Constitution Challenge

Persuasive Essay

Overview
The students write a persuasive essay and/or business letter in which they persuade the other members of the class to vote “yes” on their ideas for a bill to become a law.

Standards — Language Arts*
Grade 5, Writing
Writing Applications, Benchmark C

3. Write letters that state the purpose, make requests or give compliments and use a business letter format.

Communication: Oral and Visual, Benchmark A

1. Demonstrate active listening strategies (e.g., asking focused questions, responding to cues, making visual contact).
2. Interpret the main idea and draw conclusions from oral presentations and visual media.

Communication: Oral and Visual, Benchmark B

3. Identify the speaker’s purpose in presentations and visual media (e.g., to inform, to entertain, to persuade).
6. Use clear diction, pitch, tempo and tone, and adjust volume and tempo to stress important ideas.
7. Adjust speaking content according to the needs of the situation, setting and audience.

Communication: Oral and Visual, Benchmark F

10. Deliver persuasive presentations that:

a. Establish a clear position.
b. Include relevant evidence to support a position and to address potential concerns of listeners.
c. Follow common organizational structures when appropriate (e.g., cause-effect, compare-contrast, problem-solution).

Grade 8, Writing
Communication: Oral and Visual, Benchmark A

1. Apply active listening strategies (e.g., monitoring message for clarity, selecting and organizing essential information, noting cues such as changes in pace).

Communication: Oral and Visual, Benchmark B

2. Identify and analyze the persuasive techniques (e.g., bandwagon, testimonial, glittering generalities, emotional word repetition and bait and switch) used in presentations and media messages.
3. Determine the credibility of the speaker (e.g., hidden agendas, slanted or biased material) and recognize fallacies of reasoning used in presentations and media messages.

Communication: Oral and Visual, Benchmark C

4. Identify the speaker’s choice of language and delivery styles (e.g., repetition, appeal to emotion, eye contact) and how they contribute to meaning.
6. Adjust volume, phrasing, enunciation, voice modulation and inflection to stress important ideas and impact audience response.
7. Vary language choices as appropriate to the context of the speech.

Communication: Oral and Visual, Benchmark E

8. Deliver persuasive presentations that accomplish the following:

a. Establish and develop a logical controlled argument.
b. Include relevant evidence, differentiating between evidence and opinion to support a position and to address counter-arguments or listener bias.
c. Consistently use common organizational structure as appropriate (e.g., cause-effect, compare-contrast, problem-solution).

* Not all parts of all standards (media) are addressed in this assignment.

Materials
• Teacher reference materials for business letters (Grade 5)
• Teacher reference materials for persuasive essays (Grade 8)
• Teacher-preferred rubric for business letters, persuasive speeches and oral presentations

Procedures

Discuss with the students how a bill becomes a law. See Introductory Lessons on page 13.
Divide students into groups. Together they should decide what law they would like to make.
Students then write a business letter (Grade 5) or a persuasive essay in which they present an argument as to why their idea should become a law.
Teachers follow their reference materials for specific requirements of business letter (Grade 5) and persuasive writing (Grades 6-8).
The students then orally present their business letter/persuasive essay to the class.
After each group presentation, students should discuss these items:
• The type of persuasive technique(s) used
• The speaker’s purpose
• The position of the speaker — bias, slant, etc.
• If there is evidence to support the speaker’s position
• The credibility of the speaker
• If counter arguments are addressed
• What organizational structure the speaker used (e.g., cause-effect, compare-contrast, problem-solution)
• If the speaker used repetition, or appealed to emotion
• Opinions compared to evidence
After the presentation, the discussion groups may ask the speaker any relative or clarifying questions.
Students then vote on the bills.

Evaluation

Evaluation Rubric for Persuasive Essay

CATEGORY	20	15	10	5
Position Statement	The position statement provides a clear, strong statement of the author’s position on the topic.	The position statement provides a clear statement of the author’s position on the topic.	A position statement is present, but does not make the author’s position clear.	There is no position statement.
Accuracy	All supportive facts and statistics are reported accurately.	Almost all supportive facts and statistics are reported accurately.	Most supportive facts and statistics are reported accurately.	Most supportive facts and statistics are inaccurately reported.
Support for Position	Includes three or more pieces of evidence (facts, statistics, examples, real-life experiences) that support the position statement. The writer anticipates the reader’s concerns, biases or arguments and has provided at least one counter-argument.	Includes three or more pieces of evidence (facts, statistics, examples, real-life experiences) that support the position statement.	Includes two pieces of evidence (facts, statistics, examples, real-life experiences) that support the position statement.	Includes one or no pieces of evidence (facts, statistics, examples, real-life experiences).
Attention Grabber	The introductory paragraph has a strong hook or attention grabber that is appropriate for the audience. This could be a strong statement, relevant quotation, statistic or question addressed to the reader.	The introductory paragraph has a hook or attention grabber, but it is weak, rambling or inappropriate for the audience.	The author has an interesting introductory paragraph but the connection to the topic is not clear.	The introductory paragraph is not interesting AND is not relevant to the topic.
Grammar and Spelling	The author makes no errors in grammar or spelling that distract the reader from the content.	The author makes one or two errors in grammar or spelling that distract the reader from the content.	The author makes three or four errors in grammar or spelling that distract the reader from the content.	Author makes more than four errors in grammar or spelling that distract the reader from the content.
Capitalization and Punctuation	The author makes no errors in capitalization or punctuation, so the essay is exceptionally easy to read.	The author makes one or two errors in capitalization or punctuation, but the essay is still easy to read.	The author makes a few errors in capitalization and/or punctuation that catch the reader’s attention and interrupt the flow.	The author makes several errors in capitalization and/or punctuation that catch the reader’s attention and interrupt the flow.

Evaluation Rubric for Business Letter

CATEGORY	20	15	10	5
Content Accuracy	The letter contains at least five accurate facts about the topic.	The letter contains three or four accurate facts about the topic.	The letter contains one or two accurate facts about the topic.	The letter contains no accurate facts about the topic.
Sentences and Paragraphs	Sentences and paragraphs are complete, well-constructed and of varied structure.	All sentences are complete and well-constructed (no fragments, no run-ons). Paragraphing is generally done well.	Most sentences are complete and well-constructed. Paragraphing needs some work.	There are many sentence fragments or run-on sentences OR paragraphing needs a lot of work.
Ideas	Ideas are expressed in a clear and organized fashion. It is easy to figure out what the letter is about.	Ideas are expressed in a pretty clear manner, but the organization could be better.	Ideas are somewhat organized, but are not very clear. It takes more than one reading to figure out what the letter is about.	The letter seems to be a collection of unrelated sentences. It is very difficult to figure out what the letter is about.
Grammar and Spelling (Conventions)	Writer makes no errors in grammar or spelling.	Writer makes one or two errors in grammar and/or spelling.	Writer makes three or four errors in grammar and/or spelling.	Writer makes more than four errors in grammar and/or spelling.
Format	Complies with all the requirements for a business letter.	Complies with almost all the requirements for a business letter.	Complies with several of the requirements for a business letter.	Complies with less than 75 percent of the requirements for a business letter.