Boni
ENG 12
Persuasive Writing Assignment Guidelines:
BUSINESS LETTER/LETTER TO THE EDITOR1
Consider some political, economic or ethical issues that interest you. These subjects might arise
out of something you have experienced, read about, or heard about. The issues you consider for your
Business Letter assignment should be issues that the decisions of legislators, corporate policies, or
school administrations determine or affect. For example, you might want to urge your
Congresspersons to propose a bill limiting the amount of offshore oil drilling, or propose that a
national fast food chain revise their menu to include more Atkins-friendly items, or encourage
Principal Carroll to adopt a school policy limiting the amount of homework teachers can assign. You
may even want to write a letter to the next President of the United States, highlighting the issues you
care about and which are relevant to your life.2
Step 1: Discovering What You Think
Before you can discover what you think about a subject, you must first clarify how you feel
about that subject. Then, you will have to transform your personal opinion into an arguable claim.
Subjects of Interest
Feelings about the Subjects (Personal
Opinions)
Arguable Claims
Step 2: Focus and Define Your Issue
You will have to choose ONE issue to focus on as the topic for your persuasive writing
assignment. Before choosing, consider the following questions:
- Is the issue clear and arguable?
- Can the issue be stated as a question?
- Is the claim clear and convincingly stated?
Step 3: Define Your Audience
Before you can begin to consider your reasoning and evidence, you must consider your
audience. Who are you trying to persuade? What do they know about the issue? What kinds of
1
To properly format a business letter, either consult the Microsoft Word Letter Wizard templates or the OWL at Purdue University
(http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/) for instructions and sample letters.
2
To learn more, visit: http://www.nwp.org/r/letters2president/
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Boni
ENG 12
motives, values and needs do these individuals have that will affect how you present your claim? What
kinds of political, economic and ethical contexts influence your audience? For this step, you will need
to complete a the attached Reader Analysis Worksheet/Context Analysis Charts. Once you know your
audience, you will be able to make decisions about how to present your claim, reasoning and evidence
in the most persuasive manner.
READER Analysis Chart
What do they already know about the
subject?
CONTEXT Analysis Chart
What political contexts may influence
your reader’s ideas of the subject?
What do they not know about the
subject?
What ethical contexts may influence
your reader’s ideas of the subject?
What are their needs/motives/
values?
What economic contexts may influence
your reader’s ideas of the subject?
Step 4: Develop the Argument and Defend Your Claim
Once you’ve identified the specific issue, and have clarified your position on it, and identified
your audience, how do you develop the argument and defend your claim so others will take you
seriously? Remember that reasons are the main points supporting the claim – the because of the
position you are taking. These reasons need evidence in order to be convincing. You may have to
research your issue in order to find and collect evidence to support your claim that go beyond your
personal experiences, beliefs and preferences. You also want to avoid using flawed reasoning (logical
fallacies) in your writing. Without rational, informed reasons, and relevant evidence to back them up,
even the best persuasive techniques will amount only to fancy packaging without any real substance.
Step 5: Point-Counterpoint: “Listening” to the Opposition
As a writer, you should be able to argue against yourself effectively so that you can show your
audience that you understand and have seriously considered all angles of the argument before
deciding on your position. In playing “Devil’s Advocate”, you will probably discover that you have to
revise your reasons and/or evidence as you explore the other side of the argument in order to best
present your claim to your audience. To help identify and address the counterarguments to your
claim, you might complete a chart like this one:
CLAIM:
Reason
Evidence
Counterargument
Answer to Counterargument
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Boni
ENG 12
Step 6: Organizing and Drafting
You will present your claim, reasoning and evidence to your audience in a Formal Business
Letter. Because a writer’s goal in persuasive writing is always to influence readers to at least
give the writer’s argument serious consideration (even if they still don’t agree with it in the end),
certain “ingredients” are needed all types of persuasion. Be sure your letter includes the
following:
- a situation or issue
- a claim or arguable opinion about that issue
- believable reasons and relevant evidence that illustrate and support that
claim
- acknowledgement and consideration of other possible views
- an ongoing explanation of why, having seriously considered these
opposing opinions, the writer stands by her/his own view and encourages
readers to agree
Your Business Letter must be properly addressed and formatted using an appropriate template
(Full Block, Modified Block, or Semi-Block) and typed (Times New Roman, font size 12).
Step 7: Extra Credit
For Extra Credit, you may send your business letter to the addressee via USPS or email. In
order to receive extra credit, you must provide Ms. Boni with the UNSEALED, stamped, addressed
envelope containing your signed letter for her to post. If the letter is sent electronically, a courtesy
copy must be sent to Ms. Boni (boni@aps.edu). This is done by entering her email address on the
cc: _________ line below the recipient’s address at the time the email is sent.
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