Elements of a Persuasive Essay

1
Elements of a Persuasive Essay
Making a GOOD persuasive argument (essays OR
speeches). Sometimes use an emotional appeal, but
we will rely primarily on logical arguments!
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Elements of a Persuasive Essay
http//owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/696/1
Lets begin with a presentation entitled
Effective Persuasion Developing Persuasive
Arguments created by the OWL (Online Writing
Lab) at Purdue. Make this site your new best
friend esp. if you are college bound!
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Elements of a Persuasive Essay

• Begin with a c_____ statement of your opinion or
  position.
• Support your position with o_______ and r_______
  information (evidence).
• Anticipate and address the readers c______
  and c_____ -arguments.

lear
rganized
elevant
oncerns
ounter
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Elements of a Persuasive Essay
1. Begin with a c______ statement of opinion or
position.
lear
Pro means you are ______ something.
FOR
AGAINST
Con means you are _____ something.
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Elements of a Persuasive Essay
Is this statement FOR or AGAINST the use of
marijuana?
Sometimes I think it would be okay, but not
always, if people really wanted to legalize
marijuana, but you know, it is very harmful to
your brain cells, even more than alcohol.
FOR?
AGAINST?
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Elements of a Persuasive Essay
How about this?
For several logical reasons, I do not think
marijuana should be legalized.
FOR?
AGAINST?
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Elements of a Persuasive Essay
2. Support your position with o________ and
r___________evidence.
rganized
elevant
Which of the following most strongly supports the
idea that marijuana should not be legalized?
A. Marijuana damages brain cells that can never
be replaced. B. Marijuana is addictive and
often leads to the use of even stronger, more
addictive drugs. C. Marijuana helps relieve
severe pain that other pain medicines cant
relieve.
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Elements of a Persuasive Essay
A is probably a stronger argument against
legalizing marijuana than B. This should be
reorganized so that A comes after B.


A. Marijuana damages brain cells that can never
be replaced. B. Marijuana is addictive and
often leads to the use of even stronger, more
addictive drugs. C. Marijuana helps relieve
severe pain that other pain medicines cant
relieve.
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C. is a ______-argument. A counter-argument is a
statement that someone who o______ your position
might make. Restate these items so that the
weaker argument comes first, then the stronger
argument, then the counter-argument.
counter
pposes
B.
___ Marijuana damages brain cells that can never
be replaced. ___ Marijuana is addictive and
often leads to the use of even stronger, more
addictive drugs. ___ Some argue that marijuana
helps relieve severe pain that other pain
medicines cant relieve. However, .
A.
C.
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Elements of a Persuasive Essay
3. Anticipate and address the readers c_______
and counter-arguments.
oncerns
The essay points are now organized with the
strongest argument after the weaker argument, and
also includes a counter-argument. In a moment
you will recreate a color-coded T-chart with this
information.

• Marijuana is addictive and often leads to the use
  of even stronger, more addictive drugs.
• Marijuana damages brain cells that can never be
  replaced.
• C. Some argue that marijuana helps relieve
  severe pain that other pain medicines cant
  relieve however, .

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Elements of a Persuasive Essay
1. Begin with a c______ statement of your
opinion or position. 2. Support your position
with o________ and r_________evidence. 3.
Anticipate and address readers c________ and
c______-arguments.
lear
rganized
elevant
ounter
oncerns
CORC it !
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Elements of a Persuasive Essay
C -
Clear opinion for or against
O
Organized and
R -
Relevant facts
Anticipate concerns and counterarguments
C -
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Elements of a Persuasive Essay
C -
Thesis - For several logical reasons,
I do not think marijuana
should be legalized.
O -
What goes on this side?
Marijuana is addictive and often leads to the
use of even stronger, more addictive drugs.
R
Marijuana damages brain cells that can never be
replaced.
C -
Some argue that marijuana helps relieve severe
pain that other pain medicines cant relieve.
However, .
IS A PERSUASIVE CONCLUSION ANY DIFFERENT THAN AN
EXPOSITORY CONCLUSION?
YES!
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Elements of a Persuasive Essay
- A persuasive c_________ challenges the reader
to make a d________ or take a specific a______.
- It also r______ your viewpoint in a m_________
way.
onclusion
ction
ecision
estates
emorable
C- After reviewing the case against legalizing
marijuana, the clear choice is a negative
vote. --------------------------------------------
--------------- Practice writing your own
conclusion on a T-Chart, then share it with your
group.
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Elements of a Persuasive Essay
- A persuasive c_________ challenges the reader
to make a d________ or take a specific a______.
- It also r______ your viewpoint in a m_________
way.
onclusion
ction
ecision
estates
emorable
Practice writing your own conclusion on a
T-Chart, then share it with your group.
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Elements of a Persuasive Essay
Practice writing your own conclusion on a
T-Chart, then share it with your group when I
move you into groups. First, work alone
Topic School uniforms
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Elements of a Persuasive Essay
C -
Thesis - X
X
X
O -
What goes on this side?
X
R
X
C -
X
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Share, Compare Collaborate
Please move into a group of 3 people - with whom
you dont normally work and discuss your ideas.
Combine and choose your strongest arguments and
points and create a single T-chart and conclusion
to share with the entire class.