A presentation used to teach middle school students the basic structure of a persuasive blog post.

1. Persuasive Writing Adapted from a presentation by Dr. Barry Laga, Professor of English, Mesa State College, Grand Junction, CO

2. Purpose of Persuasion Answer a question Solve a problem Correct a misguided or wrong claim Encourage people to act or think differently

3. Three Questions What’s your point? What’s your reason? (WHY do you think so?) Where is your evidence? (SHOW me!)

4. Basic OutlineOne Paragraph Argue against another viewpoint Clarify Logic Example Testimony/Data Call to Action/Restate Opinion End with a BANG! Thesis Statement Provide Evidence Conclusion

5. Thesis StatementArgue against another view A younger, dumber version of yourself. “I used to think that...” A hypothetical person or group. “Some students think that...” A real person or group. “Mrs. Doss believes ...”

6. Thesis StatementIntroduction Introduce your topic as you argue against a view you disagree with. Do both in the same sentence. Some of my classmates think that … but I believe that… Many people think that…. however, I would say that… Mrs. Doss thinks that …, but if we think carefully we’ll see that… At first glance, we might think that… but if we look closer we’ll see that… I used to think that... but now I realize that...

7. Thesis Statement Introduction Basic Student Example… My district thinks that physical education should be dropped in order to spend more time in writing class, but I believe that P.E. is necessary for good health.

8. Thesis StatementClarify Use phrases like In other words... Put another way... What I’m trying to say is that ... That is, …

9. Thesis Statement Basic Student Example… My district thinks that physical education should be dropped in order to spend more time in writing class, but I believe that P.E. is necessary for good health. What I’m trying to say is that eliminating P.E would hurt student learning because you have to be healthy to learn. Argue/ Introduction Clarify

10. Provide EvidenceUse Logic This makes sense because… Running for an hour makes no sense at all. (Explain) If…. then … This is so logical. (How so? Explain.) Changing our schedule is an illogical idea. (Explain) It’s like... (Use an analogy)

11. Provide EvidenceUse Logic Basic Student Example… It makes no sense to get rid of P.E. because many kids need it to release excess energy and without P.E. they would be disruptive in class.

12. Provide EvidenceUse an Example For example… A good example of this is… I remember when... My friend is a good example of … This reminds me of Susan B. Anthony who …

13. Provide Evidence Hypothetical Example A “hypothetical” example is an imaginary example. It’s an example you create. It didn’t really happen. What if… Imagine…

14. Provide EvidenceReal Example A “real” example is an experience that happened to you or to someone you know. Real examples include stories about people or events in the past. They may be your friends, people you have heard about in the news, or people in history.

15. Provide Evidence Literary Example Use examples from stories, poems, novels, fables, etc. You could use Harry Potter, “The Boy Who Cried Wolf”, or the preacher in The Giver.

16. Provide Evidence Example Basic Student Example Imagine going to a school where there were no P.E. classes, and you were stuck in a desk all day. Children would be bored out of their minds and would long to just run, jump and play.

17. Provide Evidence Testimony Quote an authority to reinforce your idea: Eye-Witness Expert Well-Respected Non-Expert Proverbs

18. Provide Evidence Data Data has to do with numbers: Statistics Polls Survey Results Percentages

19. Provide Evidence Data Gather data through research: Authoritative websites and on-line sources Almanacs Encyclopedias Statistical-oriented studies Your own surveys or fieldwork to create your own data

20. Provide Evidence: Writing StrategiesLead Into the Quote Use phrases like... According to our principal, “...” Many experts agree. X points out that, “...” This is not an isolated example. Dr. X tells us “…” In the words of Noble Prize winner Toni Morrison, “ ...” Basketball star Michael Jordan reminds us that “...”

21. Provide Evidence: Writing StrategiesLead Out Of the Quote Use phrases like… As Mr. Smith points out... What is important to notice here is ... What we should see in this quote is that ... Dr. Smith makes sense, especially when she... What is obvious here is that ... In other words, Malcolm X is saying that ...

22. Provide EvidenceTestimony Basic Student Example The National Association of Sport and Physical Education tells us, “physical education is an integral part of the total education of every child”. This quote suggests that a good education goes far beyond reading, writing and math. Lead In Lead Out

23. Provide EvidenceData Basic Student Example According to an article in the journal of “Active Living Research”, studies involving 58,000 students between 1967 and 2006 show that kids who are more physically active do better academically. What is obvious here is that kids need P.E. to do well in other subjects. Lead In Lead Out

24. Conclude One sentence summary. Use a signpost to indicate that you plan to conclude. Try something along the lines of ... In sum, ... In short, ... As I’ve just said...

25. Conclusion StrategiesCall to Action Present a “carrot” or a “stick.” We have a choice to make. We can either do X and [this will happen] or we can do Y [and this will happen]. I hope we will choose wisely, etc. Answer... “So what?” Testimony: Well-respected non-expert We should remember the words of Thomas Jefferson who said, “…” Expert Let’s not forget what Dr. Jones told us, “ ...” Proverb We should keep in mind the ancient proverb, “...”

26. ConclusionCall to Action Basic Student Example In short, we have a choice to make. We can get rid of P.E. and have unhappy students who are not motivated to learn, or we can keep P.E and have healthy students who are fit in both body and mind. Let’s make the right choice for our students and keep Physical Education in school.

27. Blog Ready: Add HypertextDefinitions, Linktribution My district thinks that physical education should be dropped in order to spend more time in writing class, but I believe that P.E. is necessary for good health. What I’m trying to say is that eliminating P.E. would hurt student learning because you have to be healthy to learn. It makes no sense to get rid of P.E. because many kids need it to release excess energy and without P.E. they would be disruptive in class. Imagine going to a school where there were no P.E. classes, and you were stuck in a desk all day. Children would be bored out of their minds and would long to just run, jump and play. The National Association of Sport and Physical Education tells us, “physical education is an integral part of the total education of every child”. This quote suggests that a good education goes far beyond reading, writing and math. According to an article in the journal of “Active Living Research”, studies involving 58,000 students between 1967 and 2006 show that kids who are more physically active do better academically. What is obvious here is that kids need P.E. to do well in other subjects.In short, we have a choice to make. We can get rid of P.E. and have unhappy students who are not motivated to learn, or we can keep P.E. and have healthy students who are fit in both body and mind. Let’s make the right choice for our students and keep Physical Education in school.

28. For Practice Your state has decided to pass a law that makes thirteen (13) the legal driving age. Explain whether or not this law is a good idea. Your principal has decided that students at EMS are overweight. Students must now run or bike during the last hour of school. Is this a good way to solve the problem? Explain your answer.