Persuade & Debate II

Drafting & Revising

A 5th Grade Persuasive Writing Project

Drafting

Making Connections & Establishing Facts

Mini-Lessons

Making Connections It’s a Fact!

Click here to see how to use transitional words to show how ideas are connected.

Click here to see how to first establish facts and then to support those facts with evidence.

Example

ExampleIn my view, it is incredibly important to know where your food comes from both for reasons of safety and responsibility.

Food that isn’t prepared or stored properly can be dangerous

Salmonella is a bacteria that causes people to get sick

Can be spread through food.

Some ways that animals are raised are cruel.

Battery cages used to raise egg chickens are tiny.

90% of egg chickens in US are raised in them

Some say that the government already takes care of food – government only regulates because people became aware of issues.

Writing of “The Jungle”

28-Hour Law

Drafting: Introduction

Writing an Engaging Introduction

Introduction Introduce readers to

your topic by stating the proposition as a question.

Give some background information on the topic.

State your opinion in the last sentence of your introduction.

ExampleIn my view, it is incredibly important to know where your food comes from both for reasons of safety and responsibility.

Food that isn’t prepared or stored properly can be dangerous

Salmonella is a bacteria that causes people to get sick

Can be spread through food.

Some ways that animals are raised are cruel.

Battery cages used to raise egg chickens are tiny.

90% of egg chickens in US are raised in them

Some say that the government already takes care of food – government only regulates because people became aware of issues.

Writing of “The Jungle”

28-Hour Law

Introduction

• State the topic in the form of a question• Give some background information about the

topic without giving away your opinion.• State your own opinion in the last sentence of

your introduction.

Is it important to know where our food comes from? For most of human history people have hunted, foraged, or grown their own food. Today, however, most of the food we eat comes from all over the world. Bananas we buy at Walmart might come from Asia, while the Chicken we buy at Publix could have been raised in Iowa. In either case, most people never see how their food is being grown or raised themselves. In my view, it is incredibly important to know where your food comes from both for reasons of safety and responsibility.

Drafting: Body

Making & Supporting Your Arguments

Body The body of your essay

should include at least three paragraphs.

Each paragraph must contain a different argument and supporting evidence and/or examples from your research.

Remember to argue facts not opinions.

Within each paragraph make sure to use powerful transition words and phrases.

ExampleIn my view, it is incredibly important to know where your food comes from both for reasons of safety and responsibility.

Food that isn’t prepared or stored properly can be dangerous

Salmonella is a bacteria that causes people to get sick

Can be spread through food.

Some ways that animals are raised are cruel.

Battery cages used to raise egg chickens are tiny.

90% of egg chickens in US are raised in them

Some say that the government already takes care of food – government only regulates because people became aware of issues.

Writing of “The Jungle”

28-Hour Law

Body: Paragraph 1

Everyone knows that it’s important to keep your food clean, but how do you know if your food is sanitary if you don’t know where it comes from? For example, Salmonella is a bacteria that can make people very sick and can be spread through infected foods. One way Salmonella can spread is through infected eggs. Therefore, it is important to know that the eggs you buy at the store come from farms with programs that monitor how their eggs are produced and stored to prevent Salmonella from spreading.

• Introduce argument• Establish facts• Support facts with evidence

ExampleIn my view, it is incredibly important to know where your food comes from both for reasons of safety and responsibility.

Food that isn’t prepared or stored properly can be dangerous

Salmonella is a bacteria that causes people to get sick

Can be spread through food.

Some ways that animals are raised are cruel.

Battery cages used to raise egg chickens are tiny.

90% of egg chickens in US are raised in them

Some say that the government already takes care of food – government only regulates because people became aware of issues.

Writing of “The Jungle”

28-Hour Law

Body: Paragraph 2

• Introduce argument• Establish facts• Support facts with evidence

Surely, it is important that animals are not treated cruelly. True, we raise many animals for the purpose of eating them, but that does not mean we should be cruel, or inflict unnecessary pain. If animal cruelty is important to you then how most chickens are raised will be shocking. Egg-laying chickens spend almost all of their lives jammed into tiny “battery cages”. These tiny cells afford each bird less space than a typical piece of printer paper. While the European Union outlawed this practice in 1999, more than 90% of egg-laying chickens in the United States are confined to these enclosures. Knowing how the chicken you buy to eat is raised would allow you to choose to buy chickens from farmers who do not use this inhumane practice.

ExampleIn my view, it is incredibly important to know where your food comes from both for reasons of safety and responsibility.

Food that isn’t prepared or stored properly can be dangerous

Salmonella is a bacteria that causes people to get sick

Can be spread through food.

Some ways that animals are raised are cruel.

Battery cages used to raise egg chickens are tiny.

90% of egg chickens in US are raised in them

Some say that the government already takes care of food – government only regulates because people became aware of issues.

Writing of “The Jungle”

28-Hour Law

Body: Paragraph 3

• State possible counter-argument• Introduce argument• Establish facts• Support facts with evidence

Some people might say that it’s not important to know where our food comes from because the government now inspects how plants and animals are raised and takes care of any issues that might come up. However, while it is true that the U.S. government regulates this it is also true that these regulations only occurred when people became aware of how their food was being raised. For example, in the 1800’s there were few regulations about how animal meat was prepared. Then, in 1906, author Upton Sinclair wrote a novel called “The Jungle” which talked about many of the filthy conditions in the meatpacking industry. When people read the book and realized how their food was being handled they demanded the government do a better job regulating this industry.

Drafting: Conclusion

How to Wrap Up Your Essay

Conclusion Restate the

proposition Summarize your

arguments Do not introduce any

new information Close with a powerful

statement of your position.

Conclusion• Restate the proposition• Summarize your arguments• Close with a powerful statement

In conclusion, on the question of whether or not it is important to know where your food comes from there is only one logical answer. Not only is it important to know how the food you eat is grown in order to ensure that it is safe, but also so that we do not support the cruel treatment of animals. In addition, understanding how the food we eat is treated is vital to ensuring that new laws and regulations are put into place to keep food safe, to protect food workers, and to preserve the ethical treatment of animals. The fact is that knowing where your food comes from is both a good way to stay safe and a responsibility we have as members of a humane society.

Is it important to know where our food comes from? For most of human history people have hunted, foraged, or grown their own food. Today, however, most of the food we eat comes from all over the world. Bananas we buy at Walmart might come from Asia, while the Chicken we buy at Publix could have been raised in Iowa. In either case, most people never see how their food is being grown or raised themselves. In my view, it is incredibly important to know where your food comes from both for reasons of safety and responsibility.

Everyone knows that it’s important to keep your food clean, but how do you know if your food is sanitary if you don’t know where it comes from? For example, Salmonella is a bacteria that can make people very sick and can be spread through infected foods. One way Salmonella can spread is through infected eggs. Therefore, it is important to know that the eggs you buy at the store come from farms with programs that monitor how their eggs are produced and stored to prevent Salmonella from spreading.

Surely, it is important that animals are not treated cruelly. True, we raise many animals for the purpose of eating them, but that does not mean we should be cruel, or inflict unnecessary pain. If animal cruelty is important to you then how most chickens are raised will be shocking. Egg-laying chickens spend almost all of their lives jammed into tiny “battery cages”. These tiny cells afford each bird less space than a typical piece of printer paper. While the European Union outlawed this practice in 1999, more than 90% of egg-laying chickens in the United States are confined to these enclosures. Knowing how the chicken you buy to eat is raised would allow you to choose to buy chickens from farmers who do not use this inhumane practice.

Some people might say that it’s not important to know where our food comes from because the government now inspects how plants and animals are raised and takes care of any issues that might come up. However, while it is true that the U.S. government regulates this it is also true that these regulations only occurred when people became aware of how their food was being raised. For example, in the 1800’s there were few regulations about how animal meat was prepared. Then, in 1906, author Upton Sinclair wrote a novel called “The Jungle” which talked about many of the filthy conditions in the meatpacking industry. When people read the book and realized how their food was being handled they demanded the government do a better job regulating this industry.

In conclusion, on the question of whether or not it is important to know where your food comes from there is only one logical answer. Not only is it important to know how the food you eat is grown in order to ensure that it is safe, but also so that we do not support the cruel treatment of animals. In addition, understanding how the food we eat is treated is vital to ensuring that new laws and regulations are put into place to keep food safe, to protect food workers, and to preserve the ethical treatment of animals. The fact is that knowing where your food comes from is both a good way to stay safe and a responsibility we have as members of a humane society.