Persuasive Writing

Objective

  • State your opinion on a matter
  • Defend (or state both sides of it)

Strategies

Aristotle’s Rhetorical Triangle

Aristotle got most things wrong, but this might have been the exception. To write persuasively, he said you need to use these three things:

  • Appeal to the person’s reason, logos
  • To his emotions, pathos
  • And to his sense of character, ethos

Before writing

  • Read a few good writing samples of persuasive writing.
    • Contribute to discussion to generate ideas about what makes good writing.
    • Examine the writing.
  • Generate and develop ideas
    • Brainstorm
    • Outline
    • Recall
    • Interview
    • Sketch
    • Ask questions
  • Organize and sequence ideas
    • Mindmap
    • Fishbone
    • Storyboard

During writing

  • Add detail
    • List additional ideas.
    • Ask for feedback
    • Examine other books for style
    • Enhance the vocabulary.
  • Organize
    • Ensure appropriate sequence
      • chronological
      • compare and contrast
      • question and answers
      • cause and effect
  • Research
    • Use encyclopaedias, children’s magazines and non-fiction books to locate relevant information to complete the writing task.

After writing

  • Accept and incorporate revision suggestions from peers and teachers (e.g., add more descriptive words).

Reflect

  • Demonstrate pride and satisfaction
    • Celebration
    • Add to writing journal.

Basic Structure

Basic outline of the writing:

  • Topic sentence
  • Opening argument 1
  • Argument 2
  • Argument 3
  • Concluding statement

Think OREO - Opinion, Reasoning, Example, Opinion (Restated) Remember the following:

  • Know your audience
  • Check your emotions
  • Solid facts
  • Remember the purpose

Grammar

  • Use the following tool for “emotional appeal”

    • Simile
    • Metaphor
    • Anecdote

  • Uses full stops, question marks or exclamation marks at the end of sentences.

  • Uses paragraphs to show where a new idea begins.

  • Uses different types of adverbs (place, time, degree, manner, duration, reason, adverb phrases).

  • Uses a range of connectives and conjunctions to link ideas and information (e.g., to indicate time, to add information).

Teaching Approach

Tools

Graphic Organiser

Unstoppable Us - By Yuval Noah Harari.

  • Non-fiction.
  • Read one chapter
    • Identify the “opinion(s).”
    • Underline the reasoning and examples
    • Identify the “restating of the opinion.”

Concepts

Practice

Activities

  • NA

References

The following helped create this post.