Journal of Undergraduate Research
Keywords
persuasive writing, genre, teaching writing
College
Humanities
Department
English
Abstract
Writing is a social response; however, many sixteen year olds find that hard to understand. To high school students, writing is the means to an end – get the teacher/parent off your back, get a good grade, finish the project, etc. When I first mentioned the words “Persuasive Essay” to my class of 32 high school juniors, the moans, groans, and rolled eyes actually interested me. Why did these students feel so adverse to this essay type in particular? So, we talked about it. Students saw the essay as busy work; when would they ever use this in the real world? The more they talked, the more I saw that these students saw the persuasive essay as too structured and boring. They limited their topics to intense and broad topics that they could never sufficiently write about. They failed to see the everyday persuasion that surrounds all of us.
Recommended Citation
Peers, Cathryn and Dean, Deborah
(2013)
"Teaching Writing For Life: A Look at Persuasive Writing throughout Genre,"
Journal of Undergraduate Research: Vol. 2013:
Iss.
1, Article 756.
Available at:
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/jur/vol2013/iss1/756