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Persuasive Letters

Learn how to write persuasive letters that persuade and change the attitudes, beliefs, and actions of others. Discover strategies to become an expert, understand your audience, and effectively make your case. Adapted from Lessons that Change Writers and Write to Learn.

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Persuasive Letters

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  1. Persuasive Letters Writing to Change the Attitudes, Beliefs, or Actions of Others Donna Vincent, Muhlenberg County Schools

  2. Have an Opinion • Research your topic. • Become an expert. (You must know more than your audience to be persuasive, so do the legwork.) • Choose a side. Take a stand. Collect evidence that supports your position. • Make connections to your life/modern day times. Donna Vincent, Muhlenberg County Schools

  3. It’s Not Begging! • Please, please, please… may work on your grandma, but it’s not an effective persuasive technique. • “Don’t use that tone of voice with me!” Never anger or offend your audience. That’ll get you nowhere fast. • Consider the needs of your audience. See your issue from their perspective. Be respectful of their opinions. Donna Vincent, Muhlenberg County Schools

  4. Purposes for Persuasion • To arouse sympathy • To stimulate concern • To win agreement • To support a cause • To make a commitment • To take action • To change a situation • To change a behavior or attitude • To counterpoint a belief or theory Donna Vincent, Muhlenberg County Schools

  5. Audiences • Readers who agree and want to see their position stated well • Readers who want to see more so they can be convinced • Readers who want good facts to help them decide • Readers who truly want to consider both sides of the issue Donna Vincent, Muhlenberg County Schools

  6. Lead • Get the audience’s attention and let them know why you’re writing. • Be direct. When people read letters, they’re not hoping to be entertained. • You can start with facts, a story, a quote… but mostly people expect you to get to the point early in a letter. • In other words, state your concern/opinion in the lead. (Hint: It can make a good transition.) Donna Vincent, Muhlenberg County Schools

  7. How do you Become the Expert? • Research books, articles, the internet… • Interview other experts • Do a survey • Collect relevant quotes • Collect statistics: numbers that reveal the situation • Collect relevant examples and stories • Brainstorm reasons, benefits, disadvantages, solutions, roadblocks Donna Vincent, Muhlenberg County Schools

  8. Elaborate • Once you’ve brought up their problems/concerns with your request, it’s time to counterpoint. • The solutions and explanations that you present will make or break your “argument”. • Remember, respect their opinions as you help them look at your issue through new eyes from a different angle—yours. Donna Vincent, Muhlenberg County Schools

  9. Different Types of Supporting Details • Answers • New questions • Facts • Statistics • Surveys and polls • Quotes • Examples • Anecdotes (stories) Donna Vincent, Muhlenberg County Schools

  10. Theories • Principles • Interviews • Solutions • Roadblocks • Arguments • Personal experiences • Implications Donna Vincent, Muhlenberg County Schools

  11. Organizing your Ideas Always chunk your details into categories and arrange them in ways that will make sense to your audience. A few options are-- • Chronological order • Cause/effect • Problem/solution Donna Vincent, Muhlenberg County Schools

  12. Closing There are many ways to close persuasive writing: • Call the reader to action • Show how the future could be better (or worse) • End with a pointed question • Circle back to the lead Donna Vincent, Muhlenberg County Schools

  13. Adapted from-- • Lessons that Change Writers (2002) by Nancie Atwell • Write to Learn (1999) by Donald M. Murray Donna Vincent, Muhlenberg County Schools

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