Introduction to Persuasive Writing

Hi, mister sussman here, back with another presentation for language art students in 7th and 8th grade. And today I'm going to provide you with a fast and easy introduction to persuasive essays. We're going to be looking at the following questions. First, just where the heck is a persuasive essay? We're going to look at what forms a persuasive essay takes. How you organize a persuasive essay and what kind of information do you have to supply? There's nothing mysterious about persuasive writing. Persuasion just means trying to convince somebody of your position and whether that's trying to convince your parents to let you go out on a Saturday night or to have someone elect your president of the United States. The arguments you make all are considered efforts at persuasion. You're trying to convince your audience of your point of view. In writing such attempts can be seen everywhere. Some typical examples are short essays, letters to newspaper editors, letters to individuals, TV, and radio commentators, et cetera. So let's take a look at the parts of a persuasive essay. First, we're going to approach this as a 5 paragraph essay, which means that we'll have a one paragraph introduction, a three paragraph body, and a one paragraph conclusion. The very first thing you have to do, of course, is have a topic. Think about all of the issues you've encountered in your life. Maybe you'd like to convince your school administrators that a change in policy or school rules is necessary. Maybe you want to convince your city council to create a recycling program or fund another type of program. And perhaps you want to convince a rap group that you'd like them to visit your city. All of these are fertile grounds for persuasive writing. Once you have your topic, you're on your way toward writing your introduction. The introduction should have two parts. First, there's the opinion statement in which you state your position on a topic, and then you include a brief summary of your arguments and usually that's one sentence that sums them up and that you'll make it more detail in the three paragraph body. Speaking of the body from the introduction, we then move into the body of the piece. Here you write three paragraphs, each of which is devoted to one of your arguments. And each of those paragraphs should also contain details that support your position. And finally, you add a conclusion the conclusion to a persuasive essay or letter usually contains two elements. First, you restate your topic and your basic arguments, but you don't use the exact same words you used in your introduction. You vary it a little. You'll see what I mean in the upcoming example. In addition, your conclusion should have a call to action. Most of the time, a persuasive essay is intended to convince someone to do something. And that's where the call to action comes in. You very specifically urge someone to take action that will bring about a situation that you favor. So let's look at solid, very realistic example. At Mountain View school in Phoenix where I teach, many of the 7th and 8th grade students hate the fact that we require school uniforms. So that's a topic that's ripe for a piece of persuasive writing, such as a letter to the principle of posing the policy. In the introduction, we state our opinion. Mountain View school uniforms are a bad idea. And then we summarize the arguments we came up with, the uniforms are too hot. They make us look like prisoners, and they stifle creativity. So in the introduction, you've set the stage for what you're going to tell your audience in the body of the piece. So let's see where this goes. Here's a graphic organizer that I put together for the body of this letter. And you'll see that under each of my points, I've added supporting details. For example, I elaborate on the issue of the uniforms being hot by explaining that the discomfort makes it difficult to concentrate and that crankiness from the heat can lead to student fights and other disturbances. I've also provided supporting details for my other two arguments. And finally, there's the conclusion where I restate my position and I come up with a call to action by the principle. So let's see how this plays out. I've put together a finished essay using the graphic organizer. The finished essay contains all the points that I had in the boxes that you saw on the previous slides. So here's how the letter goes. Dear misses Dyke, I realize that the school policy is that students have to wear uniforms. But I believe that this policy should be changed because uniforms are too hot. They make us look like prisoners and they stifle our creativity. So, there is my introduction and please note that it contains the opinion statement up top and a summary of my arguments, which I'm going to elaborate on in the body. First, because the uniforms are hot, it is difficult for us to concentrate on our studies. In addition, the discomfort can make students cranky, which can lead to fights. Second, having all students were uniforms, makes us look like prisoners, which also which damages our self esteem. Also, uniforms give prisoners give visitors rather a poor impression of the school. And those were the first two paragraphs of the body, and then we have the third. Finally, the sameness of the uniforms day after day stifles our creativity, their drabness gets in the way of our mental stimulation and the absence of variety, dulls our interest in school. So, I have taken the three arguments that I summarized in the introduction, and I've added them to the body with supporting details that round things out. Now it's time for the conclusion. First, a summary of what I said in the introduction, but in different words. In conclusion, I hope you see that because uniforms are too hot, make us look like prisoners and get in the way of our creativity, they should be abolished. And then my call to action. Please consider my arguments and if you agree, I urge you to speak to the school site council as soon as possible about abolishing school uniforms sincerely and that I would sign my name. So let's summarize what we've learned here. First, a persuasive essay is a piece of writing in which you try to convince your audience of your point of view. Second, persuasive writing frequently takes the form of letters, essays, and TV and radio scripts. Persuasive writing can be approached as a 5 paragraph essay. In the introductory paragraph, you state your position on an issue and provide three or more reasons for your point of view. In the body, you elaborate on those reasons with supporting details, and in the conclusion you restate your argument and issue a call for action. And now you know how to write a persuasive essay.