Persuasive EssayFive paragraphs45 Minutes

Persuasive essay• Your job in writing a persuasive essay is to

convince the reader that your way is the right way. You need to convince them without a shadow of a doubt that they should join your side of the argument.

• Transitions need to be used throughout the essay• Compositional risks and propaganda should be

used. You can’t earn a five or six without them!

Persuasive Essay Outline• Introduction

• Hook – magic three• State the situation• Tell us your opinion• List your reasons

• Body• Reason one –

• Transition, topic sentence • Supporting details with transitions and some evidence of propaganda• Transition summative sentence

• Reason two – • Transition, topic sentence • Supporting details with transitions and some evidence of propaganda• Transition summative sentence

• Reason three –• Transition, topic sentence • Supporting details with transitions and some evidence of propaganda• Transition summative sentence

• Conclusion• Transition, opinion, restate• Transition, summary sentences• Call to action

•

The Prompt• Read the prompt carefully –• Read it several times to make sure you understand it• Jot down what the question means, or make a list for what

it’s asking• Write down what it might not be asking – to keep you

focused• Examples • The board of education in our town has just voted to

require all students to wear uniforms. Do you agree with the board’s decision?• Due to budget cuts, the board of education in our town

has decided to discontinue all after-school activities. Write a letter to the board of education members telling them how you feel about their decision.

Brainstorming• Take the time to brainstorm, it can help organize

your thoughts and ideas. You also won’t forget what your initial thoughts were on the topic. How many times have we written to body paragraph three and forgotten what we were supposed to write because we didn’t brainstorm?!• Webbing• Topic inside big circle• Write down any words that come to mind – connect

them to the web• Listing• Write down ALL ideas – just create a list

Brainstorming• Webbing – School Uniforms

Uniforms

clothes

Stop bullying

individuality

Don’t have to think about

what to wear

expensive

unfair

cost

uncomfortable

Students feel better

Brainstorming• List – School Uniforms• Are unfair• Clothes• Are they expensive• Uncomfortable• Student individuality• Don’t have to think about what to wear• Might stop bullying• Students feel better if not getting picked on

Practice• Students often forget much of what they have

learned the previous year over the summer months. This is called summer loss. Many teachers are complaining that they must review many concepts that were previously taught to the students before they can move on to the current year’s material. This causes them to lose time; therefore, they may not finish teaching what needs to be covered by June. In order to prevent this loss, people have proposed that the school year be extended through the summer months. What would you say to the people who have made the proposal?

Introduction• HOOKS – • Magic three – In school I was, showing off my brand new

Uggs, playing with the fringe on my shirt and admiring Jack’s awesome painted jeans.• Ask a question – How can students show their individuality?• State an interesting piece of information – Students love to

show off their individuality by wearing different types of clothing.• Three words that describe your topic – Unfair, boring and

ugly all describe how students feel about wearing uniforms.• Make the reader think – Imagine going to a school where

everyone looks the same; the same clothes, the same colors, the same patterns.

Introduction continued…• State the situation/Bridge– • Add two to three sentences creating a bridge from the

hook to the situation.• The school board has just voted to require all students

to wear uniforms. This decision is absurd and should not be considered fair or reasonable!

• State your opinion – THESIS• This is explaining to the reader what side you and have

chosen and BRIEFLY why.• I encourage everyone to consider all of the drawbacks

to this decision.• OR

• There are many reasons why uniforms in school are a terrible idea.

Example• Imagine going to a school where everyone looks

the same: the same clothes, the same colors, the same patterns. This sounds pretty boring, right? Sadly, this is something that might happen in our town if the board of education has their way. No one wants to be bored in school, whether by teachers or what others wear. Therefore, students should not be required to wear uniforms for several reasons.

Practice• Write an introduction for the “extended school

year” prompt.

Body Paragraphs• The three body paragraphs are all set up similarly.

• First, start with a transition – it helps the reader to

better follow your essay and keeps it organized.• Give more information about your reason - -

include facts, statistics (number facts) or examples. This is also an excellent opportunity to include compositional risks and propaganda.

• Follow the 50% rule for transitions!!!• The last body paragraph should be your

strongest reason. Save the best for last so that is what the reader remembers about your essay.

Body One• To begin, school uniforms can be very

uncomfortable. They aren't made from the nicest fabric and can be itchy and rough on skin. Additionally, if students aren’t comfortable in their clothes, they can become distracted and have trouble listening to the teacher and learning lessons. This could affect their grades in a negative way. Essentially, students would be worried about their grades and have another reason for not being able to concentrate in class.

Body Two• To continue, school uniforms may cost a lot of

money. Parents may not be able to afford the cost of the uniform; suppliers can charge up to $150 per uniform. Fortunately, if parents can buy any type of clothing for their child, they can shop in places they can afford and possibly save money. They can wait until the clothes go on sale or use store coupons. After all, it isn’t fair to force parents to pay more money than they have for clothing.

Body Three• Above all, students show their individuality

through their clothing. Clothing is a way to express how we feel or what interests we have, such as a sports team like the Giants. Moreover, students need to have a way to express themselves; clothing is one of those ways. Some people may believe that having uniforms will prevent bullies from picking on children for their clothing, but this is simply not true. Once a bully, always a bully. Simply put, if everyone is wearing the same thing, bullies will quickly find another reason to pick on someone, so uniforms don’t solve that problem. Uniforms will just take away a student’s ability to be him or herself.

Conclusion• The last paragraph is the conclusion.• This should begin with a concluding transition!• Restate your thesis/opinion.• Summarize each of your body paragraphs in one

sentence.• Wrap it up with a “Call to Action” – Give the reader

a job to do regarding your topic – sign a petition, join a group, write a letter, make a phone call

• There should be NO NEW information in the conclusion.

Conclusion Example• In conclusion, the students should not be required

to wear uniforms. These uniforms could be uncomfortable and prevent students from paying attention in class. Equally important, uniforms could also be very expensive, placing an unnecessary burden on parents. Most important, uniforms will take away individuality and won’t prevent bullying. Make the decision to stand against uniforms and allow students to be themselves!

Joining it all together• Imagine going to a school where everyone looks the same: the same clothes, the same colors, the same

patters. This sounds pretty boring, right? Sadly, this is something that might happen in our ton if the board of education has their way. No one wants to be bored in school, whether by teachers or what others wear. Therefore, students should not be required to wear uniforms for several reasons.

• To begin, school uniforms can be very uncomfortable. They aren't made from the nicest fabric and can be itchy and rough on skin. Additionally, if students aren’t comfortable in their clothes, they can become distracted and have trouble listening to the teacher and learning lessons. This could affect their grades in a negative way. Essentially, students would be worried about their grades and have another reason for not being about to concentrate in class.

• To continue, school uniforms may cost a lot of money. Parents may not be able to afford the cost of the uniform; suppliers can charge up to $150 per uniform. Fortunately, if parents can buy any type of clothing for their child, they can shop in places they can afford and possibly save money. They can wait to the clothes to go on sale or use store coupons. After all, it isn’t fair to force parents to pay more money than they have for clothing.

• Above all, students show their individuality through their clothing. Clothing is a way to express how we feel or what interests we have, such as a sports team like the Giants. Moreover, students need to have a way to express themselves; clothing is one of those ways. Some people may believe that having uniforms will prevent bullies from picking on children for their clothing, but this is simply not true. Once a bully, always a bully. Simply put, if everyone is wearing the same thing, bullies will quickly find another reason to pick on someone, so uniforms don’t solve that problem. Uniforms would just take away a student’s ability to be him or herself.

• In conclusion, the students should not be required to wear uniforms. These uniforms could be uncomfortable and prevent students from paying attention in class. Equally important, uniforms could also be very expensive, placing an unnecessary burden on parents. Most important, uniforms will take away individuality and won’t prevent bullying. Make the decision to stand again uniforms and allow students to be themselves!

Did you earn a four or better?• In order to score proficiently based on the NJ

Holistic Scoring Rubric, you need to achieve a four or better.

• The following items need to be in your essay for it to be a four:

• An opening and closing• A single focus (you can’t be for and against something)• Transitions• Some development of details• Readability (no one expects perfect penmanship,

grammar, mechanics or punctuation, but there should not be so many errors that the reader can’t understand what you are trying to communicate. If they can’t read it, they won’t!)

Compositional Risks• Semicolon• Figurative Language• Advanced Vocabulary