Lesson 8 | Making Change: Speeches, Essays, and Articles (2020) | 8th Grade English

Objective

Craft persuasive essays, including sufficient evidence and reasoning, as well as a strong counterclaim.

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Lesson Guidance

Ask students to reflect on the characteristics of persuasive writing. What makes a piece of writing particularly persuasive?
Remind students that their readers will have already read the informative section of your paper, so you don’t have to provide as much context as you might have to in a traditional persuasive essay. They can pull from some evidence they provided in the previous section of their essay but should be careful about being repetitive!
Students should spend time today thinking about how to effectively incorporate a counterclaim into their writing and brainstorming what an opposing position might sound like.

Homework

Complete the persuasive section of the essay.

Common Core Standards

W.8.1 — Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.

Writing Standards

W.8.1 — Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.
W.8.1.a — Introduce claim(s), acknowledge and distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and organize the reasons and evidence logically.

Writing Standards

W.8.1.a — Introduce claim(s), acknowledge and distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and organize the reasons and evidence logically.
W.8.1.b — Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant evidence, using accurate, credible sources and demonstrating an understanding of the topic or text.

Writing Standards

W.8.1.b — Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant evidence, using accurate, credible sources and demonstrating an understanding of the topic or text.
W.8.2 — Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content

Writing Standards

W.8.2 — Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content
W.8.3 — Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.

Writing Standards

W.8.3 — Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.