Persuasive Writing

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Writing a Persuasive Essay
A Step-By-Step Guide
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YES or NO?

• In persuasive writing, a writer takes a position
  FOR or AGAINST an issue
• The writer writes to convince the reader to
  believe or do something.

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Persuasive writing follows a particular format

• INTRODUCTION with hook and thesis statement
• BODY where the argument is developed
• CONCLUSION where main points are summarized and
  reviewed

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The Introduction

• This is your chance to introduce the topic and
  give brief background information about it.
• You should start the first paragraph with a
  hook or grabber to catch the readers
  attention.
• You will choose one or two of the following seven
  methods to include in your introduction.

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Hook 1

• Opening with an unusual detail.
• Did you know that a typical child needs
  2,000 calories for an entire day and Burger
  Kings Whopper with triple cheese has 1,230
  calories?

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Hook 2

• Opening with a strong statement
• Fast food consumption has risen 500 percent since
  1970 and today pervades nearly every segment of
  society, including some public school cafeterias.

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Hook 3

• Opening with a Quotation
• University of Delaware professer
  Jayashree Pakhare states, Advertising, including
  television ads, billboards, and other
  advertising, 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.

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Hook 4

• Opening with an Anecdote. An anecdote can
  provide an amusing and attention-getting opening
  if it is short and to the point.
• My hands felt sticky after pulling open the
  doors to Big Bobbys 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 concoction.
  I asked the server if I could have a few fries
  with my salt. I left the place feeling like my
  stomach was mad at me.

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Hook 5

• Open with a Statistic or Fact
• Thirty percent of the children in the survey ate
  fast food on any given day during the survey, and
  they ate an average of 187 calories a day more
  than those who did not eat fast food. These
  additional calories could account for an extra
  six pounds of weight gain per year, according to
  Ludwig.

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Hook 6

• How many times have you eaten fast food this
  month?

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Hook 7

• Opening with an Exaggeration or Outrageous
  Statement.
• Fast food is killing America!

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Remembering the Hooks or Grabbers

• Unusual detail
• Strong statement
• Quotation
• Anecdote
• Statistic or Fact
• Question
• Exaggeration or Outrageous Statement

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Try this

• Under
• Some
• Quilts
• Are
• Surprisingly
• Quick
• Elephants

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The Thesis Statement

• At the end of the first paragraph, you will need
  a thesis statement.
• It says to the reader
• Ive thought about this topic, I know what I
  believe about it, and I know how to organize it.

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Creating a Thesis Statement

• Choose 3 main focus points to discuss in your
  essay. These points will become the focus of
  three paragraphs in the body.
• Lets use fast food as an example again.
• Fast food
• rapidly increases weight
• causes high blood pressure
• leads to lethargy

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Writing 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 negative health effects.

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Steps to create a thesis statement

• 1) Take a stance on a controversial issue
• 2) Choose three strong arguments (all for OR all
  against)
• 3) Write a thesis statement
• I believe ____________ because
• ____1_____, ____2_____, ____3_____

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The Body

• The body of the essay is where you develop your
  three main focus points of your thesis.
• We will look at six different ways to develop the
  body of your essay. The example, again, will be
  the effects of fast food.

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Generating Hypothetical Instances

• Start by using Suppose that or What if
  along with your first focus point.
• I will use the first point from my thesis
• I believe fast food is harmful because it rapidly
  increases weight, causes high blood pressure, and
  leads to lethargy.

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Hypothetical

• Suppose that you ate just one meal from a
  fast food restaurant a week. Typically, you
  would consume around 1,500 calories at that meal.
  Your daily intake may be 2,500 calories if you
  include all three meals. Thats 500 more
  calories than you need. You may gain ½ a pound a
  week, which would be 2 pounds a month. Your
  weight would rapidly increase.

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Clarifying a Position

• This is where you need to think about what needs
  to be explained. Do students need to know the
  facts about your issue to make a judgment?
• I will use the next focus point to clarify
• I believe fast food is harmful because it rapidly
  increases weight, causes high blood pressure, and
  leads to lethargy.

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Clarifying

• Do you know what high blood pressure is and
  what it does to your body? Blood pressure is the
  force in the arteries when the heart beats
  (systolic pressure) and when the heart is at rest
  (diastolic pressure). If you consume foods high
  in cholesterol, the cholesterol clings to your
  arteries and builds up over time. This raises
  your blood pressure and forces your heart to work
  harder to pump the blood through your veins.
  Most fast food items contribute greatly to high
  blood pressure.

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Thinking Through a Process

• This is where you take someone through each step
  of the problem.
• I will use my third focus point for this.
• I believe fast food is harmful because it rapidly
  increases weight, causes high blood pressure, and
  leads to lethargy.

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Think Through the Process

• Eating fast food can also lead to lethargy,
  or extreme tiredness. When you eat foods that
  are high in fat and low in protein, you tend to
  have less energy. People eat fast food, feel
  tired, and end up sitting on the couch doing
  nothing. Then they decide that they dont want
  to make dinner the next night because it takes
  energy. The easiest solution is to get fast food
  again. They end up feeling even more lethargic
  and the dangerous cycle continues.

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Drawing Comparisons

• This is where you choose something similar or an
  alternative to your topic.
• I will use the lethargy example again.

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Drawing Comparisons

• Increased fat content in fast food leads to
  lethargy. There are alternatives to the typical
  fast food. Lets compare typical fast food meals
  (burger and fries) to a meal higher in proteins
  and vitamins.

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Comparison
FOOD ITEMS Calories Calories from Fat
Burger Kings Whopper,Fries, Soda 1,600 56
McDonalds Chicken Strips, Fries, Soda 1,950 47
Wendys Big Bacon Classic, Fries, Soda 1,410 48
Taco Bells Taco Salad, Soda 970 47
Subway/Quiznos Sub (avg) 6-inch, Chips, Soda (diet) 430 12
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Making an Analysis

• You can make an analysis by looking at all the
  parts to help the reader understand. Break down
  all elements of your topic.
• Fast food for example could be analyzed by
  looking at how each type of food contributes to
  high blood pressure.

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Drawing an analogy

• This is where you identify significant likenesses
  between two objects or ideas when otherwise they
  are quite different.
• I will use the lethargy point for this.

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Analogy

• The food you eat is a lot like the fuel or
  oil you put in your car. A car that has clean
  fuel and an oil change runs smoothly and
  efficiently. Race cars use only the best fuel
  and oil to perform at top speeds. Cars that
  arent tuned-up, havent had an oil change, and
  use poor fuel, struggle to make it down the road.
  Your body is the same way. Feed it the energy
  it needs and stay away from excess fat and
  cholesterol and you will perform at your
  greatest. Feed it fast food high in fat content
  and it slows to a stop. Do you want to be a race
  car or a clunker that will end up in the
  mechanics hands?

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The Other Side of the Story

• This is where you should explain why your
  opposition believes what they believe.
• For example, a fast food company would be furious
  with me presenting you this information. They
  would have lots of reasons why fast food is good.
  They may say

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Fast food is

• FAST!
• Convenient
• Tastes great!
• Offers lots of choices
• Eaten on the go!
• For the whole family!

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Last paragraph of body

• State what the claims are of your opponent.
• Dispute as many as you can!
• Win the fight by stating what you know is right.

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Conclusion

• Restate your thesis.
• End with
• A comment (Dont make your body suffer!)
• A question (Are you willing to risk your health?)
• A call to action (I highly recommend you consider
  your options the next time your faced with a
  decision about what to eat.)