Persuasive Essay
Purpose: This writing assignment is meant to bring about change to our school. You are to type a formal letter (one page long) to someone in the school administration, discussing one major problem that you see in our school, and why said problem needs to be rectified.
1) Begin with address and greeting. (proper closing)
2) Introduction to assignment, stating the problem.
3) Use TRANSITIONAL WORDS to begin paragraphs.
4) Paragraphs are to be persuasive. You want the administrator to sympathize with you and feel compelled to fix the problem.
1) Begin with address and greeting. (proper closing)
2) Introduction to assignment, stating the problem.
3) Use TRANSITIONAL WORDS to begin paragraphs.
4) Paragraphs are to be persuasive. You want the administrator to sympathize with you and feel compelled to fix the problem.
- A) Coax your audience. Make them feel appreciated (even if they
don’t deserve to be). - B) Divide paragraphs up based on
reasons why the problem negatively affects the school. - C) State any problems that might stand in the way of changing the problem you see in our schools.
- D) Strongly emphasize why fixing the problem will bring about great change and positive outcomes.
Example of a Persuasive Essay
Joan Smith
West High School
Victory Highway
Painted Post, NY 14870
November 22, 2013
Mr. Ginalski,
Corning-Painted Post School District
165 Charles Street
Painted Post, NY 14870
Dear Mrs. Ginalski:
Hello, my name is Joan Smith and I am a tenth-grader at West High School. My class has been asked to write to you
about a problem that we feel is affecting our schools in the district in a negative way. Now, I know that you will be receiving hundreds of other letters on the same topic, and every student is going to have a different opinion on what issue they think is important, but I think that mine is quite valid. With that being said, I think that the largest problem present in our schools is obscene graffiti. If you would please continue on with my letter, you will see that obscene graffiti in our schools is a problem that must be taken care of in order to bring our district back to a safer educational environment.
First, obscene graffiti in our schools detracts students from learning at their full potential. The amount of curse words on a desk can drastically affect student performance. In a 2002 poll nationwide, it was estimated that, in a classroom with an average of 20 desks, at least 15 of those desks have some type of graffiti on them (Edwards Report 2002). Even if it was harmless graffiti, such as “Jason loves Teresa,” it can still bother students while they are trying to learn. Usually, graffiti is not as nice as a simple love symbol. Most graffiti found on school desks consists of “vulgar, crude and racist language of the worst kind” (Edwards Report 2002). With that in mind, it is easy to see how a student could be discouraged during class time. Imagine, for example, that a Jewish student came across a swastika etched onto their desk with these words written under it: “Death to Jews.” It is a horrifying scenario, but one that has happened before, right here at West High School. This personally offended a close Jewish friend of mine, who had to bring it to the attention of the teacher and the custodial staff. The etching of the swastika could not be erased and the desk had to be thrown away, but the message is clear: school graffiti is a terrible thing that negatively affects the entire student body.
Admittedly, I know that cleaning up school graffiti is a costly alternative, and I know that money is a serious issue. It seems that every year school taxes are going up, and more funds have to be put into covering the costs it takes to keep our schools functional. It takes a lot to run a successful school district, and you are doing a fantastic job! From teaching faculty to the
custodial staff, I completely understand that deserved money has to go to everyone. So, with all of that in mind, it would be easy just to “blow off” a tiny, insignificant thing like school graffiti.
However, the school district’s money would be well spent if it went toward a program that eliminates school graffiti. My proposed program would involve three things: new security cameras; a brief training program, and a new set of infractions for graffitists. After doing some calculations with one of my math teachers at West High (who also did research into finding someone to train the faculty), we have come up with a rough estimate for how much it would cost to eliminate school-wide graffiti each year: $6500.00. More security cameras, including classroom video surveillance, would be needed in order to survey more of the schools at all times in order to catch perpetrators. The brief training program would be used to educate faculty on “warning signs” to look for in the classroom, as well as teach them how to deal with students who lash out with
their public graffiti. And finally, the most important element to help stop graffiti would be to implement mandatory fines billed to the families of anyone caught writing graffiti; that way, the school district doesn’t always pay to clean up the obscenities of others—the student’s family is held responsible as a preventative measure.
Certainly, the cost of this clean up is a problem within itself. $6500.00 isn’t something that magically comes out of a hat. I realize that custodial supplies and labor comes to, annually, over $50,000. Asking for that much money on my program would be draining an already-suffering budget as it is. But the great thing about my program is that you would only have to put in $6500.00 for one year. After the initial installation of the cameras and the training program, any “new” graffiti that surfaces would be washed away, thanks to the money from the perpetrator’s family.
Finally, the most important reason why I feel that school graffiti has to be eradicated is because of our current “crisis” climate. What I mean by this refers to student safety. Fake bomb threats and gun threats are the most common pieces of graffiti found in school classrooms and bathrooms. But we always want to be sure that these “fake” threats never turn out to be true. Therefore, we have to take every threat seriously and lock-down or evacuate the schools when
we discover them. We are endangering our police/fire rescue/ambulance resources every time they are called out to our schools to respond to a “fake” threat. When they are called out, we are depriving other citizens in Corning of their aid (not
to mention that the school district is billed an enormous amount when they arrive on the scene of a fake threat). Student safety is essential, but when school graffiti puts all of that in jeopardy I believe that the core issue
needing to be dealt with concerns wiping out such public obscenities permanently.
Clearly, you will agree that school graffiti is a serious issue that needs to be addressed more thoroughly than it has in the past. Students need to function at their fullest potential when they are in class, and crude language sprawled out on desks hinders that from happening. How can we be so ignorant to the fact that we are not offering students the greatest possible education that Corning taxpayers contribute to every year? And obviously you will agree with me on the
notion of “student safety” and how it is compromised when fake bomb/gun threats are found within our district schools. You have the power to stop all of this from happening, Mrs. Staples. By following my simple implementation plan and
putting forth the one-year funds to push the program into action, we could stop graffiti from rearing its ugly head in our schools, and by doing this, create the ideal education setting that all students in this fine district deserve.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Joan Smith
West High School
Victory Highway
Painted Post, NY 14870
November 22, 2013
Mr. Ginalski,
Corning-Painted Post School District
165 Charles Street
Painted Post, NY 14870
Dear Mrs. Ginalski:
Hello, my name is Joan Smith and I am a tenth-grader at West High School. My class has been asked to write to you
about a problem that we feel is affecting our schools in the district in a negative way. Now, I know that you will be receiving hundreds of other letters on the same topic, and every student is going to have a different opinion on what issue they think is important, but I think that mine is quite valid. With that being said, I think that the largest problem present in our schools is obscene graffiti. If you would please continue on with my letter, you will see that obscene graffiti in our schools is a problem that must be taken care of in order to bring our district back to a safer educational environment.
First, obscene graffiti in our schools detracts students from learning at their full potential. The amount of curse words on a desk can drastically affect student performance. In a 2002 poll nationwide, it was estimated that, in a classroom with an average of 20 desks, at least 15 of those desks have some type of graffiti on them (Edwards Report 2002). Even if it was harmless graffiti, such as “Jason loves Teresa,” it can still bother students while they are trying to learn. Usually, graffiti is not as nice as a simple love symbol. Most graffiti found on school desks consists of “vulgar, crude and racist language of the worst kind” (Edwards Report 2002). With that in mind, it is easy to see how a student could be discouraged during class time. Imagine, for example, that a Jewish student came across a swastika etched onto their desk with these words written under it: “Death to Jews.” It is a horrifying scenario, but one that has happened before, right here at West High School. This personally offended a close Jewish friend of mine, who had to bring it to the attention of the teacher and the custodial staff. The etching of the swastika could not be erased and the desk had to be thrown away, but the message is clear: school graffiti is a terrible thing that negatively affects the entire student body.
Admittedly, I know that cleaning up school graffiti is a costly alternative, and I know that money is a serious issue. It seems that every year school taxes are going up, and more funds have to be put into covering the costs it takes to keep our schools functional. It takes a lot to run a successful school district, and you are doing a fantastic job! From teaching faculty to the
custodial staff, I completely understand that deserved money has to go to everyone. So, with all of that in mind, it would be easy just to “blow off” a tiny, insignificant thing like school graffiti.
However, the school district’s money would be well spent if it went toward a program that eliminates school graffiti. My proposed program would involve three things: new security cameras; a brief training program, and a new set of infractions for graffitists. After doing some calculations with one of my math teachers at West High (who also did research into finding someone to train the faculty), we have come up with a rough estimate for how much it would cost to eliminate school-wide graffiti each year: $6500.00. More security cameras, including classroom video surveillance, would be needed in order to survey more of the schools at all times in order to catch perpetrators. The brief training program would be used to educate faculty on “warning signs” to look for in the classroom, as well as teach them how to deal with students who lash out with
their public graffiti. And finally, the most important element to help stop graffiti would be to implement mandatory fines billed to the families of anyone caught writing graffiti; that way, the school district doesn’t always pay to clean up the obscenities of others—the student’s family is held responsible as a preventative measure.
Certainly, the cost of this clean up is a problem within itself. $6500.00 isn’t something that magically comes out of a hat. I realize that custodial supplies and labor comes to, annually, over $50,000. Asking for that much money on my program would be draining an already-suffering budget as it is. But the great thing about my program is that you would only have to put in $6500.00 for one year. After the initial installation of the cameras and the training program, any “new” graffiti that surfaces would be washed away, thanks to the money from the perpetrator’s family.
Finally, the most important reason why I feel that school graffiti has to be eradicated is because of our current “crisis” climate. What I mean by this refers to student safety. Fake bomb threats and gun threats are the most common pieces of graffiti found in school classrooms and bathrooms. But we always want to be sure that these “fake” threats never turn out to be true. Therefore, we have to take every threat seriously and lock-down or evacuate the schools when
we discover them. We are endangering our police/fire rescue/ambulance resources every time they are called out to our schools to respond to a “fake” threat. When they are called out, we are depriving other citizens in Corning of their aid (not
to mention that the school district is billed an enormous amount when they arrive on the scene of a fake threat). Student safety is essential, but when school graffiti puts all of that in jeopardy I believe that the core issue
needing to be dealt with concerns wiping out such public obscenities permanently.
Clearly, you will agree that school graffiti is a serious issue that needs to be addressed more thoroughly than it has in the past. Students need to function at their fullest potential when they are in class, and crude language sprawled out on desks hinders that from happening. How can we be so ignorant to the fact that we are not offering students the greatest possible education that Corning taxpayers contribute to every year? And obviously you will agree with me on the
notion of “student safety” and how it is compromised when fake bomb/gun threats are found within our district schools. You have the power to stop all of this from happening, Mrs. Staples. By following my simple implementation plan and
putting forth the one-year funds to push the program into action, we could stop graffiti from rearing its ugly head in our schools, and by doing this, create the ideal education setting that all students in this fine district deserve.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Joan Smith