1. Persuasive Unit

2. AOI: Community and Service
Moving from “I” to “We”
How do we live in relation to each other?
How can I contribute to the community?
How can I help others?

3. Standards
Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how the author acknowledges and responds to conflicting evidence or viewpoints.
Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is sound and the evidence is relevant and sufficient; recognize when irrelevant evidence is introduced.
Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.
Integrate multimedia and visual displays into presentations to clarify information, strengthen claims and evidence, and add interest.

4. Complete the concept map of the word persuasion.

5. Definition
Example
Non-Example
Key Word
Example
Non-Example
Example
Non-Example
Analogy

6. Good Persuasive Writing
Serious debatable topic vs. personal preference
Fact vs. opinion
No Fence sitting
Facts, examples, and statistics

7. Persuasive Writing
A good piece of persuasive writing requires serious debatable topics, not a topic that is a matter of personal preference.
Serious debatable topics naturally tend to divide the population into three camps: the pro, the con, and the undecided.
There is never any right or wrong in persuasion. Persuasion is not a black and white concept. There is only effective persuasion and ineffective persuasion.
The purpose of persuasion is to convince the reader (or audience) that a view has merit. At its best it will cause a person to completely agree with a view being presented. At the least it should cause a person to consider the possibility that the view being presented might make sense.
In order for effective persuasion to take place, sound reasoning must be employed.

8. Persuasion is: Persuasion is not: Mind changing Convincing
Getting a reader to admit that a certain view might make sense
Persuasion is not:
A matter of right or wrong
A matter of personal preference

9. Serious debatable topic or personal preference?
List A
Should euthanasia (mercy killing) be legal in the United States?
Should women be expected to fight and die on the battlefield in defense of their country?
Should homosexuals be allowed to legally marry each other?
List B
Should our school be painted black or brown?
Which animal makes a better pet: a dog or cat?
Which fast food industry giant really makes the best hamburger?

10. Your Turn (on your white board)
Take three minutes and brainstorm a list of 5 serious, debatable topics.
Now create a list of 5 personal preferences.

11. What is pro? What is con?
What is something that you are pro?
What is something that you are con?

12. Choose one of your serious debatable topics and come up with three pro arguments and three con arguments for the topic.

13. Fact vs. Opinion
What is a fact?
What is an opinion?

14. Fact: something that actually exists, something that has actually occurred, or something known by observation or experience to be real or true.
Opinion: a conclusion or judgment held with confidence, but falling short of positive knowledge.
Rats are incapable of puking. 
McDonalds is better than Burger King

15. Fact or Opinion (thumbs up for Fact, “O” for Opinion)
There is less of a reliance on rail transportation for people today than there was one hundred years ago.
A required two year enlistment in the armed forces should be part of every young person’s life.
There are few frontiers left for modern humans to conquer.
The switching from standard time to day light savings time annually accounts for huge energy savings.
The opening of the Panama Canal greatly facilitated the shipping of goods from one North American coast to the other.

16. Write 3 of your own facts and 3 of your own opinions

17. Do you think that teachers should be paid based on student performance?
Write down one opinion and one fact about this issue

18. Read the editorial about school paddling and find three facts and three opinions. Write the sentences down in your journal.

20. Disciplining students with a cane or “paddling” as it is commonly referred to, is still allowed in 20 of the 52 states in the US. A recent case in Wichita Falls, Texas, has brought attention to the issue, after an 11th grade student received a paddling that put him in the hospital. According to The Center for Effective Discipline or CED, corporal punishment exists today mainly in the southern states, where it is ingrained in the customs and traditions of small communities. CED are committed to educating parents and children about the effects of corporal punishment on children and alternatives in giving discipline. Since 1998 the 30th of April has been dubbed SpankOut Day USA, to bring about an end to hitting children, and to promote their motto “Raising Responsible (Good) Kids Without Hitting”. CED highlight the fact that if students are hit at school, they think it is ok to be hit at home, and the cycle of violence continues. The student from Wichita Falls is currently involved in a legal case which may help bring an end to the hitting of students in Texas. Recently, legislators in New Mexico voted to end the practice in their state, although it still needs the approval of the local governor before the law is passed. Interestingly, St. Augustine High School, the only remaining catholic school in New Orleans who practiced paddling, have recently banned the practice, only to be met with protests from current students and the school community who want it reinstated. They say that being able to utilise corporal punishment has contributed to character building and higher graduation rates, and the senior students say they can tell the difference between the older students and the newer ones who have not been exposed to the same traditions.

21. Fence Sitting What do you think fence sitting means?
What image do you think of when you think of fence sitting?

22. Fence Sitting
Once a writer presents an opinion, s/he never does anything to contradict that opinion.
Once a writer presents an opinion, she uses only facts, examples, and statistics that directly support that opinion.
Fence sitting is an indication of poor thought and planning.
Fence-sitting destroys persuasion.

23. Fence Sitting
The state highway department needs to immediately consider a plan to thin the trees along the shoulders of US 180 along a seven mile stretch north of town. Vehicular accident statistics show that this segment of the roadway is particularly treacherous in the winter. Tree thinning would allow the sun to more easily melt the ice on the roadway.

24. The state highway department needs to immediately consider a plan to thin the trees along the shoulders of US 180 along a seven mile stretch north of town. Vehicular accident statistics show that this segment of the roadway is particularly treacherous in the winter. There are, however, more treacherous sections of the roadway that can be found in the immediate region. Tree thinning would allow the sun to more easily melt the ice on the roadway, but the amount of melting would probably not reduce the number of accidents by any significant number, since speed is responsible for more accidents than the ice.

25. Fact: something that actually exists, something that actually occurred, or something known by observation or experience to be real or true.
Example: a previous case or instance that is identical with or similar to something under consideration.
Statistic: is a unit of numerical information (25%, 10 times greater than, 20% less, 15 people).

26. Plants cannot thrive unless adequate nutrients are present in the soil.
Roses, for example, are particularly susceptible to wilting if reasonable nitrogen is not present.
In our own locale, nursery operators estimate that 10-15% of the rose plants germinated annually die because of inadequate nitrogen in the soil.

27. Fact, example, and statistic
What is a fact? Give an example
What is an example? Give an example
What is a statistic? Give an example

28. Topic: the importance of standardized tests
1 opinion about the importance of standardized tests
1 fact about the importance of standardized tests
1 example about the importance of standardized tests
1 statistic about the importance of standardized tests

29. Opinion: Parents need to impose tighter supervision upon their children with regard to their television viewing.
Reason 1: Unsupervised TV viewings by impressionable youngsters exposes them to far too much violence.
Reason 2: Unsupervised TV viewing by children can contribute to poor physical fitness.
Reason 3: Too much television viewing on the part of children can lead to delayed social development.

30. Opinion statement: Our school needs to immediately take measures to encourage students to attend school regularly.
Reason: Our declining attendance rate has become a serious problem and an embarrassment for all concerned with the school.
Brainstorm a list of facts, statistics, and examples, then write an actual body paragraph, starting with the reason above.

31. Remember that the Gypsies were not given reparations for loss of property and life during the Holocaust. Do you think that they should be compensated for those losses? (Other groups were given compensation after the war to help them recover – the Gypsies were a group that was not).
You will take the position of being either pro or con in this situation.
Think of two good reasons for your argument and then come up with three examples, facts, or statistics to make your argument stronger.

32. Argument: Gypsies should be compensated for the atrocities they experienced during the Holocaust.
Reason #1
(f,e, or s)
Reason #2

33. What are some changes that should be made to South Meadows.
Make a list of five changes that should be considered to make this a better school.
Remember to pick serious debatable topics, not just your personal preferences.

34. Argument: We should change _____ at South Meadows
Reason #1
(f,e, or s)
Reason #2

35. Letter to the Principal
Write a letter to Mr. Lomeli where you ask him to make a change about our school.
In your letter you must:
Talk about a serious debatable topic
No fence sitting
After you state your opinion – use facts, stats, and examples to prove your reasons.

36. Structure of a letter Mr. Lomeli,
We need to change _____ at South Meadows. The two reasons
for this change are: ____________ and ____________.
Reason #1
(fact)
(example)
(statistic)
Reason #2
Thank you for listening and please consider making this change.
Sincerely,

37. A lack of interest or emotions.
What is Empathy? What is Apathy?
The ability to share/understand another person’s emotions and/or thoughts.
A lack of interest or emotions.

38. Empathy vs. Apathy
What examples of Apathy were apparent in the Holocaust?
What examples of Empathy were apparent in the Holocaust?

39. Imagine that you are reading a newspaper and you come across the following headline. Landlord is finally able to evict a family from his home after they had been living rent free for six months. Now come up with at least three reasons for and three reasons against the landlord’s actions. Pro Con How are your arguments empathetic?

40. Appeal to Emotion and Logic
An appeal to emotion and logic is an attempt by the writer to appeal directly to the reader’s common sense or to arouse some particular emotion within the reader that might ultimately cause him to act. (fear, guilt, worry, out-rage).
Appeals to emotion and logic are usually short – one or two sentences.
Appeals to emotion and logic often take the form of a sequence of questions, with each building on the other.

41. What kind of mother would subject her baby to such a thing?
How could a person who considers herself a human being make a decision that would hurt the children of her community?
Translation: Let’s make the reader feel guilty, and hopefully she will agree with us.
How could any clear-thinking, well-informed citizen come to any other possible conclusion?
Translation: Let’s congratulate the reader on being such a smart person (but she’s only really smart if she agrees with us.
What kind of mother would subject her baby to such a thing?
Translation: Let’s appeal to basic maternal instinct and change this person’s mind.

42. Appeals to emotion work well with subjects that deal with:
Basic human needs
Human well-being or suffering
Family relationships
Children
Appeals to logic work well with subjects that deal with:
Money
Image or appearance
Right or wrong issues outside the scope of human needs

43. Appeal to Emotion
How did Hitler utilize this tactic during World War II? Try to give specific examples.

44. Letter to the Editor Read the example letter to the editor
Write your own letter to the editor about an issue. In your letter you need to include a passionate appeal to emotion or logic when making your point.

45. I once again feel a sense of complete disbelief at the funding processes used within our schools ("Artificial turf to be replaced," West Metro Community News, April 7). I am a former public school teacher and currently volunteer at Vose Elementary in Beaverton School District. Vose has 87 percent of its students on free or reduced-cost lunch. I recently purchased a set of glue sticks, geoboards (for geometry) and hand sanitizer for one of the classrooms. I spent $ The district doesn't have the money to provide the basics. It will, however, be able to spend $850,000 to replace artificial turf that is still under warranty. The rationale? The money comes from construction bonds, money that could never be used to purchase classroom supplies. Shouldn't there be a change to the fundamental way money is appropriated? That is, if the students really are the priority. NATALIE HAIMA Tigard

46. Climatic Change and Us
Obama as a President
an international sans Nuclear Weapons
Global Terrorism
Are We Having a Communications Technology Overkill?
Is Texting Taking its Toll on Correct Usage of Language
How Much is just too Much – Parental Restrictions on Children
Children’s Privacy
Value of Friendship
Will we Need Sex Education
Everyday Needs to be Parents Day
Your Role Model inside the Family
How Obesity Ostracizes
The Obsession With Weight-loss
Say No To Junk Food
Being Vegetarian – Key To Healthy Life
Blast from the Past – Reviving Old Methods of Recreation to Stay Fit
The Dreadful Drugs
No Smoking Please
Teenage Love
Cultivating the Habit of Reading
Are Curse Words Dominating Your Speech
Celebrity Worship
Fashion for kids
The Tinsel Town Effects
Your Perception of a Teacher
Awareness of Social Responsibility
Effects and Causes of Ozone Depletion

47. How to Write a Letter to the Editor
Pick a topic that you feel passionate about. Relate it to an issue very recently discussed in the publication to which you are writing.
Think of new ways to discuss the topic and present unique solutions to the problem.
Write clearly and concisely. Most newspapers and have limitations on space.
Include your major points within the first few paragraphs.
Sign your name
Keep in mind that most publications verify by phone or in writing that you, and not someone attributing these opinions to you, authored the letter.
If your letter is going to be shortened, it will usually be the final paragraphs, so don't save your point for the end.

48. Advertising How is advertising a form of persuasion?
Do you think that advertising is effective?
Which advertising campaigns do you think are the most effective?

49. Homework
Bring in an advertisement from a magazine, a newspaper, or any other example you can bring into the class or share.

50. Verbal abuse can be just as horrific, but you don’t have to suffer in silence. Call the abuse helpline for advice and support.

51. Advertising What is the purpose of this advertisement?
What is it trying to convince you of?
Who is the target audience?
Is it effective? Why or why not?
What would you do differently if you were creating this advertisement?

52. Answer the following about your ad
What is this ad trying to convince you of?
Which persuasive technique(s) are being used? (appeal to emotion, humor, shock value, etc.)
Who is the target audience?

53. Stop Animal testing now.

58. Create your own advertising campaign

59. Propaganda and inferences in persuasion
Propaganda is the promotion of information with the purpose of influencing the opinions or behaviors of large groups of people.
Propaganda often presents facts selectively, lying by omission, to produce an emotional rather than rational response to the information presented.
The desired result is a change of the attitude toward the subject in the target audience to further a political agenda.

60. When do you think that propaganda is most likely to be used?
Why do you think that people use propaganda to get their message across?
Do you think it is right or wrong to use propaganda?

65. Inference: Getting to a conclusion by using all available information to make a judgment.
Do you use inferences to judge propaganda?

67. Create a propaganda poster for a political issue of your choice
Create a propaganda poster for a political issue of your choice. Some examples are:
Stricter gun control
Nutrition in schools
Zero-tolerance of bullying in schools.
Obama or Mitt Romney
Global Warming
Gay Marriage

68. Decide on your communication objective
The communications objective is the essence of your message.
If you want to tell people not to eat bananas because it’s cruel, then that’s your communications objective.
A word of caution: though perhaps the most important of your 8 steps, this is also the one that beginners tend most to neglect.
A precise and well-defined objective is crucial to a good ad. If your objective isn’t right on, then everything that follows will be off as well.

69. Decide on your target audience
Who is your message intended for?
If you’re speaking to kids, then your language and arguments will have to understandable to kids.
So define who your target audience is, because that will decide how your message is conveyed.

70. Develop your Concept
Typically, an ad is made up of a photograph or a drawing (the “visual”), a headline, and writing (the “copy”).
Whether you think of your visual or your headline first makes little difference.
However, here are a few guideline worth following.

72. Visual
Though you don’t absolutely require a visual, it will help draw attention to your ad.
Research indicates that 70% of people will only look at the visual in an ad, whereas only 30% will read the headline. So if you use a visual, then you’re already talking to twice as many people as you otherwise might.
Another suggestion is to use photographs instead of illustrations whenever possible. People tend to relate to realistic photographs more easily than unrealistic ones.
But whether you choose a photograph or an illustration, the most important criteria is that image be the most interesting one possible and at least half your ad whenever possible.

73. Headline
The most important thing to remember here is that your headline must be short, snappy and must touch the people that read it.
Your headline must affect the reader emotionally, either by making them laugh, making them angry, making them curious or making them think. If you can’t think of a headline that does one of these four things, then keep thinking.
Here’s a little tip that might help: try to find an insight or inner truth to the message that you’re trying to convey, something that readers will easily relate to and be touched by. Taking the rutabagas example once again, it might be tempting to write a headline like: “Stop Exploiting These Migrant Workers.” However, with a little thought, a more underlying truth might be revealed - that Migrant Workers are as human as we are, and that our actions do hurt them. From that inner truth, you might arrive at the headline: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
Of course, the headline doesn’t have to be biblical, though that in itself will add meaning and power for many people. Finally, whenever possible, avoid a headline longer than fifteen words. People just don’t read as much as they used to.

74. The Copy Here’s where you make the case.
If you have compelling arguments, make them. If you have persuasive facts, state them. But don’t overwhelm with information. Two strong arguments will make more of an impression than a dozen weaker ones.
Finally, be clear, be precise, and be honest. Any hint of deception will instantly detract from your entire message.
Position your copy beneath the headline, laid out in two blocks two or three inches in length. Only about 5% of people will read your copy, whereas 30% will read your headline. By positioning your copy near your heading, you create a visual continuity which will draw more people to the information you want to convey.
Use a serif typeface for your copy whenever possible. Those little lines and swiggles on the letters make the reading easier and more pleasing to the eye.

75. Subheads
If you have lots of copy, break it up with interesting subheads
This will make your ad more inviting, more organized, and easier to read.

76. Some mistakes to avoid
The single most common mistake is visual clutter. Less is always better than more. So if you’re not certain whether something is worth including, then leave it out. If your ad is chaotic, people will simply turn the page, and your message will never be read.
The second most common mistake is to have an ad that’s unclear or not easily understood (haven’t you ever looked at an ad and wondered what it was for?). The best way to safeguard against this is to do some rough sketches of your visual with the headline and show it around. If people aren’t clear about your message, then it’s probably because your message is unclear. And however tempting, don’t argue with them or assume that they’re wrong and that your ad is fine. You’ll be in for an unpleasant surprise.
Proofread your ad, then give it to others to proofread, and then proofread it yet again. Typographical errors diminish your credibility and have an uncanny habit of creeping into ads when you least expect it.

77. Debate

78. Persuasive Essay An effective persuasive introduction MUST contain:
A clear statement of the author’s opinion without saying “I think” or “In my opinion”
An effective persuasive introduction MAY contain:
statements which may help make the author’s opinion more clear (clarifiers)
a simple listing of reasons to be later discussed in the body paragraphs
both of the above elements
An effective persuasive introduction MUST NOT contain:
any actual example work, presentation of facts or statistics to expand on the author’s opinion
any statements which contradict the author’s opinion (fence-sitting)

79. Persuasive Essay Outline I. Introduction A. Opinion statement
I. Introduction
A. Opinion statement
B. Clarifying sentence OR list of reasons (3)
II. Body Paragraph #1
A. Transition, Reason #1.
B. Facts/Stats/Examples to support reason.
III. Body Paragraph #2
A. Transition, Reason #2.
IV. Body Paragraph #3
A. Transition, Reason #3.
C. Appeal to Logic/Emotion (one or two sentences in the form of questions)
V. Conclusion
A. Restate opinion
B. Call for action

80. Instead of PRAYER IN SCHOOL, write about one of these related issues:
Public displays of the Ten Commandments
Religious after school clubs at public schools
Secular and religious holiday decorations in schools
School vouchers for religious schools
A mandatory moment of silence in schools
The Pledge of Allegiance
Religious music sung in school choruses
School days off for non-Christian holidays

81. Instead of GAY MARRIAGE, write about one of these related issues:
Same-sex adoption and access to reproductive technologies
Immigration rights for gay partners of citizens
Sodomy laws
Partnership benefits at state and federal institutions
Health care benefits and gay couples
Property rights and gay couples
Inheritance law and gay couples

82. Instead of THE DEATH PENALTY, write about one of these related issues:
The death penalty for minors
The death penalty for mentally retarded people
Televised executions
The death penalty as a deterrent
The relationship between race and the death penalty.
Women and the death penalty
The long appeals process for death row inmates
Death penalty methods, such as lethal injection
The Constitutional question of "cruel and unusual punishment"

83. Instead of ABORTION, write about one of these related issues:
Partial birth abortion
Parental notification laws
Laws regulating protests at clinics
Mental and physical risks of abortion
Public funding of abortions
Violence against abortion providers
Adoption issues
State challenges to Roe vs. Wade

84. Should boxing be banned?
Should the driving age be raised to 18?
Should semi-automatic weapons be banned?
Should teens who murder be executed?
Should hunting be outlawed?
Should recycling be mandatory?
Should schools require student uniforms?
Should college athletes be paid?
Should condoms be available in high school?
Should the death penalty be abolished?
Should handguns be banned?
Should assisted suicide be permitted?
Should legal immigration be stopped?
Should dying people be kept on life support?
Should tobacco products be banned?
Should the logging industry be allowed to harvest public forests?
Should state lotteries be banned?
Should alcoholic beverages be banned?
Should alcoholic beverages be legalized for all ages?
Should the Internet be censored?
Should school prayer be allowed?
Should music lyrics be censored?
Should extremist groups (i.e. KKK, skinheads) be banned?
Should parents of teen vandals be held responsible for their child's damage?
Should research on cloning be discontinued?
Should convicted sex offenders' names be made public?

85. Should the U.S. provide foreign aid?
Should females in the military be excluded from combat and other "hazardous" duties?
Should high schools be segregated by the sex of the student?
Should parents of students who are excessively absent from school be prosecuted under the law?
Should "home schooling" be permitted?
Should Native Americans be allowed to have gambling casinos on their reservations?
Should students failing their classes in high school have their driver's license revoked?
Should pros be allowed to draft college athletes before they graduate?
Should wolves be reintroduced to public lands?
Should free, disposable needles be given to drug addicts?
Should marijuana be legalized?
Should adopted children be given the choice of contacting their biological parents?
Should mothers who give their children up for adoption be allowed to keep their identity secret?
Should welfare be limited by time?
Should all pregnant women be required to take an AIDS test?
Should off-shore drilling be banned?
Should school funding come from local property taxes?
Should casino gambling be legalized in Ohio?
Should the U.S. phase out the Electoral College (regarding presidential elections)?
Should abortion be legal?
Should students be required to pass proficiency tests in order to graduate from high school?

86. All Summer in a Day by Ray Bradbury

87. Rain or Shine?
Which would be better – A world where it was always sunny, or a world where it was always rainy?

88. Pro/Con
Sunny World Pro Con
Rainy World
Pro Con

89. Choose a World
Decide which world would be better to live in – rainy or sunny – then write a letter to someone who is living in the opposite of your chosen world and convince him/her why your world is so much better than his/hers.
Extra Credit: Illustrate your world.