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Reading Workshop

Reading a Persuasive Essay

W H AT S AHEAD?
In this section you will read a persuasive essay. You will also learn how to
s s

identify facts and opinions recognize the reasons and evidence writers use to persuade readers

ou finish your lunch, and then you throw away the wrapper and bag. You pry a new computer game out of layers of plastic and cardboard, tossing the packaging away before you play the game. You even drag your broken desk chair out to the curb to be picked up on trash day. Think about the amount of stuff you throw away every day, and multiply that amount by 300 million, the estimated population of the United States. That is a lot of garbage! The author of the following essay will try to persuade you to change your ways. Will you be convinced?

Preparing to Read
READING SKILL

Fact and Opinion Strong opinions often inspire people to write persuasive essays. To be effective, though, a writer must support opinions with facts, or statements that can be proved true. As you read the following essay, watch out for statements of opinion, which cannot be proved. Reasons and Evidence In the courtroom dramas you see in movies and on TV, do jurors accept a lawyers argument without question? Of course not. Even TV lawyers provide reasons and evidence to convince juries of their cases. Writers have the same duty to their readers. They must support their opinions with enough reasons and evidence to persuade their readers. See if William Dudley, the writer of the following essay, has done a convincing job.

READING FOCUS

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Read the following essay. In a notebook, jot down answers to the numbered active-reading questions in the shaded boxes. Underlined words will be used in the Vocabulary Mini-Lesson on page 235. from The Environment: Distinguishing Between Fact and Opinion

The U.S. Has a

BY WILLIAM DUDLEY
1

merica is a throwaway society. Each year 1. What opinion Americans throw away 16 billion disposable diadoes the writer express in this pers, 1.6 billion pens, and 220 million tires. For paragraph? the sake of convenience, we tend to throw these and other used goods away rather than repair or recycle them. The average American household generates 350 bags, or 4,550 gallons, of garbage per year. This comes out to a total of 160 million tons of garbage a year. We have to change our throwaway lifestyle before we are buried in it. We are running out of places to put all the garbage we 2. What reason produce. About 80 percent of it is now buried in landfills. does the writer There are 6,000 landfills currently operating, but many of give in this paragraph? them are becoming full. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that one-half of the remaining landfills will run out of space and close within the next five to ten years. Can we simply build new landfills to replace the old ones? The answer is no. For one thing, we are running out of space. We cannot afford to use up land that is needed for farms, parks, and homes. 3. Which statements in paraIn addition, many landfills contain toxic chemicals that graph 4 can can leak into and pollute underground water supplies. In be proved? New York City, over seventy-five wells had to be closed How? because of such toxic waste poisoning. One suggested alternative to landfills is to burn the trash. In some states, large incinerators are used to burn garbage, and the heat that is generated is used to produce electricity. But this solution

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4. What evidence

supports the writers reason that there are problems with burning trash?
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has drawbacks. Burning trash pollutes the air with dioxin and mercury, which are highly poisonous. Furthermore, burning does not completely solve the landfill problem. Leftover ash produced by burning is often highly toxic, and it still has to be buried somewhere. The only real solution to the garbage crisis is for Americans to reduce the amount of trash they throw away. There are two methods of doing this. One is recyclingreusing garbage. Bottles can be washed and reused. Aluminum cans can be melted down and remade. Currently in the U.S., only 11 percent of solid waste is used again as something else. . . . We must also reduce the amount of garbage we produce in the first place. We should use less plastic, which is hard to recycle and does not decompose in landfills. Much garbage is useless packaging. Consumers should buy foods and goods that use less packaging. We also should buy reusable products rather than things that are used once and thrown away. . . . A woman in California was asked about garbage. She replied, Why do we need to change anything? I put my garbage out 5. How does this on the sidewalk and they take it away. Attitudes like example help the writer make hers must be changed. We have to face the inevitable his point? question posed by Ed Repa, manager of the solid waste disposal program at the National Solid Waste Management Association: How do you throw something away when there is no away?

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First Thoughts on Your Reading

1. What is the author trying to convince the reader to do? 2. Which parts of the essay were convincing to you? Why?

Fact and Opinion

Is That a Fact? Maybe you have seen a TV show in which a detective asks witnesses for just the facts. Facts, not opinions, will help the detective solve the case. Facts also help writers persuade readers because facts are statements that can be proved true. Facts may include numbers, dates, or measurements. Opinions, on the other hand, are impossible to prove. An opinion is a persons judgment. Phrases such as I believe, I feel, or I think indicate an opinion. Telling readers what should be done is another sure clue that an opinion is being expressed. Judgment words such as best, worst, greatest, and prettiest may be clues that a statement is an opinion. The following pairs of statements show the difference between facts and opinions.
Fact Opinion Fact Opinion Fact Opinion The city council passed the proposal five to one. I think the city council made a smart decision. Our school buses were made in 1995. The school board should buy newer buses. Jefferson was the third president. Jefferson was the countrys best president.

READING SKILL

Try identifying facts and opinions in the paragraph below. If you have trouble, follow the steps on the next page.
The city should encourage people to ride bicycles for short trips. Bicycles do not pollute. Taking several short car trips can create more pollution than a longer drive. If people tried bicycling for these short trips, they would enjoy it. Cyclists travel at slower speeds, which allows them to take in natures sights and sounds. I think an ad campaign could convince people to stop depending on cars for all of their transportation.

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THINKING IT THROUGH
STEP 1

Identifying Fact and Opinion

Read the paragraph. Look for clues, such as should, good, bad, or I believe, that signal an opinion. Sentences with opinion clues: The city should encourage people to ride bicycles for short trips. If people tried bicycling for these short trips, they would enjoy it. I think an ad campaign could convince people to stop depending on cars for all of their transportation.

STEP 2

Go to the Chapter Menu for an interactive activity.

Read the paragraph again to identify facts. Look for numbers, measurements, or things that can be proved. Sentences with fact clues: Bicycles do not pollute. Taking several short car trips can create more pollution than a longer drive. Cyclists travel at slower speeds. . . .

T I P Quiz a classmate
by writing five sentences on your paper from the essay. Then, have your partner identify each sentence as either a fact or an opinion. Your partner should also explain his or her answers.

YOUR TURN

Identifying Fact and Opinion

Re-read the essay on pages 229230, and look for fact and opinion clues. Identify three sentences that contain facts and three sentences that contain opinions, and explain how you can tell.

READING FOCUS

Reasons and Evidence

Building a Case Have you ever tried to build a human pyramid? The base of the pyramid needs to have more people, and stronger people, than the top does. Look at the following diagram of a persuasive essay. Notice how it looks like a pyramid.
Writers opinion

Reason #1

Reason #2

Reason #3

Evidence for reason

Evidence for reason

Evidence for reason

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The opinion in a persuasive essay is like the person at the top of a human pyramid. The reasons are like the people in the middle row who support the person on top. The evidence in a persuasive essay is like the group of people who form the base of a human pyramid. Persuasive writing must have support to be strong, just as a human pyramid needs strong supporters.

Reasons A reason explains why the writer holds a particular opinion. In a persuasive essay the writer will usually write one or two paragraphs explaining each reason. For example, in the paragraph on page 231, the writer who wanted the city to encourage bike riding gave the reason that it would help reduce air pollution. Evidence Just saying that bicycling reduces air pollution is not convincing. The city council or mayor would need evidence before believing the reason. Evidence is the support for a reason, the specific facts and examples that illustrate the reason. You already know that a fact is a statement that can be proved true. An example is an event or illustration that shows one specific instance of a reason. Here is evidence a writer used to support a reason in an essay about creating more community bike trails. Would this reason be as convincing without the evidence?
Reason: Many people enjoy bike riding. Fact: 80% of the students at my school own bicycles. Example: When I ride my bike in my neighborhood, I always see lots of other people riding bikes, too.
T I P Using reasons and evidence to support an opinion is called making a
logical appeal. A logical appeal persuades because it makes sense. There are two other ways persuasive writers appeal to readers. While logical appeals try to persuade your head, emotional appeals try to persuade your heart. Humane Society ads showing adorable puppies and kittens up for adoption are examples of emotional appeals. Finally, ethical appeals try to persuade you by making the presenter seem trustworthy. One example of an ethical appeal would be a public service announcement featuring a respected celebrity speaking sincerely about a serious issue.

T I P In paragraph 3
on page 229, the writer addresses a counterargument. A counterargument is a readers objection to the writers opinion. A writer can address a counterargument by presenting a reason that explains why the objection is either incorrect or unimportant.

See if you can spot the reasons and evidence in the paragraph on the next page. The graphic organizer below it will help you check your answers.
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People should donate supplies to the Helping Hands Community Assistance Program now. The supplies of clothing, shoes, and blankets are very low. There are only four coats, six blankets, and one pair of shoes now available. The director says that they need enough clothing for twenty adults and ten children. Also, winter is coming soon. Winter always brings a higher demand for warm clothing. Last winter some families left emptyhanded because supplies were gone.
T I P The sentence
that identifies the issue and the writers opinion on the issue is called the opinion statement.

The writer of the paragraph above used reasons and evidence to be as persuasive as possible. Here is a graphic organizer showing how she built her case. Notice how the graphic organizer is shaped like a pyramid. The reasons and evidence hold up the opinion.
People should donate supplies to the Helping Hands Community Assistance Program now.

Opinion statement

Reasons

supplies are low

winter is coming soon

Evidence (facts and examples)

4 coats, 6 blankets, 1 pair shoes

need clothing for 20 adults, 10 children

higher demand for clothing

last winter some families got nothing

YOUR TURN
Go to the Chapter Menu for an interactive activity.

Identifying Reasons and Evidence

Re-read The U.S. Has a Garbage Crisis on pages 229230. Then, create a graphic organizer like the one above. Fill in your boxes with the writers opinion, his reasons for that opinion, and the evidence that supports each of his reasons. (Hint: You will find this information in paragraphs 15 of the reading selection.)

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MINILESSON

VOCABULARY
Thesaurus In a thesaurus you will find other words that are synonyms of the unfamiliar word. Synonyms are words that have almost the same meaning, such as happy and glad. Dictionaries can sometimes be confusing when they list several definitions for one word. To find the right definition of a word, use the following steps.
I

Dictionary and Thesaurus

Persuasive writing asks you to take a side on an issue. To make an intelligent decision, you need to be sure you understand all of the words you read. You can use reference books to find an unfamiliar words meaning. Here are two examples. I Dictionary In a dictionary you will find the words definition, its pronunciation, its part of speech, examples of how it is used, and its history.
THINKING IT THROUGH

Choosing the Right Definition

Here is an example based on the word convenience from the reading selection on page 229.
STEP 1

Look up the word in a dictionary. Read the entire definition.

Convenience means: 1. personal comfort 2. a favorable condition

STEP 2

Use each of the meanings in the context of the reading selection. Decide which meaning makes the most sense in the sentence.

For the sake of personal comfort we tend to throw things away. That sounds good. For the sake of a favorable condition we tend to throw things away. That sounds strange. I think the first definition is correct in this context.

PR ACTICE

Look up the words to the right in a dictionary. Use the steps above if the word has more than one definition. Write the correct definition of the word. Then, look the word up in a thesaurus and find a synonym that is familiar to you. Write that word next to the definition.

1. generates (page 229) 2. toxic (page 229) 3. incinerators (page 229) 4. decompose (page 230) 5. disposal (page 230)

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MINILESSON

TEST TAKING
Esperanza Park a fun, safe place to play for children and families in the city. Which of the following is an OPINION expressed in this passage?
A. Children have gotten hurt on the playground. B. The playground equipment should be repaired. C. The playground equipment contains jagged metal edges. D. Esperanza Park should be made safer for children.

Answering Questions About Fact and Opinion

When you take a reading test, you may be asked to identify statements of fact or opinion. Suppose the following paragraph and question were in a reading test. How would you approach them?
New equipment should be purchased for Esperanza Park. The existing playground equipment is old and dangerous. Three children have received serious cuts from the jagged metal edges of the swing set. The equipment is seventeen years old and cannot be repaired. The city should make
THINKING IT THROUGH
STEP 1

Identifying Fact and Opinion

The question asks me to find an opinion in the passage. An opinion is a statement that makes a judgment and cant be proved. Choice A says children have gotten hurt. This is a fact because you could ask parents whether their children have been hurt. C says the equipment has jagged metal edges. This could be proved by looking at the equipment. The remaining choices are B and D. Choice B is an opinion because it uses the word should, but the passage says the equipment cannot be repaired. Choice D also uses the word should, so it is an opinion, too. The last sentence of the passage says this in different words. Ill choose D.

Determine what the question is asking you to do. Eliminate choices that do not answer the question. If the question asks for a fact, eliminate opinions. If it asks for an opinion, eliminate facts. Look at the remaining choices to make sure that each is the kind of statement the question asks for. Then, choose the answer that is stated in the passage. (If the question asks you to identify an opinion, look for opinion clue words.)

STEP 2

STEP 3

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