Persuasive Writing: Techniques and Formats for Convincing Readers, Study notes of Mechanics

Download Persuasive Writing: Techniques and Formats for Convincing Readers and more Study notes Mechanics in PDF only on Docsity! Persuasive Writing & Just Do It... Ms. Poole Persuasive Writing Persuasive  wri+ng  is  wri&ng   that  tries  to  convince  a   reader  to  do  something  or   to  believe  what  you  believe   about  a  certain  topic.     It  takes  a  posi&on  for  or   against  something.       Persuasive  wri0ng  follows  a  certain  format:   •  INTRODUCTION  with  a  “hook”  and  thesis   statement   •  BODY  where  the  argument  is  explained   •  CONCLUSION  where  main  points  are   summarized  and  reviewed  and  the  reader  is   leQ  with  something  to  think  about.     First…Know  Your  Audience…   •  Before  you  start  wri&ng,  you  should  know  your   audience:   – Who  will  read  your  wri&ng?    Who  do  you  need  to   convince?   –  The    audience  may  be  your  friends,  your  teacher,  your   parents,  your  principal,  the  readers  of  a  newspaper  or  the   President  of  the  United  States!   – Will  you  be  graded?    On  What?   –  Should  you  be  casual  or  professional?     Second…  Pick  a  side!   •  The  writer  must  clearly  state  his/her  posi&on   and  stay  with  that  posi&on.    Pick  a  side!             •  Generally,  the  posi&on  is  stated  in  the  opening   paragraph  or  introduc&on.     DOS  and  DON’Ts  of  Persuasive  Wri&ng:   •  Do:   •  Divide  into  5  paragraphs   •  Have  a  thesis  statement  in   your  introduc&on   •  Come  up  with  3  main  points   to  support  your  argument— these  will  be  your  3  body   paragraphs   •  Show  the  “counter  -­‐ argument”   •  Have  a  conclusion  that  has  a   “clincher  statement”   •  Come  up  with  a  catchy  &tle   •  Don’t  :   •  Don’t  begin  with  “Hello  my   name  is___  and  I’m  going  to   write  about____”   •  Don’t  use  the  word  “I   “  (Instead  of  “I  think  we   shouldn’t  wear  uniforms”   say  “Uniforms  shouldn’t  be   required.”   •  Don’t  be  wishy-­‐washy.    Pick   a  side!   •  Don’t  forget  to  support  your   opinions  with  facts  and   example  s   The  Great  Introduc0on…   What  makes  an  good  introduc+on?   •  It  grabs  or  “hooks”  the  reader’s  aFen&on  by  using  one  or  more  of   the  following  strategies:     –  An  anecdote  or  scenario   –  A  quota&on   –  An  interes&ng  fact  or  sta&s&c   –  A  ques&on     •  It  tells  how  the  wri&ng  will  be  organized.     •  The  author’s  posi&on  is  clearly  stated  in  a  thesis  statement.   Grabbing  Your  Audience…   Good  strategies  used  in  introduc&ons:   •  Use  an  Anecdote/  Scenario     –  The  writer  provides  a  personal  experience  or  made-­‐up   situa&on  to  introduce  the  posi&on.     •  Ques&oning   –  The  writer  asks  thought-­‐provoking  ques&ons  to  capture   the  reader’s  interest.     •  Interes&ng  fact  or  sta&s&c   –  The  writer  gives  an  interes&ng  piece  of  informa&on  to  grab   the  reader’s  aFen&on.     Lets  Take  A  Look….     You  Could  Open  with  a  Quota&on:   •  Example:   University  of  Delaware  professor  states:     “Adver0sing,  including  television  ads,  billboards,  and  other  adver0sing,   including  toys  in  boxed  meals,  has  had  an  effect  upon  children  as  never   before.   Children  these  days  are  growing  up  with  low  concern  for  their  health  and   more  concern  for  what  tastes  good.”     You  Could  Open  with  a  interes&ng   fact:   •  Example:   •  “Did  you  know  that  a  typical  child  needs  2,000  calories  for  an   en&re  day  and  Burger  King’s  Whopper  with  triple  cheese  has   1,230  calories?”     You  Could  Open  with  an  Anecdote:   •  An  anecdote  can  provide  an  amusing  and  aFen&on-­‐gekng   opening  if  it  is  short  and  to  the  point.                           •  “My  hands  felt  s+cky  aAer  pulling  open  the  doors  to  “Big  Bobby’s   Boisterous  Burger  Hut”.    The  odor  smelled  of  fried  everything.    I  ordered   a  Big  Bobby  Combo  #2.    There  was  enough  food  to  serve  a  small  third   world  country  on  my  tray.    I  nibbled  at  the  ¾  pound  burger  and  my  chin   was  covered  in  a  mayonnaise  and  ketchup  concoc+on.    I  asked  the   server  if  I  could  have  a  few  fries  with  my  salt.    I  leA  the  place  feeling  like   my  stomach  was  mad  at  me.”   Open  with  an  Outrageous  Statement:   •  Example:   •  “Fast  food  is  killing  America!”   Next:  Crea&ng  a  Thesis  Statement   •  A  thesis  statement  is  one  sentence  at  the  end  of  your   introduc&on  that  states  your  opinion.    It  needs  to  be   strong.   •  First,  choose  3  main  focus  points  to  discuss  in  your   essay.    These  points  will  become  the  focus  of  three   paragraphs  in  the  body  of  your  paper.       Let’s  use  fast  food  as  an  example  again.   Fast  food…(3  Discussion  Points)   •  rapidly  increases  weight     •  causes  high  blood  pressure     •  leads  to  sluggishness   Wri&ng  the  Thesis  Statement   •  Now  take  your  three  main  focus  points  and   summarize  them.    Put  your  completed  thesis   statement  at  the  end  of  your  first  paragraph.     THREE  MAIN  FOCUS  POINTS   •  I  believe  fast  food  is  harmful  because  it  rapidly  increases   weight,  causes  high  blood  pressure,  and  leads  to  lethargy.     COMPLETED  THESIS  STATEMENT   •  I  believe  fast  food  has  nega%ve  health  effects.   You’ll  Need  to  Show  “The  Other   Side…”   •  How  many  of  you  have  been  in  a  discussion   with  someone  and  you  remember  saying,   “Yeah,  that’s  true,  but…”    This  is  called  a   counter-­‐argument.    It’s  the  “other  side”  of  the   argument.   •  You’ll  need  to  tell  your  reader  what  the   counter-­‐argument  is  and  prove  why  it   shouldn’t  maFer.   •  Let’s  take  a  look  using  our  example  of  fast   food…   The  Other  Side  of  the  Story   •  This  is  where  you  should  explain  why  your  opposi&on   believes  what  they  believe.   •  For  example:     •  “A  fast  food  company  wouldn’t  agree  with  the  points   in  this  essay.    They  would  have  lots  of  reasons  why  fast   food  is  good.    They  may  say…”it’s  convenient”  or   “It’s  fine  if  eaten  in  modera&on.”    These  arguments   just  don’t  hold  up  when  you  take  all  the  facts  into   considera&on!     Walsh Publishing Co. 2009 Conclude  or  End  Your  Essay…   What  makes  an  good  conclusion?   •  Last  paragraph  summarizes  your  main  point.   •  End  using  one  or  more  of  the  following  strategies:   – Call  the  reader  to  ac&on   – Anecdote  or  scenario   – Make  a  Predic&on   •  The  last  paragraph  wraps  up  the  wri&ng  and  gives  the   reader  something  to  think  about.   Walsh Publishing Co. 2009 Review:  The  Persuasive  Essay:   •  A  Catchy  Title   •  Introductory  paragraph  with  a  “hook”,  three   main  arguments  and  a  thesis  statement.   •  One  paragraph  for  each  of  your  three   arguments.   •  Address  the  “counter-­‐argument”   •  Closing  paragraph  that  re-­‐states  your  thesis  and   challenges  the  reader  to  think  about  it.   Walsh Publishing Co. 2009 Don’t  Forget…   •  Make  sure  to  read  over   your  work  and  edit  for   mechanics  and  spelling.   •  Write  neatly!   •  Include  detail  and  great   vocabulary.   •  Follow  proper  format:     Proper  heading  and  skip   lines!   Walsh Publishing Co. 2009