Name: __________________________________________________This is PART ONE of your Culm. Project
TUESDAY HOMEWORK: GIST CHAPTERS 22, 23, 24
write the GIST: Short quiz Wed
WEDNESDAY HOMEWORK:
ASSIGNMENT SHEET –PERSUASIVE ESSAY - Chain of Fire – Lesson 16
DRAFT #1 Due Wednesday, January 11 at beginning of class 25 points
DRAFT #2 Due Thursday, January 12 at beginning of class.
50 points
FINAL Due Thursday, January 19
75 points
FINAL LENGTH
1.5 pages, typed, 12 font - or 2.5 pages neatly hand-printed
REREAD FOR IN-DEPTH GIST
ReRead pages 184-186, the “Memorandum to the Minister of Cooperation and
Development from the People of Bophelong.”
Answer the following gist questions in your Reader’s/Writer’s Notebook:
What is the argument of the villagers?
How do they support that argument?
Is this evidence valid?
REREAD FOR AUTHOR’S CRAFT
What did the villagers do to make this document a strong piece of persuasive writing?
Make a list in your R/W notebook that highlights the effective techniques in this writing.
Look at the PPS rubric on persuasive writing (attached). Answer the following in your
Reader’s/Writer’s Notebook: How would the persuasive document written by the
villagers fare if it were graded with our district’s rubric?
PSSA PRACTICE:
On the PSSA, you will be asked to write a persuasive essay during the test. Now you will
practice writing an essay in a short time. This time you will actually have one day to draft
your essay, then a day or so to revise and polish it. (During the PSSA, the whole process
must be done in one sitting!) This essay is practice for organizing and writing quickly.
PERSUASIVE ESSAY ABOUT APARTHEID: DRAFT DUE WED. JAN 11 at start of class
You will write a persuasive essay on a subject that relates to the novel or to apartheid in
South Africa.
Some suggestions are:
 All children in South African should receive a free education
 The government should rebuild the church in Bophelong
 White farmers should not be permitted to shut off water to the villagers
 Apartheid is wrong
List other topic ideas for your essay. Then narrow down to one, and write your draft.
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WHAT I MUST INCLUDE IN MY PERSUASIVE ESSAY: List from the rubric on the back.
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DRAFT OF YOUR PERSUASIVE ESSAY DUE WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 11, start of class.
HOW TO FIND YOUR TOPIC:
PRETEND IT IS THE 1980S (30 YEARS AGO): ARGUE FOR A CHANGE IN APARTHEID
POSSIBLE PERSUASIVE TOPICS, with authors and audiences:
 You are a white South African writing to the white president arguing for free education for
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ALL South Africans, black and white.
You are Naledi writing to your friend Grace, asking her to come to Bophelong with her friends
to help protest.
You are a white American teenager at Rogers CAPA writing to your principal about why your
school should set up a “Students for Justice” group against apartheid.
You are a villager in Bophelong arguing with the white local government to outlaw white
farmers who shut off water to black villages.
o (You can choose one of the above topics, or you can create your own.)
FIRST, go through these three steps to create your own persuasive topic:
1. CHOOSE WHO YOU ARE IN THE 1980s: A villager from Bophalong, a teenager in the
US, Naledi, a pensioner in another village, a white government worker, a famous rock
star (Bruce Springsteen), etc.
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2. CHOOSE WHO YOU ARE WRITING TO: The president of South Africa, the United
Nations, the officials who are tearing down Bophalong, etc.
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3. CHOOSE WHAT YOU WANT TO PERSUADE THEM TO CHANGE, BELIEVE, OR DO: Stop
damming up water, give every child free education, come to the village , give South
Africa more U.S. aid money…
4.
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5.
THEN CREATE AN OUTLINE:
1.
1.
MAIN ARGUMENT: _______________________________________________________
REASON/ARGUMENT/ APPEAL 1:
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Support for #1:
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REASON/ARGUMENT/ APPEAL 2:
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Support for #2:
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REASON/ARGUMENT/ APPEAL 3:
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Support for #3:
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Then, write out a first draft, or a very detailed outline, expanding this short one.
FIRST DRAFT, worth 25 points if on time, 5 pts off each day late.
Name: ___________________________
Once your first draft is written, start to revise in this order.
A.
____Revise your introduction on the form. Include all the
parts!
B.
____Revise your conclusion on the form. Include all the
parts.
C.
____Revise your transitions for more connections and
sophistication. Your transition phrases or sentences show the
connection between your big ideas. I’ll pass out more transition
suggestions later. Many lists are available online.
D.
____ Put all three kinds of PERSUASIVE APPEALS in your
essay.
1, Appeal to REASON
2. Appeal to EMOTION
3. Appeal to AUTHORITY
(quotes?)
____Then start to revise your body paragraphs for more
structure. Each paragraph should have sub-points, support
(details) and explanations. Summarize at the end of each
paragraph, or transition to the next.
E.
INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH:
1.
LEAD: (1-3 sentences) Grab the reader’s attention with a great quote, short anecdotal
story, stunning fact, hypothetical situation, rhetorical question, etc.
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2.
INTRODUCE TOPIC AND ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR AUDIENCE: (1-2 sentences) Make
it known somehow what you are taking about, who you are, and towards whom you are
addressing your persuasion.
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3. STANCE STATEMENT (1 to 2 sentences) State the writer’s opinion about the topic.
State what you want to change in the audience’s beliefs or actions.
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4. LIST STATEMENT (1 to 2 sentences) Preview your main arguments from the body
paragraphs.
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CONCLUDING PARAGRAPH:
1. TRANSITION
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1.
LIST STATEMENT/SUMMARIZE YOUR ARGUMENTS: (1-3 sentences)
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2.
RESTATE YOUR STANCE: (1-2 sentences)
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3. PROVIDE THE AUDIENCE WITH SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT (1 to 2 sentences)
Inspire them!
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3. CALL TO ACTION (1 to 2 sentences) Inspire them!
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