Prewriting to Select a Topic

For your own persuasive essay, you need to select a debatable school issue that you feel strongly about. A debatable issue has differing opinions. For example, few people would debate the need for education, but many would debate the idea of extending the school year.

One thing I'd like to change about our school is . . .

One problem I see often at our school is . . .

One way we could make school better for all students is . . .

One cause, sport, or activity I wish our school would take part in is . . .

Prewriting to Develop an Opinion

To write a convincing persuasive essay, you need to feel strongly about your topic. These activities will help you develop your opinion of the topic.

Warm-Up for Persuasive Essays

Persuasive essays share an opinion and attempt to convince readers to agree with it. This unit will show you how to build a strong argument that influences your readers.

© Thoughtful Learning 2016

What Is a Persuasive Essay?

A persuasive essay allows you to express and support an opinion about an important topic—often a topic that pulls people in different directions.

Does homework really help you? Are school uniforms a good idea? Is more security needed in your school? You have opinions about these topics, right? In fact, you have opinions about a lot of things. Everyone does.

The purpose of persuasive writing is to convince readers to agree with an opinion. To be convincing, you must learn a great deal about your topic. Then you must write about it clearly and thoughtfully. In this unit, you will write a persuasive essay about an important school-related topic.

Thinking About Opinions

An opinion is a personally held belief that cannot be proven to be true. The central idea or argument of a persuasive essay is expressed in an opinion statement. An opinion statement shares a specific opinion about an interesting topic.

Sample Opinion Statement

A special bike lane is needed on all busy streets.

Editing to Vary Sentence Beginnings

The most basic sentence starts with a subject and tells what happens to it:

Notice how plain the sentence is? One way to make sentences more interesting is to vary their beginnings. For example, you can begin a sentence with a word, phrase, or clause.

Word

Frightened, the woman ran across the street.

Phrase

Without pausing, the woman ran across the street.

Clause

Because she was frightened, the woman ran across the street.

1. Our school auditorium is too small, dark, and unpleasant. The auditorium leaks when it rains. The chairs are uncomfortable. People don’t enjoy coming to our concerts. More people might come if the auditorium were bright, clean, and comfortable. Students would enjoy performing more. It is clear we should build a new auditorium.
2. The kids in our neighborhood are often bored, and they need a safe place to hang out. They go to the fast-food restaurant on the corner after school. They spend time at the mall on weekends, but these places are not always open. These places don’t provide interesting, constructive activities. It would be a good idea to open a sports and recreation center in the neighborhood.

Revising to Answer Objections

Believe it or not, one of the most powerful ways to support your opinion is to consider the ideas of people who disagree. When you mention an opposing viewpoint, you show your reader that you have already thought about objections against your opinion. You also get the opportunity to handle the objection in one of three ways:

• Refuting the objection means showing how the opposing idea is incorrect.

  Some people say that students who have to share instruments learn patience and cooperation. Unfortunately in the past, students who share instruments have only learned that band is not for them and have dropped out.

• Addressing the objection means recognizing it is valid but has some limitations.

  Many people have suggested a fund-raiser to make money for new instruments. Though fund-raisers can be helpful, the cost of new instruments means a lot of effort to buy only a few instruments.

• Conceding the objection means saying it is a good point while at the same time stressing the importance of your position.

  Yes, every student would prefer to play a new instrument. That's true. But a used instrument is better than nothing, which is what many students currently have.

Objection 1:

Answer 1 (Refute, Address, or Concede):

Objection 2:

Answer 2 (Refute, Address, or Concede):

Objection 3:

Answer 3 (Refute, Address, or Concede):

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.

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?

© Thoughtful Learning 2016

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.