pmpersletter

Authentic Writing
Writing the Persuasive Letter

Grade Level: Middle School
Class: Language Arts
Materials: word processors, example letters, newspapers, magazines
Time Required: 4-5 days

The Assignment

I ask my students how many times they have tried to persuade their parents to do something (vacation at Disneyworld, buy them a new bike, agree to a belly ring, etc.) or change something (to extend your amount of computer time, to extend your curfew, to raise your allowance, etc.). There are many times when it is even necessary to write a government agency or a city official to evoke change on an important matter. A persuasive letter can be an excellent way to effectively get your point across. If the letter is carefully worded, it will allow you to express yourself without angering the person that you're trying to convince. My students were asked to compose a persuasive letter to a selected person or group of people. I ask them to think of someone and a specific issue that is unique to the individual(s). They were encouraged to voice their concerns about personal issues (to family members), political issues, school-related issues, or community issues. Students were given the freedom to chose the issue, the audience, and the purpose for their writing.

Back to top of page

The Procedure

Begin the lesson with an in-depth discussion of real-life issues and concerns. This provides the students with an opportunity to voice their opinions and hear the opinions of others. Current editions of newspapers and magazines are an excellent source of discussion topics and writing ideas/prompts.
Next, we have a mini-lesson on authenic audiences and purposes for persuasive letter writing. Remind students to always take into account their audience (who they are writing to) and their purpose (why are they writing to the person and what are they trying to persuade them to do).
Another mini-lesson is necessary to teach/review letter writing formats. The format that I teach my students is the 20/70/10 format. This format requires the persuasive letter to basically have three parts:

The first paragraph should state your viewpoint and your opposition's viewpoint and why his/her views are incorrect. (20% of the letter)
The middle paragraph includes the most important information. It comprises your arguments, facts and statistics. (70% of the letter)
The closing paragraph should restate information in the middle paragraph and include your strongest arguments. (10% of the letter)

There are many more letter writing formats to use, so do not limit yourself from experimenting with others.

Give students ample time to complete this assignment. We usually spend about one week on persuasive letter writing. You can allot a week or work on an extensive letter writing unit that includes various types of letter writing (editorials, friendly letters, business letters) throughout the year.
Students draft letters in the classroom and then go to the computer lab for typing. The next day peer editing takes place back in the classroom and the students return to the lab for the revision process. Editing and revising continues to take place until the letters are complete.
After the letters are completed, the students are given the option of actually mailing the letters. I provide the envelopes, but the students must bring the money to purchase a stamp from the school office. (My scoring rubric is included below.)

Back to top of page

The Scoring Process

Writer: Title of writing:

CRITERIA	SCORE
Clear statement of main idea	____/4
Enough support of main idea	____/4
Support relevant and well organized	____/4
Use of transitions and other linking devices	____/2
Effective conclusion	____/3
Usage, punctuation, and spelling	____/2
Legibility	____/1
TOTAL (20 points possible)	____/20

Back to top of page

Student Sample

October 20, 2001

Dear Stacie,
I would like to help you quit smoking. I know that you've said that
all your friends are smoking and that you feel pressure to do the
same, but every time you light up you are hurting yourself. I want
you to have a healthy life and by smoking you can't even enjoy your
life. Mom and I are really concerned about your health and that
is why I'm writing you this letter.

Cigarettes are very harmful to the human body. There are
more than four hundred poisons and chemicals in every cigarette.
I've been studying teen smoking in my science class and have
learned that more than half of the teenagers in the United States
have tried smoking and continued to do so. I don't want you to
be part of that statistic. Now I know you have been taught how
to say no, but you didn't when you should have. Instead, you
said yes and now you're addicted. I know that you felt peer
pressure when you took that first puff.

I will do all that I can to help you stop smoking. The only
thing that you have to do is to let me help. Please quit smoking
not only for yourself, but for all the people who love you.

Thank you for you time and consideration.

Love,
Tiara J.

Back to top of page

Teacher Commentary

I thought that Tiara chose a good issue to write about because she is extremely close to her sister and felt very strongly that she should stop smoking. During our pre-writing discussions, I had encouraged the students to pick topics that actually meant something to them. When I graded Tiara, I took into account that she needed more support of her main idea in the middle paragraph and that no actual transition words had been used. The beginning and concluding paragraphs could have been a bit stronger, too. She did a good job on the organization and overall appearance of the letter.

As a final note, the aspect that I like most about letter writing is that it encourages independent and critical thinking skills in my students. I tell students that writing is always a vehicle for self-discovery and that as they voice their opinions, they experience individual growth as a person.

Back to top of page