Writing persuasively

HELLO, STUDENTS! This week we will begin our focus on persuasive writing. As you know, Section D of Paper 02 requires you to write an essay in which you express your stance or views on a given topic. Please note you will be given ONE question in this section on any topic or issue.

While some of you may experience a certain thrill when you are expressing your opinions, it may not be so easy discussing opinions on paper. Welldeveloped essays are largely determined by how well-informed you are on given topics. This is the reason your teachers have consistently encouraged you to keep abreast with current affairs so that you are not stumped when you see the essay topics and you will be able to produce effective essays. Here are a couple ways you can keep abreast with current affairs:

Read newspapers such as The Gleaner.

Watch the nightly news. Conduct research on topical issues.

Before we focus on the persuasive essay in more detail, let me share with you a few observations CXC has noted in students’ performance on Section D over the years.

1. Too many responses lacked adequate and well reasoned points.

2. Many essays lacked the appropriate and required argumentative techniques.

3. Some essays are too short, which indicate poor management of time.

4. There are some students who confuse an essay with a letter.

5. Many essays are impaired by poor use of grammar, spelling blunders and weak sentence construction.

These are important observations that you must bear in mind as you write your essays. They provide you with knowledge of what you should not do in Section D.

What does it mean to write persuasively? Well, this involves convincing or persuading an individual to acknowledge the merits of a specific standpoint on an issue or topic. The CSEC English A paper requires you to write persuasively in essay form.Here are some words associated with the word PERSUADE – convince, influence, sway.

Before we explore the five-paragraph format persuasive essay that is recommended for exams like CXC English A, allow me to share information on persuasive techniques. These techniques are critical in enhancing your points and communicating your thesis or overall position in a dynamic way.

PERSUASIVE TECHNIQUES

Repetition – This includes repeated words, phrases, sentence patterns or ideas. It gives emphasis and prominence to a point or makes the reader remember it. For example, Too much fast food, too much junk food, too much high-fat energy food – and too little or no exercise.

Rhetorical questions – These are questions that have the answer embedded in them. They are used for effect and are powerful in manipulating the reader to agree because they assume the answers are obvious. For example: 1) “Wouldn’t you really rather have good food than bad?” 2) “Aren’t you tired of poverty?”

Direct personal appeal – This is addressing the readers directly as a means of urging them to do something. Examples: “Be the change you want to see”, “Act now! Save an animal’s life”, “Enough is enough. Let us speak out against oppression!”

Quotes – These are the actual words from a specific source.

Emotive language – This is the deliberate use of strong emotive words to play on readers’/listeners’ feelings. Such strong language is used to manipulate the readers’ point of view.

Expert opinion/authority figure – This refers to a person who is well known in a particular field or can be trusted to provide reliable information.

Evidence – This is information that cannot be disputed because it shows that an investigative study was conducted to support or prove that something exists/ occurs. This includes the use of facts, figures/statistics, experiments or personal experience. Evidence serves to add weight to a point so that it comes off as being reliable.

Exaggeration/hyperbole – This involves overstating or magnifying the importance of a product or service. Exaggeration makes a point dramatic to reinforce it. It gains attention and can arouse strong or extreme emotional response.

Cliché – This is a worn-out or overused expression. It is familiar to the reader, therefore, it can offer a shortcut to the meaning.

Irony – This is a device which speakers or writers use to point to a contrast between what is stated and what is really meant, or between what is expected to happen and what really happens.

Irony of situation – This is when events turn out to be different from what is expected. For example, King Midas/ gold, ocean/no water

Verbal irony – This refers to a statement in which implied meaning intended by the speaker or writer differs from what is overtly stated.

1. I have some bad news. You got only As and Bs.

2. We are extremely grateful to criminals for ridding us of our bothersome siblings.

Sarcasm – This is bitter or cutting speech which is intended to wound the feelings. It involves saying one thing and meaning something else.

Pun – This is a play on words to suggest a different meaning. It positions the reader to enjoy a joke and grabs attention.

Please be as familiar with these devices as possible. You are expected to use the most appropriate ones in your essay or be able to identify them in the extracts that may appear in Paper 01.

Let us now move on to the organisation of the essay.

THE PERSUASIVE ESSAY DEFINITION

The persuasive essay is a piece of extended writing in paragraph form that elaborates on someone’s stance on a particular topic. This stance is discussed using supporting points, evidence or other forms of persuasive devices. The persuasive essay is organised in parts so that the points flow coherently (clearly) and logically (sensibly).

FIVE-PARAGRAPH FORMAT

For the CSEC English A examination, you are expected to produce an essay between 250-300 words in length. It is also highly recommended that you follow the five-paragraph format.

INTRODUCTION

The introduction is the beginning of the essay. Here, the reader gains a general understanding of what stance has been taken and its supporting points. It has a/an:

Opening statement – This is usually in the form of an attention grabber, such as a definition, a proverb or quote.

Thesis statement – A declaration of the position to be taken, that is, whether you agree or disagree with the topic to be discussed.

BODY

The body of the essay is where EACH of the supporting points is developed/discussed in a separate paragraph. In other words, more information is offered in the form of explanation, examples, statistics or quotes. The body is also held together by the use of link/transitional words. Here are some basic examples: firstly, secondly, thirdly.

Also, each paragraph in the body begins with what is called a TOPIC SENTENCE. This sentence indicates the point that will be elaborated on in that specific paragraph.

CONCLUSION

The conclusion brings the essay to a close by restating the stance and the supporting points in a fresh way. It serves as a reinforcement of the argument that has been presented.

In next week’s lesson, I will provide sample paragraphs for each section. Until then, please complete the following activity. You are expected to rearrange the sentences so that they form an introductory paragraph.

1. Carnival is a waste of time and money for varying reasons.

2. Every year during the Easter season, carnival revellers are seen on the street gyrating their sweaty, barely covered bodies.

3. This should not be.

4. It causes people to spend money they need.

5. It encourages promiscuity.

6. All these reasons highlight how unnecessary carnival is in the society.

7. It exposes children to sexually suggestive moves.

See you next week!

Melissa McKenzie teaches at Old Harbour High School. Send comments to kerryann.hepburn@gleanerjm.com.