Writing the Beginning Paragraph

The first sentence is called the lead. It should capture your reader’s attention, introducing the cause in an interesting way.

1. Ask a provocative question about the topic.

   What does a trumpet player sound like without a trumpet?

2. Start with a surprising fact or detail about the topic.

   The trumpet section of our band has ten players but only six trumpets.

3. Tell a little story about the topic.

   The first time I played my trumpet in concert, I realized I had made a friend for life.

Reading a Promotion Paragraph and Essay

Before writing to promote your own cause, you should see how other writers convinced their audiences. As you read the paragraph and essay below, think about how the writers put ideas together and how you might promote your own cause.

Reading a Persuasive Paragraph

A persuasive paragraph has three main parts. The topic sentence states the opinion. The body sentences support the opinion with reasons. The ending sentence restates or emphasizes the opinion.

Sample Paragraph

1. How would you summarize the writer's opinion?
2. How would you summarize the three main reasons that support the opinion?

Warm-Up for Promoting a Cause

One way that persuasive writing can empower you is to help you promote an important cause.

How Can I Promote a Cause?

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You can promote a cause by showing readers how it will help them or help others. To convince readers, you must give solid reasons and express your ideas clearly. In this unit, you will be asked to write an essay that persuades others to support a cause that you believe in.

“Save the whales!” “Alba Moreno for class president!” “Reduce, reuse, recycle!” These statements are more than just slogans that you might see on campaign posters or advertisements. They also identify worthy causes—helping an intelligent species, electing a candidate, and recycling. Almost everyone supports one worthy cause or another. When you support a cause, you express your belief about something. When you try to get others to support your belief, you use persuasion.

In this unit, you will be asked to write an essay that persuades others to support a cause that you believe in.

Thinking About Opinions

People have all kinds of opinions and all kinds of reasons for their opinions. An opinion is a statement that reveals your thoughts or feelings about something. It involves a judgment. (For example, you may like or dislike asparagus.)

1. I like/don’t like   because . . .
2. I like/don’t like   because . . .
3. I like/don’t like   because . . .
4. I like/don’t like   because . . .
5. I like/don’t like   because . . .

Creating Opinion Statements

You can most powerfully express your opinion by creating an opinion statement. An opinion statement shares your specific opinion about an interesting topic.

Editing Compound Sentences

Simple sentences have just one complete thought.

What if you combined them? A compound sentence joins simple sentences using a comma and and, or, but, for, nor, or so.

1. I like helping my mom cook. It's fun to taste our creations. (and)
2. We were going to go sledding. There was not enough snow. (but)
3. Special Challenge: Find two simple sentences from your essay. Add a comma and the word and, but, or or to combine the two sentences.

Revising from General to Specific

Your writing will sound more knowledgeable and interesting if you replace general ideas with specific facts that your readers might not already know.

• General idea: Whales are really long.

• Specific fact: Whales can grow up to 115 feet long.

• General idea: Dolphins and whales use sounds.

• Specific fact: Dolphins and whales use echolocation sounds to communicate and warn of danger.

1. Penguins use their black and white color as camouflage. Penguins use their black and white color as camouflage.
2. Penguins are great swimmers and can move quickly in the water. Penguins are great swimmers and can move quickly in the water.
3. The Gentoo Penguin can swim at speeds of 22 miles per hour. The Gentoo Penguin can swim at speeds of 22 miles per hour.
4. All penguins live in the Southern Hemisphere. All penguins live in the Southern Hemisphere.

Writing the Beginning Paragraph

The first sentence in your essay should grab the reader’s attention. It is called a “lead.” The following activity will help you write an effective lead sentence.

1. Explain why the subject matters:

Dolphins and whales are among the most majestic creatures on earth.

2. Provide a surprising fact:

Two of the smartest animals on earth live in the ocean.

3. Ask a question:

Did you know dolphins and whales come from the same biological family?

Your beginning paragraph should end with a focus statement. The focus statement names the two subjects and starts to compare and contrast them.

Prewriting to Select a Topic

Reading a Comparison-Contrast Paragraph and Essay

This lesson lets you discover how another student analyzed two topics in a comparison-contrast paragraph and essay.

Reading a Comparison-Contrast Paragraph

A comparison-contrast paragraph has three main parts. The topic sentence introduces two subjects and says something about them. The body sentences give details about how the two subjects are alike and different. The ending sentence sums up how the subjects are the same or different.

Sample Paragraph

1. Does the reading mostly focus on the way the two bikes are the same or different?
2. Name three ways the bikes differ.

Warm-Up for Comparison-Contrast Essays

Explanatory essays share information about a topic. One way to explain two topics that interest you is to write a comparison-contrast essay.