LESSON 2

PERSUASIVE ESSAY

Reading Assignment: Dodge’s “The Little Trolley That Could” (page 225) and “The World’s Worst Poet” (page 211)

Writing Assignments:

1. Write a one paragraph summarizing each of the Dodge articles

2. Write the first two paragraphs of a Persuasive Essay (see below).

One part of this lesson is to review one of the basic elements of expository writing, the essay. An essay is a form of writing in which a personal opinion is expressed on any subject. Review the enclosed outline and sample of the first two paragraphs of a Persuasive Essay. After reviewing this material, please submit the first two paragraphs of a Persuasive Essay on any local or regional issue. Please avoid all for international or national political issues (e.g. abortion, environment, etc). Be sure to check the COMPOSITION WRITING AIDS before writing this paper.

KEYS TO WRITING THE PERSUASIVE ESSAY

OVERALL DESIGN

INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH: Open with issue and the Subject followed by Who, What, When, Where, and Why followed by the Thesis w/Main Points

BODY PARAGRAPH: Full discussion of 1st Main Point w/Specific Example at least 3 sentences long

BODY PARAGRAPH: Full discussion of 2nd Main Point w/Specific Example at least 3 sentences long

CONCLUSION: Final summary and related-opinions

INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH:

The introductory paragraph for the Persuasive Essay has 4 major elements:

1. always open with subject of the paper followed by the issue

2. add 5Ws (who, what, when, where, and why) of the subject

3. follow with thesis statement which is the writer’s opinion of the subject

4. conclude with at least 2 main points as to why the opinion is valid

The most important element in writing a basic essay is a workable thesis statement and appears near the end of the introductory paragraph. Below are 2 sample thesis statements:

SUBJECT: Abolishing the Texas State Lottery

OPINION: would be good

MAIN POINTS: because it is unfair to the poor and gives minimal odds of winning.

SUBJECT: The organization of the Southern Methodist University’s Student Advisement Program

OPINI0N: needs to be improved

MAIN POINTS: because students are confused and do not receive enough information.

THE FIRST BODY PARAGRAPH:

The first body paragraph of a basic essay has 2 elements: a full discussion of the 1st main point so that the reader understands the issue followed by a 3 sentences long SPECIFIC example/illustration which illuminates the 1st main point.

THE SECOND BODY PARAGRAPH:

The second body paragraph of a basic essay has 2 elements: a full discussion of the 2nd main point so that the reader understands the issue followed by a 3 sentences long SPECIFIC example/illustration which illuminates the 2nd main point.

THE CONCLUSION:

The concluding paragraph of a basic essay should briefly summarize all the issues under discussions. Any additional opinions on the subject would be appropriate at this time as well as any final conclusions.

I. M. Unhappy Persuasive Essay Paragraph English 1302 February 10, 201? The Texas State Lottery was created by the Texas State Legislature and signed into law by Governor Bill White in 1988 establishing the first-ever state-run lottery in Texas, but since that day, many Texas citizens have been trying to get the law abolished. Set up like many other state lotteries, it offers scratch-off tickets or pick-the-number schemes which are often worth millions of dollars. Since 1988, the Texas State Lottery has raised over $1 billion for the Texas State Treasury and helps keep down taxes. Unfortunately, the lottery has not always been beneficial to the people of Texas. It is becoming increasingly clear that abolishing the Texas State Lottery would be good. This is necessary because the set-up is unfair to the poor and Texans have only a slight chance of winning anything. The lottery is patently unfair to poor people. A recent study by the University of Texas Research Council shows that the average person who plays the Texas Lottery comes from a family that is poor and has a mean income of under $30,000 a year. Translated into plain English, this means that most of the people who play the lottery are poor measured against Federal standards. For example, Mark Skerski of Red Oak, Texas illustrates the point. In 1992 Mark and his wife Sally started playing the lottery. Every week they put $50 in either picking 6 numbers, 3 numbers, or buying scratch-off cards in the assumption that sooner or later they would win. By the end of 1995, the Skerskis had invested over $10,000 in the lottery and had less than $50 in prize money. If they had put the money in the bank, they would have eventually had enough for a new car.