unit activity
Persuasive Opinion Writing
The Lesson Activities will help you meet these educational goals:
21st Century Skills—You will use critical-thinking skills and effectively communicate your ideas.
Directions
Please save this document before you begin working on the assignment. Type your answers directly in the document. _________________________________________________________________________
Self-Checked Activities
Write a response for each of these activities. At the end of the lesson, click the link on the final screen to open the Student Answer Sheet. Use the sample answers to evaluate your own work.
1. Analyzing Editorials
a. Select a newspaper from this list of prominent newspapers, and read a variety of recent editorials. Then read some editorials from one or two additional newspapers from different parts of the country. What do you notice about the editorial topics and opinions selected from different newspapers throughout the country?
Type your response here: They all involve different ways of tone and language use in the newspapers.
b. Analyze one of the editorials you read. Write a paragraph that answers these questions:
• What was the subject of the editorial?
• What was the author’s position on the topic?
• How did the author support his or her opinion? (Give specific examples from the text, such as facts, quotes, and statistics.)
Type your response here:
c. Errors in logic, or fallacies, can make an argument appear weak and unconvincing. Read about good arguments versus fallacies, and complete the five exercises. Then write two syllogisms of your own that are based on fallacies, and explain their logical errors. You might choose from these fallacies: validity problem, post hoc, slippery slope, straw man, inconsistency, begging the question, false dilemma, non sequitur, and ad hominem.
Type your response here:
How did you do? Check a box below. 0 Nailed It!—I included all of the same ideas as the model response
The Lesson Activities will help you meet these educational goals:
21st Century Skills—You will use critical-thinking skills and effectively communicate your ideas.
Directions
Please save this document before you begin working on the assignment. Type your answers directly in the document. _________________________________________________________________________
Self-Checked Activities
Write a response for each of these activities. At the end of the lesson, click the link on the final screen to open the Student Answer Sheet. Use the sample answers to evaluate your own work.
1. Analyzing Editorials
a. Select a newspaper from this list of prominent newspapers, and read a variety of recent editorials. Then read some editorials from one or two additional newspapers from different parts of the country. What do you notice about the editorial topics and opinions selected from different newspapers throughout the country?
Type your response here: They all involve different ways of tone and language use in the newspapers.
b. Analyze one of the editorials you read. Write a paragraph that answers these questions:
• What was the subject of the editorial?
• What was the author’s position on the topic?
• How did the author support his or her opinion? (Give specific examples from the text, such as facts, quotes, and statistics.)
Type your response here:
c. Errors in logic, or fallacies, can make an argument appear weak and unconvincing. Read about good arguments versus fallacies, and complete the five exercises. Then write two syllogisms of your own that are based on fallacies, and explain their logical errors. You might choose from these fallacies: validity problem, post hoc, slippery slope, straw man, inconsistency, begging the question, false dilemma, non sequitur, and ad hominem.
Type your response here:
How did you do? Check a box below. 0 Nailed It!—I included all of the same ideas as the model response