Slide 1

Organizing and Writing a persuasive EssayIn this demonstration you will learn four basics steps to writing a persuasive essay. This will provide you with a foundation in early writing steps and evaluation. As a real life situation in 5th grade, you will be given the topic you are to write about. This demonstration will take that into account as you read on.Use the arrows at the bottom right to navigate through the demonstration or click on the home to return to the overview page.

6/29/2010 4:59 PM 2007 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Microsoft, Windows, Windows Vista and other product names are or may be registered trademarks and/or trademarks in the U.S. and/or other countries.The information herein is for informational purposes only and represents the current view of Microsoft Corporation as of the date of this presentation. Because Microsoft must respond to changing market conditions, it should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of Microsoft, and Microsoft cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information provided after the date of this presentation. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, AS TO THE INFORMATION IN THIS PRESENTATION.

1The purpose of a persuasive essay is to convince or persuade someone to agree with you. Many people write persuasive essays to someone that is about to make a decision that will affect them in some way.

Here is an example of question you might see in a real world situation. Your principal would like to shorten your lunch period from 35 minutes down to 25 minutes. She has asked the students at her school to provide feedback about this topic before she makes a decision.

This is a prime example of why someone would write a persuasive essay. Well use this question throughout this demonstration and show the proper steps for you to take to complete a persuasive essay.

Step 1 Take a stand! Pick a side and stick with it. You might not be concerned about your lunch time, but you will need to choose one way or the other. For the purpose of this course, lets say you would be extremely upset if you lost your lunch time. Once youve chosen a side, you will need to brainstorm and organize your reasons and examples down on a piece of paper. An example of brainstorming might look like this.

Please note that telling the reader that it isnt fair is not a sufficient reason!

Step 4 Writing a conclusion is your last chance to convince your reader! Use your last paragraph to RESTATE the side youve chosen and the three reasons why. Be sure to restructure your words so youre not repeating your first paragraph. Finish your essay with a great closing line similar to the way you started your first paragraph.

In conclusion, I feel strongly that you should not take away ten minutes of our lunch time. We dont have enough time to eat as it is, more food will go wasted, and students will have less time to get the physical activity they need to stay healthy. Remember, the last thing parents want to see is two large dumpsters filled up with uneaten food!

Click here to see an example of a completed essay.

Topic Your school district is hosting a city council meeting to discuss the option of extending the school day by two hours each day. By doing this, students will not have to go to school on Fridays. The extended hours will be from 7:30am to 4:00pm, Monday through Thursday, and there will not be a short day.

Instructions In persuasive essay format, write to your school district explaining whether you agree with the option or not. List your reasons and provide specific details and examples that support your choice. Consider all different groups that will be affected by this decision.

Click on the link below to begin writing.

BeginCongratulations! You have finished your course in persuasive essay writing. You will receive your graded essay 7-10 days from the time you submitted your assessment. Thank you!

Click here to see an example of a completed essay with feedback.Student Example

Permanent three-day weekends sounds like the best idea that the government has thought of in years. I feel that taking our five school days and turning them into four days is a great idea because it will allow more time with our families, and we will get more school work done during the weekends. The first and most important reason we should cut school down to four days is because it will give us more time to be at home with our families. Many government buildings have gone to a four day week so we will have the same schedule as our parents. I guess other kids with parents at work can find a babysitter. Another reason we should shorten the school week is so we can have more time to finish homework and big projects that are done at home. Having Friday off would allow students to finish homework that they didnt get done during the week. They can also go to the city library and do research and use the computers there. In conclusion, I believe that changing the school week to four days a week will improve test scores at school, students will be happy to do their homework, and everyone will get to spend more time with their families.Teacher Feedback

Your opening sentence is strong and convincing to the reader. All of your paragraphs start and end at appropriate times and good use of transitional words.

Remember that you will want to have five paragraphs total, in your opening paragraph you stated two reasons for your argument. To have a strong essay, you will need at least three ideas with supporting examples and details.

In the second paragraph you state that some parents will be home with the kids while others will have to find a babysitter. This statement seems to refute your argument. Be sure to provide sentences that will help your position.

The second reason is a weak example. Its hard to think that students will do more homework on Fridays when most teachers dont give homework over the weekend. If kids are treating the extra day as a three-day weekend, the last thing they want to do is extra school work.

Finally, in your conclusion you bring up other reasons for your decision that you didnt explore in your essay. How are you connecting test scores to a four day week?

End Module