The Art of Persuasion English 102

Review of 6 Traits of Good Writing Content Define a specific topic with a main idea/thesis statement that supports an identifiable purpose and a specific audience. Elaborate on main idea, add relevant details and maintain focus Sample prompts: – Who is your audience? What would your audience – Which topics are closets to your own experience? Which will require research? – What specific details would enhance your readers understanding? – What can be accomplished through this piece of writing?

Word Choice Include interesting and domain specific words to enhance and convey meaning Use figurative language Use vocabulary that is varied Questions to consider – Are there words that can be omitted? Are you unsure of certain words? – What are some words you used to evoke emotion or make a point? – What are some word, specific to the subject area, that help you write this topic? – How could a metaphor or analogy help your reader?

Organization Select an appropriate form and use an engaging introduction that includes purpose; include thesis statement when appropriate Create smooth transitions between element (ideas, sentences, paragraphs) to clarify complex ideas and relationships Craft a purposeful structure to present details that support the main idea Include a definite conclusion that provides closure Sample Prompts: – What did you do to help you organize your writing before you began? – Are there any inconsistencies in this piece of writing? How can consistency be created? – How can you show that this part connects to the part your wrote here? – How does the placement of the main idea or thesis statement create an effective introduction? – How is this piece structured to maintain writing purpose – Will your conclusion change or impress the reader? How?

Voice Skilfully connect the audience to the topic Show care and commitment to the topic Generate strong feeling, energy and individuality Choose appropriate voice for writing task (formal or informal) Sample Prompts: – Where did you make the reader agree with you? – Is your voice appropriate for the writing task of context? – Will your reader feel your personal strand? Will it seem original or sincere?

Sentence Structure Include well-crafted sentences to support meaning and readability Arrange sentences into coherent paragraphs Vary sentence lengths and beginnings to create flow Sample Prompts – What is the strongest sentence in your piece? What makes it strong? – How can you make this sentence longer, shorter? – Reread this part and see if it is easy to read aloud.

Conventions Include internal punctuation and paragraphing of dialogue Apply correct grammatical structures that make the text readable Use capitals correctly to identify proper nouns, titles, words used as names and abbreviations Correctly spell almost all words; use spelling support; correctly use homophones Use a range of print characteristics and layout to enhance the meaning where appropriate Use appropriate format to cite sources Sample Prompts: – Do you need help understanding any grammar checker suggestions? – Did you use a mentor text to help you with text layout? – Are citations in the correct format?

Persuasive Writing The purpose of persuasive writing genre is to discuss and/or debate ideas that develop an argument and convince the reader to agree with the writer’s opinion.

Think/Pair/Share Independently read the article We Should All Be Uniform. As you read, make note of the strategies, features, and devices that the writer uses throughout the writing piece in order to effectively persuade the reader and enhance their argument. Once you have completed your reading and have created a list of text features, you will move into groups of 4 or 5 and share/discuss the lists that you have developed. As a group, you will use your ideas to create a persuasive writing checklist. This checklist will be a self-assessment tool that the class will use when writing your persuasive writing piece in the near future. You will then present your list to the class and as a whole class we will develop a general class persuasive writing checklist.