Getting+Started


 * HELP! A fictional candidate has been recently nominated for his/her political party. This candidate needs an acceptance speech ASAP to accept the nomination and his/her secretary has just asked __YOU__  to write the speech. You may choose the political party and gear your persuasive writing to that audience. It is important that this candidate give a good impression for his/her nomination speech in order to set their political platform and get constituent's votes. **

== **Getting Started:** == You already spend a lot of time trying to persuade your parents or teachers to allow you to watch more TV or do less homework. Now you can use those same skills to write a persuasive essay!

You encounter persuasive writing everyday. Whether it's the radio announcer telling you why you should keep listening to his station, a magazine article on your favorite rock star, or even the President of the United States giving the State of the Union address, persuasive writing plays an important part in your everyday life.

With persuasive writing, the goal is to try and convince people to agree with you. It is important to understand that persuasive writing relies heavily on facts- not opinions.

To deliver an effective persuasive speech, you must formulate logical arguments and back them up with examples. In this lesson, you will study political campaign speeches to explore the characteristics of effective persuasive speech writing and oral argument. While using an online tutorial and looking at examples, you will learn what makes a strong speech. A second online tool will help you learn how to formulate a persuasive argument.

=== **You will apply this information in two ways: by writing your own speeches and evaluating others'. ** ===
 * In this lesson you will....**
 * Work with your teacher to create your own personal goals for this assignment and set realistic goals
 * Develop critical thinking skills by learning about the characteristics of an effective speech, both how it is written and how it is delivered, and then applying these criteria to sample speeches
 * Develop skills in persuasive writing by creating a one-minute persuasive political speech, incorporating at least three persuasive techniques
 * Presenting your speech to your peers
 * Convince your audience of constituents to adopt your point of view and take action
 * Interpret and evaluate persuasive arguments using a rubric to assess your peers' speeches

**Project Rubric** Complete a KNOW - NEED TO KNOW document based on what you learn from this page and the rubric, and what you still have questions about.

**Next Page, Political Issues**

Source: Scholastic Writing Workshop