Persuasive Composition
Prewriting Guide Sheet
My controversial issue is _______________________________________________________________
My position/stand on the issue is _________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
Two sources of information I found that SUPPORT my side of the issue are _______________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
One reason I hold my view is _____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Supporting information _________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Another reason I hold my view is _________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Supporting information _________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
A third reason I hold my view is __________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Supporting information _________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
What I want people to do after reading this is ________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Persuasive Composition
Detail Sheet
You will be writing a formal composition dealing with a controversial issue. You may choose a topic as nationally prominent as abortion or gun control, or something as local as dress codes or book bags in the halls. Your purpose is to find something you feel strongly about and wish to convince others to view as you do. Your audience is me and the other students.
Use the second sheet as a prewriting guide to help organize and develop your argument. (It will be collected at the end of class today and with your final paper).
The Persuasive paper is basically a written argument. There are three structured parts that require certain elements to be successful. The first part is the Introduction. In the introduction you must have an attention getter (facts, statistics, anecdote) and your position statement (what your stand on the issue is) Each should be specific and should be written appropriately for the paper. A joke is not a good attention getter for a persuasive. When you write your position statement be sure to include your stand on the issue and what you believe should happen. Do NOT use phrases like “I believe,” “it is my believe,” “in my opinion,” etc. This is a statement – Example: Capital punishment is an effective deterrent to crime and its use should be increase throughout the country.
The next section is the body. Organization is the key. You must have three reasons and supporting evidence to support your position statement. Think of how you wish to organize – strongest reason to the weakest, weakest to strongest, local to national, national to local, etc. Each reason and its own evidence should be a separate paragraph. This helps to structure your paper so it looks like you have a lot of information. Secondly, each reason should be different – don not just reword the same reason over again. Thirdly, the evidence for each reason should be separate – do not use the same evidence for each reason.
Finally, be sure to explain your ideas – do not simply just list your reasons and put the evidence afterwards. How and why does it support?
The final section is the conclusion. Two parts are important here. First, the summary. You spend some amount of space taken and separating all your reasons out. Now in the conclusion, you want to bring them all back together again into one or two sentences and connect them to the position statement. The second part is the “call to action” or “what do you do now” part. After reading the paper and seeing your evidence, what do you want the reader to do? Change his way of thinking? Get out and vote? Go picket something? Come up with something reasonable and something you would be willing to do as well.
Good luck and be sure to hit the following criteria:
1. Hand written on one side of the paper, blue or black ink, skipping every other line.
Typed in 12 point, normal font, in black ink, double spaced.
2. Two to four sources (Internet, Taking Sides, Magazines or newspapers, Personal)
Be sure to use correct MLA format for Works Cited page.
3. Prewriting Guide sheet due at end of class today.
4. Final paper, with prewriting guide sheet, due on Thursday October 19, 2006 at the beginning of each class. No
extensions!! No excuses (absences included)!!
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Persuasive Writing Techniques
1) Know your audience
-Allows you to pick words and level of writing
2) Use figurative language
-Hyperbole- overstate, exaggeration >Attention getter
-Simile/ Metaphor- comparisons of persuasive elements
-Loaded words- words that evoke emotion (patriotism, family, honor, etc.)
-Band Wagon – appeal to the reader: to appeal to the crowd
-Celebrity appeal- well known people having the same view
-Emotional Appeal – words and phrases that appeal to the emotions – love, hate, anger, disgust, enjoyment, joy, peace
-Ethical Appeal – words and phrases that appeal to a sense of right and wrong, (morally, socially, religiously)
-Logical Appeal – words and phrases that appeal to logic or rationality (The way it is or should be, it makes sense)
3) Use appropriate language and word choice
-Positive, Active voice- your side of the issue is front and center, the main part
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Persuasive Composition
Outline
a. Attention Getter – some fact or statistic or anecdote that grabs the reader’s attention.
b. Position Statement – a statement that clearly gives the writer’s stance on the issue.
II. Body
- be sure to have a plan of organization. Make a logical progression from one point to the next and be sure everything is directly related to the position statement
a. Reason #1 – the first reason the writer has for his/her position.
1. should be clearly stated
2. should be directly relevant to position statement
3. should be separate from other reasons
b. Evidence #1 – the supporting information or details as to why the reason stated is important and how it fits the purpose.
1. should be clearly stated
2. should be specific to the reason given
3. should be separate from other evidence and reasons
4. should be explained and cited if needed
c. Reason #2 – another reason for the writer to hold his/her position
d. Evidence #2 – the supporting information or details
e. Reason #3 – the third reason for holding the position
f. Evidence #3 – supporting information or details
III. Conclusion
a. Summary – summarize the reasons given above into one or two sentences, bringing the whole paper together. It may even be beneficial to restate the position statement and combine it with the reasons
b. Call to action – a statement about what the writer wants the reader to do now. It can be simple – “Change your way of thinking” or complex – “Organize a protest in front of …”
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Persuasive Composition Library Sheet
Name ___________________________________________
Issue ____________________________________________
I. Position Statement (Remember – do NOT use “I feel,” “I believe,” “I think,” etc.)
(ex. 1. The right of a woman to choose what happens to her body is guaranteed by the Constitution therefore abortion should be legal and allowed to continue in the United States.
Ex. 2 Violence on television is a major influence on children and there should be restrictions on the level of violence allowed to be shown.)
II. List two or three sources where you have found information for your paper
a.
b.
c.
III. What are your three reasons for holding the above position?
a.
b.
c.
IV. List two things you found about your topic you did not know before starting
a.
b.
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Persuasive Outline Worksheet
(Fill in each section with the information you have found from your research)
I Introduction
(Remember, you must grab the reader’s interest)
(Remember, this is what you believe, why, and what you want)
II. Body
A. Reason #1
(This is your idea)
1. Evidence, Support, Explanation
(This is your research)
B. Reason #2
(This is your idea)
1. Evidence, Support, Explanation
(This is your research)
C. Reason #3
(This is your idea)
1. Evidence, Support, Explanation
(This is your research)
III. Conclusion
A. Summary
(Summarize main points, restate thesis)
B. Call To Action
(Ask the reader to do something about your issue)
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VHS LIBRARY PATHFINDER:
A. Print Resources:
1. Reference Books – Taking Sides – R 303.6 TAK
2. Web Catalog:
a. Go to www.vermilionschools.org/vhs/library
b. Select Library Sites.
c. Select Vermilion High School.
d. Click on the large cat on the left.
e. Type in your search term and click on either subject search or all fields
f. Search for Opposing Viewpoints books, Current Controversies books,
Point/Counterpoint, or At Issue by selecting a "series" search.
3. Ritter Web Catalog:
a. If you can’t find any books in our library, you can search Ritter Library’s
card catalog from our search screen. At the top of the search screen click on
More Libraries.
b. After Ritter’s web page loads, click on Library
Catalog on the upper-left corner of the page.
c. If you cannot find a book at Ritter, you can search the Clevenet Library Catalog.
Remember, if you find a book that you want from Clevenet, you MUST USE
your Ritter Public Library Card to reserve the book in your name and have it sent to Ritter.
B. Computer Resources:
1. Magazine Searches: See the Handout
2. Use the Gale Student Resource Center for reference books, magazines and/or
journals, and newspaper articles.
3. Clevenet Database: Opposing Viewpoints
a. Go to: www.cpl.org
b. Choose Databases & Links Library
c. Search the bottom search box (Databases) using the words OpposingViewpoints and
then click on the words Opposing Viewpoints
d. Type in your Public Library card number in the box and the last four digits of your phone
number in the second box and submit.
4. Internet Sources:
a. Go into Favorites on Internet Explorer and do the following:
1. Look for the English folder and open it.
2. Look for D’Egidio’s folder and open it.
3. Look for Social Issues folder and open it. There are bookmarked
web sites that contain both pro and con information on a wide
range of controversial issues.
b. Websites containing controversial issues:
http://www.suffolk.lib.ny.us/libraries/cmmk/speech.html
http://www.multcolib.org/homework/sochc.html
http://www.sheboygan.lib.wi.us/pages/linkssoc.html
http://library.sau.edu/bestinfo/Hot/hotindex.htm
http://www.sosu.edu/lib/subsocis.htm