Persuasive Writing

Things to Include CER: Claim/ Topic Sentence Evidence Reasoning

Claim/ Topic Sentence Our Claim/ Topic Sentence for persuasive writing is what we want to argue or convince our readers. We need evidence to prove it to be true.

Example Claim/ Topic Sentence Bad: The sky is blue. Good: Owning a dog improves a person’s life.

Evidence The evidence or quotes from you reading that support your claim. Bad: The sky is blue. Gee, really? No evidence needed to prove!

Evidence Good: Owning a dog improves a person’s life. “Whenever I have a bad day I feel better knowing that when I get home, my dog will be there t cheer me up”(The Dog Owner). My dog makes me happy.

Reasoning This part is the explanation. How does the evidence support the claim? Most of you will say this is obvious, but good writing shows the thinking and connection between the claim and evidence.

Closing Sentence for a short Paragraph When writing a short paragraph your closing sentence should restate the topic sentence using different words.

Example Owning a dog improves a person’s life in many ways. For many people, a dog becomes much more than a pet; they become an inspiration and someone that provides hopeful feelings. “Whenever I have a bad day I feel better knowing that when I get home, my dog will be there to cheer me up”(The Dog Owner). It is important to have someone The dog becomes an essential part of every aspect of the owner’s life, including the owner’s physical fitness.

Closing Sentence for essays When writing a 5 paragraph essay= at the end of your body paragraph #1 and 2 your closing sentence should lead to the next point that you would like to make about the issue.

Example Owning a dog improves a person’s life in many ways. For many people, a dog becomes much more than a pet; they become an inspiration and someone that provides hopeful feelings. “Whenever I have a bad day I feel better knowing that when I get home, my dog will be there to cheer me up”(The Dog Owner). It is important to have someone The dog becomes an essential part of every aspect of the owner’s life,and is a part of the owner’s future, as well as part of the past. The owner’s history seems incomplete without the dog, and somehow more empty.

Tips Be sure you know how many examples (evidence) you will need to answer the question completely. Be sure that your evidence directly relates to your claim. Be sure that you have explained (reasoning) very well how your evidence proves your claim true.