Essential Unit 4 (E04)

WRITING-12/13 COURSE II

ESSENTIAL UNIT 4 (E04)

(Persuasive Essay)

(July 2014)

Unit Statement: The student will compose a position essay.

The persuasive essay will be included in the student portfolio, unit E07.

Essential Outcomes: (must be assessed for mastery)

1. The Student Will compose a position essay.

2. TSW introduce opposing positions, state the position taken, and the supporting arguments to be employed. (WC 178, 180, 182-183)

3. TSW organize the reasons and evidence for supporting his position. (WC 180, 182, 189)

4. TSW support claims with logical reasoning and relevant evidence, using accurate, credible sources and demonstrating an understanding of the topic or text. (WC 181)

5. TSW use words, phrases, and clauses to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among claims, counterclaims, reasons, and evidence. (WC 186, 187)

6. TSW maintain a formal style. (WC 178-189)

7. TSW construct a response to a counterargument. (WC 174-175, 184)

8. TSW provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports them argument presented. (WC 182, 186)

Practiced/Ongoing Outcomes: (development is ongoing)

1. The Student Will use The Writing Process for this essay can be found in The Writing

Coach, 178-189.

2. TSW employ the 6 + 1 Traits as an evaluative tool.

3. TSW use a thesaurus, dictionary or other source to improve personal vocabulary.

4. TSW identify and correct any spelling errors discovered during the proofreading portion of The Writing Process.

5. TSW will engage in timed writing of essays in various genres: narrative, persuasive, autobiographical, expository, etc.

Key Terms and Concepts:

claim / counter argument / oversimplification / stereotyping
reason / circular reasoning / overgeneralization / false cause
evidence / either/or fallacy / hasty generalization / evading the issue
statistics / examples / observations / anecdotes
quotations

Suggested Professional Materials for Teachers: (provided by school)

TE Writing Coach, Grade 8. Prentice Hall, 2012

TE Write Source, Grade 8. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2005

TE Literature, Grade 8. Holt McDougal, 2012

TE Language of Literature McDougal Little, 2006 (previous textbook)

Suggested Student Materials: (provided by school)

Writing Coach, Grade 8. Prentice Hall, 2012

Write Source, Grade 8. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2005

Literature, Grade 8. Holt McDougal, 2012

Language of Literature McDougal Little, 2006 (previous textbook)

Technology Links:

Online Writing Coach. www.successnetplus.com Online Writing Coach. (See Unit E01 “Tech Links” for details)

Destiny WebPath Express (school library site)

balancedpolitics.org Gives succinct statements of pros and cons of numerous global issues. Review before recommending to students because some issues may not be age-appropriate, or perhaps especially sensitive issues in some cultures. Some issues on the site are Americo-centric.

Glencoe Literature: Rubrics for Assessing Student Writing, Listening, and Speaking. For
high school, but a rich source of valuable rubrics. www.glencoe.com/sec/glencoewriting/

HighSchoolRubrics_876544.indd.pdf.

Suggested Assessment Tools and Strategies:

1. Include the position essay in the student portfolio (E01).

2. The Writing Process for this essay can be found in The Writing Coach, 178-189.

3. Students can evaluate the persuasive essay according to The 6 + 1 Traits, revising and

editing as needed. (WC 189)

4. WS pp. 219-281 (previous textbook)

LIT pp. R20-26; R40-R41 (for key terms and concepts refer to R20, 24)

LangLit pp. R49, 50 (for key terms and concepts refer to R49) (previous textbook)

5. Have students pre-write their introductory paragraph, stating the issue, their position on the
issue, and state in general terms the arguments they will discuss in the body. Approve
their introductory paragraph and topic before they begin writing. Students have a difficult
time with stating their arguments in general terms. E.g. (General) I am against smoking
because of the health issues involved. (Specifics in the body) Smoking causes cancer,
emphysema, heart attacks, etc.).

6. Have students peer review a classmates poetry using the 6 + 1 Traits rubric (below).

RUBRIC FOUND ON FOLLOWING PAGE………………………

QSI WRITING-12/13 COURSE II E04

Suggested Unit Evaluation Rubric – Writing-12/13 E04 Course II

Student name:______Date:______

Teachers may choose to use their own rubrics, however all TSW’s must be assessed.

To receive a ‘B’ in the unit a student must demonstrate mastery of all B level TSWs.

To receive an ‘A’ in the unit a student must achieve A-level mastery of all A-level TSWs.

TSW / ‘A’ Level / ‘B’ Level / Notes
1. Compose a
position essay
/ Compose essay.
2. Clearly introduces opposing positions, states the position taken and the supporting arguments to be employed. / The issue involved and the position taken are clearly defined. Supporting arguments are stated in parallel structure and in general terms.
Introduction gives a good overview of what is to follow and why the issue is important. / The issue involved and the position taken are stated. Supporting arguments are stated, in parallel structure and in general terms.
Introduction is informative.
3. Organize the reasons and evidence for supporting position logically. / Reasons and evidence are clearly divided and logical.
4. Support claims with logical reasoning and relevant evidence, using accurate,
credible sources and demonstrating an understanding of the topic or text. / Reasoning is logical. Supporting evidences are accurate and from credible sources. They are powerful in their collective persuasive force. / Reasoning is logical. Supporting evidences are accurate and from credible sources.
5. Use words, phrases, and clauses to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among claims, counterclaims, reasons, and evidence. / Words, phrases and clauses are general, but bring cohesion and clarity between relationships.
6. Establish and
maintain a formal
style. / Established and maintained a forma style throughout
7. Construct a
response to a
counterargument. / Strong counter-
argument is presented and persuasively answered. / Counter argument is presented and answered.
8. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented / Conclusion follows from and supports the material presented with persuasive force. / Conclusion follows from and supports the material presented.

QSI WRITING-12/13 COURSE II E04