Our four oldest students participated in a four-session writing short course on persuasive essays. The students read and listened to examples of persuasive writing. They learned how writing is only persuasive when there is an audience the author seeks to move. They learned how research, reasoning and anecdotes could be used in crafting strong supporting arguments. Each student prepared a final written work that utilized as much as possible the standard structure of a formal high school persuasive essay:

1) Effective title
2) Introductory paragraph with a clear statement of the author’s central point
3) Approximately three paragraphs, each putting forth a distinct argument in support of the author’s purpose
4) Conclusion paragraph summarizing the arguments and restating the author’s central point