Persuasive Essay

Why?  Second type of writing for Unit One NAB: you have already done Reflective.  You must pass one of these in order to complete Unit One.

Persuasive Essay.  The persuasive essay is an essay about a topic regarding which the writer feels very strongly.  The writer does not try to be fair, or balanced: he or she will try to convince their reader that they should agree with the writer’s point of view.  Many of the passages you will read for Close Reading will be examples of persuasive writing.  Read the exemplar ”Should Euthanasia be Legalised in Britain.”

Choosing a Topic.  The best essays will come from writing about something you genuinely care about: if you aren’t really interested in your subject, it will show in your essay and weaken the strength of your arguments.

 You must be specific in your choice of topic. For example, consider the following as possible topics: –M.P’s Expenses –Homelessness –War –Climate Change. Have a minute’s thinking time and then be prepared to comment on how suitable or otherwise these are as topics for an essay. Have a minute’s thinking time and then be prepared to comment on how suitable or otherwise these are as topics for an essay.

 Take the same topics, think about what you have read or heard recently in the news, and try to come up with a specific topic linked to each of the headings. –The FIFA presidency election –Student Tuition Fees. –The rating of music videos –The right to privacy.

Watch the clip on I player  By reading newspapers and watching or listening to news programmes, you can discover the controversial issues in the news. By choosing something current, you can make your research a bit easier (IF you are read newspapers!!!!) However,  You may also wish to write about something that is local to your area or personal to you or to your family’s circumstances.

How to Plan.  Once you have decided on your topic, write the specific title in the middle of a sheet of paper.  Around it, write down all of the arguments that support your view. Write down everything you can. You can reject some ideas later.  Choose a different colour of pen and write down some of the arguments those who disagree with you might use.

Name:Teacher: Once you have decided on your topic, write the specific title in the middle of a sheet of paper. Around it, write down all of the arguments that support your view. Write down everything you can. You can reject some ideas later. Choose a different colour of pen and write down some of the arguments those who disagree with you might use.

Selecting  Look carefully at all your ideas and choose three or four of the arguments that most strongly support your view.  Write them down as headings on a piece of paper. Leave space between each heading.  Now under each one, write down anything you already know that gives evidence for that point.  Then write down anything that you don’t know but you would like to find out because it might strengthen your argument.  This will help you direct your research later on.

Opposing Arguments  In a persuasive essay, you will spend most of your time giving your own view.  However, it is important to acknowledge that there are views which oppose your own. You must do this to meet the criteria for a pass.  You don’t have to spend a long time on these opinions but you should write about them so as you can go onto explain why you disagree. –Write down the most common arguments against your point of view.  We’ll talk about this later in structure.

Research  Having thought about what you already know and what you need to find out to develop your argument, you can be more focused in your research and can save time.  You might find out something you hadn’t thought of in your reading. That’s fine, you can choose to include it.

Sources of Information  Newspapers  Magazines  Internet  Pressure Group Publications  Essential Articles.

Taking Notes  Don’t copy whole sections down: you may end up regurgitating the whole thing in your essay, perhaps without even understanding it.  Put everything into your own words, in note form, to make sure you understand the point being made. There is no point writing something down that you don’t understand.  Do not print from the Internet. Put ideas into your own words, in note form.  Write down the name of the paper, website, leaflet you are using, as you must include a bibliography at the end of your essay.

Rules for Using Sources  Don’t quote  Don’t mention individuals if you can generalise from them.  Don’t go into detailed figures for no reason.  Acknowledge sources in a bibliography.

Structure of Essay Intro - Clear introduction explaining the topic and stating your view clearly. A paragraph acknowledging the opposing arguments. Argument One supporting your view Argument Two supporting your view Argument Three supporting your view Conclusion, summing up ideas and restating your opinion.

Structure of a paragraph  Same as always! Topic/ Linking Sentence, stating what rest of paragraph is going to be about. Evidence backing up the point made in the topic sentence. You may use linking words here to connect pieces of evidence. A sentence which sums up the idea that you have been discussing.

Style and Tone  As this is a persuasive piece, you may use many of the techniques you have been studying in your close reading work. –Rhetorical questions –Anecdote –Humour –Exaggeration –Direct address to the reader. –Irony/sarcasm. –Sentence structure. (Short, blunt statements. Command sentences. Balanced sentences. Repetition.) –Emotive language. –Linking Sentences ( not optional!) –Use of statistics. –Evidence of reaearch.

However…  Do not be overly abusive or sarcastic: it may make you sound foolish and can certainly put people off agreeing with you. There are those, of whom I am not one, who believe that genetics is the great hope of mankind. All disease will be cured, all people will be fed in the Utopia of Science… There are those, of whom I am not one, who believe that genetics is the great hope of mankind. All disease will be cured, all people will be fed in the Utopia of Science… A few deluded idiots and thoughtless slaves of the of the multinational gene companies hold the ridiculous “opinion” that genetic engineering is a wonderful idea…

Exemplar  Read Tommy Sheridan’s piece, “Making a Hash of the Drug Laws. “