Persuasive Writing

Review MVCS Writing Resource blog on Persuasive Writing.

*Watch Wendell Berry talk on death penalty

*Be sure to consider counter-arguments, and respond with--

            -Better logic

            -Undermining the authority of the argument’s source

*Brainstorm evidence from personal experience, history, literature, or contemporary culture to brainstorm persuasive arguments surrounding the following topics--

●     Should English classes, as the Common Core Standards suggest, move into reading 50% literature (novels, poetry, short stories) and 50% non-fiction (memoirs, biographies, workplace documents, consumer reports, etc.)? Why?

●     Should parents let their children learn lessons ‘the hard way,’ through experience, or should they teach their children direct lessons, sheltering them from making mistakes? Why?

●     Should humans today watch more television/movies than they read books, or read more books than they watch television/movies? Why?

Short Persuasive Writing

1.    Pip is deeply aware of a sense of right and wrong-- he cares deeply about his moral compass, although at some points his compass seems to not be pointing in the right direction. Find a critical point in the novel when Pip is faced with a moral dilemma, especially one where he could have made a better choice. Write a 2-paragraph letter to Pip attempting to persuade him to make a different choice, or encouraging him for making a good choice and persuading him to continue following that path in the future. Create an argument that uses persuasive technique.

Persuasive Essay 1 (choose one)

3.    Should children today be taught manners and etiquette for participating in ‘polite society,’ like the British aristocracy that Pip finds himself in? Why or why not? Create an argument that uses persuasive technique. Find evidence from personal experience, history, Great Expectations, or contemporary culture.

4.    Who is the most selfish character in Great Expectations? Why? Is there any hope for his or her transformation? Create a persuasive argument with evidence from the text, considering at least one counter-argument. Find evidence from personal experience, history, Great Expectations, or contemporary culture.


5.  How should people respond to class distinctions in your home town? Select a specific audience, identify what the class distinctions in your home town are and why they exist, and write an essay in which you create a persuasive argument about what should be done. Anticipate at least one counter-argument. Use evidence from Great Expectations to defend your argument.

Persuasive Essay 2

Re-write Persuasive essay 1.

INTRO--address audience, identify the issue, and state main argument.

Body 1--Assert an argument with evidence.

Body 2--Assert an argument with evidence.

Body 3--Anticipate a counter-argument, and defend with evidence from Great Expectations.

Conclusion--re-address the argument, summarize the described perspective on the issue, restate main argument, and create a call to action.