Persuasive Letter

The goal of a persuasive letter is for you to voice your opinion and call for an action that
surrounds the community problem that you have been researching. In addition, it will
give you the opportunity to demonstrate your understanding and use of the rhetorical
appeals (logos, pathos, and ethos) to influence your audience.
Purpose: This assignment helps you fine-tune your persuasive skills. In previous
assignments, you were asked to practice how analyzing how other authors used the
rhetorical appeals to develop their argument. This assignment asks you to move from
analysis to synthesis, thereby using the skills you have learned to develop an effective
argument.
Audience: In order to decide who your audience is, you must determine what action you
would like to see take place. You might address your letter to a specific politician, leader,
or even to the editor of a newspaper, which is really a way of reaching the general public
or a specific community. For the purposes of the course, your audience will also consist
of your professor and scholarly peers.
.
Content/Subject: Your persuasive letter will consist mainly of your opinion of an issue
surrounding the topic you have chosen. Write a thesis statement, listing 3-5 major points
that you will develop throughout the body of the letter. Each point should be effectively
supported by weaving appeals to logos, pathos, and ethos into the content.
Constraints: It is particularly important that you be conscious of developing your ethos
in this assignment. In order for your audience to be persuaded, they must trust you.
Therefore, it is important that your writing reflect sophistication and intellect appropriate
to college-level writing. Make sure to use vocabulary that reflects your education, but
also that is appropriate to the audience and topic.
Specific guidelines for the assignment include:

Block or modified block format.

The letter is addressed to a specific person or audience.
Single-spaced with double spacing in between paragraphs.
Clear introduction and conclusion.
Organization of major points.
400-600 words in length.
Sophisticated development of logos, pathos, and ethos.
Use of concise language.
Correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling.
A Works Cited page at the end of the letter.

Do

Offer your opinion,

arguing for a solution to
the community problem
you discuss.

Develop a strong
opening sentence to
draw your audience in.

Do
not

Use MLA-style in-text

citations but include a
works cited list.

Show respect for your

audience's opinion if
they are likely to be
opposed to your idea.

Final Draft Due: Opinion Piece due Tuesday, 11/18 at 11:59 p.m.
The persuasive letter counts for 20% of your final grade.

Assessment Rubric for Opinion Piece/Persuasive Letter*

CATEGORY
Focus
20 pts.
Ethos:
15 pts.

Pathos:
15 pts.

Logos and
Research:
25 pts.

Writing
Fluency:
25 pts.

Response
maintains
focus on
topic/subject
throughout
response.
The writer
uses strong
arguments
and
introduces
evidence to
show high
quality
sources.

Response may
exhibit minor
lapses in focus
on
topic/subject.

Response may lose

or may exhibit
major lapses in
focus on
topic/subject.

Response may
fail to establish
focus on
topic/subject.

Response lacks
focus.

Most of the
writer's
arguments and
evidence is
strong. Quality
of sources is
evident.

The writer's
arguments and
evidence are
uneven in quality,
though overall they
are adequate.
Source quality
appears
questionable.

One or more of
the writer's
arguments and
evidence is
significantly
weak.
Source quality
appears poor.

The writer did not

use any effective
arguments or
evidence. Source
quality is poor or
unknown.

The writer
uses effective
strategies to
appeal to the
reader's
values and
beliefs.

Most of the
writer's
appeals to the
readers' values
and beliefs are
effective.

The writer's
appeals to the
readers' values and
beliefs are uneven,
though overall they
are adequate.

One or more of
the writer's
appeals to the
readers' values
and beliefs are
significantly
inadequate.

The writer did not

use any effective
appeals to the
readers' values
and beliefs.

The writer's
organization
and logic is
strong.
Research
effectively
supports the
argument and
is correctly
cited, both intext and on
Reference
page or
notes.

Most of the
writer's
organization
and logic is
strong. Most
of the research
supports the
argument and
is correctly
cited both intext and on
Reference
page or notes.

The writer's
organization and
logic is uneven,
though overall they
are adequate. The
research is uneven
in quality, though
overall it is
adequate, and it is
mostly correctly
cited both in-text
and on Reference
page or notes.

The writer did not

use effective
organization
and/or logic. No
research and/or
fails to support the
argument and/or
is incorrectly cited
either in-text or on
Reference page
or notes.

Demonstrate
s skillful
writing
fluency,
exhibits few
or no
grammar and
mechanical
errors. Writing
is clear.

Demonstrates
good writing
fluency,
exhibits minor
grammar and
mechanical
errors.
Writing is clear.

Demonstrates
adequate writing
fluency; exhibits a
fair number of
major grammar and
mechanical errors.
Writing could be
clearer.

The writer has

at least one
major problem
with organization
and/or logic.
Significant
portion of
research fails to
support the
argument and/or
is incorrectly
cited either intext and on
Reference page
or notes.
Demonstrates
limited writing
fluency, exhibits
numerous major
grammar and
mechanical
errors. Writing is
unclear.

Writing is not
fluent; it is
unclear.

*Rubrics are subject to minor changes. Students will be notified if changes occur.

Thinking About Your Opinion Piece/Persuasive Letter

1. How does an opinion piece/persuasive letter open?

2. How does an opinion piece/persuasive letter close?

3. What is the rhetorical difference between convincing and persuading?

4. Describe the genre conventions that are typically used within an opinion
piece/persuasive letter.

5. What medium does an opinion piece/persuasive letter typically use?

6. What are the advantages of this genre?

7. What are the disadvantages of this genre?

8. Describe your audience's expectations within this genre.

9. Who is your audience, and what specific strategies will you employ in order to appeal
to that audience?

Designing Your Opinion Piece/Persuasive Letter

1. List the major points that your opinion piece/persuasive letter will make.

2. Develop and justify a logical order for these points.

3. Explain how you will transition from one point to another.

4. Indicate which rhetorical appeal (logos, pathos, ethos) applies to each of the points
you have been discussing.

Executing Your Opinion Piece/Persuasive Letter

Use the space below to construct an opening to your opinion piece/persuasive letter that
serves the purposes of the organization that you developed.

John Doe
357 Fake Street
Hampton, VA 23668
November 5, 2015
Stephen Jones
Director
United States Department of Agriculture
1400 Independence Ave., S.W.
Washington, DC 20250
Dear Mr. Jones:
Pyramids are seen everywhere. Most pyramids are not just shapes, but have traced
history and have become well-recognized symbols of importance. These range from
Egypts Pyramid of Giza or Mexicos Pyramid of Chichen Itza to Paris pyramid at Le
Louvre Museum. These are all important pyramids, but arguably, the most important one
is the one that provides guidelines for healthy eating, The Food Guide Pyramid. This
pyramid is the visual guideline used by many hospitals and schools to encourage and
promote healthy eating and what to eat. It is strongly suggested that your organization
modify the recommended guidelines that come from this pyramid in order to make it
more relevant and reliable.
These guidelines have been used for a long time, and even though, according to the
United States Dietary Association, the food guide pyramid is updated every five years,
it is still inaccurate. The reason is, these guidelines provide only general measures and
recommendations for public over two years of age and above, and ignores the fact of
different metabolisms and people with disorders. According to Dr. Guadalupe Muoz, a
nutritionist at Centro Mdico de Especialidades in Cd. Jurez and graduate from New
Mexico State University, quantities and portions set by the Food Guide Pyramid are too
general, provide hyper caloric meals; thus leading to weight gaining, and more
important, this guidelines are not for everybody. She explained that the guidelines must
be different for people with different health conditions such as diabetes, aging process,
malnutrition, cardiovascular diseases, respiratory disorders, digestive disorders, urinary
system disorders, bone and joint disorders, food and allergies intolerances, cancer,
among many more. These types of patients require elaborated guidelines. Too much or
too little intake of these recommended portions may alter their health condition and thus
lead to unwanted results of the metabolism. For these reasons nutritionists design a
special diet for people who may be undergoing these health conditions.
From a personal perspective, this completely true, not everybody has the same
metabolism and as a result of this, our bodies react in a different waywhy would we
have one general pyramid that is supposed to apply to all of us? Dr. Mary Flores,
nutritionist at Providence Memorial Hospital, believes that because some nutritionist
and some people believe the food guide pyramid is not valid, many other guidelines
have been created such as the Harvard School of Public Health Eating Pyramid..
Alterations like this must be made.

The Harvard School of Public Health Eating Pyramid is a new model of healthy eating,
and is seen as an alternative to the USDAs flawed Pyramid. It puts into perspective the
wealth of research conducted during the last 10 years that has been reshaping the
definition of healthy eating. This pyramid offers simple changes with plenty of room for
taste, personal preference, and style. This food pyramid only resembles the USDAs
form, but changes in quantities. The creation of these guidelines was the result of
controversies including the quantities of serving. This pyramid serves as an example of
an effect that controversies regarding the previous and updated healthy guidelines of the
USDA pyramid led to.
The policy overseeing the Food Guide Pyramid needs to be modified or eliminated since
the majority of nutritionists no longer abide by these guidelines due to the many
controversies there exist regarding different metabolisms. According to the parents of
Sara Walker, a fifth grade student, at a young age our daughter deals with a major
health problem, diabetes, therefore she must follow a special diet. It is surely difficult for
her to see other kids eating cookies, chips, and all sorts of junk food when she must
follow a strict nutritional diet for her own benefit. Nowadays, cases like the one Sara
faces are experienced by many kids and adults all over the world. It is impossible for
them to follow the general guidelines set by the Food Guide Pyramid. With cases like
these in mind shouldnt these guidelines be modified? Indeed.
Sincerely,

John Doe

Works Cited
The New Shape of Healthy Eating. Harvard Heart Letter 14.5 (2004): 6. Print.
USDA. Regulations and policy. 3 Mar 2011. Web. 2 Nov 2015.
http://www.fns.usda.gov/fns/regulations.htm

Peer Review for Your Opinion Piece/Persuasive Letter

Either in-class or online, exchange your draft with one or two classmates. Use the
prompts below to provide feedback on the draft.

1. Is the piece of the required length? If not, make suggestions for lengthening or
shortening it.

2. Describe the solution being advocated. If one is not being advocated, suggest two
solutions that deal with the piece's issue and problem.

3. How can the writing quality of the piece be improved? Use specific examples from the
piece.

4. Evaluate the use and citation of outside sources. Make suggestions for improvements.

5. Make one more suggestion for improving the piece.

Revisiting Your Opinion Piece/Persuasive Letter

1. What do you think were the strongest and weakest points you made? Why?

2. How could you have revised your work to make it more convincing or persuasive?

Opinion Piece/Persuasive Letter Self-Evaluation

Now that you have submitted your final draft of the Opinion Piece/Persuasive Letter and
received your score, take a few moments to answer the following questions:
1. What score did you receive for this assignment?

2. What do you feel you did especially well on the assignment?

3. What did your instructor suggest you could improve on?

4. What do you need to do to prepare for the NEXT assignment?