Congrats! You've written your first essay for this course and you won... a second essay!
We're doing persuasive essays with topics of your own choosing. Today we discussed in detail about what it means to be persuasive.
- Having empathy with someone who doesn't agree with you: how does your essay make that person feel?
-Using qualifiers to 'qualify' your statements and make them truer. Example: change "you NEVER do the dishes" to "You OFTEN do not do the dishes". It is more accurate and less emotion driven.
-Pick a subject you are already knowledgable about, mainly because the essay is small and you have one week!
-Remember to write in a way that allows someone to truly change their mind on an issue. How is your paper a safe place that allows a person to be persuaded, instead of being defensive?
- be Specific: Changing "I hate Obama" to "I disagree with laws passed under the Obama administration concerning abortion", takes the conversation out of vague, blanket statements and into the realm of specific knowable facts. This also makes your position something that is arguable. I can't argue with you about your feelings about Obama as a human being, but I can argue about whether or not he should have passed certain laws. This means we can actually PERSUADE someone else, which is the goal. After all, his mom probably doesn't agree with every law he's ever passed, but (probably) loves him.
-assuming everyone knows what you're writing about
-assuming you understand the position in opposition to your paper: avoid sentences like "I know you probably think that..."
-Thinking that the most compelling reasons FOR your argument are the ones you're most passionate about. I.E.- Pandas ARE CUTE is not the strongest argument for why we should preserve their habitats, although it might be the strongest reason you have for wanting to write a paper about them.
-Avoid being general, as it is unpersuasive. The more specific you can be, the more persuasive you can be.
We're doing persuasive essays with topics of your own choosing. Today we discussed in detail about what it means to be persuasive.
Persuasive Tips
- Having empathy with someone who doesn't agree with you: how does your essay make that person feel?
-Using qualifiers to 'qualify' your statements and make them truer. Example: change "you NEVER do the dishes" to "You OFTEN do not do the dishes". It is more accurate and less emotion driven.
-Pick a subject you are already knowledgable about, mainly because the essay is small and you have one week!
-Remember to write in a way that allows someone to truly change their mind on an issue. How is your paper a safe place that allows a person to be persuaded, instead of being defensive?
- be Specific: Changing "I hate Obama" to "I disagree with laws passed under the Obama administration concerning abortion", takes the conversation out of vague, blanket statements and into the realm of specific knowable facts. This also makes your position something that is arguable. I can't argue with you about your feelings about Obama as a human being, but I can argue about whether or not he should have passed certain laws. This means we can actually PERSUADE someone else, which is the goal. After all, his mom probably doesn't agree with every law he's ever passed, but (probably) loves him.
Avoid These Common Mistakes
-assuming everyone knows what you're writing about
-assuming you understand the position in opposition to your paper: avoid sentences like "I know you probably think that..."
-Thinking that the most compelling reasons FOR your argument are the ones you're most passionate about. I.E.- Pandas ARE CUTE is not the strongest argument for why we should preserve their habitats, although it might be the strongest reason you have for wanting to write a paper about them.
-Avoid being general, as it is unpersuasive. The more specific you can be, the more persuasive you can be.
Structure
Intro Paragraph, three body paragraph, Conclusion
thesis statement in intro should have THREE MAIN POINTS which you use to construct your argument
No outside sources or works cited, but should otherwise be formatted correctly in MLA format. Basically, I don't want you to persuade from research- I want you to be persuasive in your writing and from your own brain :)
post a rough draft on the blog on Friday for FREE BONUS POINTS AND FEEDBACK FROM ME BEFORE YOU TURN IT IN.
I hope that last part got your attention. Thee real paper is due next Thursday. XOXO Mallory
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