For all PROMPTS, RUBRICS, OUTLINES, MODELS, and REVIEW MATERIALS, go here.

In this Unit...

We will compose a persuasive essay that relates to your own community. Using either New West or a small community in your personal life, you will construct an argument for an authentic audience, attempting some minor or major change in that community.

The argument will begin as a 5 -7 minute speech conducted in front of your peers, who will act as your primary audience. Upon receiving feedback and potential counterarguments to your argument, you will revise and add material for a written draft.

Core skills

1) Write a persuasive argument for an authentic audience, utilizing craft, structure, and rhetoric to convince as effectively as possible.

2) Perform a rehearsed speech in front of an audience.

3) Revise a piece according to the demands and limitations of its audience and occasion.

Essential Questions

1) How can I use my writing to best serve the communities of which I am a part?

2) How can I use the rhetorical devices and art of persuasion effectively and responsibly?

3) In what ways can the art of rhetoric and argument be damaging to a society?

Supplemental Texts and Helpful Links

Here is the audio of Barack Obama's speech at Wakefield High School.

Here is the link to a biased survey: "Mainstream Media Accountability Survey"

Here is an article discussing the "Mainstream Media Accountability Survey"