Persuasive Essay Please read through the following notes. 1.You will complete the Persuasive Essay Notes part of your outline. 2.The TOPIC of your essay (down at the bottom) should match what you posted to Edmodo

I. Tips for Writing a Persuasive Essay: 1.Grab your reader’s attention in the first paragraph. 2.State your opinion clearly. 3.Support your opinion with clear examples. 4.Present your examples from the least important to the most important. 5.Use the last paragraph to summarize your report. 6.Use your last paragraph to convince the reader that you are right.

II. Essential Steps for writing a persuasive essay 1.Identify your main idea or point of view. Your purpose will be to persuade your audience to accept this idea or point of view. 2.Identify your audience. To write an effective persuasive essay, try to understand your audience. 1.For example, are your readers undecided about your issue? 2.Or are your readers hostile to your point of view? 3.This is called considering your audience. 3. Identify the strongest supporting points for your persuasion. 4. Identify the most significant opposing view. Explaining and then refuting the opposing view strengthens the credibility and scope of your essay.

III. How to organize your persuasive essay: 1. Introduction a. Your introduction should hook your reader's attention and provide background information on your topic or controversy. b.The paragraph should end with a clear statement of your main idea or point of view. 2.Body paragraphs a. Your body paragraphs should present the points in support of your main idea. b. Each body paragraph should focus on one point. c.Be sure to provide evidence or examples for each point. 3. Conclusion a. Creatively restate your main idea and supporting points. b. Try to leave your audience even more connected to your topic and persuaded by your main idea or perspective

Shelley’s Examples 1.Example Outline 2.Example Intro. Paragraphs

What will the topic of your essay be? Should Memorial adopt a uniform policy? Write the sentence that you will use in your introduction to grab your reader’s attention. the debate over a mandated uniform policy has recently gained support from Spring Branch ISD teachers. What is your opinion on this topic? Yes What is the background on this topic? 1. Other schools have them, but SBISD does not 2. The school board has recently been considering it 3. Long Beach, CA in 1994 was one of the first successful programs, with over 70,000 students in uniforms Reason 1 – Begin your essay with your strongest point. What is your strongest reason? Uniforms can increase student safety What makes this point more important than the rest? Because it deals with the well-being of students 1.If someone is on campus who shouldn’t be, he or she will be highly visible 2.Could prevent fights – no one is getting beaten up for their shoes and nothing gets stolen 3.Kids won’t feel inferior to each other – promotes social equality. No inferiority complexes because someone can or can’t afford something Reason 2 - Refute the opposition Who is against your position? Who disagrees with you? People who DON’T want uniforms Why are they opposed to your idea? Variety of reasons. Different from parents vs. students. - People think they are restrictive and unnecessary What can you say in response to the opposition? 1. Parents – think it might be too expensive, but in the long run, you actually save money 2. Students – like the freedom to dress as they choose, but uniforms actually promote equality among students 3. Promotes a more business-like environment, which prepares students for the real world Reason 3 What are the benefits in adopting your particular standpoint? Uniforms can solve discipline problems Why is the current situation unacceptable? Class time is lost enforcing this policy, which is bad for both students and teachers. Also, it is inconsistently enforced. Support your reason 1.AP’s wouldn’t have to worry about dress code violations; they can focus on more important issues 2.Teachers wouldn’t lose class time in having to enforce the policy 3. Students wouldn’t miss class time going to AP’s office 4. Not all teachers or Aps enforce the same, which is unfair Conclusion – what should the reader have learned from reading your essay? Spring Branch ISD should have a uniform policy What is a one-sentence summary of your persuasive essay? Try to say it in a different way than you did in your introduction. Students and parents would both benefit from a standardized dress code

Sample Introduction For many years, the students of Memorial High School have enjoyed the freedom to dress as they please. However, the debate over a mandated uniform policy has recently gained support from Spring Branch ISD teachers. Many Houston area school districts, such as Houston ISD and Alief ISD have adopted such dress codes, but at present, Spring Branch ISD has not. Spring Branch ISD should adopt a uniform dress code policy.

Sample Introduction #2 Marijuana is currently one of the most abused illegal substances in America. The drug is so popular that 1 in 4 students have admitted to smoking marijuana. However, marijuana can have myriad adverse affects when constantly abused. Thus, marijuana should not be made legal in the United States.