Final Product:
You will write a five-paragraph persuasive essay in which you take a stance on a controversial issue of your choice.
Requirements:
- 5 paragraph essay with intro, three body paragraphs, and conclusion
- Choose an issue, take a stance, and write a clear thesis statement
- Conduct research to find credible evidence that supports your thesis: you must include and properly cite in MLA format at least four credible sources
- Identify a counter-argument and defend against it
- Use at least two Rhetorical Appeals in your essay (Ethos, Pathos, Logos)
- Structure your essay with organized claims, evidence, and explanation
Research Assignment: DUE Monday, May 10 before Midnight (share your google doc).
Final Persuasive Essay: DUE Monday, May 25 before Midnight (submit on Turnitin).
Final Persuasive Essay: DUE Monday, May 25 before Midnight (submit on Turnitin).
Essential Questions:
- How can I make a convincing argument?
- How can I tell when someone is using strategies to influence my opinions?
TOPICS IN THIS UNIT:
- Identifying an author's purpose
- Identifying and using rhetorical appeals
- Identifying argument fallacies
- Taking a side on a controversial issue & supporting it with credible research
- Organizing paragraphs with claims, evidence, and explanation to support your argument
STANDARDS ASSESSED IN THIS UNIT:
ALL UNITS:
- Grammar: Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing. (Resolve issues of complex or contested grammar usage). (LF.1.b)
- Revising and Editing: Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience. (W.5.a)
- Respect: Listen to those who are speaking, follow class rules and policies, demonstrate classroom decorum.
- Responsibility: Come to class prepared, stay organized, do your share of group work, turn assignments in on time.
- Collaboration: Contribute to group discussions, contribute to group work in a way that is not domineering or lazy, share your ideas and respect the ideas and opinions of others.
- Communication: Speak in English. Speak clearly and audibly when you are required to do so.
IDEAS:
- Assessing Author's Purpose: Determine an author's point of view or purpose and how that shapes the information. (RI.6)
- Identifying bad reasoning: Delineate and evaluate the author's argument and claims, identifying fallacious reasoning. (RI.8)
- Assessing Credibility and Information Quality: Integrate and evaluate information for credibility and accuracy. (LS.2)
- Finding and Incorporating Source Material: Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the strengths and limitations of each source in terms of the task, purpose, and audience; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and overreliance on any one source and following a standard format for citation. (W.8.a)
WRITING:
- Claims: Introduce precise, knowledgeable claim(s), establish the significance of the claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization that logically sequences claim(s), reasons, and evidence. (W.1.a).
- Development of Ideas with Reasoning: Develop claim(s) fairly and thoroughly, supplying the most relevant evidence and accompanying valid reasoning for each while pointing out strengths and limitations in a manner that anticipates the audience’s knowledge level. (W.1.b)
- Conventions: Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and conventions of the discipline in which they are writing. (W.1.d)