Introduction to Persuasive Students will respond to the
Writing: Should the legal prompt “Should the legal drinking age be lowered to
18?
It’s all Greek to Me: Ethos,
Pathos and Logos in the
Persuasive Essay
Identifying creditable online sources drinking age be lowered to
18,” by writing in their journals. Students will share their positions with the class and determine what the major arguments are for each side.
Students will be introduced to the history and strategies of persuasive writing through a power point presentation. Afterwards, students will participate in a debate which will require them to identify and utilize effectively some of these strategies.
Students will deepen their knowledge of how to identify creditable online sources for their essay by examining online sites and completing a graphic organizer.
Constructing a Thesis
Writing the Outline: Plan you Strategy of Persuasion!
The Art of Advertising:
How They Persuade You!
Students will determine their argument and write the working thesis statement for their essays.
Students will construct the working outline for their persuasive essay.
Students will analyze the techniques advertisers use to help persuade the public by identifying advertising strategies found in magazines and newspapers

and completing a graphic organizer.
Write me a Letter: The importance of Audience
A Great Speech: “The
Perils of Indifference”
Ridiculous Reasoning:
Exploring Logical Fallacies
Peer Editing
Students will demonstrate their knowledge regarding audience by writing two separate letters on their topic, one to a friend the other to the President.
Students will analyze Elie
Wiesel’s “The Perils of
Indifference Speech.” They will identify the main argument, persuasive strategies, and generate a personal response to the speech through a group quiz.
Students will comprehend the different types of logical fallacies and how to identify them in their own and others’ essays.
Students will provide constructive criticism to their partner by identifying strengths and weaknesses in their essay with the aid of a graphic organizer derived directly from the grading rubric.
Introduction:
This unit plan is designed to introduce tenth grade students to persuasive writing.
Students will be required to write a persuasive essay on a controversial topic of their choice and then transform this essay into a speech they will deliver to their classmates. It is a common task for all tenth graders at South Kingstown High School and is an important component of their portfolio, which they need to complete in order to graduate. This requirement makes this unit plan on persuasive writing an important component of their academic year. However, exploring

persuasive strategies and techniques has an even more significant role this year, and this is because of the presidential election.
With the country’s presidential election just days away it feels as if the ability to think critically and independently is one of the most important characteristics a person can have. For the last several months we have been bombarded with opinions, facts, distorted facts, and debates between candidates who are doing everything they can to try to persuade us why they would be the right choice for the next President of the United States.
During this persuasive writing unit it is my aim that students will gain some of the skills necessary to be able to sift through this often complicated web of facts and opinions, so that they can make up their own minds. Doing this, I think, is one of the great responsibilities of being an active member of a democracy.
The unit is introduced through a journal entry in which students will be asked what their position is on whether or not they think the legal drinking age should be lowered to the age of 18.
I did not want to give the students articles to read before hand, or to have a big debate, I simply wanted them to write what they know and think about the issue without any outside influence.
From there we will begin exploring persuasive writing and its techniques in depth.
Students will learn about the history of persuasive rhetoric beginning with the Ancient Greeks, and the meaning behind Aristotle’s pathos, logos, and ethos. Students will then select their own controversial topic to research and take a position on. As students begin to research their topic we will further explore the importance of audience, as well as the strategies advertisers use to try and persuade us we that we need or want something. Students will explore logical fallacies and learn to identify them in their own and others writing. We will also listen and analyze Elie

Wiesel’s “The Perils of Indifference” speech to further deepen our knowledge of effective persuasive techniques.
By the close of the unit it is my aim that students will have written a strong and convincing persuasive essay that effectively utilizes the strategies and considerations we discussed in class. It is also my aim that students will end the unit a little more critical and aware of the persuasive strategies and ploys they encounter every day. I hope this empowers them to make responsible decisions based on their own reasoning and knowledge of what is wrong and right.