CURRICULUM MAP: 10047.map

Sophomore Writing Workshop (ACP/SCP/GEN) 121, 122, 123
Writing in the Persuasive Mode

TIME FRAME: 5-6 days
GRADE: 10
CONTACT:

         MAP LEVEL: 4

23.1 LANGUAGE ARTS - READING AND RESPONDING --- 23.1.1.9.1
23.3 LANGUAGE ARTS - COMMUNICATING WITH OTHERS --- 23.3.1.9.2 --- 23.3.1.9.3 --- 23.3.1.9.4 --- 23.3.2.9.1 --- 23.3.2.9.2 --- 23.3.2.9.3
23.4 LANGUAGE ARTS - ENGLISH LANG CONVENTIONS --- 23.4.1.9.2 --- 23.4.2.9.1 --- 23.4.2.9.2 --- 23.4.3.9.1 --- 23.4.3.9.2 --- 23.4.3.9.3




What makes persuasive writing effective?




What is Persuasion?

Each human being is an individual with a unique viewpoint in the world. Yet people have a tendency to want company in the things that they think, feel, and do. The basic human tendency to get others to "join up" is at the core of writing called persuasion. Persuasive writing attempts to convince a reader to adopt a particular opinion or to take a certain course of action. You encounter persuasive writing on a daily basis in speeches, advertisements, and editorials. Persuasive writing can be an extremely powerful motivator. When persuasive writing is at its most effective, a reader forgets that he or she is being swayed by another person’s viewpoint.

How Persuasion Fits Into Your Life

As you are probably aware, persuasion in some form plays a part in the daily lives of almost every human being. Often one is on the receiving end of persuasive message – in the form of television, radio, and print advertisements; political speeches; and informal attempts to get a person to say, think, or do something. Yet most of us also spend a fair amount of time attempting to persuade other people to our own views. By learning and practicing the skill of persuasive writing, you can become a forceful, persuasive writer who is able to effect change in other people and in society.

(Prentice Hall. Writer' s Solution. Platinum Sourcebook, Annotated Teacher' s
Edition. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1997, 98-99)


Paper Expectations:

* MLA format
* Beginning, middle, end and title
* "Five Paragraph Essay" format (alternatives -- Monroe Sequence
or satire)
* Awareness of audience (reasonable and appropriate language)
* Clear statement of position (thesis statement)
* Transitions (enumeration, connection to position)
* Effective support of position
* Objective third person style (exception for personal experiences)
* Acceptable level of fluency
* Grammatical correctness
* OPTION -- inclusion of anecdote
* OPTION -- acknowledgement of counter argument or straw man
paragraph






When writing in the persuasive mode students will:

-- Develop and utilize prewriting skills and strategies,
-- Develop and incorporate drafting skills,
-- Develop and implement editing skills and strategies,
-- Demonstrate awareness of audience by using reasonable and appropriate language,
-- State clearly the position of the paper (thesis statement),
-- Recognize and utilize effective transitions,
-- Develop argumentation to effectively support the thesis,
-- Recognize and write paper in the third person (with exceptions for personal anecdotes),
-- Recognize and implement effective organization of materials,
-- Produce a final draft that meets standards of acceptability in fluency and grammatical correctness.




All students will:
-- Be instructed on the steps of the writing process,
-- Be shown models of quality writing in the persuasive mode,
-- Conference with his/her teacher to discuss the quality of his/her writing, and to determine the steps necessary for improvement,
-- Receive written feedback on the quality of their writing.




Assessment of student writing in the descriptive mode includes student-teacher conferencing to determine successful completion of editing, as well as meeting standards for acceptable quality of the final draft. Each teacher will provide written feedback of the drafts and of the final paper.





Prentice Hall. Writer' s Solution. Platinum Sourcebook. New Jersey:
Prentice Hall, 1997.

Sample persuasive essays may include:
-- "Dear State Senator" by Anike Sasona
-- "Make Room for the Arts in School" By Elliot W. Eisner
-- "The Death Penalty Is a Step Back" by Coretta Scott King
-- "Death Penalty" by Mike Royko
-- "You'll Love This Bomb" by Art Buchwald (satire)
-- "The State of my Plate" by Mundy Wilson-Libby
-- "Vegetable Gardens are for the Birds" by Howard Scott


All sample essays can be found on the eschool website in the SWW folder at .