Persuasive Paragraphs

Whenever you make that overdue visit to see the grandparents, the odds are that before long one of them will embark on a story that says how hard they had it, and how easy ‘young people’ now have it. You know the kind: “we didn’t have hair gel, we had to use goose fat”; “Primrose Hill was 10 degrees steeper”; “Shoes? I remember when they first invented them. Cost the earth, they did.”

Next time you see them, tell them from me: they need to walk a mile in our shoes if they want to know what it’s really like being young today.

EXAMPLE 2

Whenever you make that overdue visit to see the grandparents, the odds are that before long one of them will embark on a story that says how hard they had it, and how easy ‘young people’ now have it. You know the kind: “we didn’t have hair gel, we had to use goose fat”; “Primrose Hill was 10 degrees steeper”; “Shoes? I remember when they first invented them. Cost the earth, they did.”

Next time you see them, tell them from me: they need to walk a mile in our shoes if they want to know what it’s really like being young today.

Direct address to sta

rtTelling a story as though ‘everyone knows’(helps to make it engaging)

EXAMPLE 2

Whenever you make that overdue visit to see the grandparents, the odds are that before long one of them will embark on a story that says how hard they had it, and how easy ‘young people’ now have it. You know the kind: “we didn’t have hair gel, we had to use goose fat”; “Primrose Hill was 10 degrees steeper”; “Shoes? I remember when they first invented them. Cost the earth, they did.”

Next time you see them, tell them from me: they need to walk a mile in our shoes if they want to know what it’s really like being young today.

Interesting vocab: not just ‘tell a story’

Uses quotations (serious or non-serious)

Pun: refers back to the ‘shoes’ Imperative creates a tone of authority

EXAMPLE 2

Being young today is the easiest thing in the world. It’s just growing up that gets harder and harder. Why? Constantly under exam pressure, constantly being told how bad the job prospects are, constantly hearing about student debt, constantly anxious about the future.

With its economic crisis, environmental crisis, food crisis, water crisis, the world seems like a precarious place.

EXAMPLE 3

Being young today is the easiest thing in the world. It’s just growing up that gets harder and harder. Why? Constantly under exam pressure, constantly being told how bad the job prospects are, constantly hearing about student debt, constantly anxious about the future.

With its economic crisis, environmental crisis, food crisis, water crisis, the world seems like a precarious place.

EXAMPLE 3

‘Say it loud’: short and

to the point

Being young today is the easiest thing in the world. It’s just growing up that gets harder and harder. Why? Constantly under exam pressure, constantly being told how bad the job prospects are, constantly hearing about student debt, constantly anxious about the future.

With its economic crisis, environmental crisis, food crisis, water crisis, the world seems like a precarious place.

4x repetition

(shows deliberate crafting)

EXAMPLE 3

‘The reversal’… Looks like you’re saying one thing.. but in fact you’re saying the opposite

‘Say it loud’: short and

to the point

Shouting. Fighting. Music. We all know what teenage behaviour is like – wild and unruly. They dress terribly, they behave terribly, they show little consideration for others. If (like me) you live somewhere where youths gather, you will also know the sheer fear you experience…

EXAMPLE 4

Shouting. Fighting. Music. We all know what teenage behaviour is like – wild and unruly. They dress terribly, they behave terribly, they show little consideration for others. If (like me) you live somewhere where youths gather, you will also know the sheer fear you experience…

EXAMPLE 4

Punchy one-word sentences,three of them

Shouting. Fighting. Music. We all know what teenage behaviour is like – wild and unruly. They dress terribly, they behave terribly, they show little consideration for others. If (like me) you live somewhere where youths gather, you will also know the sheer fear you experience…

EXAMPLE 4

Punchy one-word sentences,three of themMake it seem obvious

Nice adjective, bit of rhyme

Bit of repetition

Awareness of audience, use ofsophisticated punctuation

Picture the scene. You are in the Lake District, off for a family picnic. The sky is blue, the clouds are non-existent. The scenery is beautiful… except for the massive wind turbine right in front of you. Taller than Big Ben, it rises above all of the trees, sticking out like a sore thumb.

EXAMPLE 5

The Set-up. (Introduction)

Example 1: Anecdote

Example 2: Direct address

Example 3: ‘Say it loud’

Example 4: One-word sentences

Example 5: Appeal to the senses

Tokens of authority.

First-hand knowledge.

“Until I started working towards my ambition of

being a cut-throat, heartless banker I thought

young people’s lives were hard. Now I can tell

you for a fact that most young people have

no idea what hard work means.”

Tokens of authority.

First-hand knowledge.

“As someone who has done more than his fair

share of dangerous sports over the years, I

can tell you that…”

Tokens of authority.

First-hand knowledge (+ self-deprecation).

“For people like myself who get upset at the

thought of a steep staircase, there’s nothing

good to say about dangerous sports at all…”

Get them on your side.

If you’ve spent any time with young

people recently, I’m sure you’ll agree

with me that they have it easier than

ever before.

I can’t stress enough…

We have to realise…

It’s pointless arguing that…

It would be extremely foolish…

There’s no question…

Clearly, …

I don’t need to emphasise…

Needless to say, …

It goes without saying…

Emphasise.

The counter-argument.

Admittedly,…

Some might say…

Others are in the habit of arguing…

One counter-argument to this is…

Those of a nervous disposition might disagree…

Of course,…

There are of course two sides to this…

More on ‘subtle tone’.

He’s right, up to a point. …

They are absolutely right, but not in the way that they think.

…

That’s a reasonable argument. Except in the sense that…

You can see the logic in this view, but…

Flip them.

By which: make it look like you agree, then show how wrong they are.

In conclusion.

First rule: never forget to have one.Second rule: never forget to have one.Third rule: new paragraph, make it a decent

length, & give it some oomph

In conclusion,…

To conclude,…

All of which leads us to the overwhelming conclusion: …

Where does all this leave us? …

1. Set it up…

In conclusion.

…There is no intelligence in using the resources we could be using to power more important machinery and medicines and transports for the sake of building ways to extract power infrequently, expensively and ineffectively.

2. …Hit it and quit it.

In conclusion.

We have been given this planet and all its resources, and it is our duty to protect it for future generations, however big and expensive the sacrifice may be, however big or small our contribution may be and however much it takes to protect our sacred planet from ourselves.

2. …Hit it and quit it.

In conclusion.

This radical action started the revolution that drove sport as a culture to find new ways to reach new goals.

Ben Richardson was quoted in so many newspapers there was enough to create a 500-page book, but his famous line is still used today: “Take life as your own, it was given to you for a reason.”

2. …Hit it and quit it.

In conclusion.

The plain fact is, this is a debate we have to win. If we aren’t willing to pay the cost, we will end up losing everything. In the words of Dizzee… “Fix up, look sharp.”

2. …Hit it and quit it.