Better essays and techniques part 3

Better Essays and Persuasive Techniques by Dr Jennifer Minter

Part Three: Year 9

Chapter 4: Persuasive Text Types

Chapter 5: Writing Better Sentences

Part 3: Year 9Chapters 4: Persuasive text types and Chapter 5: Writing Better Sentences

Students will identify (and discuss in a fluent manner) a range of persuasive and reasoning techniques.

Students will use a variety of techniques to write different persuasive texts.

Better Essays and Persuasive Techniques: pp. 77-94.

Part 3: ExercisesExercises 33, p. 79Exercise 35, p. 84Exercise 36, p. 87

Plus downloadable supplementary exercises to help students identify a range of persuasive/reasoning techniques.

(See e-book 3: fillable tables)


Part 3: AimsStudents will use their knowledge of persuasive and reasoning strategies to write a variety of text types.

Students will analyse a variety of texts, p. 84 and p. 86 and write a short essay.

Students will demonstrate a sophisticated use of analytical vocabulary and an ability to write sentences with an analytical focus.

(See Presentation: essay-writing Part 1) Better Essays and Persuasive Techniques: pp. 77-94.

Persuasive text types

• an editorial;• an opinion article for a

newspaper, magazine, website or newsletter;• a “letter” to the editor or a blog/(Your Say

comment);• an “open letter” from a public spokesperson;• an editor’s comment or an interview; and• a speech or presentation.


Features of persuasive texts

• Follow the guidelines in this chapter and write your own editorial, feature article and letter to the Editor. You may draw upon the ideas expressed in the opinion pieces you have analysed in previous chapters, you may use the information on “Should it be compulsory for parents to vaccinate children” (p. 89), or research one of your own.


Jim says:

“I am often marked down in English because my teacher says that my expression is unclear or clumsy. I thought ideas were the thing that mattered.”


Dear Jim• “This is a very common problem and you

are by no means alone. Your teacher is drawing your attention to the fact that there is a link between good expression and good ideas/clear thought processes.

• If you are consistently losing marks in English, it is often because you have awkward phrases/expression. If the entire essay consists of clumsy, clunky grammar, it is hard to achieve an A.”


Chapter 5: Writing Better Sentences

• Sentences are the building blocks of each of your paragraphs.

• If words and phrases are put together in a muddled way, the sentence, and hence your message, will be unclear.


Sentence elements


Grammar Tips

• Follow the grammar tipsrelating to common grammaticalerrors such as:• The clause lacks a subject.• The verb lacks an object. • The tenses are incorrect.• The subject-verb agreements are incorrect.


Other grammar tips

• The pronoun must clearly relateto the previous noun or pronoun.

• The phrase is “hanging”. It does not clearly relate to the subject/object.

• The relative pronoun is incorrect.• The (dependent) clause cannot “stand

alone”.


A clause must have a subject

• Sally writes: “Hence, showing the reader that the senator does not take her profession seriously.”

• This sentence does not have a grammatical subject.

• Correction: “Hence, the author shows the reader that the senator does not take her profession seriously.”


Be careful with listing devices

• Kate writes: “In Macbeth, we see Macbeth’s struggle for power and upholding this power.”

• Kate uses a listing device: in this case two phrases are joined by “and”. The “struggle for power” is a noun phrase and “upholding this power” is a verb phrase.

• If sharing a grammatical subject, we cannot join two different parts of speech with “and”.


Spot the error

• The author juxtaposes how dangerous the fireworks can be by giving examples of Carlos’s death.

• This implies that illegal fireworks should be monitored and encourages the use of fireworks in celebratory events.

• Evidence such as the reference from the past about a stolen child and if she had this product we would have found her.

• The author also uses emotive connotations such as “anxiously searching”.

• Alliteration such as “care and concern”, this focuses on the attitude of the parents.

• With the comparison of a well know pet, it demonstrates the unnecessary actions.

See Writing Better Sentences: E-book 5 (plus responses)

Resources include:

Suggested responses

E-books with exercises (downloadable and writable)

An e-licence (and class sets)


Education

Better essays and techniques part 3