Aphorism: The next writing project for this class is an argumentative essay. It will count as an essay grade

The next writing project for this class is an argumentative essay. It will count as an essay grade. Consider the aphorisms of Benjamin Franklin from his Poor Richard’s Almanac. We will also be reading Patrick Henry's persuasive speech entitled "Speech in the Virginia Convention" found on page 226-230 in your American Literature textbook. You must model your writing after Patrick Henry by including the following persuasive techniques: rhetorical questioning, restatement, repetition, parallel syntax, appeal to logic and appeal to emotion. Your assignment is as follows:

Attention grabber: Think of images (sight, sound, taste, feel, touch). The attention grabber can be a word, a phrase, or a complete sentence that creatively captures the reader’s attention.

Background information: Give valuable details about your subject matter that will lead the reader into the main point of your essay: the thesis sentence.

Thesis sentence: One sentence that captures what you will be addressing in the essay.

Body paragraphs must prove your thesis statement. Use good transitions at the beginning of each new paragraph. Also, for this essay, you must use the following persuasive devices in your paper (see rubric on back side for grading scale):

1. 
   2 rhetorical questions (highlight in green)
   
2. 
   3 restatements (highlight in pink)
   
3. 
   1 repetition (highlight in yellow)
   
4. 
   1 paragraph of parallelism (highlight in orange)
   
5. 
   appeal to logic
   
6. 
   appeal to emotion
   

You must restate each point you have made in your essay. Each point should be its own separate sentence. End your paper with a final thought. For this essay, you must end with a strong statement like Henry’s “Give me liberty or give me death!”

You must provide a works cited page which shows the three sources you have cited in your essay.

English III – Argumentative Essay Rubric

Criterion for Selection

_____________________________________________________________________________

Introduction

Attention grabber; background

information and Thesis 10 pts. __________

Body Paragraphs

2-3 articles supporting your

Viewpoint 15 pts. ___________

1 article showing opposing

Viewpoint 5 pts. __________

2 rhetorical questions 3 pts. __________

3 restatements 15 pts. __________

1 repetition 2 pts. __________

Parallel syntax 5 pts. __________

Appeal to logic 5 pts. __________

Appeal to emotion 5 pts. __________

Conclusion

Restates main ideas 5 pts. __________

Strong ending statement 5 pts.

______________________________________________________________________________

Grammatical Content 10 pts. ___________

Check essay for commas,

spelling, capitalization,

subject/verb usage, pronoun/

antecedent agreement, etc.

______________________________________________________________________________

Works Cited Page and Citations 10 pts. ___________

Must use MLA format