World Literature Monday, December 5, 2011 and Tuesday, December 6, 2011

World LiteratureMonday, December 5, 2011

and

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Today’s Targets

Develop skills in persuasive writing Using persuasive voice and selecting persuasive word

choice Attacking the opposition through antithesis/rebuttal

Today’s Tasks

1. Turn in warm-ups

2. Finish finding evidence for paragraphs with your group

3. Persuasive writing strategy review with small group activities to develop skills

4. HOMEWORK: • Write persuasive Odyssey paragraph and

antithesis/rebuttal paragraph

Turn in Warm-ups

1. Make sure your name is on them

2. Number them 1, 2, 3, etc.

3. Staple them together

4. Turn them in

Persuasive Writing – definition

In persuasive writing, a writer takes a position FOR or AGAINST an issue and writes to convince the reader to believe or do something.

The purpose is to get people to act, to support a cause, make a change, build sympathy, agree with your side, or prove something wrong.

Copyright © 2007 Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. All rights reserved.


Clear Position

In order to get others to agree with your argument, you need to have a clear position and stay focused on it.

Persuasive Skill: Finding Evidence• Is it relevant?

• Is it specific?

• How do I smoothly blend in my textual evidence?

Group task-You should had a thesis already. Find

evidence.

1. Decide who will take which body paragraph point/claim.

2. Write the topic sentence.

3. Find evidence from the various texts and cite them.

4. With quotes from a literary text, introduce the quote.

5. After the quote, work in commentary to explain what the quote or evidence means and how it proves your point.

6. Use transitions between pieces of evidence.

Consider what makes effective evidence

Make sure that it is relevant

Be specific, not just general

Think facts, statistics, information from experts, anecdotes

Quote vs. Paraphrase (cite both)

Quote: When Odysseus and his men land on the island with Helios’s cattle, he has his men “swear … a great oath” that “any herd of cattle/ or flock of sheep here found shall go unharmed;/ no one shall slaughter out of wantonness/ ram or heifer; all shall be content/ with what the goddess Kirke put aboard” (XII. 383-387).

When Odysseus and his men land on the island with Helios’s cattle, he makes them promise that they will not slaughter any of the island’s livestock and will only eat the food from their ship’s stores which Kirke provided for them (XII. 383-387).

How do I introduce a quote?

Consider who is talking, to whom, and about what. Combine these in to a sentence.

When Odysseus and his men land on the island with Helios’s cattle, he has his men “swear … a great oath” that “any herd of cattle/ or flock of sheep here found shall go unharmed;/ no one shall slaughter out of wantonness/ ram or heifer; all shall be content/ with what the goddess Kirke put aboard” (XII. 383-387).

Persuasive Skill: Commentary• Elaborate on evidence

• Explain the evidence

• What does my evidence show and how does it show it?

Weaving in commentary

Commentary is used to explain how the evidence you have provided proves your

point Elaborate on the evidence by showing its connection to

your argument

Weaving commentary in with evidence

Odysseus employs a strong militaristic leadership style. He does not ask for his men’s perspective but instead tells them what they must do. For example, when Odysseus and his men land on the island with Helios’s cattle, he has his men “swear … a great oath” that “any herd of cattle/ or flock of sheep here found shall go unharmed;/ no one shall slaughter out of wantonness/ ram or heifer; all shall be content/ with what the goddess Kirke put aboard” (XII. 383-387). He pressures them to swear this oath and sets forth a powerful directive that they are expected to follow rather than holding a meeting to discuss their thoughts on the current situation.

Persuasive Skill: Attacking the opposition

• What is the opposition’s strongest argument?

• How can I disprove the opposition’s claim?

• How can I use evidence and explain how the opposition’s interpretation of that evidence is flawed?


Antithesis/Rebuttal

A reader of your essay is more likely to listen to you if you show you can see his/her point of view before you counter that argument.

The antithesis is when you acknowledge or consider the opposing viewpoint, conceding something that has some merit.

Rebuttal is when your own argument proves the other side to be flawed, and shows your argument is stronger.

Attack the opposition

In your antithesis/rebuttal paragraph.

Find the flaws. Attack the opposition’s logic. Consider a different way of viewing the

evidence and explain how it really supports your side and not the opposing side.

This will strengthen your argument by showing your reader that you see the other side and how the other side is not as valid as your argument.

Identify antithesis and rebuttal

With your table partner, look at the antithesis/rebuttal paragraph provided.

Underline the antithesis statement.

Circle the rebuttal claims.

Discuss how the paragraph attacks the arguments for the opposition. Be prepared to share. I will call on folks at random.


Antithesis/RebuttalSome say a dress code will reduce the number of cliques in school

and reduce discipline problems. Having a school dress code might improve discipline, which might be true in schools where students fight over shoes, but enforcing a dress code will generate even more discipline issues than we have now and lead to student rebellion. Students will quickly adapt and find new ways to express themselves and their identification with their social groups. Hairstyles, piercings, and tattoos will not just prove which group the student belongs to, but will make students even more of a discipline problem when the tattoos permanently express youth distress. We are still individuals and should be allowed to express ourselves and be allowed our civil rights. There is nothing more important to student than the ability to express their unique sense of self. Whether it’s grunge, Goth, or glam, each student at our high school is a person whose voice must be heard. Dress codes would turn us all into a bland, uniform mass of white and navy. Student must never be forced to wear uniforms for the school board’s convenience.

Return to the Odyssey prompt

With your group, go back to your original list of reasons that support both sides.

Consider the opposing sides and their potential evidence.

Now divide up each of the opposing arguments among you. Each of you will write an antithesis/rebuttal paragraph on a different opposing point. Make sure that this point is not just the opposite of the point you covered in your body paragraph.

Write your own antithesis/rebuttal

Have each group member take one reason on the opposing side. Make sure that it is not just going to address the exact opposite of the reason you focused on in your original paragraph.

1. Start with the antithesis statement. Make sure that there is a tag phrase at the start to let your reader know that it is from the opposing side. (“Some people may argue…” “While it may be true that …” “While it may seem like …”)

2. Use the rebuttal as an opportunity to add in a 4th argument or as an opportunity to

Really work on attacking the opposing side by either providing new, strong evidence to support a 4th argument or by pointing out the flaws in the opposition or a different interpretation of the evidence. (“While some may interpret ________ to mean that _________, this actually supports the claim that ___________ by . . .”).

Persuasive Skill: Word Choice

• Is my word choice appropriate to my audience?

• Is it specific and clear?

• Is it persuasive?

Review

We’ve covered evidence Be specific.

We’ve covered commentary. Explain, expand, elaborate.

We’ve covered antithesis and rebuttals. State the oppositions strongest argument and attack it.

Now it is time to consider the words you choose. Remember the Mary Maloney prompt. If you are addressing a jury,

you would want to use words like “police officer” instead of “cop” or “lonely, loving wife” if you were defending her rather than “cold, calculating killer” if were on the prosecution side.

Copyright © 2007 Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Persuasive Language

Persuasive language is choosing just the right words or phrases to use at just the right time with just the right audience. Strong words trigger strong feelings.

Seizes Snarls Dumbstruck

Effective choice of connotations Mean or strict Late fee or extended-viewing fee Used or pre-owned Surge or escalate

Repeated words or phrases for emphasis I have a dream…(Martin Luther King, Jr.)


Persuasive Language – Find Words that Could Be More Effective

I was a good high school student. One day, with an essay in one hand, I went to class. “I’m done!” I smiled. The teacher took the essay out of my hands and threw it away. She said, “It’s a day late!” I look at my hard work. The teacher didn’t even look at it! The No Late Homework Rule is bad.

Why is the word choice in this


Persuasive Language Example

I am a conscientious a high school student. One day, with a five page essay in one hand, I rushed into the classroom. “I’m done! I’m done!” I panted, beaming proudly. The teacher seized the essay out of my grasp crumpled it into a ball and threw if forcefully in to the recycle bin before me eyes. She snarled, “It’s a day late!” I stared dumbstruck at all of my hard work, balled up like a piece of trash. The teacher didn’t even glance at it! The No Late Homework Rule is a cruel, horrible rule.

How does the word choice impact the power of this example vs. the previous example?

Documents

World Literature Monday, December 5, 2011 and Tuesday, December 6, 2011