Persuasive Writing Process

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Creating a curriculum that reaches all students is one of the most important goals of teachers. Often times we labor over planning lesson that we think students will enjoy, but fail when the lesson is delivered to the students. One common complaint from my students is that English is not something that is used in the real world. Dr. Heidi Hayes Jacobs (1989) supports my students’ assertion that school and the real world seem disconnected because the student’s current schedules don’t reflect what they see in the real world. Students have a hard time making connections between what they learn in school and what happens in the world because they are not provided with many opportunities to do so. As teachers, we have the power to help students …show more content…
However, when it comes to the election process there are several similarities to persuasive writing. Elected candidates must use persuasive techniques while campaigning to influence their audience to vote for them. Persuasive writing requires the writer to use several techniques to persuade their audience. In an interdisciplinary unit, students will see and analyze how government officials use the same persuasive techniques they use in writing to influence voters. As a result of analyzing the techniques used, students should be able to create a similar …show more content…
By breaking down the standards, teachers will understand what will have the “greatest impact on improving student learning” (Hale, 2008). J.A. Hale suggests a step by step process for breaking down standards to form a curriculum (Hale, 2008). While conducting Phase 1 of standard 16(a) I determined that this standard wants students to write to influence specific audiences. In order to do this, students must have a clear thesis. Standard 16(f) adds that their writing should be intentionally crafted to move an audience by using rhetorical devices. This standard requires students to truly understand how to persuade an audience through writing. During Phase 2, I realized that first students would need to examples of effective persuasive texts. Next, they need to be able to create a clear and effective thesis statement. Students would also need a solid understanding of rhetorical devices (ethos, pathos, logos) and types of evidence (statistical, expert testimonial, anecdotal) that can be used to be more persuasive and should be able to create them. Both statements require that students write to persuade as a measurable skill. The standards suggests that this be done in the form of an essay or proposal, however considering student engagement and the topic a less traditional writing assignment that covers the TEKS may serve as a better