1. STAAR English II Persuasive
Expository

2. Understanding Persuasive Writing
Short writing is deceptively difficult. It is not just brief; it is also jam-packed with meaning.
When writing persuasively, it is your job to overcome your readers’ resistance and persuade them to shift their perspectives or accept new ways of thinking.
However, your audience wants more than just your opinion– your audience wants an understanding as well as evidence. So that means you must interpret as well as give examples to convince your audience.

3. Understanding Persuasive Writing
One of your most important goals in writing is to communicate clearly and fulfill the expectations of your audience.
Your audience expects a certain organization as well as certain conventions of writing to be followed, such as correct punctuation, complex sentences and formal word choice.

4. Interpreting the Prompt
Pay attention to what it asks you to do. In fact, read it at least three times.
The prompts are written for you to choose a side, to take an arguable position. When deciding on a side to argue, consider not only the examples you can give to support your persuasive claim, but you should also consider some of its component parts: social, political, economic, scientific, cultural, etc.
Pay careful attention and distinguish what is the actual prompt and what is extra information they provide to help generate thought.

5. Example Prompt The more that you read, the more things you will know.
Read the following quotation.
Think carefully about the following statement.
According to Dr. Seuss, knowledge leads to new opportunities.
Write an essay stating your position on whether learning always has a positive
effect on a person’s life.
Be sure to –
state your position clearly
use appropriate organization
provide specific support for your argument
choose your words carefully
edit your writing for grammar, mechanics, and spelling
The more that you read, the more things you will know.
The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.
--from I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!
by Dr. Seuss
Additional information
to generate thought
Prompt
Evaluation criteria

6. Getting Started
Take a couple of minutes to plan and organize. Some effective methods include:
Brainstorming: let all your ideas rush out unimpeded.
Freewriting: write down everything you can think of about your topic without limitations or a clear destination.
Listing and outlining: this is a quick way to write your ideas on paper and then rearrange, reorder, and develop them. The structure of a list or outline allows you to see the difference between equal main points and subordinate, less important points.
Clustering (word webbing): writers who are visual thinkers find clustering helps them find relationships among ideas.

7. Example of Clustering education Learn skills Job opportunities Pay
provider
Higher pay
Free time
Become smarter
Job of your choice
Easier life
More growth

8. Example of Outlining I Introduction II Body/Discussion Section
Background:
Education to come out of poverty
Thesis: Learning kept my father off the streets
II Body/Discussion Section
Point: How education improved his family’s lives
Development: example/anecdote
Example of father’s love of learning
Example of grandfather’s knowledge
III Conclusion
Recap: Restate that learning can improve the quality of life.

9. Persuasive Introduction
Open topic
Claim/thesis (your argument)

10. Persuasive Introduction
Open the topic:
it should introduce the overall topic you will be discussing.
Claim/Thesis:
state the issue and your position in a clear thesis.
the thesis alerts the reader to your central point, but it also helps you stay focused and organize your thinking.
the rest of the article flows from this point.

11. Example Introduction
Throughout history and in everybody’s lives, education has opened door ways to new beginnings or has helped people come out of poverty. Learning kept my father off the streets and helped my Gradpa Ellis fight his way through the Great Depression.
Background
Thesis

12. Persuasive Discussion Section
Point you will prove
Development (example
to offer proof)
Reiterate proven point

13. Persuasive Discussion Section
Topic Sentence/Point
The purpose of a topic sentence is to clarify what your paragraph will discuss (the point you will prove).
It also serves as a transition between the end of the previous paragraph and the current paragraph.
Development
Some effective ways to develop your point:
Examples
Description
Narration (storytelling)
Definition
Comparison and /or contrast
Causes and /or effects
Reiterate Proven Point (optional)
The purpose of this sentence is to refocus your essay and direct your reader’s thoughts back to your thesis.

14. Example Discussion Section
My father grew up in a city in Kansas named Hutchinson which, at the time, was overcrowded with salt miners who worked down in the Morton Salt Mines. With the overcrowding came a surge of crime and shady people. Many high schoolers my dad’s age dropped out of high school and became drug addicts. My father would have been on of those dead beats had it not been for his education. Dad was fascinated by math and by how numbers fit together to make solutions, and he also loved hearing his history teacher lecture about the past. Had it not been for my father’s love of learning, he would not have met my mother and I would not be alive.
Topic sentence
Point
Develop through examples

15. Persuasive Conclusion
Recap sentence
How it applies

16. Persuasive Conclusion
Recap sentence
It is exactly as it sounds: it “recaps” what you’ve stated in your essay. You have neither time nor space for an extensive conclusion. Usually, one or two sentences suffice to wrap up your explanation.
How it applies
If there is room, suggest the implications of the topic, or in other words, how does your discussion from the essay “apply to others.”

17. Example Conclusion
Whether it be in a classroom or out digging a ditch, learning something new everyday can help anyone persevere through tough times and get the best out of their lives. “I never stop learning until the day I die.” – Grandpa Ellis The example is from a paper that scored a 4 on the Spring 2014 STAAR English II test.
Recap
Big Picture