Unit 3 Reading and Writing Workshop
Argumentative Writing & Persuasive Techniques
Unit Focus:
Week 1: Understanding Argumentative Writing
Day 1: Introduction to Argumentative Writing
Week 2: Writing & Revising an Argumentative Essay
Day 6: Writing a Strong Introduction & Thesis Statement
Week 3: Persuasive Techniques & Speech Writing (Optional Extension)
Day 11: Analyzing Famous Speeches
Assessment & Reflection:
Argumentative Essay (Rubric-Based Grading)
Persuasive Speech (Optional)
Self-Reflection: What did I learn about argumentation?
Materials & Readings (Public Domain Sources)
Argumentative Writing & Persuasive Techniques
Unit Focus:
- Writing arguments using evidence-based reasoning
- Introducing claims and supporting them with logical reasoning
- Organizing writing clearly and coherently
- Using credible sources and citing evidence
Week 1: Understanding Argumentative Writing
Day 1: Introduction to Argumentative Writing
- Define argumentative writing vs. persuasive writing
- Discuss the key components: claim, evidence, reasoning, counterclaim, conclusion
- Activity: Analyze famous persuasive speeches (e.g., Patrick Henry’s “Give Me Liberty”, Sojourner Truth’s “Ain’t I a Woman?”)
- Define claim and how to make it debatable & specific
- Read The Federalist No. 10 (James Madison) – discuss its central argument
- Activity: Practice crafting claims on modern issues (e.g., school uniforms, social media, or climate change)
- Introduce credible sources and types of evidence: facts, statistics, expert opinions, historical examples
- Read Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address – identify claims and supporting evidence
- Activity: Provide students with a list of claims and ask them to find two pieces of evidence from credible sources
- Discuss logos (logic), ethos (credibility), pathos (emotion)
- Introduce common logical fallacies (e.g., hasty generalization, ad hominem, false dilemma)
- Read excerpts from Frederick Douglass’s “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” – analyze logic and rhetorical appeals
- Activity: Identify logical vs. faulty reasoning in short arguments
- Explain introduction, body paragraphs, counterclaim, conclusion
- Read an excerpt from Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense” – examine how he structures his argument
- Activity: Outline an argument using a graphic organizer
Week 2: Writing & Revising an Argumentative Essay
Day 6: Writing a Strong Introduction & Thesis Statement
- Discuss hooks (anecdotes, questions, shocking facts)
- Model writing a clear thesis statement with a claim + reason
- Activity: Write and peer-review introduction paragraphs
- Explain TEEL structure (Topic Sentence, Evidence, Explanation, Link)
- Read excerpts from Mary Wollstonecraft’s “A Vindication of the Rights of Woman” – identify how she supports her claim
- Activity: Write body paragraphs using evidence and reasoning
- Define counterclaim and rebuttal
- Read Booker T. Washington’s Atlanta Exposition Address – analyze how he acknowledges opposing viewpoints
- Activity: Write a counterclaim paragraph addressing an opposing perspective
- Discuss techniques for restating the thesis, summarizing key points, and leaving a strong final impression
- Read excerpts from Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” – analyze how he ends his argument
- Activity: Draft and revise conclusion paragraphs
- Discuss revision strategies (clarity, coherence, transitions)
- Activity: Peer-edit essays using a checklist for organization, evidence, reasoning, counterclaims
- Final draft submission
Week 3: Persuasive Techniques & Speech Writing (Optional Extension)
Day 11: Analyzing Famous Speeches
- Read and listen to Susan B. Anthony’s Women’s Suffrage Speech
- Identify persuasive techniques (repetition, rhetorical questions, figurative language)
- Students adapt their essays into persuasive speeches
- Activity: Practice delivering speeches with tone, gestures, and emphasis
- Activity: Hold a class debate on a contemporary issue using argumentative skills
Assessment & Reflection:
Argumentative Essay (Rubric-Based Grading)
Persuasive Speech (Optional)
Self-Reflection: What did I learn about argumentation?
Materials & Readings (Public Domain Sources)
- Patrick Henry’s “Give Me Liberty”
- Sojourner Truth’s “Ain’t I a Woman?”
- The Federalist No. 10 (James Madison)
- The Gettysburg Address (Abraham Lincoln)
- Frederick Douglass’s “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”
- Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense”
- Mary Wollstonecraft’s “A Vindication of the Rights of Woman”
- Booker T. Washington’s Atlanta Exposition Address
- Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”
- Susan B. Anthony’s Women’s Suffrage Speech