Persuasive+Essay

__**Persuasive Essay **__ For this assignment you will write a five paragraph thesis driven essay on a topic of your choice that is relevant to the prompt below: == School isn’t a perfect place. There are always going to be issues about school that students, teachers, and principals share. Pick an issue of extreme importance that you would like to see changed and write a persuasive essay about it. ==

The following details will help you guide your writing.
You’re going to write about an issue in school that you would like to have resolved. It can be anything from a policy that you would like introduced or changed, to a physical issue with the school like classrooms without windows or the H-hall fiasco. The choice is entirely yours, but you must keep your audience in mind. The people that change school policy are not your peers they are teachers, administrators, school board officers, parents, etc. You need to consider them when you gather evidence. You must include different types of evidence to convince your audience. **Therefore, your essay must include one logical appeal, one emotional appeal, and one ethical appeal**. These three things can be incorporated into your argument to help write a great thesis and guide the organization of your essay.

What's a persuasive essay? This link about argumentative essays will help explain things in further detail. Purdue OWL: Writing Lab

Step One: Write your thesis statement Read pages 598-605 for tips about writing a persuasive essay. Thesis Formula (must be one sentence long): Argument (issue & stance) second strongest reason, third strongest reason , strongest reason. Your thesis must use parallel structure. Check out page 601 for examples. Notes from Parallel structure: Follow this link if you're really struggling with writing a thesis. Keep in mind that it doesn't follow my formula exactly. YOUR THESIS MUST FOLLOW MY FORMULA! Thesis Builder (use with caution)

Step Two: Gather your evidence Use page 600 in the textbook for pointers about gathering evidence. Remember that each piece of evidence must connect to a reason from your thesis statement. I recommend using a graphic organizer to help keep your writing focused and organized. Use the graphic organizer below to help.

Step Three: Write your body paragraphs It is of the utmost importance that you construct body paragraphs that are well written and follow a similar structure. The topic sentence of each paragraph must connect back to one of the reasons in the thesis statement. Then all of the sentences that follow must be supporting examples that are specifically relevant to that reason. Don't overlap to ideas that belong in other paragraphs. Finally, end each paragraph with a conclusion sentence which transitions into the next paragraph. To help you with this, I've included the following link. Use this to help write your body paragraphs. Paragraph Construction

Share your papers with me. Simply select share, and type ruggeri@ht-sd.org at the bottom of the prompt. Make sure that you select comment only. See me if you need help with this. Step Four: Write your introduction paragraph The first part of an introductory paragraph in a persuasive essay isn't much different from what you are used to. Start with your hook to grab the reader's attention. Follow with the background information to allow the reader to **ascertain** enough knowledge about the topic to make an informed decision. Finally, write a transition sentence and lead into your thesis statement. The thesis statement must be the last sentence in the introduction paragraph, indicate your argument, and state your three different reasons (emotional, logical, and ethical). Don't forget to make sure that you use parallel structure. Check out the link below if you need some extra help. Introduction Paragraph Help @Student Example Introduction Paragraph

Step Five: Write your conclusion paragraph The conclusion paragraph is really similar to the introduction paragraph; however, it's a little out of order. Start by restating your thesis. It can't be a simple cut and paste of the one from your introduction. It needs to be restated in a way that considers the progress that you hope your reader has made after reading your three body paragraphs. Next you should include a very brief review of your main points. The most common mistake that students make is that they just break up their thesis statement into three sentences. To avoid this, try to simply summarize the most important examples from each paragraph. Finally, present a final call to action for your audience. Offer one last emotional appeal to leave them thinking about your topic.

Step Six: Formatting your paper Follow these guidelines to put your paper in MLA format. You must have an MLA heading Your paper must be double spaced All text must be 12 pt. and in Times New Roman font You must have a unique title You must include your last name and the page number in the top right hand corner of all pages Click the link below to see what the paper should look like. MLA EXAMPLE thanks to Purdue OWL