Kinesthetic Learning

• Kinesthetic learning is a great way to introduce students to the concepts of persuasive arguments and persuasive writing and how to begin their organization. Either select or vote on a particular topic for the exercise, and have everyone draw a line on a piece of paper with arrows pointing in each direction. Label one end "no" and one end "yes." Get the students to write an "X" on the end closest to which they agree in regards to the selected topic. Next, students can split into groups depending on where they put their X, and together work out a list of supporting points for their argument. Have the two teams face off against each other, taking turns to voice a supporting point and giving the opposing team a chance to argue against it and use a supporting point of theirs. Students can later organize the information from the experience into a persuasive paragraph.
  
  

Paragraph Prewriting

• Persuasive paragraphs require a good amount of planning and prewriting before they can be written into rough drafts and final drafts. Have students sit down and work on some prewriting plans for their paragraphs, using whatever way works best for them: mind maps, bullet points, columns, etc. Prewriting helps students to organize their thoughts more clearly, plan their arguments and make sure each supporting point is backed up with evidence and explanation. Students can keep this plan for later use as a guide during their research and writing and as a checklist during proofreading and editing.
  
  

Gather Evidence

• No matter how passionately you feel about a particular topic, a well-written argument is nothing just on its own. According to Cambridge University Press, evidence and examples are important factors that give strength and credence to a persuasive paragraph and will help students to win over audiences. Take time to guide students through useful sources of information that they can use for their research and references, focusing on expert quotes, statistics and news stories. Teach students to surf the Internet, use encyclopedias and textbooks, find relevant statistics, and discuss how to skim-read and scan to find information quickly.
  
  

Spot the Error

• Show students examples of persuasive paragraphs -- in particular paragraphs that have been written badly, unclearly, with irrelevant evidence or quotes and fail to persuade or argue a topic. Give students five or 10 minutes to read the poor paragraph and pick it apart, finding all of its faults, weaknesses and failings, and then discuss. How did the paragraph make you feel about the topic? What stood out as the worst mistake? What could the author have done differently? Students will download and comprehend the ideas of persuasion and argument deeper, and recognize the problems with their own paragraphs much more clearly when they come to proofread and edit towards the end.