Example:: Objectives

Reading and Thinking Strategies opinion if it is backed up by verifiable
across Text Types, Reading and Writing evidence.

Skills
Example:
PERSUASION AS A PATTERN OF The Philippine government should take
DEVELOPMENT measures to decrease class sizes in
public schools, as it is one of the biggest
Objectives problems in the Philippine education
system. Class sizes have gone up to 75 or
At the end of this lesson, you should be 80 students per class, and newspapers
able to identify and use persuasion as a reported that of the 764 public schools in
pattern of development in writing. the metropolis, 82 percent had to resort to
conducting classes in two shifts, one that
What is a persuasive paragraph? starts as early as 6 a.m. and ANOTHER
that ends as late as 6 p.m. The shortage
In writing, how do you convince readers to of school classrooms and the large class
agree with your opinions or ideas? sizes have a massive effect on children’s
education. According to the National
What methods do you use to make them Education Research and Testing Center,
do or believe in something? only 68 percent of sixth-grade students
were able to achieve a passing score in
Learn about it! science and mathematics, and secondary
students fared even worse, with only
A persuasive paragraph intends to barely 50 percent of students passing the
convince readers to do or believe in same subjects. If the government does not
something. Many writing genres such as act on improving the class sizes in public
schools, we cannot expect public school
critiques or reviews, reaction papers,
students to fare better in their academics.
editorials, proposals, advertisements, and
brochures make strong use of persuasive 2. Giving Examples
paragraphs to state opinions and to
Another technique to persuade readers is
influence others.
by giving examples. Providing examples
Knowing how to write a persuasive can enhance your idea or opinion and
make it concrete. These examples can be
paragraph allows you to express your
based on observations or from your own
personal conviction or opinion about an personal experience. When using
issue or topic and make the readers agree examples, they must be concrete,
with or adopt your conviction or opinion. relevant, and reasonable.
There are three common techniques that
you can use in developing a persuasive Example:
paragraph: I think our employees should be required
to undergo a workplace sensitivity training.
 Using evidence Disrespecting coworkers based on
 Giving examples appearance, gender, or beliefs can lead to
 Attacking an opposing view loss of employees. For instance, one of
our best employees quit last week
1. Using Evidence because of derogatory remarks regarding
You can use strong evidence such as his faith. We also had a major incident last
facts and statistics, statements of expert month involving verbal aggression
authorities, and research findings to between two employees, which ended
create impact and establish credibility. with both parties resigning. If our
Readers will more likely be convinced to employees are not made aware of their
side with your position or agree with your bad actions and uncivil behavior toward
others, there may be more cases like
these.
3. Attacking an Opposing View

In this persuasive technique, you assert
your opinion by attacking or criticizing
someone or an opposing idea. Belittling
someone’s idea, dismissing the credibility
of someone or an idea, and making fun of
someone’s idea are some forms of attack
that can be used to strengthen your
opinion. However, this technique can
insult or alienate the readers if excessively
done.
Example:
Saying that Queen Elizabeth I of England
is the greatest monarch who ever lived is
simply preposterous. People often depict
her as wise and just. However, they seem
to forget that her reign reflected violations
of human rights and social injustices. Her
natural charisma may have won her the
love of the public, but her government was
highly corrupt. Queen Elizabeth I is
certainly far from the idealized queen that
many people continue to love.
Summary
A persuasive paragraph intends to
convince readers to do or believe in
something. There are three common
techniques that you can use in developing
a persuasive paragraph: using
evidence, giving examples,
and attacking an opposing view.

Example:: Objectives

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Example:: Objectives

Uploaded by

Reading and Thinking Strategies opinion if it is backed up by verifiable

across Text Types, Reading and Writing evidence.

3. Attacking an Opposing View

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