Activities

1. Define the key elements of argumentative/persuasive writing including ethos, logos, and pathos.
   
   
2. List potential powerful conclusions that can be tailored to suit purpose and task.

3. Determine which conclusion you feel most comfortable using and that can be tailored to suit task and purpose.
   
   
4. Determine how you will continue to use persuasive/rhetorical strategies of ethos, logos, and pathos in your conclusion, paying attention to which is most effective for your argument.

5. Develop a conclusion that follows from the details, reasons, and evidence you provided in the body of your essay. 
   
   
6. Critique a written argumentative piece for evidence of which type of conclusion that author used in reinforced his/her claims and reasons.

Answer Key/Rubric

1. Student define argumentative/persuasive writing as a piece of writing in which the writer clearly identifies a stance on a subject and provides adequate facts in support of that claim.  Writers also acknowledge that others may not agree with their stance and provide a brief discussion of those claims as well.  The purpose of argumentative writing is to persuade readers to agree with or at least acknowledge the points made in the writing.  In writing argumentative/persuasive pieces, the writer acknowledges that Aristotle claimed all people are convinced using one of three rhetorical/persuasive strategies.  These are:
   
   
   1. Ethos – source credibility – writers who use this stance claim expertise in the field under discussion.  The writer can also come across as personable, likeable, and trustworthy.
   2. Logos – building an argument using sound logic – writers who use this stance use statistics and researched facts in building an argument.  The paper is written with solid logic, and avoids logical fallacies such as generalizations (saying “all people” or “this never happens”).
   3. Pathos – building an argument using an appeal to emotions – writers who use this stance want to move the reader to some kind of emotional response.  They can look to make the reader happy, or angry, or frustrated, or any other emotion.  Once the emotional response is garnered, the reader is likely to believe the argument.
      
      
2. Students will explore which of these rhetorical/argumentative strategies are most useful in a number of writing pieces by examining the concluding sections of each.  Students will recognize that task, topic, and purpose may warrant use of one strategy more than another.  Students will form a list of the potential powerful conclusions that may be used for each type of argument.
   
   
3. Student identifies possible conclusions that they can use in a variety of argumentative writing pieces.  Some examples include:
   
   
   1. Answer the question, “So What?”  So what about all you wrote in your essay? You can tell your reader why your paper is important.
   2. Synthesize the ideas in your paper.  Show your reader how the points you made and the examples you used fit together.
   3. At the end of the paper, turn into a philosopher.  Show how your paper develops an idea that is important to every person who will ever walk the face of the earth.  This is your turn to create a hashtag or an inspirational poster!
   4. If you can think of a powerful quotation from a poem, story or even a song that ties into your theme statement, use it as a concluding statement (lead up to it in your conclusion and then leave your reader with that final thought).
   5. Challenge your reader to do something about what you’ve written.  This is a great strategy for times when your essay is about some kind of problem.
   6. Look to the future!  Show the reader how your essay matters not only today but every day.
   7. Pose a question.  Your reader will think about what you’ve written long after he has put down your paper.
   8. Try a statement like, “Imagine a world where….” or “Imagine if…” and then talk about how your thesis statement makes a difference in the world.

4. Student identifies which possible ending might coincide with the rhetorical strategy they used throughout the paper.  Student recognized that some endings are more aligned with certain types of persuasion and writing purposes.
   
   
5. Student demonstrates an ability to use one of the conclusion ideas, keeping in mind the rhetorical strategy, and purpose for writing.  Student will edit and revise the conclusion for the most effective ending to a fully developed argumentative/persuasive piece.
   
   
6. Student will demonstrate an understanding of the how authors have concluded their argumentative/persuasive essays by reading and analyzing effective pieces.  These can include editorials in the newspaper, formal essays by famous authors, oral speeches (either historical or those available in popular culture via TED Talks, YouTube, or any other source).  Students will identify how effective writers develop conclusions and can include those strategies in their growing repertoire of conclusions.