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AStudentGuidetoPersuasiveEssaysandDebates
Careinthechoiceofoneswordsistherespect thatthemindpaystotheinstrumentofitsownbeing. AshleyMontague Thepurposeofthisguideistoofferstrategiesforpreparingastrongpersuasiveessayor debate.Itwillsharpenskillsyoumightnotrealizeyoualreadyhave,makingyourworkmore accurate,clear,concise,logical,convincing,andrespectfulofopposingarguments. Sojustwhatisapersuasiveessay? Itisaconvincingargumentinfavoroforinoppositiontoanissue.Whatmakesapersuasive essaydifferentfromafactualaccount?Bias,takingaside,inacarefullyarguedpointofview. ItsinYou Ifyourealittlenervousabouttacklingapersuasiveessay,relax.Youknowmoreaboutthis thanyouthinkyoudo. Everydayyouexpressyouropinionsonfashion,sports,currentevents,entertainment,classes, orpeople.Whenyoutrytoconvinceothersofyourviews,yougivereasons.Thatisthestartof anygoodpersuasiveessayordebate.Yourbestfootisalreadyforward. GatherYourThoughtsandTaketheNextStep Letstakethoseeverydaysituationsandshapethemintoamodel. 1. Thinkbeforeyouspeakorwrite.Outlineyourthoughts. 2. Stateyourcase. 3. Listentotheanswer. 4. Respondwithspecifics.Offergood,truthfulsupportingevidenceand/oradditional information. 5. Berespectful.Nopersonalattacks. 6. Dontchangethesubject. 7. Sumupyourcase. OrganizationTheAnatomyofPersuasion Thekeystoaneffectivepersuasiveessayareorganizationandsupport.Somerefertothe structurewiththeacronymPOSSE,whichstandsfor: Position/Thesis Organization Support Style EffectiveConclusion
1 EBSCOhostStudentSuccessTools:StudentGuidetoPersuasiveEssays&Debates
June2012
EBSCOhostStudentSuccessTools
AStudentGuidetoPersuasiveEssaysandDebates
Othersseeitasanintroduction/thesisstatement,thebody,andconclusion.Eitherway,an effectiveopinionorpersuasiveessaymustaccomplishthefollowing: Clearlystateyourpurposeandopinion Stateamainpointofargument Communicatethegistofthatargument,withsupportingevidence,andofferinformed rebuttalofopposingviews Position/ThesisStatementExpressYourself Thethesisstatementisthemindofyouressay.Everythingelsemustpointbacktoit,totruly makeyourbestcase.Generally,itshouldbeoneortwosentenceslong.Themindworksmind whenorganized.Askyourselfsomequestionsbeforeyouwriteyourthesisstatement.Takethe timetoclarifytheanswers. WhatamIgoingtodiscuss? HowwillIargueandsupportmyviews? WhichreasonswillIgive?DoIhaveevidence? BuildingtheBodyoftheArgumentStrongerisBetter Thebodydevelopsthethesisstatementinordertogiveweighttoyouropinionandtoadvance theargumentwitheachparagraph. Organization&SupportParagraphsandTopicSentences Paragraphsshouldhaveanorganizedflowofandprogressionthoughts;eachonesetoffbya strongtopicsentence.Topicsentencesguidereaderstoeachpointintheargument,leading themsteadilytotheconclusion.Theyreyourmuscle,andtheyshowthatyou Candemonstrateanunderstandingoftheopposingargumentsrelatingtotheissue.An understandingoftheargumentsmakesonebetterequippedtopersuadesomeoneto acceptaparticularview. Cancounteranotheropinionwithrelevantevidence,andsound,respectfulanalysis. Thereshouldbenopersonalattacksagainstanotherauthororspeaker,andnoextreme language. Canpresentalogicalflowofthoughts.Theessayisorganizedanddoesnotfocuson unimportantdetails. Canmakeaconvincingargument.Theessayismorethanalistingoffacts. SayingitwithStyle Whatwordsshouldyouusetomakeyouressaycrystalclearandwellwritten?Beforeyou write,readthroughsomeexamplesofOp/Edarticlesinprominentnewspapersandmagazines andhighlightphrasesfromthecategoriesbelowtransition,emphasis,andcounterpoint.Use adifferentcolorforeachcategory.
2 EBSCOhostStudentSuccessTools:StudentGuidetoPersuasiveEssays&Debates
June2012
EBSCOhostStudentSuccessTools
AStudentGuidetoPersuasiveEssaysandDebates
EffectivePhrasesforTransition PhrasesforCounterpoint Admittedly Although Consequently Conversely Asaresult Despite Ultimately Ontheotherhand Accordingto However Forthisreason Instead Therefore Nevertheless Notwithstanding PhrasesforEmphasis Nonetheless Additionally Yet Asamatteroffact Inaddition Indeed Infact Forexample Moreover EffectiveConclusion,TheBigFinish Intheconclusion,restatethethesisandargument,withsupportingdetail.Anauthorsgoalin thisinstanceistohavethelastword,andhaveiteffectively,leavingthereaderwithastrong impression. AdditionalResources HamiltonCollegeWritingCenterPersuasiveEssays, http://www.hamilton.edu/academic/Resource/WC/Effective_essays.html EducationWorldResourcesforClassroomDebates, http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson/lesson304b.shtml ScholasticWritingWorkshop:PersuasiveWriting, http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/writing/index.asp?topic=Persuasive
3 EBSCOhostStudentSuccessTools:StudentGuidetoPersuasiveEssays&Debates
June2012
EBSCOhostStudentSuccessTools
AStudentGuidetoPersuasiveEssaysandDebates
June2012
EBSCOhostStudentSuccessTools
AStudentGuidetoPersuasiveEssaysandDebates
TopicSentence#4(SupportingEvidence#4) CONCLUSION BodyFitnessTesting AWritersPersuasionChecklist Doestheauthordemonstrateanunderstandingoftheopposingargumentsrelatingto theissue?Y/N Doestheauthorcountertheargumentswitharebuttal?Y/N Areremarksthoughtfulandrespectful?Y/N Istheessayorganized?Y/N Istheessayconvincing?Y/N Doalloftheparagraphsworktogethertosupporttheessaysthesis?Y/N Istheconclusionsoundandstrong?Y/N
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5 EBSCOhostStudentSuccessTools:StudentGuidetoPersuasiveEssays&Debates
June2012