1. GCSE ENGLISH LANGUAGE Evaluating an argument or piece of persuasive writing

2. Lesson Objectives To reach the dizzy heights of an A or A* you have to be able to: Evaluate an argument Identify what’s good about the argument Identify any drawbacks to the argument Highlight what techniques have been used and evaluate how effective they are

3. To judge & evaluate an argument well you must remember TAP T is for text A is for audience P is for purpose What type of text is it? Who is the writer writing for? Why has the text been written?

4. Whenever you read an article or text on a Unit 1 Paper you are being asked to assess –Does the text succeed in what it sets out to do? –Are some parts of the text more convincing and persuasive then others? –What techniques does the writer use and what impact do they have – good or bad?

5. Today we’re going to look at an argument about … have a guess based on these clues

6. Why being bald is better than having hair Do you agree with the idea expressed in the title? Discuss together Can you speculate about what arguments a writer could come up with for why being bald is better than having hair? Discuss in your 4s and get ready to feed back ONE argument from each table

7. Now read the article carefully to yourself TWICE

8. Write your name on the sheet And answer the questions in the grid carefully

9. Why being bald is better than having hair. Being bald is better than having hair for many good reasons. There is only one good reason for having hair, and that is that it saves you buying a woolly hat when it snows. Sounds like an OK starting point but isn’t very specific Sounds funny or sarcastic – not a very logical argument So ask yourself the questions Who is the audience? What is its purpose?

10. Hair is a hassle. You have brush it, cut it, gel it, style it and generally treat it better than you would a small child. All I have to do when I get up in the morning is spit on my hand, rub my head and ‘Bob’s Your Uncle’- out the door I go! Great use of 4 word sentence for strong impact! The alliteration on ‘h’ is clever too. This long sentence following the 4 word sentence is a subtle contrast Repeatin g ‘it’ after so many different activities makes doing your hair seem a chore

11. When you evaluate an argument you must find detailed PEEDAE So Where might this text appear? Who is it aimed at? What is the purpose of the Article? How successful is it? PLENARY