Persuasive Essays: 6-Step Prewriting Process—Great Preparation!

NOTE: This is a prewriting process. As such, teachers will want to provide further instruction on persuasive writing in general, introductory paragraphs, conclusive paragraphs, length of paragraphs, types of support, additional types of transitional devices, research techniques, works cited pages, etc. Students should be at the point in the unit where they have chosen their topics and are ready to create thesis statements.

This packet is from my Looking Good on Paper line; it provides students with everything they need to prepare for writing a persuasive essay. NOTE: STEPS 2 AND 3 ARE INCLUDED IN THE DOWNLOADABLE PREVIEW FILE.

Step 1: Students create personal opinion statements (thesis statements).
***Summary: Students are instructed in how to create personal opinion statements from the third-person point of view and without negatives such as "not," "never," and "no."

Step 2: Students provide reasons for agreeing or disagreeing with other students' personal opinion statements, thereby providing one another with a variety of pros and cons.
***Summary: As personal opinion statements are passed around the room, students agree or disagree with each and then provide a reason for their response, thereby providing other students with a list of pros and cons to choose from when writing their essays.

Step 3: Students select the best pros and cons for their essays.
***Summary: Students are instructed to examine their lists of reasons provided by other students and then select the strongest pros and cons for their body paragraphs.

In Steps 4 and 5, students try out two different formats for their final essays.

Step 4: Students compose "abbreviated" paragraphs following Format #1 (con 1, con 2, pro 1, pro2, strongest pro).
***Summary: Students create a seven-sentence "paragraph" that places their personal opinion statement in the position of "topic sentence," followed by their two cons written as complete sentences with appropriate standard transitional devices (provided) and their three pros (with the strongest pro saved for last), also written as complete sentences with appropriate transitions (provided). These five sentences will eventually serve as topic sentences for their five body paragraphs, and the personal opinion statement will serve as the basis for their thesis statements in their actual essays. Students also add a concluding sentence, a paraphrase of the "topic sentence."

Step 5: Students compose "abbreviated" paragraphs following Format #2 (con 1, pro 1, con 2, pro 2, strongest pro).
***Summary: Students create a seven-sentence "paragraph" that, again, places their personal opinion statement as the "topic sentence," but this time students follow Format 2 (shown above) and provide their own standard transitional device transitions, obtained from an included list. Again, these five sentences will serve as topic sentences for their body paragraphs, and the personal opinion statement will serve as the basis for their thesis statements in their actual essays. Students also add a concluding sentence, a paraphrase of the "topic sentence."

Step 6: Students create basic outlines as guides for writing their papers.
***Summary: Students are instructed to choose one of the formats on which to base a basic outline for their papers. The outline includes the personal opinion statement and the five cons and pros, all written as complete sentences. The outline also provides lines for students to jot down ideas for support for each con and pro.

Thorough with easy-to-follow instructions! This product is from my Looking Good on Paper line. If you find it useful, take a look at my other writing products by clicking on my store name above!

Here is my complete line of Looking Good on Paper products:

* AVOIDING EMPTY SUBJECTS: IT and THERE (5 pages)
Students learn when to use and when to avoid starting clauses with IT and THERE and practice using four methods to eliminate them from their writing. Great for strengthening sentences!

* POINT OF VIEW IN EXPOSITORY WRITING (17 pages)
Students discover the importance of considering which point of view to use in their writing. A valuable writing skill!

* FOUR METHODS FOR VARYING SENTENCE BEGINNINGS (22 pages)
Students practice adding variety to sentences using appositive, infinitive, prepositional, and participial phrases. Easy to understand and apply to their own writing!

* CAPITALIZING TITLES (9 pages)
Students use inductive reasoning to discover capitalization rules as they apply to titles. Reinforces the rules so much better than simply presenting a list of them to students!

*PERSONAL NARRATIVE ESSAYS Lesson Plan (19 pages)
Students are introduced to the parts of a narrative essay: intro paragraph, hook, main idea statement, rising action, climax and falling action. They also discover the importance of mood and dialogue in stories. Includes essay assignment and rubric. Great sample essays!

* SIX-STEP PRE-WRITING PROCESS FOR PERSUASIVE ESSAYS (10 pages)
This packet provides students with everything they need to prepare for writing a persuasive essay. An excellent resource!

* INTRO TO WRITING UNIT DISCUSSION: HOW IS WRITING DIFFERENT FROM SPEAKING? (3 pages)
An excellent way to reinforce the differences between writing and speaking and a great icebreaker for starting a writing unit!

* TEN WAYS WRITERS ESTABLISH MOOD (6 pages)
This lesson shows students how important mood is in writing and provides them with ten methods writers use to establish mood. Perfect for personal narratives or creative writing!

Word-Wise Language Arts Resources
—100s of unique products over most-taught literature!
Fun Teaching~Fun Learning!