PERSUASIONWRITING OR SPEAKING THAT
TRIES TO CONVINCE OTHERS TO AGREE WITH YOU OR TAKE
ACTION THAT THEY MIGHT NOT HAVE TAKEN ON THEIR OWN
PERSUASIVE ESSAY
PRESENTS YOUR POSITION ON AN ISSUE
URGES YOUR READER TO ACCEPT THAT POSITION
AND MAY ENCOURAGE
THEM TO TAKE ACTION
AN EFFECTIVE PERSUASIVE ESSAY…
EXPLORES AN ISSUE OF IMPORTANCE TO THE WRITER
ADDRESSES AN ISSUE THAT IS ARGUABLE
USES FACTS, EXAMPLES, STATISTICS, OR PERSONAL EXPERIENCES TO SUPPORT A POSITION
AN EFFECTIVE PERSUASIVE ESSAY…
TRIES TO INFLUENCE ITS AUDIENCE THROUGH APPEALS TO THE READERS’ KNOWLEDGE, EXPERIENCES, OR EMOTIONS
USES CLEAR ORGANIZATION TO PRESENT A LOGICAL ARGUEMENT
PREWRITINGCONSIDER AUDIENCE, PURPOSE,
ORGANIZATION, EVIDENCE, AND POINTS OF ELABORATION
USE A T-CHART, FLOW CHART, LIST, DIAGRAM, OR ANY OTHER FORM OF PREWRITING YOU ARE COMFORTABLE WITH USING
***IF YOU HAVE TROUBLE GETTING IDEAS, TRY DRAWING PICTURES
PREWRITING
RESEARCH MAY BE NECESSARY TO COMPLETE PERSUASIVE WRITING
WHEN THIS IS NOT POSSIBLE, MAKE UP THE INFORMATION TO THE BEST OF YOUR ABILITY
CONSIDER YOUR AUDIENCE & PURPOSE
THE FIRST STEP TO CONVINCING YOUR AUDIENCE IS KNOWING YOUR AUDIENCE
KNOW CHARACTERISTICS SUCH AS AGE, OCCUPATION, VALUES, & PRIOR KNOWLEDGE
THE SPECIFIC AUDIENCE YOU EXPECT TO ADDRESS WILL AFFECT THE WAY YOU PERSUADE THEM
GATHERING EVIDENCE
PROVIDE ARGUMENTS & EXAMPLES THAT SUPPORT YOU POSITION
ADDRESS COUNTER-ARGUMENTS THAT CAN BE USED TO ATTACK YOUR IDEAS
GATHERING EVIDENCE
USE INTERVIEWS OR SURVEYS – MAKE NOTE OF THE CONCERNS OF THE PEOPLE AROUND YOU
FIND OUT WHAT EXPERTS SAY THAT WILL SUPPORT YOUR POSITION
• REMEMBER: YOU CAN MAKE UP THIS INFORMATION WHEN NECCESSARY
DRAFTING
YOUR PERSUASIVE ESSAY
DEVELOP A THESIS STATEMENT
A CLEARLY WORDED STATEMENT OF THE POSITION YOU WILL PROVE
A MAIN IDEA STATEMENTA SINGLE, STRONGLY WORDED
SENTENCEALWAYS PRESENTED AS FACT, EVEN
WHEN IT STATES AN OPINIONTHE CONTROLLING IDEA
ORGANIZE INTRODUCTION WITH THESIS
STATEMENT
CONCLUSION - SAVE YOUR BEST ARGUMENT FOR A STRONG FINISH
(3 OR 4 PARAGRAPHS IS ENOUGH)
*You are limited to 2 pages for the GHSWT
Types of Organizational Patterns
Chronological Order of EventsComparison/Contrast Spatial OrderOrder of Importance of IdeasProblem/Solution Cause/Effect OrderClassification OrderDefinition/Description
MORE ORGANIZATION OPTIONS
1. INTRODUCTION
2. SUPPORT
3. CONCLUSION
1. ARGUMENT
2. COUNTER-ARGUMENT
3. CONCLUSION
1. INTRODUCTION
2. ONE SIDE OF THE ISSUE
3. ANOTHER SIDE OF THE ISSUE
4. CONCLUSION
ORGANIZATION
START WITH A BROAD STATEMENT IN YOUR INTRODUCTION
THEN MOVE INTO SPECIFICS IN YOUR BODY PARAGRAPHS
DON’T BE REPETITIVE
YOUR CONCLUSION SHOULD COME TO A NATURAL CLOSE
PROVIDING ELABORATION
GIVE THE FACTS:
INSERT NAMES, DATES, AND OTHER BACKGROUND INFORMATION IN SUPPORT OF YOUR TOPIC
PROVIDING ELABORATION
PROVIDE STATISTICS:
CITE NUMBERS THAT PROVE YOUR POSITION
“HOW MANY” “WHAT PERCENTAGE”
PROVIDING ELABORATION
MAKE A COMPARISON:
HOW DOES YOUR TOPIC MATCH OTHER TOPICS YOUR READER MAY ALREADY KNOW
PROVIDING ELABORATION
SHARE A PERSONAL EXPERIENCE – TRY INCLUDING A SHORT NARRATIVE STORY IN YOUR INTRODUCTION OR CONCLUSION
INCLUDE DETAILS:• SPECIFICS THAT CLARIFY THE
GENERAL POINT YOU ARE MAKING
OTHER…USE STANDARD AMERICN ENGLISH
NO POETRY, RAP, OR BULLETED ITEMS
USE DESCRIPTIVE, FIGURATIVE, AND TECHNICAL LANGUAGE
TIE YOUR PAPER TO THE PROMPT – BE SURE TO FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS FOR WRITING
REVISING
LOOK FOR WAYS TO MAKE IT BETTERCHECK THAT YOUR AGRUEMENT IS
CLEARCHECK THAT YOUR ESSAY IS WELL-
ORGANIZEDREVIEW THE DETAILS LIKE WORD
CHOICE AND VARIED SENTENCE TYPES
REVISING
STRENGTHEN YOUR INTRODUCTION
GRAB THE READER’S INTEREST IN YOUR TOPIC FROM THE BEGINNING
THIS IS YOUR LEAD – YOUR ONCE-IN-AN-ESSAY OPPORTUNITY TO BUILD INTEREST
YOU CAN ADD AN OPEN ENDED QUESTION TO THE FIRST PARAGRAPH, BUT TRY NOT TO MAKE IT THE FIRST SENTENCE… THIS IS FORMULAIC
REVISING YOUR PARAGRAPHS
ELIMINATE ERRORS IN FAULTY LOGIC WITH UNREASONABLE APPEALS
DON’T SIMPLY RESTATE YOUR IDEAS OVER AND OVER
DON’T OVERSIMPLIFY THE ISSUE BY OFFERING ONLY TWO EXTREMES – THERE ARE OFTEN OTHER POSSIBILITIES
REVISING YOUR SENTENCES USE TRANSITIONS TO IMPROVE CLARITY
TO SHOW A CONTRAST POINT: HOWEVER, ALTHOUGH, DESPITE
TO POINT TO A REASON: SINCE, BECAUSE, IF TO SIGNAL A CONCLUSION: THEREFORE,
CONSEQUENTLY, SO, THEN
AVOID STARTING PARAGRAPHS WITH TRANSITIONS INSTEAD USE THEM WITHIN A PARAGRAPH OR
WITHIN A SENTENCE
REVISING WORD CHOICE
CHECK THE DENOTATION OF WORDS DENOTATION IS A WORD’S DIRECT ,
EXPLICIT MEANING OR DICTIONARY DEFINITION
MEASURE A WORD’S CONOTATION CONOTATION IS THE INFORMAL MEANING
A READER ATTACHES TO A WORD EXAMPLES: CLEVER VS. SLY
INQUISITIVE VS. NOSYAROMA VS. STENCH
REVISION
IF YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT A WORD MEANS, DON’T USE IT IN YOUR WRITING
BIG WORDS ARE NOT ALWAYS BETTER
YOUR WRITING SHOULD SHOW SOME OF YOUR PERSONALITY
REVISION STRATEGY
IF POSSIBLE, TRY USING A THESAURUS TO FIND SYNONYMS
USE STRONG WORDS THAT MAY HELP SWAY YOUR READER
WHEN YOU CAN, UTILIZE PEER REVIEW AND SHARE YOUR DRAFT WITH A PARTNER
Sweet Sixteen RevisionIdeas1. Unity: You have one clear thesis that responds to
the assigned task, and all the ideas in your essay help to support that thesis.
2. Insight: Your ideas are thoughtful and stimulating, yet reasonable and true to the material.
3. Argument: You prove your ideas clearly, logically, and completely. You fully prepare the reader to understand each sentence and its purpose in your paper.
4. Evidence: The quality and quantity of evidence strongly supports your ideas and shows thorough knowledge of the material.
Sweet Sixteen Revision, continued
Organization5. Introduction: Your first paragraph engages the
reader and introduces a clear thesis or purpose. 6. Paragraphing: Each body paragraph sticks to one
idea, and each idea is discussed in only one body paragraph.
7. Flow: Your main ideas are presented in a logical and effective order, made clear via topic sentences, paragraph conclusions, and transitions.
8. Conclusion: You conclude with a graceful reminder of your thesis.
Sweet Sixteen Revision, continued
Style
9. Conciseness: You express ideas simply and clearly without wasted words or unnecessary repetition.
10. Vocabulary: Your choice of words is interesting and precise but not pretentious.
11. Sentence Structure: Your sentences are strong, graceful, and suitably varied in length and structure.
12. Vividness: You enliven your writing with concrete language, fresh and specific detail, and metaphor without cliché.
Sweet Sixteen Revision, continued
Grammar13. Sentence Sense: Your writing is free of run-on
sentences and fragments.14. Grammar and Usage: You follow the rules of
Standard English.15. Mechanics: Your spelling, capitalization, and
punctuation are accurate.16. Format: You follow the conventions of
documentation
Jago, Carol. (2005). Papers, papers, papers. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
EDITING & PROOFREADINGDOUBLE-CHECK SPELLING,
PUNCTUATION, & GRAMMAR TO ELIMINATE ERRORS
FOCUS ON COMMAS COMMAS SHOULD SHOW YOUR READER
WHEN TO PAUSE USE COMMAS TO SEPARATE ITEMS IN A
SERIES USE COMMAS TO SET OFF
INTRODUCTORY MATERIAL
PUBLISHINGYOUR FINAL DRAFT SHOULD BE NEAT &
POLISHED
IF YOUR GHSWT ESSAY IS ILLEGIBLE, IT WILL NOT BE SCORED!
Formulaic Writing: Abundance in Redundancy
Characteristics of A Formulaic Paper1. The writer announces his or her thesis and three
supporting ideas in the opening paragraph.
2. The writer restates one supporting idea to begin each of the three body paragraphs.
3. The writer repeats or restates his/her controlling idea and supporting points in the final paragraph.
4. Entire sentences may be repeated verbatim from the introduction, used as topic sentences in each of the body paragraphs, and repeated in the conclusion.
Formulaic Writing: Abundance in RedundancyAvoid starting each paragraph with a
transition: first, second, third, or in conclusion
Avoid starting the first paragraph with a question; instead, move that question to the middle of your introductory paragraph
Avoid repeating any words or phrases DON’T DON’T REPEAT REPEAT
YOURSELF YOURSELF!!!!!
Ways to Avoid Formulaic Writing…Ways to Avoid Formulaic Writing…Organizes strategy appropriate to topic
and genre and one which guides the reader through the text
Sequences ideas and groups appropriately and logically
Sets stage in the introduction (writer’s controlling idea)
Creates a sense of closure without repetition
Uses good transitioning