- Connectives game / discussion

- Connectives sort

- Thinking hats approach to discursive topic

- Discursive text deconstruction

- aforest technique

- Planning

- drafting

Should hoodies be banned from all public spaces ? Discuss

Is it ever right to go to war? Consider both sides of the argument and

give reasons for your conclusion.

Since the dawn of time, peoples have battled against one another. Opinions have differed as to whether these wars can be justified. Both sides have strong arguments that must be respected.

Some people argue that revenge is a good reason for going to war. They might quote the Old Testament: But if there is an injury, you are to take life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth (Exodus 21:23-24). Therefore, their response to the destruction of the twin towers on September 11th 2001 might be to support a war on terrorism. Some may see the atrocities as an act of extreme provocation and justify a military response in this way.

Some interpret the text about an eye for an eye as one that limits the level of military action to be used. Any response should not be greater than the original attack. This means that the force used should be proportionate to the original action. In this way, war can again be justified.

War should be limited to the engagement of military forces. A Muslim might quote the Qur'an where it forbids the killing of civilians and innocent people. As long as steps are taken to avoid, collateral damage war can be justified.

Finally, war can be justified if it is a last resort. If all else fails, and there is a need for a massive change, perhaps then it might be right to go to war.

A pacifist is one who is opposed to all war and violence. Such a person might argue that there is never a reason to take human life. Life is sacred. It is a belief shared by Jews, Christians and Muslims that life is God-given and therefore only God can take it away.

A further argument is that war is part of a spiral of violence. It does nothing to create a real and lasting peace. A Christian, to whom I spoke about this, said that Jesus taught his followers to forgive and to love their enemies. She said, "The only way to lasting peace is through forgiveness and reconciliation." Could it be argued, on these grounds, that war cannot be justified?

I'm not so sure. Human beings seem to have so many things over which they differ. Sometimes war may be the lesser of two evils. In my opinion, the arguments justifying war outweigh the case made for pacifism. I do, however, recognise that many will not agree with me - but I shan't fall out with them.

Remember: A FOREST PIE!A = Alliteration

F O R E S T

Fact Opinion RhetoricalQuestion

Emotive Language

StatisticsTriplets

P I EPersonalPronouns

Imperatives Exaggeration

What’s the Issue?

Should the Death Penalty Be Abolished?

• Find out about the Death penalty;• Make a decision about how you feel about it;• Revisit persuasive techniques;• Write a discursive piece .

The Death Penalty – Some Facts:• Over half the countries in the world have now abolished the death penalty in law or practice.• 69 countries and territories retain and use the death penalty, but the number of countries which actually

execute prisoners in any one year is much smaller.• Over 40 countries have abolished the death penalty for all crimes since 1990.• In 8 countries in the world, children under the age of 18 can be put to death as a punishment for crime.• A Chinese legal expert was recently quoted as stating that the figure for executions is approximately

8,000 based on information from local officials and judges, but official national statistics on the application of the death penalty remained classified as a state secret.

• There were 60 executions in America last year.• Stoning a person to death is deemed to be a suitable method of execution in Afghanistan and Iraq.• Currently, In America there are 3400 people in prison, under sentence of death.• Since January 1990 Amnesty International has documented 46 executions of child offenders in eight

countries. The USA carried out 19 executions of under 18s – more than any other country• . 38 of the 50 US states provide for the death penalty in law.• A woman who worked for a bank and lost millions in bad deals, is facing the risk of being executed by a

firing squad in Vietnam. • During 2005, at least 2,148 people were executed in 22 countries and at least 5.186 people were

sentenced to death in 53 countries. These were only minimum figures; the true figures were certainly higher.

• Scientific studies have consistently failed to find convincing evidence that the death penalty deters crime more effectively than other punishments

• Since 1973, 123 prisoners have been released in the USA after evidence emerged of their innocence of the crimes for which they were sentenced to death.

I lost someone I loved to the senseless act of murder. He was left to bleed to death, unable to call for help. Left to die alone. Before his death, together he and I fought hard to have the death penalty abolished. It is ironic and very horrible that he died at the hands of someone very much like he was fighting for.

The death penalty is the ultimate form of revenge. Perhaps it is too tempting to take it? But, how can we communicate

the message "Killing is wrong!" by killing someone? England has proven again and again what a civilized country we are. We proved it in 1976 when we finally abolished the death penalty. We, as an intelligent nation, came to grips with the fact that killing human beings is not a deterrent. We, as people with a conscience, realized that an innocent person could be and has been killed by judicial murder. Once in a while, however, even in England, one or two very uneducated, ignorant politicians will try again to reinstate capital punishment. They play on the fears of people whenever an extremely horrendous crime is committed at which time they feel they are able to buy votes. These men must be stopped before we, as a country, revert back to the archaic practice of killing anyone who upsets us.

Lets talk about some facts concerning the death penalty. Since the USA is our biggest ally, and is in the big business of killing people, the facts will be about them. As of the end of 1997, only 12 states did not have the death penalty; This may be a coincidence, but out of all the states in the USA, these states are the most beautiful. Perhaps it's because they are not covered in blood. Right now Texas is the proud state bearing the name, "Murder Capital of the World"

with 180 murders, however Virginia is trying to claim that title at 67 murders.The United States executed 16 people in 1989. In 1997, the government saw fit to execute 74 people, and by the end of December 1999, 98 people were executed. This dramatic increase in executions makes us aware of how blood thirsty a country they are. Is the United States so confident in their justice system that they believe all of these people they murdered were guilty? Murder is wrong - no one has the right to kill another human being. When a state empowers itself to the level of playing God, they only set an example for would be killers. When a government kills a person in the name of justice, it puts itself on the same level as a murderer in devaluing human life. Simple point.But the state is very humane when they kill someone. If the prisoner is to die by lethal injection, his arm is rubbed with alcohol before the injection. They don't want the murder victim to get an infection and drop dead before they are able to kill him. A few years back, in Oklahoma, authorities revived Robert Brecheen after a suicide attempt, pumped his stomach and cheerfully executed him a few hours later. John del Vecchio was given heart surgery twice in November of 1996, and then he was killed in December. You must wonder why the government goes to this extreme with a dead man. The answer is very simple. The prisoner will not be allowed in any way to take away the fun from the witnesses, who want to see him dead. Some politicians make their way into office by being bought by voters who ask only one thing in exchange - they want to witness an execution. These are some of the same people who are running your country and making decisions on your behalf. Scary, isn't it?                                      

How to adapt the idea for different forms of writing

For Discursive Writing:Get your Red Hat views down on paper and move them to one side – you need to remain

unbiased.What is a more sophisticated structure – all the Yellow Hat ideas followed by all the Black Hat

ideas, or Yellow/Black, Yellow/Black?White Hat ideas reinforce a point, but are not a

point one their own.

Start to write:The Opening of your

argument?

• Introduce what the Death penalty is… (use the wiki page to support that);• Explain how you feel about the Death

Penalty;• Introduce your argument – do you

want to start with a shocking story? Or a reason for your opinion?

EMOTIVEWORDS

Words that arouse emotion

RHETORICAL QUESTIONS

Questions that don’t require an

answer

CRITICISE THE OPPOSITE OPINION

Destroy the point of view of the

opposing argument

CHATTY STYLE

Speaking to the reader in a friendly

way

STATISTICS

Numbers/graphs which provide convincing

information

CLUSTERS OF THREE

Three phrases or describing words

used to emphasise

PERSONALPRONOUNS

Using words like ‘we’, ‘us’ and ‘you’ to make

the writing more appealing

HUMOUR

Light hearted expression of a

viewpoint.

PLAY ON THE READER’S

SYMPATHY

Make the reader feel sorry for something or

someone

EXAGGERATION (HYPERBOLE)

Being over-the-top to get a point across

CATCHY PHRASES OR

SLOGANS

Words that stick in your mind

REPETITION OF WORDS/ PHRASES

Saying the same word or phrase

more than once for emphasis

PLAY ON THE READER’S

GUILT

Make the reader feel bad about

something

QUOTE A RELIABLE SOURCE

Support a point with the views of a

professional

SHOCK TACTICS

Making the reader surprised or horrified

2) 1-2 paragraphs in which you give 2/3 reasons “for” the statement.

3) 1 paragraph in which you give 2/3 reasons “against” the statement but disprove them.

Writing your own conclusion:

• Conclusions are effective when they address the reader;

• A conclusion should sum up your whole argument and convince your reader that your opinion is right;

• Make them remember what you have to say - pack a punch !