The Essay: The What and the Why

“What do you think about school uniforms?” What vs. Why Identification vs. Analysis Expository/Summary vs. Essay The purpose of the Persuasive Essay

What is a Persuasive Essay? Sample Persuasive Essay INTRODUCTION PARAGRAPH HOOK, INTRODUCE SUBJECT, BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON ISSUE, THESIS STATEMENT (OPINION) BODY PARAGRAPHS TOPIC SENTENCE/CLAIM/REASON, SUPPORTS, TRANSITION WORDS, COUNTERARGUMENT CONCLUSION PARAGRAPH RESTATE THESIS, CLAIMS, CALL TO ACTION

Introduction Paragraph First, you have to introduce your argument. And you have to hook your reader. Introduction Paragraph: A. Hook B. Introduce subject C. Give background info on issue D. THESIS STATEMENT (Your main argument)

The Hook If you want your reader to read your whole essay, you have to HOOK them!

Types of Hooks A Quote A Question (Something ANY reader could answer) A Clever Pitch (sell your argument) An Anecdote (a mini-story relating to issue)

Types of Hooks (cont.) A Clever Pitch for the Story Itself (Similar to an advertisement) ex/ A UFO lands in a pond. Two state troopers find a trail of footprints leading from the site to a small diner. Inside they find seven travelers, six came from a bus, one from the UFO...which one is the Martian? An ANECDOTE (A short short story relating to the discussion at hand) ex/ When I was eight, my mother became very ill with pneumonia and had to be hospitalized. While she fought the illness in her hospital bed, I struggled with questions. Would she recover? What would become of me if she died? Luckily, my mother survived and returned home the following week. However, in ....

GUIDED: Write a hook for an essay on school uniforms. 1. A Quote: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. A Question: ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

GUIDED: Write a hook for an essay on school uniforms. 3. A Pitch: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 4. An Anecdote: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

INDEPENDENT: Write a hook for your essay on Facebook. 1. A Quote: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. A Question: ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

INDEPENDENT: Write a hook for an essay on Facebook. 3. A Pitch: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 4. An Anecdote: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Give Background Info on the Issue Introduce the Subject Assume your reader knows nothing. Define the subject. If you’re writing about school uniforms, identify what schools and what a uniform is. Give Background Info on the Issue What is the problem? What is the controversy? What is the debate?

GUIDED: Introduce the subject and give background info on school uniforms at Clark Middle School. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

INDEPENDENT: Introduce the subject and give background info on the Facebook issue. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

THESIS STATEMENT: The most important part of your essay! A THESIS STATEMENT identifies your argument. For the Persuasive essay, this should be your opinion on the issue. Use FORCEFUL words. ex/ Cell phones are destroying our society and should be banned. The THESIS STATEMENT is hugely important as it is your main argument. Without it, the reader has no idea what your essay is about. Consider it your road map for the reader.

GUIDED: Write a THESIS STATEMENT FOR THE FOLLOWING TWO ISSUES ISSUE ONE: I want to write an essay that argues that cell phones should be permitted in school. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

GUIDED SCENARIO TWO: I want to write an essay that argues that our school would benefit from buying Ipads for each student. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

INDEPENDENT INDEPENDENT: Write a THESIS STATEMENT FOR THE FOLLOWING SCENARIO SCENARIO FIVE: You want to write an essay that analyzes the Facebook issue. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

BODY PARAGRAPHS BODY PARAGRAPHS--The "meat" of your argument Here is where you offer your reasoning for your argument. Your reasons appear as your CLAIMS and support them in various ways. Each CLAIM gets its own paragraph. Since we are beginners, we will stick with three CLAIMS (reasons).

TOPIC SENTENCES -CLAIMS: Your main reasons or supports for your argument. These are introduced in the form of a topic sentence. -TOPIC SENTENCE: One sentence, appearing at the beginning of a BODY PARAGRAPH, that directly pronounces your CLAIM.

TOPIC SENTENCES (CONT.) YOUR TOPIC SENTENCES DIRECTLY RELATE TO YOUR THESIS STATEMENT. IF YOUR THESIS STATEMENT SAYS YOU WILL DISCUSS SCHOOL UNIFORMS, YOU HAVE MENTION SCHOOL UNIFORMS. TOPIC SENTENCES SHOULD ALSO BEGIN WITH A TRANSITION WORD.

GUIDED THESIS STATEMENT: “School uniforms should not be required at Monroe Clark Middle School.” TOPIC SENTENCE 1: _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

TOGETHER THESIS STATEMENT: “School uniforms should not be required at Monroe Clark Middle School.” TOPIC SENTENCE 2: _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

GUIDED THESIS STATEMENT: “School uniforms should not be required at Monroe Clark Middle School.” TOPIC SENTENCE 3: _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

GUIDED THESIS STATEMENT: “School uniforms should be required at Monroe Clark Middle School.” TOPIC SENTENCE 1: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

GUIDED THESIS STATEMENT: “School uniforms should be required at Monroe Clark Middle School.” TOPIC SENTENCE 2: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

GUIDED THESIS STATEMENT: “School uniforms should be required at Monroe Clark Middle School.” TOPIC SENTENCE 3: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

INDEPENDENT YOUR THESIS on the FACEBOOK ISSUE:_____________________________________________________________________ TOPIC SENTENCE 1 (your first and best reason, preceded by a transition word). __________________________________________________________________________.

INDEPENDENT YOUR THESIS on the FACEBOOK ISSUE:_____________________________________________________________________ TOPIC SENTENCE 2 (preceded by a transition word). __________________________________________________________________________.

INDEPENDENT YOUR THESIS on the FACEBOOK ISSUE:_____________________________________________________________________ TOPIC SENTENCE 3 (preceded by a transition word). __________________________________________________________________________.

BODY PARAGRAPHS—SUPPORT FOR YOUR ARGUMENT After you make your claim in the topic sentence, you have to convince your reader! Use various forms of support to persuade your reader!

Persuasive Techniques The goal of argumentative writing is to persuade your audience that your ideas are valid, or more valid than someone else's. For an argument to be persuasive it must APPEAL to the reader’s: Emotion Logic Ethics (Character)

Emotional Appeals Means persuading by appealing to the reader's emotions. The emotional or motivational appeals: vivid language emotional language and numerous sensory details. Personal experiences to create an emotional response and connect to the audience.

Emotional Appeals Examples “Kids don’t even think anymore. They just watch television, and believe whatever they see.” “No dress code means no forced uniformity. The freedom of the individual is tied up in being able to choose what you wear.”

Logical Appeals Support your general claims with concrete specific data and reasons. Logical appeals include: Facts Statistics Definitions Quotes from experts

Logical Appeals Examples “Students who eat breakfast are 83% more likely to finish high school.” Alice Jackson Ph.D., Chief Doctor of Medicine at UCLA, states that exercising is the best way to prevent heart disease.

Ethical Appeals Means convincing by the character of the author. We tend to believe people we respect. Expert opinions Quotations from well-known and respected individuals or groups The group or person must be trustworthy!

Ethical Appeal Examples Barack Obama says, “There is no excuse for not trying.” “Four out of five dentists agree that flossing is essential for healthy teeth and gums.”

Body Paragraph setup: 1. Topic Sentence (Your claim) 2. Supporting Statement (connected to evidence) 3. Evidence to Prove Claim (Quotation) 4. Supporting Statement (connected to evidence) 5. Further Evidence to Prove Claim

Together: The True Story of the Three Little Pigs Body Paragraph 1: Topic Sentence:__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Supp.Statement: __________________________________________________________________________ Evidence: _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Supp.Statement: __________________________________________________________________________ Evidence: _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Guided "Birthday Box" Body Paragraph 1: Topic Sentence:__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Supp.Statement: __________________________________________________________________________ Evidence: _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Supp.Statement: __________________________________________________________________________ Evidence: _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Independent: "Birthday Box" Body Paragraph 2: Body Paragraph 3: Great! Now write it out with an indent (of course) and double-spacing!

The Conclusion Paragraph A CONCLUSION PARAGRAPH closes up your essay by restating your argument and claims. It also should include a call to action. A Call to Action is where you encourage your reader to do something. For example, “If you feel uniforms are a bad idea, please write your own letter to Mr. Liberto today!”

Conclusion Paragraph First, RESTATE your THESIS. This means REWORD it--don't simply copy it down. Perhaps, the best way is to reorganize the order of your thesis statement.

Conclusion Paragraph Next, revisit your claims and, again, reword them.

Conclusion Paragraph Finally, write your call to action. What do you want your reader to do with this information and their opinion?