DAILY BOARD WORK—WEEK OF FEBRUARY 11th to 15th
Monday, February 11th: Persuasive Writing
One writing activity you may be required to do for the OAA tests is persuasive
writing. A good way to improve your own powers of persuasion is to notice how other
people, businesses, organizations, etc. try to persuade you to do or buy something they’re
“selling.”
Think of five different occasions where others have tried to persuade you to do
something, buy something, believe something, etc. One example should come from your
family, one from your friends, one from a salesperson, one from a television ad, and one
from another source (a company, an institution—like school or church, an organization,
etc.). Fill in the chart on the back of this page explaining their goal (What did they try to
persuade you to do?), their methods (How did they try to persuade you?), and their
success (Did you change your mind?).
Tuesday, February 12th: Persuasive Writing
Persuasive writing requires different skills than other types of writing. For an
introduction to those, find the article (on the eHow website) called “Tips on Writing a
Persuasive Essay for Kids.” You can type that title into the search engine box and you
should be directed to it, or you can type in the url
http://www.ehow.com/info_8062912_tips-writing-persuasive-essay-kids.html,
or you can find the link on Ms. Jackson’s staff web page on the Madison schools website.
Read that article and write a summary of each of the “tips”—under the headings
“Preparation,” “Provide Evidence,” “Avoid Emotions,” and “Presentation.” Write at
least two complete sentences for each heading (8 total).
Wednesday, February 13th: Research/Holidays
Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day. To understand the origins and history of this
holiday, use the History Channel website (http://www.history.com/topics/valentines-day)
or an encyclopedia to research it. Make a list of seven facts about the holiday. (Record
your source.) Write every item on your list in complete sentences!
Thursday, February 14th: Persuasive Writing (OAA Practice)
In addition to being Valentine’s Day, February 14th is also National Organ Donor
Day. The purpose of this holiday—associated with the “heart”—is to encourage people to
plan ahead to donate their organs and save lives. Choosing to donate your organs,
however, is a very personal, emotional decision. Most people have strong opinions in
favor of or against organ donation. Convincing someone to change his mind about it
requires a style of speaking or writing called persuasion. (Read some guidelines for
writing persuasive paragraphs or essays on the back of this page.)
Write a paragraph (at least 75 words) persuading your audience in favor of or
against organ donation. Take a definite stand on your topic sentence. Use at least four
reasons, examples, or supporting details in the body of the paragraph. Add a concluding
sentence explaining why donation is or is not a good idea and what impact your position
could have (on families, recipients of organs, etc.).
Friday, February 15th: to be completed in class.
How to Write a Persuasive Essay: Writing Tips
The first step in learning how to write a persuasive essay is learning these
fundamental rules:
1. You MUST take a stand: Persuasive writing has no room for wishy-washy
declarations. Take a stand.
Bad: The DH rule in baseball has good and bad aspects.
Good: Both the American and National leagues should adopt the DH rule.
2. Write on a topic about which you are familiar.
3. The topic should be something upon which there is a reasonable difference of
opinion.
Bad: Murder is bad.
Good: The death penalty is not the solution to end murder.
4. As with all essay writing, persuasive writing must include an introduction, a
body, and a conclusion. How you arrange material within these three sections
depends on your audience.
5. Knowing your audience is more crucial in persuasive writing than any other
type of essay.
6. Know your purpose. Are you trying to change the readers' minds? Are you
simply attempting to get someone to see things from a different vantage
point? Are you trying to make people act?
7. Provide evidence, explanations, comments, logic and supporting details to
support your claims. Know your audience. Know your purpose.
8. Use appropriate language and tone for your audience.
9. Strengthen your argument by acknowledging opposing views and explaining
why your position is better.