Name: _________________________________
English 3 CP
Charity Persuasive Essay
Directions:
Many believe that it is our “civic duty,” or responsibility as citizens, to give back to our
community/country whenever we can. Unfortunately, far too many people do not live up to those
expectations. So, your job is to:
Write a five-paragraph persuasive essay convincing the student
body at PHS to take an interest and donate to charity/cause of
your choice. You may choose any charity/organization, from a local
Parkland-run group to an internationally-known cause. The choice is
yours! 
Grading
You will be graded on the general writing traits as always. Here are a few things to think about:
o Content - Did you have detailed, well-explained reasons we should help you?
o Organization – Did you use any transition words like we discussed?
o Focus – Did you address the student body?
o Language – Did you appeal to our emotions? Did you use vivid descriptions?
*See the rubric for specific details.
You will be graded on your individual writing goal.
Schedule:
o
o
You will have Thursday to research your charity.
You will have Friday and Monday to type your essay.
Websites for Research:
You will have 1 day in class to research. Here are general two websites that have a great general
listing of charities and organizations out there to get involved in. These links are available on
the wikispace. Once you’ve selected a charity/organization, I would suggest looking up its main
page.
1) Charity Watch A-Z: http://www.charitywatch.org/azlist.html
*Click on the “Top-Rated” link to see charities organized by category
2) Charity Navigator: http://www.charitynavigator.org/
Name: _________________________________
English 2 APPL
Charity Persuasive Essay
Directions:
Many believe that it is our civic duty, or responsibility as citizens, to give back to our
community/country whenever we can. Regardless of how much money we make or how
much free time we have, people should try to help others. Unfortunately, far too many
people do not live up to those expectations. So, your job is to:
Write a five-paragraph persuasive essay convincing people to take an interest in a
charity/cause of your choice. You may choose any charity/organization you like from a
local Parkland run one to a world wide cause. The choice is yours! 
Schedule:
- You will have Thursday to research and organize.
- You will have Friday and Monday to type and submit your essay.
Grading:
-
You will be graded on the general writing traits, with an emphasis on your
organization and content.
You will also be graded on your individual writing goal.
Websites for Research:
Here are general two websites that have a great general listing of charities and
organizations out there to get involved in. Once you’ve selected a charity/organization, I
would suggest looking up its main page.
3) Charity Watch A-Z: http://www.charitywatch.org/azlist.html
*Click on the “Top-Rated” link to see charities organized by category
4) Charity Navigator: http://www.charitynavigator.org/
CHARITY RESEARCH DAY
My goal is to:
Name of charity/organization/cause:
Background Information on the charity/cause:
BODY PARAGRAPHS:
1st General Reason to Support
2nd General Reason to Support
What kind of support do you
DETAILS
Want from PHS?
Explanation of Reason 1 and DETAILS
Explanation of Reason 2 and DETAILS
Explanation of support wanted and
THREE POINT THESIS STATEMENT:
Thesis Formula = Subject + stance/feelings on the subject + 3 main points
at Parkland high school should support ____________________________________ by
Students
_____________________________ because ____________________________________________________
and ________________________________________________________.
Date Due: ________________
Name: _________________________________
English 2 APPL
Essay Rubric: Persuasive (44 pts.)
Prompt: Write a five-paragraph persuasive essay convincing people to take an interest in a
charity/cause of your choice.
I.
Focus/Organization:
_________ /15
(There is a logical organization and flow to
the paper. The paper answers the given prompt.
The writer followed the prescribed five-paragraph
essay format. The paper speaks directly to the
thesis originally stated.)
II.
Ideas and Content:
_________ /12
(The argument presented is clear and logical,
answers the prompt sufficiently, and addresses a
specific audience. Relevant and creative examples
were used and analyze to support the argument.
A good amount of effort was put into the writing process.)
III. Language Use and Style
_________ /12
(There is vivid description and imagery used to
present the argument. Personality and style is
evident in the writer’s voice. An attempt was made
to connect to the audience through examples,
vocabulary, and values/beliefs.
IV. Conventions:
_________ /8
(There are no punctuation or grammatical
errors. There are no sentence fragments.
All words are spelled and used correctly.)
Total: _________ /44
Other Comments:
Name: _________________________________
English 2 APPL
Charity Commercial
Individually, you just finished writing persuasive essays to
convince me, Ms. McQuillan, to support a charity/organization of
your choice. Now, in a group of 4, you will be making a
commercial over the next few weeks to convince the school to
support one!
Steps to Completion:
Decide as a group which charity/organization you want
to focus on.
2) Gain background research and photos to use in your
commercial.
3) Write a script/outline for your commercial.
4) Film your commercial.
5) Edit and finalize your commercial before showing!
1)
Allotted in Class Days:
3 days to plan and organize (1/13, 1/14, 1/23)
2 days to tape (1/26 and 1/27)
3 days to edit video (1/28-1/30)
Video Requirements:
Your video must be 2-3 minutes long. In your video, you must
include:
- 5 pictures
- Video clips of at least 2 members in your group.
- Scene Transitions
- Added Text
- One song clip or narration over pictures/videos
- Commercial Content
o Background information on your charity/organization
o What your charity/organization is AND does
o 3 reasons specific and well-explained reasons why we
should support you
o How you want us to help (time, money, donations,
etc.)
o Contact information
o At least one attempt to appeal to the audiences’
emotions (a story, example, statistics, etc.)
Day by Day Requirement Check List:
Planning & Organizing (1/13)
 Turn in Group Names and Charity Choice
 EVERYONE Begins Researching:
1) Background information
2) Contact information for your charity
3) What kind of help you want (time, money, donations,
etc.)
4) 3 reasons to support your charity
5) Stories/Examples of people you would be helping for
emotional appeal
Planning & Organizing (1/14)
 Find AND save a minimum of 5 pictures to one group
member’s student directory. (*Use Safari to help
automatically create an IPhoto Album.)
o Designated Group Member: _____________________________
 Finish Research:
1) Background information
2) Contact information for your charity
3) What kind of help you want (time, money, donations,
etc.)
4) 3 reasons to support your charity
5) Stories/Examples of people you would be helping for
emotional appeal
o Designated Group Members:
_________________________________________
 Begin ideas for writing a script / outline laying out your
commercial
o Designated Group Members: _____________________________
Planning & Organizing (1/23)
 Finalize a script / outline for your commercial AS A
GROUP.
*You must TURN IN a copy of it in this folder today!
 Decide on a song to use for background music or if you’re
going to use narration.
NAME: _________________________________
CHARITY:
________________________________
RESEARCH DATA
Contact information for your charity (phone numbers, emails,
websites, etc.)
Background information
What kind of help you want (time,
can do that
money, donations, etc.)
& how people
Reasons to support your charity (3 well-explained reasons
minimum)
1)
2)
3)
Stories/Examples of people you would be helping for emotional
appeal
NAME: _________________________________
CHARITY:
________________________________
COMMERCIAL OUTLINE / STORYBOARD
Clip 1: Intro
Clip 2: Background of Charity
Clip 3: Reason 1 why we should help you
Clip 4: Reason 2 why we should help you
Clip 5: Reason 3 why we should help you
Clip 6: Emotional Story/Example to really get the
audience’s attention
Clip 7: What we can do to help
Clip 8: Closing – give contact information and how we can
help
NAME: _________________________________
________________________________
CHARITY:
Charity Project Rubric
COMMERCIAL
______ /40
Content (25pts): The commercial had
evidence of research and knowledge about
the charity, what the charity needs from
the community, and 2 or more valid reasons
people should support it. It attempted to
appeal to the audience’s emotions. It
included contact information as well.
Presentation (15pts): The commercial was
well organized. The speakers on cameras or
doing voice-overs were mature and poised.
Several different effects were used in the
creation of the project (transitions,
pictures, voice-over, text, music, etc.)
LETTER
______ /20
The letter was typed in the correct
format. The correct contact information
was given for each the school and the
charity. The paragraphs were thoughtful,
organized, informative, and included all
necessary information. There were no
grammar/spelling errors.
GROUP PROFESSIONALISM
______ /20
GROUP (10): The group worked well as a
team. They cooperated, got along,
respected others opinions, and shared
responsibility. When video taping
throughout the school, the group was mature
and responsible. The
INDIVIDUAL (10): You were present in
class, participated and stayed on task on a
daily basis. You cooperated with your
other group members and respected their
opinions and work. (Information taken from
your self-evaluations were taken into
consideration for these points as well.)
TOTAL POINTS: ______ /80
OTHER COMMENTS: