Name:
Period:
Date:
Miss Lopez
T
homas Paine wrote Common Sense to persuade colonists that they
needed to split from Great Britain, declare independence, and become
“Americans.” That is the key element in persuasive writing – convincing
readers to agree with your point of view.
To influence the reader, elements of persuasive essays contain the following
techniques:
Appeal to logic!
Appeal to emotion!
Use comparisons
Exaggerate!
State opinion as fact
Pick something you want changed. Maybe you!want microwaves in the cafeteria, allnatural organic candy bars in the vending machines, or a four-day school week
instead of five. Make sure the points you are including in each chapter use all five
of the persuasive techniques.
The sky’s the limit. Pick something you want changed (that is appropriate), sharpen
your quill, and begin writing!
YOUR TOPIC: __________________________________________________________________
Chapter I: What is the problem?
Appeal to logic!:
Appeal to emotion!:
Use comparisons:
Exaggerate!:
State opinion as fact:
Chapter II: What needs to change and why?
Appeal to logic!:
Appeal to emotion!:
Use comparisons:
Exaggerate!:
State opinion as fact:
Chapter III: Why this change would be better?
Appeal to logic!:
Appeal to emotion!:
Use comparisons:
Exaggerate!:
State opinion as fact: