Coming up with persuasive essay topics

[Quiver0f10]

I have listened to Susan's writing lectures but I am still trying to wrap my brain around how this would work. :blushing: How do I come up with topics each week from the Human Odyssey( or any spine) reading for a persuasive essay?

Edited July 22, 2010 by Quiver0f10

[Michelle in AL]

Maybe ask questions about what applies to the topic such as:

~Do you think it was right for ______________ to do _______________

~How would history have been changed if so and so would have done_____?

~What effect did ____________________ have on ___________________

~Did ______________________ cause ____________________________?

 

I don't know if this is what you're looking for, just shooting some ideas off the top of my head.

 

Do you have the newer edition of Spielvogel? If I remember correctly they had good essay topics sometimes in a box in the chapter review section.

[Quiver0f10]

Maybe ask questions about what applies to the topic such as:

~Do you think it was right for ______________ to do _______________

~How would history have been changed if so and so would have done_____?

~What effect did ____________________ have on ___________________

~Did ______________________ cause ____________________________?

 

I don't know if this is what you're looking for, just shooting some ideas off the top of my head.

 

Do you have the newer edition of Spielvogel? If I remember correctly they had good essay topics sometimes in a box in the chapter review section.

 

Thanks. This is helpful. I'm not sure which edition I have but I do think it's newer.

[1Togo]

You might want to take a look at Westvon Publishing's "Historical Essay Topics." Nice collection of essay topics that trace history from ancient to modern. You can purchase it from Currclick.

 

Bonita

[Quiver0f10]

Thank you.

[Tiramisu]

Thank you for posting this question. I was going to post the same one, but I was trying to be patient until I listened to SWB's lecture. It's downloaded on a dc's MP3 player and I'll take it on a walk with me this morning.

 

Thank you to those who responded with suggestions for paper ideas.

 

I have another question, too, but I'll wait to see if it's answered on the lecture first. :D

[Leanna Tomlinson]

Jean,

Do I remember correctly that you have used TOG? If you have any TOG manuals, look at eh 11th grade level for persuasive essay topics. Once you see how a few are worded, it will be easier to come up with your own.

 

Also, I sometimes google essay types and get great ideas from public school teachers online.

 

HTH,

Leanna

[Tullia]

This is something that gets easier with practice. I used Spielvogel Western Civ questions for essay topics and also used questions adapted from the teacher's guide for the Clarence Carson U.S. History books. Michelle's suggestions are wonderful.

 

Here's an example of something we did with U.S.History. I started with "Debate this proposition: Civil service for government employees reduces popular control over government."

 

And then turned it into an issue as defined in Lost Tools of Writing:

 

"Whether civil service for government employees reduces popular control over government." My son then completed the LT exercise of gathering and classifying information as pro or con before choosing a side. For a rhetoric student one might require that a student write two essays; one pro and one con.

 

Persuasive essays can be generated on any issue about which people are likely to disagree, but just be sure there's enough material available in the text or primary source on which to base an essay. You'll also want a few secondary sources available as well.

[Brigid in NC]

Another approach is -- don't come up with the essay topics yourself. Let your high schooler come up with them. Tell them to write a persuasive essay on a general topic you want (history, lit, econ, science). But let them decide what they want to argue.

 

You can tell your student that he/she may write about XX. The only parameter is that the paper must have a thesis. Lucile Vaughan Payne, in The Lively Art of Writing, provides succinct direction: "The thesis is your opinion summarized in one arguable statement."

 

Then, let your student decide what to write about. :001_smile:

[Guest]

Bring History Alive, a book put out by the UCLA Center for History in the Schools, has not only an era-by-era breakdown of major historical themes/issues, but also then a list of activities and paper topics (including persuasive essay topics or questions) across grades 5-12.

 

nchs.ucla.edu (no http://www.)

 

You'll see the book(s) pop right up. There's one for world history and one for U.S.

[Quiver0f10]

Thank you all !

Edited July 27, 2010 by Quiver0f10

[JennW in SoCal]

One more thought.

 

A persuasive essay each week on just history seems like overkill. In the lectures I thought the idea was an essay per week in any subject whether history, science, literature.

 

Just to muddy the waters I'll add that I only expect 2 essays per month as it seems sufficient for my particular child. Some months it is science and literature, sometimes history and literature. That way he doesn't have to dissect everything he reads. I also throw in small research topics.

[Quiver0f10]

One more thought.

 

A persuasive essay each week on just history seems like overkill. In the lectures I thought the idea was an essay per week in any subject whether history, science, literature.

 

Just to muddy the waters I'll add that I only expect 2 essays per month as it seems sufficient for my particular child. Some months it is science and literature, sometimes history and literature. That way he doesn't have to dissect everything he reads. I also throw in small research topics.

 

 

This is very encouraging! Thank you :)

[Tullia]

One more thought.

 

A persuasive essay each week on just history seems like overkill. In the lectures I thought the idea was an essay per week in any subject whether history, science, literature.

 

Just to muddy the waters I'll add that I only expect 2 essays per month as it seems sufficient for my particular child. Some months it is science and literature, sometimes history and literature. That way he doesn't have to dissect everything he reads. I also throw in small research topics.

 

I agree with you Jenn. What I've seen is that what's more important than writing lots of essays (having to dissect every.single.reading can be counterproductive) is learning to write essays alongside other work. My son really preferred setting everything else aside to write essays, but he doesn't have that luxury in college.

[Pam in MA]

Here's another thought. We have also been using Spielvogel as our spine, but have been supplementing by reading some controversial books like Loewen's Lies My Teacher Told Me, Kenneth Davis' (can't remember title) and also using a series called "Taking Sides: Controversial Topics in . . . history" (there's a zillion of them - check your library.) Then the girls can easily come up with a topic after hearing some alternative view points.

 

I also typed out SWB's questions from her lecture and I keep them in a prominent place for when I'm stumped.

 

Oh, and Bloom's Taxonomy has some good starting points for questions as well.

[Tiramisu]

One more thought.

 

A persuasive essay each week on just history seems like overkill. In the lectures I thought the idea was an essay per week in any subject whether history, science, literature.

 

Just to muddy the waters I'll add that I only expect 2 essays per month as it seems sufficient for my particular child. Some months it is science and literature, sometimes history and literature. That way he doesn't have to dissect everything he reads. I also throw in small research topics.

 

Okay, I finished listening to SWB's lecture and came back and saw this post which relates to the other question I had. I'm dealing with a dc who just got a long overdue learning evaluation. It is recommended that I limit her writing and reduce her workload because she is bright and can do good work she needs to be able to work slowly. I wonder if I schedule reading three days a week with note-taking in history, for example, and then leave Friday's history time for writing essays, possibly breaking it up by writing an outline one week and writing the essay the next since the outlining (organizing her thoughts) is really important for her? Does this seem reasonable? I could do the same in religion but wouldn't do this in any other classes.

[MicheleinMN]

Another approach is -- don't come up with the essay topics yourself. Let your high schooler come up with them. Tell them to write a persuasive essay on a general topic you want (history, lit, econ, science). But let them decide what they want to argue.

 

You can tell your student that he/she may write about XX. The only parameter is that the paper must have a thesis. Lucile Vaughan Payne, in The Lively Art of Writing, provides succinct direction: "The thesis is your opinion summarized in one arguable statement."

 

Then, let your student decide what to write about. :001_smile:

 

:iagree:

[Guest]

Barb B has a thread today with a link to the University of Chicago's writing guide for students, which includes a WONDERFUL section on how to come up with a good thesis statement for an essay.

[Jami]

In "Lost Tools of Writing" A. Kern has students start with a "should" question. "Should Edmond have followed the White Witch?"

 

"Should the colonists have dumped tea into Boston Harbor?"

 

Anything you've studied you can turn into a should question. Then the student after making a list of affirmative, positive, and interesting details related to the question decides how to answer. The thesis then is persuasive toward the should or should not. "Edmond should not have followed the White Witch", "The colonists were wrong to have dumped the British tea into Boston Harbor", etc.

 

I recently heard Leah Lutz speak at Circe about LTOW and how the persuasive essay is the foundation for all other writing. Really good stuff!

[JennW in SoCal]

It is recommended that I limit her writing and reduce her workload because she is bright and can do good work she needs to be able to work slowly. .

 

My oldest was like this -- bright, slow processing speed, trouble organizing thoughts (though he could argue up a storm with little provocation) and slow to write.

 

I think you are on the right track, but I would suggest you build towards a goal of twice monthly essays instead of starting out that way. I understand the value of note taking and outlining, but for a child who struggles or just slows down when writing, you might want to be even more outside the box in your approach. Encourage her to mark up her books, underlining or highlighting important points. Discuss those points, what is important and not so important. You could talk through topics, discuss arguments, even write some of the points down for her on a wipe off board or on paper. Explain the basic form of an essay -- thesis, arguments, conclusion. Then maybe once a month she can take a day or two and write up an essay from the ideas you discussed. You could edit and let her fix her mistakes, then move on.

 

As I said, I'm not discounting note taking and outlining, but those are not skills every student will be using -- at least not skills that will be utilized by writing. At the college level there are services for kids with learning disabilities that include note takers and recordings of lectures. There is also the service of taking exams in a separate quiet room with extra time. So yes your dd will have to be able to write essays, but she will probably likely qualify for these kind of services, so you are not doing her a disservice by being extra accommodating now. Help her develop essay skills and help her figure out how to study and organize her thoughts in non-written ways. People here tend to shudder at these, but there are great picture diagram ways for outlining reading and for planning an essay (which have a proper name I can't think of....)

 

In the meantime, work on essays slowly but surely. You are wise in thinking she needs a day devoted almost exclusively on writing. She will improve in organizing her thoughts and in her speed of getting an essay out. Just rest assured that her education is in no way diminished by requiring less.

 

I hope this is helpful and doesn't sound condescending. I had to let go of my notions of how much and what kind of writing to expect, and yet my learning challenged ds really did manage to master the basic essay!

[Tiramisu]

My oldest was like this -- bright, slow processing speed, trouble organizing thoughts (though he could argue up a storm with little provocation) and slow to write.

 

I think you are on the right track, but I would suggest you build towards a goal of twice monthly essays instead of starting out that way. I understand the value of note taking and outlining, but for a child who struggles or just slows down when writing, you might want to be even more outside the box in your approach. Encourage her to mark up her books, underlining or highlighting important points. Discuss those points, what is important and not so important. You could talk through topics, discuss arguments, even write some of the points down for her on a wipe off board or on paper. Explain the basic form of an essay -- thesis, arguments, conclusion. Then maybe once a month she can take a day or two and write up an essay from the ideas you discussed. You could edit and let her fix her mistakes, then move on.

 

As I said, I'm not discounting note taking and outlining, but those are not skills every student will be using -- at least not skills that will be utilized by writing. At the college level there are services for kids with learning disabilities that include note takers and recordings of lectures. There is also the service of taking exams in a separate quiet room with extra time. So yes your dd will have to be able to write essays, but she will probably likely qualify for these kind of services, so you are not doing her a disservice by being extra accommodating now. Help her develop essay skills and help her figure out how to study and organize her thoughts in non-written ways. People here tend to shudder at these, but there are great picture diagram ways for outlining reading and for planning an essay (which have a proper name I can't think of....)

 

In the meantime, work on essays slowly but surely. You are wise in thinking she needs a day devoted almost exclusively on writing. She will improve in organizing her thoughts and in her speed of getting an essay out. Just rest assured that her education is in no way diminished by requiring less.

 

I hope this is helpful and doesn't sound condescending. I had to let go of my notions of how much and what kind of writing to expect, and yet my learning challenged ds really did manage to master the basic essay!

 

Thank you!!! This is very helpful and not at all condescending. I appreciate that you could understand our situation quite well.

 

Dd used Seton English 9 this year. They made her do a good bit of outlining for the essays and the research paper she had to write. (I did not make her write essays outside of that course.) I've seen such an improvement in her writing and how quickly she can get the essay done. And, a nice bonus, her grades are excellent. However, the reason she can do so well is that they tell her what she has to write about and exactly what is required. The structure has been ideal for her, and she's learned the persuasive essay format well. The only problem is that she's only writing about literature. I'd so much like to transfer those skills to history and religion and she is unable to make that transition on her own. I'm going to have to guide her through it, but I didn't know how how much more I should ask of her so your post is helpful as a guide. I'm going to have to supply the structure on my own like Seton gives for English-- when I can't even come up with an decent essay topic! Well, now I'm better off because of the thread and SWB's lecture.

 

Your post gave me some great ideas. I really like the idea of having her highlight and mark up her books, though she balk at the suggestion. I think by having the book marked up it would be easy for me to see what parts impressed her and use those for points of discussion and eventual writing topics.

 

Thanks you for taking the time to so thoughtfully respond. :)