The Persuasive Letter: To Your Parents

IDEAS / CONTENT  Review your Senior Portfolio  Decide upon your action plan for post-secondary education 1 st choice 1 st choice 2 nd choice – if you can’t decide 2 nd choice – if you can’t decide

BACKGROUND  Reread the most pertinent portions of your Portfolio College Application Essay (narrative) College Application Essay (narrative) College Research Essay College Research Essay Housing options research Housing options research Financial plan Financial plan

ORGANIZATION Organize your ideas into an outline Paragraph 1 – Introduction Paragraph 2 – Supporting arguments/reasons Paragraph 3 – Conclusion

Paragraph 1 -- Introduction  Attention Getter or Hook Get the attention of the audience Get the attention of the audience  Background information What does the reader need to know about this issue? What does the reader need to know about this issue?  Thesis statement

 Build to your strongest argument/reason  Reason #3 (weakest of the three)  Reason #2 (charts/graphs/spreadsheets)  Reason #1 (strongest argument)  Use transitions  First, second, primarily, most important, etc. Paragraph 2 – Your reasons/support

Use a variety of support Use a variety of support Types of Support  Prediction  Observation  Statistics  Comparison  Analysis

Paragraph 3 -- Conclusion  Restate your thesis statement  Provide a brief summary of your argument/reasons  Show how your parents will benefit from supporting your choice  Ask for your parents’ support Be specific in what you are asking for Be specific in what you are asking for

PREWRITE / DRAFT / PROOFREAD  Outline  Rough draft  Include a variety of Smiley Face Tricks (minimum of 3)

PRESENTATION / CONVENTIONS  Write your persuasive business letter  Format: business letter  Edit for grammar, spelling, and word choice errors

Final Draft – TIIC midnight Friday  Electronic Signature Black or blue ink Scripted font  Typed formal name  Share with your parent/guardian  Parent/guardian signature on form to be turned in on Monday

Parent’s Part  Extra Credit Your parent writes a letter/ responding to your letter Make sure your teacher receives the response