Persuasive Essay Requirements
Your Mission: To persuade the top Cards executives to include your explorer in
their new Explorers Trading Card pack. Remember to argue for your explorer, not
the card itself. Why is he so important? What difference did he make to the
world? Why might children admire this person? Or would they see him as a
villain?
Requirements:
The essay should include at least the following three paragraphs:
PARAGRAPH #1: This paragraph is an introduction about the explorer you have
chosen. It should include his name, country of origin, birth and death dates, and
what he is famous for. This paragraph should also state the explorer’s goals for
the trip (To find gold? Claim new lands for his country? “Civilize” the natives?
Find a new passage or body of water?) and whether or not he succeeded in his
mission.
PARAGRAPH #2: The paragraph should describe some of the adventures or
challenges that your explorer faced during his journey or journeys. Include as
many specific details as you can. For example, how many men traveled with him?
Did he have to deal with storms, starvation, mutinies, or battles with the
American natives? Conclude this paragraph by describing the end of the
explorer’s life. Was he “killed in action”? Did he receive rewards and riches from
the king or queen of his country? What happened to him after his voyages?
You may add an extra paragraph here if you have a great deal to describe about
the explorer’s adventures.
PARAGRAPH #3: In the final part of your essay, you will state 2-3 reasons why
you believe your explorer should be chosen as one of the cards in the explorer
pack. Make sure to highlight interesting facts about your explorer and specific
reasons why he should be be included in the final deck of cards. Your job is to
convince the judges so make strong arguments here.
4. Length: Approximately 1 page typed in 14 point font that is easy to read.
Make sure to include a title. You may also neatly write this essay by hand.
In summary, your essay must do all of the following:
____ Has a title that is centered and underlined
____ Has an introductory paragraph describing the explorer (see
above)
____ Has 1-2 paragraphs describing the explorer’s adventures
____ Has a concluding paragraph that gives several reasons why
this explorer should be included in the final card pack
____ Is well-organized. Each paragraph has a topic sentence,
supporting details, and a concluding sentence. Complete
sentences are used and the paragraphs are easy to read.
____ Spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and grammar are largely
correct.
REMEMBER: You are persuading the judges to choose your
explorer, not your card!
Persuasive Essay Graphic Organizer
PARAGRAPH #1: INTRODUCTION
Bold beginning (1 powerful sentence that explains the GIST of who your explore
is and why he matters) ____________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
Explorer’s name (include first and last name in the very first sentence)
____________________________________________________________
Explorer’s nationality: __________________________________________
Explorer’s date of birth and death: ________________________________
The explorer’s goal/s: ___________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
Why the explorer is famous: ______________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
PARAGRAPH #2 (BODY)—DESCRIPTION OF ADVENTURES
List the number of trips the explorer took (and to where): ______________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
Describe one or more of the trips. Cool facts to include: _______________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
What happened afterwards: ______________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
PARAGRAPH #3-(CONCLUSION) PERSUADE THE AUDIENCE
Powerful introductory sentence broadly stating several reasons why the
explorer should be included: ______________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
Reason #1 (details supporting) ____________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
Reason #2 (details supporting) _____________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
Reason #3 (details supporting) _____________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
Concluding sentence (repeats in different words why your explorer is important
and should be included): __________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
Sample Essay for Adriana Aventurer (An Imaginary
Explorer)
Adriana Aventurera, a little-known Italian explorer, was the first woman to
explore the coastal waters of Brazil between 1510 and 1515. Aventurera (147515??) set sail from Lisbon, Portugal in 1509 hoping to find a water passage through
Central America so that she could directly sail west to China and India, where she
hoped to purchase silks and jewels for her growing tapestry business. She never
did find this water passage, but instead discovered the northern Atlantic coast of
Brazil, befriending several native American tribes along the way. Aventurera’s
crew returned to Europe with many interesting native weavings and new foods—
such as guava and papaya—after she helped the Portuguese to set up 3 Catholic
missions and their own foothold in the South American continent.
Aventurera was only thirty-five years old when she set sail towards the
Americas, disguised as a young, male sea captain. On her first voyage, she
commanded two ships with a crew of 55 members. None of them knew that she
was really a woman. Aventurera was well well-respected as an able navigator, but
the explorers ran into several difficulties along the way. Two weeks into the
journey, her ship Santa Elenora was battered during a violent storm and sank. Ten
of its crew members were able to swim over to the sister ship, but the rest of its
crew perished. With 38 sailors crowded on to only one ship, the explorers soon
ran out of food and were close to starving when they reached the shores of
Brazil. There, they were lucky to encounter friendly and gentle natives, who
welcomed them and traded exotic fruits and vegetables for the trinkets that the
Italian explorer had brought.
Aventurera and her crew spent 5 more years exploring the coast of Brazil,
setting up several small Catholic missions and engaging in frequent trading with
the local inhabitants. She became so comfortable in this new land that when it
was time for her ship to return to Portugal, she decided to stay in Brazil,
appointing her first mate, Pedro DeCascovado as the new ship captain. Later,
DeCascovado took credit for all of the trip’s discoveries, claiming that Aventurera
had died during the early storm. When the Portuguese explorers returned several
years later, they could find no trace of Aventurera, although there were rumors
that she had travelled inland to the Amazon in search of a mythical city of
beautiful emeralds and gold.
As the first European woman to ever explore the Americas, Adriana Aventurera
should definitely be included in the Explorer Card Pack because she was a
trailblazing, adventurous woman who discovered Brazil and demonstrated that
peaceful relations with the natives were possible. Aventurera should be included in
the card pack for several reasons. First, it’s important to note that even though
she disguised herself, Aventurera was still a true trailblazer, proving for the first
time that a woman was capable of navigating difficult waters and leading an unruly
crew. Second, this woman was quite an adventurer. She weathered violent storms
at sea, a sunken ship, starvation and many encounters with different natives who
did not speak her language or have the same customs. It is possible that she even
ventured into the thick, unexplored jungles of the Amazon in search of yet
another challenge. Third, Aventurera was the first European to thoroughly
explore the coast of Brazil, one of the largest, rapidly growing countries of the
world today. Finally, Aventurera’s peaceful approach to working with the native
Americans is quite different than how conquistadores such as Cortez or Pizarro
behaved. She proved that a European could peacefully get along with the
Americans, setting up new communities and trading for goods without violence so
she is a model for another way of doing business in the New World.
Adriana
Aventurera has been overlooked by history, but she was really quite an amazing
woman. We need to include her in the new Explorer Card Pack in recognition of
her peaceful adventures in Brazil.