn’t affect you either way, or you have no interest in.

Lesson 1: Writing with a purpose

Lesson 1 Preview

1.Brainstorming

2.List the positives and negatives of the topic

3.Choose a side and write an opening paragraph

*Materials needed – paper and pencil

1. Brainstorming – (Consider the student has already had practice in brainstorming from previous lessons)There are many different ways to brainstorm ideas and thoughts and get them on to paper, we often use graphic organizers to keep things organized. In this case, creating a web will be most useful.

With your given topic, you will want to list all of the good things and bad things that will happen. Click here to see an example of a web.

Now it is your turn to test your skills in brainstorming ideas about a certain topic. Before you move on to the next slide, use pencil and paper and create a web of ideas that will help you decide which side to take.

Your topic: A local businessman wants to open a new family-friendly restaurant on the corner of your street. Before he breaks ground to build, he would like to hear positive and negative feedback from the local community.

Challenge: Make a web with ideas about whether this businessman should build a restaurant or not. When your finished, click on the image to compare your ideas.

***Remember, all you are doing is listing ideas, you are not required to choose a side yet.

2. Creating a list of positives and negatives:

Now that you have created a web of ideas concerning this topic, you will organize your ideas into positive and negative affects. Use a T-chart to separate your ideas. This is what a T-chart might look like.

Positives Negatives

In preparation for your last activity, put your brainstorming ideas into a T-chart. (Assume the student is familiar with a T-chart graphic organizer) Be sure to organize them in a way that represents a positive and negative category. Once you have finished, go to the next page.

You’re last activity in this module is to decide which argument you’d like to make. Once you have written out the arguing points of both sides, you might find yourself leaning one way or the other. However, there will be topics that you just aren’t that interested in. In this case, your best option would be to choose the side that you can make the best argument for, the side that has the most arguments or bullet points. This will make it easier for you to complete your persuasive essay.

For your last challenge, create an opening paragraph for this topic choosing a side and identify your reasons. When you finish you may compare you paragraph to the example provided.

Example

Example of a web used as a graphic organizer

Brainstorming example

How do your ideas compare to this piece? Do you have similar ideas? Different? Do you notice more positive or negative ideas on your paper?

Opening Paragraph Example:

Opening a new restaurant in our neighborhood is a recipe for success! As a community, we are always looking for new local owners to open up. Building a new eating establishment will help produce more local business, create new jobs, and provide a meeting place for family and friends.

How does your paragraph compare to this one? Remember that the opening paragraph should have a strong opening paragraph, clear indication of the side you are on, and the reasons why.

Summary: Writing with a Purpose

When given a topic that you are unfamiliar with or have no interest in follow these three steps; brainstorm, list the positive and negatives in a T-chart, and choose a side.

Following these short steps will allow you to see both sides of the argument and make it easier for you to complete a persuasive essay.

Home

Lesson 2: Elaboration and Detailed SupportWhen writing a persuasive essay, it is imperative that the author explains their reasoning. The writer can best describe their point of view by elaborating and providing detailed support for the argument. Giving examples and inserting personal experience will help influence your reader.

In this lesson, you will see good and bad examples of how to explain your reasons. Once you have finished, you will be asked to write a persuasive essay that includes detailed support with examples and personal experience.

Here is your topic for lesson 2: Your science teacher has scheduled a field trip to hike in the Fiery Furnace in the Arches National Park. There are potential risks within the hike, and can put students in dangerous situations. However, the teacher believes this will be a great hands-on learning experience and is requiring all students attend. Write a persuasive essay stating whether students should be required to attend or not.

Here are three different essays the teacher received from his class. Click on a student to see each essay. After you have read each one, decide which essay had the most support and reasoning, and which one was the least influential.

Student 1

Student 2

Student 3

Once you have read all three articles, click here to view assignment for lesson two.

Student 1

I disagree with the idea of taking a group of students to the Fiery Furnace for a science experience. I don’t like the assignment because the field trip will put students in danger, students with disabilities cannot attend, and students will treat this field trip as a hike, not a learning experience.

The first reason I disagree with this field trip is the high level of danger in this area. The Fiery Furnace in Arches National Park is full of poisonous snakes, high cliffs, and extreme heat. Putting students in this situation will create a risk management nightmare. It is very easy to get lost in this territory. What will the teacher do if a student gets lost or stuck on a high ledge? Who will carry out a child with an injured ankle when you’re a mile into the hike? There are too many dangers in this hike that a teacher can anticipate.

Another strong reason for not going on this fieldtrip is that this particular hike is not accessible to those with disabilities. For example, if this class has a student in a wheel chair or on crutches, that individual will not be able to attend. Asking that all students go on this field trip to receive full credit for the class is against ADA policies.

My last reason for not allowing this fieldtrip to happen is the fact that if the class actually went on this fieldtrip, students will not be out in the open wilderness studying different rock forms or deposition. Most of these students will be treating it like a normal hike or exploration. Students will want to break off into smaller groups and explore on their own, they will want to splash around in water holes and jump from rock to rock. I have a hard time seeing the teacher gathering everyone together to view a layered rock or animal track. There is too much to do and see to keep a controlled environment.

In conclusion…

Student 2Going on a fieldtrip to the Fiery Furnace would be a fulfilling and

meaningful opportunity to all students who attend. With an extensive safety plan, going on this hike will give students a real-world experience in the wilderness. Students will see science in action, and have the time to research and observe the concepts they have learned in class.

If the teacher plans ahead and prepares for this field trip, the students will be safe and can have fun with little or no risk. There are many steps the teacher can take to make sure the students are safe and accounted for.

During the hike, students will see different types of science in every direction. They can observe and collect data using the tools and knowledge they brought with them.

Lastly, if students are well prepared, they will be able to identify erosion, deposition, and many other earth surface terms that they studied all year. The class will also be subject to the microsoils prevalent in that area, they will learn the importance of staying on the trails and what human impact has on nature.

In conclusion…

Student 3I strongly disagree wit h the idea of taking a group of young adults

to Arches National Park. At first thought, the fieldtrip sounds meaningful, but looking at the risk involved, there is no way I would attend. The teacher should not require this as an assignment because of the liability the school will have for the students, too many life threatening dangers, and the financial cost it will have on all students.

The liability and the risk involved with this fieldtrip out weighs the potential learning that would take place. In recent months, other schools have gone on fieldtrips similar to this, only to have a child fall off a cliff and sustain life threatening injuries. Personally, if I were out hiking and someone in my group injured themselves, I would feel personally liable, and doubt that I would forgive myself easily. It would be very difficult to move on from such a bad experience.

Another reason I don’t think this would work is because of the financial responsibility it would have on the parents and students of this class. Any parent would want their child to be well prepared for this hike, which means they will need hiking gear. This includes hiking shoes, sustainable shirt and jeans, a backpack, and food, etc. Not all students have these supplies at home and parents will feel obligated to go out and purchase all the things necessary to have their child ready. The families that don’t have these things in their household already are most likely the ones who cant afford it.

My last and most important reason is that the Fiery Furnace is a maze of unmarked trails and paths. Getting lost in the small canyon is easy and can happen after the first turn in the canyon. The hike consists of narrow passages that not all people can get through. The terrain is rough and slippery. Flash floods can happen in a moments notice. Groups as large as this can become disoriented and disagree with direction and awareness. Without multiple guides, this is a very dangerous activity.

In conclusion…

Lesson 2 Assignment:

Part one: Write a short paragraph explaining which essay has the strongest argument and why. Support your answer with examples from the article.

Part two: Using the same topic, write a persuasive essay that includes attributes from lesson one and two. Create a strong opening paragraph that states your persuasive main idea and reasons. Then write the body or your essay with elaboration and detailed support. Submit your essay by email. Send the finished product as a .doc or .pdf file to

[email protected]

Review Lesson two Home

Lesson 3: Peer Review and Critique

The last activity you will participate in will be a peer review and critique. One way to improve your writing skills are to view and evaluate the work of others.

For lesson 3, you will be playing the role of the teacher, critiquing and reviewing your students work. You will be shown a persuasive essay that needs to be rewritten. Read the essay and decide what changes need to be made with the article. These changes can be any part of the essay from misspelled words to paragraph format. You will be provided a guide that explains what should be included in the essay, use that to assist you in your critique.

Read the following standards. These standards are for all students in 5th grade. If a student can include these concepts in an essay, he/she will have reached substantial achievement.

Substantial Achievement

Students performing at the Substantial level should be able to:

 Create an effective and elaborated response to a writing prompt; Convey a clear, focused, and persuasive main idea; Provide substantial elaboration and support for ideas; Demonstrate effective organization that enhances the text; demonstrate an awareness of the intended audience;Clearly acknowledge other opinions on the subject and may refute them; Apply a rich and appropriate vocabulary to create vivid imagery; Demonstrate sentence fluency with a natural flow and rhythm; and Show enhanced expression through control of writing conventions.

Assignment 3:

Part one: Submit a rewritten draft of the essay provided.

Part two: Write a paragraph reflection on what you changed in the essay and why. Provide support for your answer with examples from the essay.

Once you have finished, send an email with an attachment, a .doc or .pdf file, to [email protected]

Topic: Write a persuasive essay stating whether or not the students at your school should be required to wear uniforms to school. Give at least three reasons to support your position. Remember, you must argue in such a convincing manner that others will agree with you.

Use these tips as you review and critique this essay. Create an effective and elaborated response to a writing prompt; Convey a clear, focused, and persuasive main idea; Provide substantial elaboration and support for ideas; Demonstrate effective organization that enhances the text; demonstrate an awareness of the intended audience;Clearly acknowledge other opinions on the subject and may refute them; Apply a rich and appropriate vocabulary to create vivid imagery; Demonstrate sentence fluency with a natural flow and rhythm; and Show enhanced expression through control of writing conventions.

Forcing well-behaved students to wear hideous uniforms is a bad idea. I disagree with the idea for sevral reasons. First of all, making students wear uniforms can actually tern out to be more expensive and difficult than buying normal cloths. Even though you are buying the same clothes, you have to buy enough of them to last you at least one week. The next reason i don’t believe in uniforms is because they don’t make any difference in a students education. Many adults believe that having uniforms will help kids stay more focused, clean up there altitudes, and prevent any gang related activity from going on. This is simply not true. Uniforms won’t change any of that.

The last reason I want to ban any type of uniform talk it the fact that kids our age use clothing as a way of espresing them self. Kids like to use clothing as a way of defining who they are and what they do. Taking this way will cause great havoc at our school.

In conclusion, I am anti-uniform for three strog reasons. Most importntly, they are to expensave, they don’t serve any purpose for helping studnets, and last, unifroms will take away the idea of self esxpressoin and individuality.