Some Minilesson Ideas for Writing a Persuasive Essay
Immersion:
• Immerse students in persuasive essays. Get a bunch of good essays
together and let students read and notice the features of persuasive
writing.
• Make a “noticings” chart which details the features of a persuasive essay.
Features you want students to notice:
--The writer is trying to convince someone to do something
--There are paragraphs
--The paragraphs contain examples that support an argument
--There is (hopefully) voice in the writing: we get a sense of the writer
behind the words
--There may be statistics
--There may be surveys
--There is a catchy lead (a bold statement, a question, a scene)
--There is a satisfying ending (bold statement, question that makes
the reader think, a return to a scene set at the beginning)
• Put an exemplary essay up on a chart and label the parts. (Keep this up
during the study.)
• Discuss: What is an appropriate issue for a persuasive essay? Make
sure students understand that to write persuasively, there must be two
sides to an issue. (For example, child abuse may be an issue for a
student, but there won’t likely be a persuasive argument for child abuse.)
• Read and respond to picture books that are written to persuade (i.e.
Earrings by Judith Viorst)
Gathering:
• Read and respond to articles about issues/concerns. For example,
students can respond to articles about gangs, bullies, drugs,
homelessness, etc.
• Students create lists of personal pet peeves, complaints
• Students create lists of school or local issues
• Write from the lists. Before writing, teachers can ask students to name
the issue they’re writing about, then list ways to support their argument
(“We should have litter police. Here are the reasons why...)
• Reread notebooks for previous entries that reflect concerns, issues, pet
peeves, looking for one that could lead to a persuasive essay.
Choosing a Seed Idea
• Students pick a seed idea by rereading the entries they’ve written during
this unit. Students must pick a topic they feel strongly about.
Nurturing
• Students free write about the chosen topic, writing more and giving more
information than they have already on the topic.
• Students develop good interview questions
• Students gather relevant information on the topic (quotes, facts)
to support an argument
• Create surveys
• Students rehearse by talking through their essays with a writing partner
Drafting
• Students draft essays using a planning guide. (See Persuasive Essay
Organizer).
Revising
• Creating a good lead (teach different kinds of leads--question, opening
with a scene, opening with an interesting fact)
• Using persuasive techniques (appealing to emotion, testimonial,
bandwagon, repetition)
• Using signal words (see minilesson)
• Writing with voice
• Transition words
Editing
• Edit using an editing checklist.
Publish/Celebrate
Reflect
Persuasive Organizer
Briefly state the thesis. Mention at least two viewpoints. _________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
Your persuasive argument statement _________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
Your first reason/supporting evidence
________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
Your second reason/supporting evidence
_____________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
Your third reason/supporting evidence _______________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
Closing _______________________________________________________________
Lesson: Using Voice in a Persuasive Essay
Teaching Point: Writers use voice in a persuasive essay to make the essay more
engaging.
Connection: “You’re working on revising your essays. You’ve added questions to
make transitions. You’ve tried out different kinds of beginnings. Today I want to teach
you to use voice in your essay to make it more interesting. When we talk about voice,
we’re talking about making the writing sound like you. Voice in writing is when you
make it sound personal and like there’s really a person behind your words. Let me
show you what I mean.”
Modeling: Teacher uses his/her own essay or a published essay to illustrate the
following techniques:
Using turns of phrase that are often used in conversation-- “Believe it or not...” “Can
you imagine...?”
Using ‘slang’ in an otherwise serious piece: “Give ‘em your two cents!”
Using expressive punctuation that sounds conversational--exclamation marks and
dashes will do that.
Showing the inside story (the author thinking-- “I see the guy littering and I think, should
I say something or will that get me shot?”)
Asking questions of the reader-- “That’s crazy, right?” “Exactly what does a person get
out of littering, anyway?”
Active Involvement: “If you were going to try adding voice to your piece, what would
you try? Would you try using a conversational phrase? Maybe some punctuation that
makes your point? Look at your essay and think about how and where you might do
this. Then turn and talk to a partner about it.”
Link to Work Time: “Today during writing, try using a some of these tools of voice.
See if it makes your essay sound better.”
Work Time: Teacher confers with individuals. Students write.
Share: Author’s chair or partner share. Lesson: Opening with a Scene
Teaching Point: Opening a persuasive essay with a scene draws the reader in.
Connection: “You’ve been working on revising your persuasive essays. You know how
to write question leads. You also know how to state facts in your leads. Today I’m
going to teach you how to open with a scene. Sometimes writers open with a scene
because it grabs the reader’s attention and makes the reader want to keep reading.”
Modeling: Use a sample in which a writer began with a powerful scene. (I board the
train, my arms weighed down by bags, tired from a long day at work. As I enter the
packed car, I slip and fall. Once again, somebody has left a bottle on the floor, causing
me to lose my balance. I silently curse the litter pig and vow to make some changes to
the littering laws.)
Active Involvement: “Would opening with a scene work for your essay? Think about it
and try jotting a quick scene in your notebook.”
Link Time: “Lots of persuasive essays start with scenes. Lots of our best writing starts
with a scene. Who thinks they might try that out today?”
Work Time: Teacher confers with individuals. Students write.
Share: Author’s chair, or popcorn share of your opening line.