Essentially, most of our actions toward each other are persuasive.  Think about it.  As a child,
do you remember clamoring up the front steps of your house, nose running from playing outside
in the early fall, then bursting into the kitchen to ask "please, please, please, please can I stay
out just one more hour please, please, please."  And when your parents started to shake their heads
you jumped in with "but Sally and Johnny and Billy can stay out!" Even as youngsters we understand
the nature of persuasion:  state what it is you want the audience to do (please let me stay out)
and back it up with outside research and examples (Sally and Johnny and Billy can stay out).

Rewind to your teenage years.  Remember wanting the car? Remember carefully crafting how
to approach dad?  It wasn't easy, was it? You no doubt had to be very persuasive in order
to get that coveted set of keys.  Can you recall exactly what you said? Something about
washing the car every day?  Promising to do all your homework?  I tried arguing that allowing me to
drive the car would force me to become a more responsible adult  That went over pretty well for a
while until I left the emergency break off after coming home late one night, and the car rolled down
the hill into the neighbor's yard.  Fortunately, no damage was done, but I had to come up with a new argument!

Slide ahead to adulthood.  How about that raise you think you deserve? You would have to be very
persuasive in order to convince your boss to part with the big bucks.  And it would take more than just
your opinion to convince her.  You would  have to do some hard research to assemble statistics and facts
to support your opinion.  In addition, you would  have to be ready for her to say the "b" word:  but.
She might say something like "but the fiscal outlook is not promising right now.  I couldn't possibly pay
you more money."  Would you be willing to accept that?  What could you say to counter her "but"?

Ultimately, all writing is persuasive.  Most writers have some sort of agenda.  Think about the poetry we read in To Get Here.  Isn't she trying to persuade us to see or understand something?  Perhaps by showing us her experience, she is hoping we will look at our own lives more closely.  So, in a sense, isn't she trying to persuade us to take a closer look at our own world or at the world around us?  Now, think about In the Lake of the Woods.  What do you think O'Briens "agenda" is?  What kind of persuasion is he using?  Take a minute to pause here and send me an email presenting your idea about O'Brien's agenda.

And then move on.

So, as you can see, persuasion is complicated, consisting of many layers:  personal opinion, outside
research and observation, anticipation of oppositions and viewpoints, and, in most cases, a call to some kind
of action.

In doing the next formal assignment, you'll be writing a persuasive essay trying to persuade the Board of Education whether O'Brien's book is suitable for a high school audience.  You will begin by formulating your own ideas about topic, then conduct research to find additional details to support those ideas.  You will use both the library and the Internet to find information as well as interview someone who is an expert on your chosen topic, someone whose opinion will add considerably to your paper. Then, you'll weave this outside information in with your own ideas to create a dynamic, persuasive essay.

Vote wisely on your topic.  I always say, choose something that matters to you a great deal, something
you have your heart in, something that intrigues you.  For this assignment, have your heart in the side you choose.

Eventually, you will see how persuasion will assist you in all areas of your life.  This will be a well learned and valuable writing skill.
 

"The aim of argument should not be victory but progress" --Joseph Joubert