1. Persuasive Writing Review 8 TH Grade Language Arts Buford Middle School

2. Persuasive Writing In persuasive writing, you take a position for or against an issue, and write an essay to convince the reader to believe or do something. * Take out your list of persuasive words.

3. What is F A T P ?  FORMAT -  AUDIENCE –  TOPIC -  PURPOSE –

4. Your persuasive essay has three parts: Introduction 3 Body paragraphs Conclusion Your essay must have 5 paragraphs. The body paragraphs must have at least 5 sentences, and will be at least a page and a half when completed.

5. Introduction Paragraph Your introduction must begin with a hook. It is the first sentence that GRABS the readers attention. Your hook can be an interesting question, anecdote (short story), a quote, an exclamation. (“Imagine…”) You must write a background. The background is a sentence or two that discusses your topic. Your thesis statement will be the last sentence of your introduction. You must use opinion words in your sentence. You must use words such as “ It is clear that…”, “It is obvious that…” “.etc… Take out your list of persuasive and transition words. Review the opinion statement words. Hint: When your teacher is checking your work, the thesis statement is the first sentence that is checked!

6. Introduction Paragraph Let’s review a model: Banning Recreational Vehicles in Public Places At first glance skateboards, bicycles, and scooters appear to be harmless recreational vehicles. When these modes of transportation are operated in appropriate places, such as state parks or on bike trails, they can provide hours of pleasure and healthy exercise. However, when used in public places such as roads, sidewalks, and parking lots, they endanger society. Skateboards, bicycles, and scooters should be banned from such places to protect both the riders and other pedestrians.

7. Introduction paragraph At first glance skateboards, bicycles, and scooters appear to be harmless recreational vehicles. When these modes of transportation are operated in appropriate places, such as state parks or on bike trails, they can provide hours of pleasure and healthy exercise. However, when used in public places such as roads, sidewalks, and parking lots, they endanger society. Skateboards, bicycles, and scooters should be banned from these public places to protect both the riders and other pedestrians. What is the thesis statement? How do we know it is the thesis statement? Underline the thesis statement on your paper. Where is the background? What type of hook did the author use?

8. Body paragraphs Body Paragraphs Body paragraphs must have a minimum of five sentences. They must begin with a transition. The topic sentences will give the reader reasons for your opinion. You must have at least three. Examples will be given in each paragraph. Use words such as “for example, for instance, etc… Details will be given to provide more information. Statistics are always helpful. Example: 9 out of 10 students polled say that they do not support school uniforms. You must have compound and complex sentences in your body paragraphs.

9. Body Paragraph Model: The first reason to ban skateboards, bicycles, and scooters from inappropriate public areas is to protect people from being injured. For instance, as motorists back out of parking spaces at the mall, they are forced to slam on their brakes to avoid hitting a passing skateboarder or biker. Often drivers cannot see the individual who is operating the board or bike. Furthermore, enormous delivery trucks have the most difficult time discerning riders and can easily hit them, causing serious injuries and even death. Clearly, allowing skateboards, bicycles, and scooters to be operated in public places is dangerous. What reason did the writer give for not allowing recreational vehicles in public places? Highlight or underline reason #1. What examples did the writer use? What are the transitions in the body paragraph? How many sentences are in the paragraph?

10. Conclusion Your conclusion should summarize what you said without repeating! Think of interesting ways that you can summarize. Use more interesting and detailed words to help you summarize. The last sentence should be a clincher sentence. The clincher sentence is an interesting sentence that drives home the writer’s main point.

11. Model: Allowing skateboards, bicycles, or scooters in areas open to the public is absolutely ludicrous! The riders easily could be killed by a car or a truck. Moreover, young and old alike can be battered and bludgeoned by the vehicle operators who do not pay attention to where they are going. Finally, accidents caused by these recreational hazards can put store owners out of business. In summary, we should ban skateboards, bicycles and scooters from inappropriate places because they are a menace to society and can cause bankruptcy and death. Notice how the writer restated the thesis without repeating. The clincher drives the point home and reiterates the writer’s opinion. The writer used transition words in the conclusion also!

12. Points to remember: Your essay will be at 1 ½ pages ( a page and a half) when completed. You must have a minimum of 5 sentences in the body paragraphs. However, your goal is to always do more than the minimum. Pre-writing- 15 minutes Draft- 35 minutes Revising/Edit- 20 minutes Final Copy- 20 minutes Proofreading- 10 minutes= 100 minutes

13. Writing Days When you enter the room, start working on your essay right away. No talking! Raise your hand after you finish each paragraph so that it can be checked by the teacher.