The Essay: The What and the Why

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The Essay The What and the Why
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What do you think about school uniforms?

• What vs. Why
• Identification vs. Analysis
• Expository/Summary vs. Essay
• The purpose of the Persuasive Essay

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What is a Persuasive Essay?

• Sample Persuasive Essay
• INTRODUCTION PARAGRAPH
• HOOK, INTRODUCE SUBJECT, BACKGROUND INFORMATION
  ON ISSUE, THESIS STATEMENT (OPINION)
• BODY PARAGRAPHS
• TOPIC SENTENCE/CLAIM/REASON, SUPPORTS, TRANSITION
  WORDS, COUNTERARGUMENT
• CONCLUSION PARAGRAPH
• RESTATE THESIS, CLAIMS, CALL TO ACTION

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Introduction Paragraph

• First, you have to introduce your argument. And
  you have to hook your reader.
• Introduction Paragraph
• A. Hook
• B. Introduce subject
• C. Give background info on issue
• D. THESIS STATEMENT (Your main argument)

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The Hook

• If you want your reader to read your whole
  essay, you have to HOOK them!

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Types of Hooks

• A Quote
• A Question (Something ANY reader could answer)
• A Clever Pitch (sell your argument)
• An Anecdote (a mini-story relating to issue)

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Types of Hooks (cont.)

• A Clever Pitch for the Story Itself (Similar to
  an advertisement)
• ex/ A UFO lands in a pond. Two state troopers
  find a trail of footprints leading from the site
  to a small diner. Inside they find seven
  travelers, six came from a bus, one from the
  UFO...which one is the Martian?
• An ANECDOTE (A short short story relating to the
  discussion at hand)
• ex/ When I was eight, my mother became very ill
  with pneumonia and had to be hospitalized. While
  she fought the illness in her hospital bed, I
  struggled with questions. Would she recover? What
  would become of me if she died? Luckily, my
  mother survived and returned home the following
  week. However, in ....

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GUIDED Write a hook for an essay on school
uniforms.

• 1. A Quote ______________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  ______________________
• 2. A Question ___________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  _______________________

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GUIDED Write a hook for an essay on school
uniforms.

• 3. A Pitch ______________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  ______________________________________
• 4. An Anecdote __________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  __________________________

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INDEPENDENT Write a hook for your essay on
Facebook.

• 1. A Quote ______________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  ______________________
• 2. A Question ___________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  _______________________

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INDEPENDENT Write a hook for an essay on
Facebook.

• 3. A Pitch ______________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  ______________________________________
• 4. An Anecdote __________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  __________________________

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Introduce the Subject

• Assume your reader knows nothing. Define the
  subject. If youre writing about school uniforms,
  identify what schools and what a uniform is.
• Give Background Info on the Issue
• What is the problem? What is the controversy?
  What is the debate?

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GUIDED Introduce the subject and give background
info on school uniforms at Clark Middle School.

• __________________________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  ________________________________________________

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INDEPENDENT Introduce the subject and give
background info on the Facebook issue.

• __________________________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  ________________________________________________

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THESIS STATEMENT The most important part of your
essay!

• A THESIS STATEMENT identifies your argument.
• For the Persuasive essay, this should be your
  opinion on the issue. Use FORCEFUL words.
• ex/ Cell phones are destroying our society and
  should be banned.
• The THESIS STATEMENT is hugely important as it is
  your main argument. Without it, the reader has no
  idea what your essay is about.
• Consider it your road map for the reader.

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GUIDED

• Write a THESIS STATEMENT FOR THE FOLLOWING TWO
  ISSUES
• ISSUE ONE I want to write an essay that argues
  that cell phones should be permitted in school.
• __________________________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  _____

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GUIDED

• SCENARIO TWO I want to write an essay that
  argues that our school would benefit from buying
  Ipads for each student.
• __________________________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  _____

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INDEPENDENT

• INDEPENDENT Write a THESIS STATEMENT FOR THE
  FOLLOWING SCENARIO
• SCENARIO FIVE You want to write an essay that
  analyzes the Facebook issue.
• __________________________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  _____

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BODY PARAGRAPHS

• BODY PARAGRAPHS--The "meat" of your argument
• Here is where you offer your reasoning for your
  argument.
• Your reasons appear as your CLAIMS and support
  them in various ways. Each CLAIM gets its own
  paragraph. Since we are beginners, we will stick
  with three CLAIMS (reasons).

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TOPIC SENTENCES

• -CLAIMS Your main reasons or supports for your
  argument. These are introduced in the form of a
  topic sentence.
• -TOPIC SENTENCE One sentence, appearing at the
  beginning of a BODY PARAGRAPH, that directly
  pronounces your CLAIM.

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TOPIC SENTENCES (CONT.)

• YOUR TOPIC SENTENCES DIRECTLY RELATE TO YOUR
  THESIS STATEMENT.
• IF YOUR THESIS STATEMENT SAYS YOU WILL DISCUSS
  SCHOOL UNIFORMS, YOU HAVE MENTION SCHOOL
  UNIFORMS.
• TOPIC SENTENCES SHOULD ALSO BEGIN WITH A
  TRANSITION WORD.

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GUIDED

• THESIS STATEMENT School uniforms should not be
  required at Monroe Clark Middle School.
• TOPIC SENTENCE 1 ________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  _____________________________

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TOGETHER

• THESIS STATEMENT School uniforms should not be
  required at Monroe Clark Middle School.
• TOPIC SENTENCE 2 ________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  _____________________________

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GUIDED

• THESIS STATEMENT School uniforms should not be
  required at Monroe Clark Middle School.
• TOPIC SENTENCE 3 ________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  _____________________________

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GUIDED

• THESIS STATEMENT School uniforms should be
  required at Monroe Clark Middle School.
• TOPIC SENTENCE 1 ________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  _______________

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GUIDED

• THESIS STATEMENT School uniforms should be
  required at Monroe Clark Middle School.
• TOPIC SENTENCE 2 ________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  _______________

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GUIDED

• THESIS STATEMENT School uniforms should be
  required at Monroe Clark Middle School.
• TOPIC SENTENCE 3 ________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  _______________

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INDEPENDENT

• YOUR THESIS on the FACEBOOK ISSUE________________
  __________________________________________________
  ___
• TOPIC SENTENCE 1 (your first and best reason,
  preceded by a transition word).
  __________________________________________________
  ________________________.

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INDEPENDENT

• YOUR THESIS on the FACEBOOK ISSUE________________
  __________________________________________________
  ___
• TOPIC SENTENCE 2 (preceded by a transition word).
  __________________________________________________
  ________________________.

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INDEPENDENT

• YOUR THESIS on the FACEBOOK ISSUE________________
  __________________________________________________
  ___
• TOPIC SENTENCE 3 (preceded by a transition word).
  __________________________________________________
  ________________________.

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BODY PARAGRAPHSSUPPORT FOR YOUR ARGUMENT

• After you make your claim in the topic sentence,
  you have to convince your reader! Use various
  forms of support to persuade your reader!

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Persuasive Techniques

• The goal of argumentative writing is to persuade
  your audience that your ideas are valid, or more
  valid than someone else's.
• For an argument to be persuasive it must APPEAL
  to the readers
• Emotion
• Logic
• Ethics (Character)

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Emotional Appeals

• Means persuading by appealing to the reader's
  emotions.
• The emotional or motivational appeals
• vivid language
• emotional language and
• numerous sensory details.
• Personal experiences to create an emotional
  response and connect to the audience.

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Emotional Appeals Examples

• Kids dont even think anymore. They just watch
  television, and believe whatever they see.
• No dress code means no forced uniformity. The
  freedom of the individual is tied up in being
  able to choose what you wear.

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Logical Appeals

• Support your general claims with concrete
  specific data and reasons.
• Logical appeals include
• Facts
• Statistics
• Definitions
• Quotes from experts

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Logical Appeals Examples

• Students who eat breakfast are 83 more likely
  to finish high school.
• Alice Jackson Ph.D., Chief Doctor of Medicine at
  UCLA, states that exercising is the best way to
  prevent heart disease.

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Ethical Appeals

• Means convincing by the character of the author.
  We tend to believe people we respect.
• Expert opinions
• Quotations from well-known and respected
  individuals or groups
• The group or person must be trustworthy!

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Ethical Appeal Examples

• Barack Obama says, There is no excuse for not
  trying.
• Four out of five dentists agree that flossing is
  essential for healthy teeth and gums.

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Body Paragraph setup

• 1. Topic Sentence (Your claim)
• 2. Supporting Statement (connected to evidence)
• 3. Evidence to Prove Claim (Quotation)
• 4. Supporting Statement (connected to evidence)
• 5. Further Evidence to Prove Claim

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Together

• The True Story of the Three Little Pigs
• Body Paragraph 1
• Topic Sentence___________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  ___________________

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• Supp.Statement __________________________________
  ________________________________________
• Evidence ________________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  _____________________________________________

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• Supp.Statement __________________________________
  ________________________________________
• Evidence ________________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  _____________________________________________

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Guided

• "Birthday Box"
• Body Paragraph 1
• Topic Sentence___________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  ___________________

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• Supp.Statement __________________________________
  ________________________________________
• Evidence ________________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  _____________________________________________

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• Supp.Statement __________________________________
  ________________________________________
• Evidence ________________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  _____________________________________________

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Independent

• "Birthday Box"
• Body Paragraph 2
• Body Paragraph 3
• Great! Now write it out with an indent (of
  course) and double-spacing!

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The Conclusion Paragraph

• A CONCLUSION PARAGRAPH closes up your essay by
  restating your argument and claims. It also
  should include a call to action.
• A Call to Action is where you encourage your
  reader to do something. For example, If you feel
  uniforms are a bad idea, please write your own
  letter to Mr. Liberto today!

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Conclusion Paragraph

• First, RESTATE your THESIS. This means REWORD
  it--don't simply copy it down. Perhaps, the best
  way is to reorganize the order of your thesis
  statement.

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Conclusion Paragraph

• Next, revisit your claims and, again, reword
  them.

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Conclusion Paragraph

• Finally, write your call to action. What do you
  want your reader to do with this information and
  their opinion?
•