english as a second language - sofad · organize information to make it persuasive ... vocabulary,...

English as a Second Language

Influencing OthersANG-5103-1

Student Workbook

English to Go!

Acknowledgements

Project Manager, Instructional Design and Contributions : Jo-Ann Stanton (SOFAD) Michael Rutka (SOFAD)Instructional Designers: Karine Bellefeuille, B.Ed. - McGill University , M.A. - McGill University, Diplôme de 2e cycle en Gestion de l'éducation from l'Université de Sherbrooke, ESL and ELA teacher, assistant centre director at Centre de formation continue des Patriotes Mélanie Bergeron (SOFAD) Alexandra Coutlée, B.A. in ESL from McGill, certificate in English literature, author, teacher with CS Rivière du Nord, currently completing a Master's in Educational Technology Michèle Ortiz , B.A. in translation, ESL teacher - adult education (FGA), author

WorkbookMain Writer: Karen LyonsEvaluation Tables: Michèle OrtizContent Revisor: Michèle OrtizCopy Editor: i-EditRights Agent: Nicole CypihotIllustrator: Gilbert RousseauIllustration Colourist: Annie BoulangerGraphic Designer and Layout: Robin PattersonProofreader: Michèle Ortiz

Resource WebsiteWriter: Karen Lyons (Extra Exercises)Designer and Integrator: Lyne AquinWikimaster: Judith Sévigny

This work is funded by the Ministère de l’Éducation et de l’Enseignement supérieur du Québec, and by the Canada-Québec Agreement on Minority Language Education and Second Language Instruction

First Printing: December, 2016© Société de formation à distance des commissions scolaires du Québec

All rights for translation and adaptation, in whole or in part, reserved for all countries. Any reproduction by mechanical or electronic means, including micro-reproduction, is forbidden without the written permission of a duly authorized representative of the Société de formation à distance des commissions scolaires du Québec (SOFAD).

Legal Deposit—2016Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec Library and Archives Canada ISBN: 978-2-89493-586-6 (Print)ISBN: 978-2-89493-587-3 (Digital PDF)

ANG-5103-1 Influencing Others Table of Contents

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Table of ConTenTsInTroduCTIon ��1

ANG-5103-1 Influencing Others ��1How to Ace This Course ��3Using the Workbook ��4Accessing the Media ��5Evaluation ��7Using the Essential Knowledge Reference Booklet, 2nd Edition ��7Using the Planner ��8

ChapTer 1: I proTesT! ��9sITuaTIon 1: please sIgn ThIs peTITIon ��10

Identify Ideas and Points of View ��12Organize Information to Make It Persuasive ��15Propose Solutions ��21Put the Petition in Writing ��25Your Task 1�1: Gender-Neutral Washrooms: For or Against? ��30

sITuaTIon 2: dear edITor ��36Effective Forms of Protest ��38How to Advocate��42Defending Your Choices ��47Write a Letter to the Editor ��51Your Task 1�2: Should We Work-to-Rule? ��54

CheCk Yourself ��60fInal projeCT 1: an effeCTIve MeThod of proTesT ��62Wrap-up ��66

ChapTer 2: a WInnIng proposITIon ��69sITuaTIon 1: The seCreT To suCCess ��70

Comparing Data ��71Analyzing Your Findings ��75Evaluate and Choose ��78Justifying Your Choice ��85How to Support Your Point of View ��86Writing It Up: the Argumentative Text ��93Your Task 2�1: Find the Best Business Idea ��102

sITuaTIon 2: WrITIng persuasIve TexTs ��110Adapt Text to Audience ��110Selecting the Best ��114Writing for the Web ��117Your Task 2�2: Let Me Convince You! ��126

Table of Contents ANG-5103-1 Influencing Others

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sITuaTIon 3: self-proMoTIon ��130Finding the Perfect Job ��131More Persuading Techniques ��136Writing Up Promotional Material ��141Your Task 2�3: Present a Project ��152

CheCk Yourself ��159fInal projeCT 2: To InvesT or noT To InvesT? ��160Wrap-up ��163

auThorIzaTIons ��167ansWer keYs ��168

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InTroduCTIon

Do you know how to get others to embrace a cause you hold dear? Yes No

Have you ever had a great business idea and just didn’t know how to promote it? Yes No

Do you have what it takes to influence people to support a project of yours? Yes No

After you have worked through this workbook, you will be able to answer “yes!” to these questions.

Before you read on to find out more, let’s take a moment to find out about the main objective for this course: learning English.

ANG-5103-1 Influencing Others

This is the third and last course for Secondary V in the English as a Second Language Program. By now, you’ve become pretty familiar with the English language.

How would you rate your fluency in English? Circle your answer.

Poor 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Perfectly bilingual

English is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world. It is the main language of business in most countries. A lot of entertainment (music, movies, etc.) is in English. Information on the Internet is mostly in English. Knowing how to communicate in English is useful in your everyday life. Let’s see how.

Do you find that English is helpful in these situations?

To communicate with others via social media? Yes No

To understand the meaning of songs you like? Yes No

To read books or magazines? Yes No

To surf the web? Yes No

To find and get a job? Yes No

Introduction ANG-5103-1 Influencing Others

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To advance in your job or career? Yes No

To attend CEGEP or university? Yes No

To travel to other countries? Yes No

Can you think of other situations where English is useful to you?

Do you think that if you had better knowledge of English, you could influence more people to think like you about projects, ideas or causes important to you? Yes No

This workbook will give you the final push you need to communicate with English speakers. Welcome to the last course in the English as a Second Language Diversified Basic Education Program for Secondary V.

Competencies

The objective of the English as a Second Language Program is for you to become autonomous and active in English. In order to do this, the course targets three competencies:

C1–Interacts orally in English

This is where you get to achieve your goal of communicating with English speakers.

C2–Reinvests understanding of texts

This means reading a wide variety of texts, listening and watching videos. You will then be able to use the information in these texts and talk about what you have read (or heard or seen) and write about it.

C3–Writes and produces texts

This is another way to express yourself in English: in writing! You will get to produce a variety of different texts, some short and some longer, throughout the course.

Only C2 and C3 will be evaluated in this course, but C1 is just as important because some spoken activities may complement the learning situations.

Essential Knowledge

In this course, C2 and C3 are the focus of the learning activities and evaluation. The content presented through various activities and types of texts will allow you to acquire the following knowledge:

Functional Knowledge

You will practise persuading in this course: advocating causes to individuals and groups; influencing and convincing others; predicting and speculating on outcomes; understanding, stating, supporting, defending and promoting ideas and points of view; understanding, suggesting and requesting solutions.

Linguistic Knowledge

This includes grammar, syntax, vocabulary, semantics and phonology.

ANG-5103-1 Influencing Others Introduction ©

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Textual Knowledge

You will take a deeper look at some of the texts presented and examine their structure and development as well as learn about their external features (context, purpose and target audience).

Culture

The various texts and activities will also familiarize you with the culture of English speakers in Québec and the rest of Canada. The texts will focus mainly on career planning and entrepreneurship as well as citizenship and community life.

How to Ace This Course

The key to your success lies in your motivation and perseverance. But it also helps to know how to use this workbook and the multimedia resources effectively.

Are you ready? Read on!

What You Will Need

To do the course work, you will need the following items:

Workbook: The main part of your work will take place in this workbook.

Essential Knowledge Reference Booklet, 2nd Ed.: Referred to simply as the “Reference Booklet” in the text, this is an essential tool that you will use in all the English as a Second Language courses from Secondary III to Secondary V.

Planner: It is on page 8. Use it to help you plan and organize your work and track your progress.

Dictionary: An absolute must! You can use any good print or online English-French dictionary.

Internet: You need to have access to the Internet either at home or in class, at a library or anywhere else you can get online.

Headphones: These will be useful if you are listening in public.

Paper for assignments: Lined or unlined loose-leaf sheets that you will hand in to your teacher or tutor.

Highlighters: Not essential but useful, as are pens of different colours.

Icons

This means you have to access the Internet.

This means you have an audio clip to listen to or a video to watch.

This means you have some personal research to do.

!Tip This gives you extra help for an activity, a strategy or other advice.

Note that there are no multimedia resources (audios or videos) for this course.


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Using the Workbook

All chapters are organized the same way.

Organization

This course is divided into two chapters. The first chapter represents 9 to 10 hours of work. The second chapter represents 13 to 14 hours of work. This is an average estimate. You may take more time or less.

!Tip Use the Planner (page 8) to plan your work and track your progress.

The chapters present essential knowledge: communication strategies, functional knowledge, textual knowledge and linguistic knowledge as well as cultural references and the use of other resources. Each chapter uses a specific theme to transfer this knowledge.

The first chapter presents two situations related to citizenship and community life. You will adopt a point of view, organize information to make it persuasive and learn to defend your choices in writing. Your tools will be petitions, petition letters and letters to the editor. For your final project, you may reuse some of the work you did in ANG-5101-2 Examining Issues.

The second chapter contains three different situations related to career planning and entrepreneurship. You will learn how to influence others in writing through argumentative texts and a persuasive website, and you will learn to use different tools to successfully market yourself for a job or promote a business idea. For your final project, you may reuse some of the work you did in ANG-5102-1 Suggestions and Advice.

At the end of each chapter, after the Final Project, the Wrap-Up contains a short self-reflection questionnaire called “How Is It Going?”, some tips if you are curious to find out more about certain subjects and a note space for you to jot down new words and expressions you learned.

This is an important part of your learning. Don’t ignore it!

Useful Items

Throughout the workbook, many items will help you with your work. Let’s see if you can identify some of these useful items.

Flip through the workbook to find the items in column 2, then try to match each item with its explanation in column 1.

Can you guess how each of these items may be useful?


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Column 1 Column 2

1. You have to access the Internet for an interactive game, some extra exercises or as part of a research activity.

2. The exercise number (for example, 1.15) helps you find the corresponding answer key.

3. Put on your earphones, turn up the volume. It is used to indicate a listening or viewing activity.

4. Appearing at the very bottom of a page, a footnote contains extra information.

5. This type of header gives you the main topic of the section.

6. You are encouraged to take notes to help you learn. To remind you, there are some specific spaces for you to do so, but you may jot down notes all through the workbook.

7. At the end of the chapters, there is some space provided for you to write new words and new expressions. You can also use the space to write questions you may have, or any other notes on what you have learned.

8. Look up the topic specified in your Essential Knowledge Reference Booklet. Use the Table of Contents or the Index to find the correct topic.

9. Flip to the back of the book. Using the exercise number, look up the correct answers.

10. This element is used as a graphic sig nature in all the English as a Second Language books: it can indicate a major section header or the end of a section.

A. Exercise 1.15

B.

C.

D. Go to your Reference Booklet and look up . . .

E. AK 169

F.

* Many articles and interviews with “doctors” are fictitious, written for the purposes of the course. . . .

G.

H. New Words and Expressions

I. Evaluate Reliability

J. My Notes:

AK 169 All Answer Keys can be found at the end of the workbook.

Accessing the Media

Two types of activities require you to access the Internet: • additional interactive grammar exercises (almost 300 Extra Exercises) • web page lookup or search exercises

Here is the procedure for each type.

Interactive Exercises on the Internet

On the SOFAD resource web page for the Anglais, langue seconde program, there is a link to additional interactive exercises for you to practise linguistic and textual knowledge elements.

These additional interactive extra exercises cover the essential knowledge for all nine Secondary III to V courses. They are only accessible by Internet.


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!Tip To access these files, you must have an account on the SOFAD website. Creating an account is free and only necessary on your first visit. Your ID and password are valid for all SOFAD resources.

When you see this icon , you’ll need to access the Internet. You can do this at home, in class, at a library or anywhere else you can get online.

Let’s try it now.

Use an electronic device with Internet access.

1. Access the Anglais, langue seconde web page. This is how you do it.

Open your web browser program.

Type this in exactly as you see it: <cours1.sofad.qc.ca/ressources>. Then press <Enter>.

Enter your access codes (ID and password).

Under the heading “Formation de base diversifiée,” click on Anglais, langue seconde.

2. The very last entry is labeled “Extra Exercises.” Click on it. A new page will appear.

3. The new page has a list of linguistic and textual knowledge elements. Each one has a number of exercises available. Find the one you want to practise, and click on its name.

4. To return to the course resource web page, use the button in the top right-hand corner.

!Tip Note that you can redo the exercises as many times as you want. Your answers are erased when you leave the Extra Exercises web page.

Web Page Searches

During this course, you’ll also have to go online to look up information or visit a specific web page.

Let’s try it now.

Use an electronic device with Internet access.

1. Find the web browser program. Click on its icon to open it.

Which browser are you using?

Internet Explorer Safari Firefox Chrome Other:

2. In the text box at the top, type this exactly as you see it: www . funbrain . com / grammar /

Then press <Enter>.

3. You have accessed the Grammar Gorillas game. Click on the “Advanced” link.

4. Have a bit of fun by playing the game! Can you get 10 out of 10 right answers?


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Are you ready to access the Internet and do some interactive exercises? Yes No

If not, contact your teacher or tutor for help.

Evaluation

This course involves two kinds of evaluations: self-evaluations of the two or three tasks you have to complete in each chapter and a more formal evaluation of the final project at the end of each chapter.

Here’s an overview of the two evaluation methods.

Self-Evaluations

Chapter 1 is divided into two situations, while Chapter 2 has three. Each situation has a task at the end for you to practise everything you have learned so far. These tasks will prepare you for the final project of the chapter.

Toward the end of each chapter, there is an exercise called “Check Yourself” to evaluate your linguistic and textual knowledge.

And in the Wrap-Up, a short activity called “How Is It Going?” helps you assess your progress and learning needs.

Final Projects

Each chapter has a final project that combines everything you have seen in the chapter. The final projects are divided into three parts: preparation, production and reflection. They resemble the final exams you will take to complete this course.

Your teacher or tutor may evaluate any of the final projects. If you have questions, contact your teacher, tutor or centre.

Final Exam

In order to obtain the credits, you will have to pass a final exam at the end of the course. Your teacher, tutor or centre will have all the information you will need to prepare for this exam.

Using the Essential Knowledge Reference Booklet, 2nd Edition

!Tip There is only ONE Reference Booklet for all the courses: It covers all the material for all of the Secondary III, IV and V English as a Second Language courses.

During all of the courses, you will be invited to consult the Essential Knowledge Reference Booklet, 2nd Ed., referred to simply as your Reference Booklet . This is where you will find all the explanations for the different elements of grammar, syntax and textual knowledge you will need to complete the activities.

In short, with regard to essential knowledge:

The Reference Booklet contains the theory and some examples.

The workbooks contain the exercises.

EssEntial KnowlEdgE

REfEREncE BooKlEt

Compulsory reference material for:

ANG-3101-2 Joining a Community

ANG-3102-1 It’s a Matter of Taste

ANG-3103-1 Communicating Information

ANG-4101-2 Dare to Compare

ANG-4102-1 Stories

ANG-4103-1 Expressing Feelings and Opinions

ANG-5101-2 Examining Issues

ANG-5102-1 Suggestions and Advice

ANG-5103-1 Influencing Others

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This booklet is also for your personal reference. Look up any linguistic or textual knowledge item using the Table of Contents at the beginning of the booklet or the Index at the end.

The Reference Booklet also contains an Annex: “How to Proofread a Text.”

Using the Planner

A Planner is provided for you below. It will help you organize your workload. Use it as a checklist to make sure you have completed each section of the course. It is also a great tool to establish a realistic work schedule and keep track of your progress.

The time indicated for each activity is only a suggestion. Some activities may take longer than others, while some may simply be revision for you and go more quickly. What is important is to respect the time frame for the course and complete all the activities.

Start by filling out the “Anticipated End Date” for each section. Ideally, you should aim for five to six hours of work per week, divided into two or three sessions. As you complete each section, write in the “Real End Date” and mark your progress.

ANG-5103-1 Influencing OthersPlanner

Start Date of Course: / / (mm) (dd) (yy)

Section Duration Anticipated End Date

Real End Date

Introduction 20 – 30 min

Chapter 1: I Protest! Final Project: An Effective Method of Protest

9 – 10 h

Chapter 2: A Winning Proposition Final Project: To Invest or Not to Invest?

13 – 14 h

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ChapTer 1

I proTesT!There are different types of protest. They range from peaceful methods, such as sit-ins and marches, to full-blown violent actions like riots. In the final project of ANG-5101-2 Examining Issues, you researched different kinds of protest and chose one you thought was the most appropriate for the issue at hand.

What exactly is the best way to change things? Some forms of protest are effective for certain issues, and others, less so. Sometimes the art of being persuasive is what’s needed to get as many people as possible to join a cause.

However, some protests don’t quite turn out as planned. Read on.

Our Times Gazette

Social Media Protest Flop by Karen Lyons

Yesterday was to be the greatest mass shutdown of social media websites in history. It was a failure.

Recent privacy changes on many platforms across the web provoked the group Privacy Counts to start a protest. A spokesperson for the movement said only 30,000 people shut down their accounts.

The idea was to get as many people as possible to close down their accounts at the same time on three major social media sites. The reason? Privacy. These sites made recent changes to security and privacy features allowing third parties to use pictures and information without the users’ consent. The changes mean these sites continued . . .

Kyle Marseau’s photo was misused.

There are all kinds of ways of protesting.

Chapter 1: I Protest! ANG-5103-1 Influencing Others

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can sell your pictures to any company or person without your consent.

Privacy Counts says it’s a major issue. Imagine. Your face can be used to market a product or service you don’t believe in. This is what happened to Kyle Marseau, a Canadian milk producer. He was surfing the web a few weeks ago and came across an ad campaign whose purpose was to

dissuade consumers from drinking milk. He couldn’t believe it. But since he didn’t own the rights to his picture, there’s nothing he could do about it.

Privacy Counts says the protest didn’t work because most people just don’t feel concerned about the issue. They believe it happens to others, but not to them.

. . . continued

Obviously, this type of protest didn’t work out for the situation. It could also be that people were just not convinced about the importance of the issue. As you can see, it’s important to effectively set up the protest to get as many people as you can on your side.

Some forms of protest are more appropriate to certain issues than others. In the case above, maybe a petition would have been more useful?

Situation 1: Please Sign This PetitionLet’s take a closer look at a common form of protest—petitions. They can be used in many different situations and contexts.

Do you know what a petition is? Yes No Could you give a definition?

A petition is usually some sort of request addressed to an official entity. For example, a petition could be addressed to municipal authorities in order to keep an arena open later in the evening. Or a petition could be addressed to a foreign government in order to free a political prisoner.

Some people and organizations use petitions as a way of protesting something or to expose dissatisfaction about an issue.

Have you ever signed a petition? Yes No

Did you know there are some rules to follow when writing a petition? What elements do you think must be present?

Of course not all petitions are exactly the same or follow the same rules, but there are general guidelines. Let’s examine one example.

ANG-5103-1 Influencing Others Chapter 1: I Protest!

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Exercise 1.1

The city of Montréal has specific rules about petitions addressed to it. Use your intuition, and try to guess what they are. Check the statements: true or false?*

True False — You must collect at least 250 signatures.

True False — You must be at least 18 years old to sign a petition.

True False — You must use a specific form supplied by the city to write your petition.

True False — You must live in Montréal to sign a petition.

True False — You must be a Canadian citizen to sign a petition.

True False — You have 90 days to circulate a petition once the process has begun.

True False — Electronic signatures are accepted.

AK 169

Check your answers, and make the necessary corrections. You’ll probably be surprised by some of the answers. It’s important to have rules, or else anyone could create a petition about anything and the value of petitioning would be diluted.

In addition to different rules, there is a whole language related to using petitions to protest. Check it out with the next exercise.

Exercise 1.2

Match the words and expressions to the correct definition.

1. Complaint

2. Change people’s minds about something

3. Generate publicity for

4. Grievance

5. Have a say in

6. Petitioner

7. Preamble

8. Put pressure on

9. Put forward your view

A. A complaint about an unjust or unfair act

B. An introduction, the first part

C. To have a voice, to take part in the decision-making process.

D. Someone who presents a petition.

E. The cause of discontent

F. To bring about visibility to a problem or issue.

G. To exert influence or put a strain on people to get them to think like you.

H. To express your opinion about a subject.

I. To get people to drop their own point of view and adopt yours.

AK 169

* Rules adapted from information found on http://ville.montreal.qc.ca/portal/page?_pageid=6717,60417573&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL)

http://ville.montreal.qc.ca/portal/page?_pageid=6717,60417573&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL

http://ville.montreal.qc.ca/portal/page?_pageid=6717,60417573&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL


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Now that you know some vocabulary and some of the rules, it’s time to examine some of the specific components of petitions.

Identify Ideas and Points of View

Before you sign a petition, it’s important to understand the issues and different points of view being presented.

Read a protest letter from a concerned citizen to prevent a halfway house from being established in the neighbourhood.

A halfway house is (look up the definition):

Monday, August 5, 20xx

Mr. Derek Fresner City Councillor 155 First Avenue Beaconsfield, Québec J1G 1R0

Dear Mr. Fresner:

What has this world come to?

I’ve just read in the local paper about the halfway house they intend to build on my street. I don’t think the city understands what kind of neighbourhood this is. If it did, it would not be considering this plan at all.

Pine Street and the surrounding avenues are home to many young families. Hundreds of children live in a vicinity of two square kilometres surrounding our street. Two beautiful parks draw more children from neighbouring areas to play every day. This is most definitely NOT a place for a halfway house.

Our kids often play in the street. They play hockey, soccer, tag, basketball. We don’t want strangers staring at them or planning God knows what to hurt our children. We want our kids to feel and remain safe.

I plan on fighting this project with all I have, including by starting a petition. I hope the city changes its mind and that the halfway house finds itself another location.

Sincerely,

Cody Graham Pine Street Beaconsfield


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What position is defended in Mr. Graham’s letter?

In this letter, Mr. Graham clearly says he does not want a halfway house.

If Mr. Graham starts a petition based on his letter, what questions would you ask him before deciding to sign or not?

You might want to ask more details about the issue. In this case, you might ask how many people there would be in the halfway house, who would run it and what kind of people would be living there.

A petition must clearly outline the facts.

What are the facts in his letter?

It’s also important to know who is at the source of the petition and if they’re reliable or not.

Sometimes a petitioner might have a “hidden agenda,” a secret motive. For example, Mr. Graham could have other reasons for not wanting a halfway house in the neighbourhood. Maybe it would interfere with his plans to build condos on the vacant lot where the halfway house would be, or he could have some other secret plan.

Who is Mr. Graham? Do you think he’s reliable?

How can you tell?

If you said there’s not much information about Mr. Graham in the letter, you’re right. He doesn’t even give his complete address. There’s no way of knowing if he’s reliable just from his letter. In such a situation, you could try looking on the web for more information about him or ask him directly for his credentials.

You might also want to ask who the petition will be given to. The petition’s intended recipient is also very important: It determines how the message is presented and the impact it may have.

Who do you think the target audience is in this case?

If you said the city council or the mayor or some kind of municipal government agency, you’re probably right.

Are you ready for an exercise to practise what you just learned?


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Exercise 1.3

Read the protest letter from a prisoner who isn’t happy about his living conditions, then answer the questions.

Wednesday, June 3, 20xx

Mr. Tyler Mumford Member of Parliament 345 Sussex Road Ottawa, Ontario J2G 7T2

Dear Sir:

I have been living at Prillo Penitentiary for over 10 years. Never have I witnessed such awful living conditions as now.

I know we are in a prison. We’re not supposed to be living the fancy life. We’re inside because we committed a crime; I understand that. But what we’re going through now is inhumane.

First of all, our bed sheets are washed only once every other week. That is disgusting! You must also consider the fact that prisoners only get a shower every other day to understand that our bed sheets get dirty very fast. We don’t just spend our days relaxing in our cells. Most of us work physically during the day, either out in the field, in the auto shop or in the laundry room. We sweat all day, can’t wash and are then expected to sleep in dirty sheets.

Also, the quality of the food has really gone down. Once again, I know we’re not at a five-star hotel. But enough is enough! Today at lunch, we got instant mashed potatoes and bread! Yesterday, it was mashed potatoes and corn! Tonight’s menu: soup and mashed potatoes! The meals aren’t nutritious, and the taste is really awful. Most of us are heavy-set men. Plus they expect us to work six to seven hours a day with only this in our stomachs? Come on!

Finally, the recent electricity shutdowns are causing inmates to freak out. I guess the penitentiary is trying to cut down on costs, but this is not the way. For the past month, instead of having lights out at 10 p.m., they’ve shut them off right after supper, at 6 p.m. Not only do they close the main switches, but also our individual switches in our cells. We cannot read or write or even see anything. All we can do is lay there in the dark for hours until the guards open the switches at around 8 a.m. Fourteen hours of darkness a day is too much. It’s driving us bananas.

Thank you for taking the time to read my letter.

Sincerely,

Sean Ralfman


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1. What position is stated in this letter?

2. What are the facts?

3. If this were a petition letter you were thinking about signing, what other information would you want to know?

4. What can you tell about the author of the letter?

5. Can you tell if he’s reliable or not?

6. Who is the intended audience?

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Think back to the two letters you just read. If they were petitions, which one would you be willing to sign? Halfway house Prison conditions. Why?

Which petition would you be least likely to sign? Halfway house Prison conditions. Why?

You’ve just seen that people often have good reasons to circulate a petition. If they want to persuade people to sign it, they really have to convince them the petition is worth supporting. There are different ways to do this.

Organize Information to Make It Persuasive

If you’re going to write a petition, your goal is to persuade people to sign it. To be able to do this, you can adapt your vocabulary, expressions and writing style to make them more persuasive. You can also learn useful persuasion techniques to help you.

Let’s examine how these elements are used together to persuade.


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Vocabulary, Expressions and Style

Persuasive Vocabulary and Expressions

Persuasive vocabulary and expressions will help make a text convincing to the audience.

Observe these two sentences:

We would like to suggest that the fast food restaurant relocate further away from the school�

In light of these facts, the only solution is to close this harmful, unhealthy fast food restaurant near the school�

The second sentence is more forceful; it uses persuasive language. Here are a few more examples: • To move people to action, you must / it’s crucial that you do this / it’s imperative that you not do that / the

choice is clear / obviously / surely / the facts speak for themselves / the only solution. • Positive words: Excellent / superior / exciting / marvellous / magnificent / outstanding. • Negative words: Shocking / shameful / outrageous / dreadful / harmful / inferior.

!Tip You probably noticed that positive and negative words used to persuade are adjectives. They can be turned into adverbs if need be: magnificently / dreadfully. Of course there are many others; these are only examples.

Persuasive Style

Apart from vocabulary and expressions, your writing style helps convince your audience. People you approach to sign a petition will not take the time to read pages and pages. They will scan to get the relevant information.

Do you remember how to use the scanning strategy you learned about in previous workbooks?

When you scan a text for information, you don’t read the whole text, but rather focus only on what you’re looking for. Keep these style rules in mind to make your text dynamic and forceful: • As you have just seen, use punchy words and expressions that give a good idea of what the petition is about. • Repeat keywords. • Use short sentences with simple language. • Keep your paragraphs short as well, making sure to have one idea per paragraph. • Exclamation marks and other punctuation play an important role in persuasive texts, but overuse of

punctuation diminishes its impact.

Exercise 1.4

A. Circle or underline the words or expressions in each text that you think help persuade you to sign the petition.

Text # 1

The situation has gotten out of hand! Citizens of the South Shore need a new bridge immediately! Every morning hundreds of thousands of cars cross our three bridges, taking an average of one hour to cross each way! This is outrageous! That’s two hours a day of lost time� The solution is clear: A new bridge must be built!


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Text # 2

Join in our new amazing beautification project!The citizens of Philip and Madel streets have joined together to make our streets nicer and safer!The final result will be breathtaking! Flowers on the sidewalks, basketball nets for the kids, even a mobile mini-library in the park!If you want to be part of this outstanding project, join us in asking the city for funds�

Text # 3

Are you tired of cars speeding by on our street? Does the noise annoy you to the point of wanting to scream? We are fed up too! We are counting on you to help us! The city has to know that we won’t take it anymore�It’s imperative that we ask for a speed bump at both ends of our street to slow down traffic� It’s the only solution�We won’t wait until someone is hurt or, even worse, killed! Do you want that to happen? I don’t think so�

B. Turn this plain text into a persuasive one by adding appropriate words and expressions.

Every year in Canada, over 500 people die of drowning� Many of these deaths could have been prevented� The backyard pool is where most children under five years old drown� Most cities have laws to ensure that every backyard with a pool is fenced in� Our city doesn’t�

C. Reorganize this paragraph to make it more convincing.

The suicide rate in Québec is the highest in the country with a rate of over 22 deaths for every 100,000 citizens� Last year alone, 1,091 Quebecers committed suicide� Many suicides can be prevented� Unfortunately most people don’t know where to turn when they’re contemplating suicide, which is why they go through with the act� The city must open more hotlines to help these people in need�

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If you put this together with a few other strategies, you’ll be on your way to mastering the art of persuasion. Read on to find out more.

The Art of Persuasion

You can learn a few basic techniques to help you effectively persuade your audience. Let’s go over four of them.

Use Solid Facts

Observe these two statements:a) You should get your cat neutered because if it goes outside, it can contribute to the errant cat population

by having lots of kittens.

b) You must get your cat neutered. Last year 25,000 errant cats were identified in the Montréal area alone.

Why do you think statement b) is more convincing?

To convince people to think like you, it’s important that they believe what you are saying is credible. If it is based on solid facts, no one will be able to discredit your argument. Use numbers, statistics, examples or even a graph.

Connect With Your Audience

Why do you suppose it is important to connect with your audience?

If you express similarities between you and your audience, if you bring out your common values, beliefs and experiences, it will help convince people to join you in your quest.

You can use expressions like: I feel exactly like you do / We all want the same thing / Just like you, I want . . .

Cite Models and Authorities to Support Your Opinion

Can you name examples of people of authority?

If you said doctors, politicians, mayors, teachers, principals or experts, you’re right. When such an expert supports your point of view, your audience tends to be more willing to believe what you’re saying.

You can directly quote persons of authority. Do you know how?

Suppose you want to use something an expert said to support your opinion. For example, you want your children’s school to offer hot lunches, and you start a petition. To support your cause, you find an expert you can cite.

Example 1: In an online interview, Dr� Hannah Krueger, a researcher at the Institute of Better Nutrition, said her results indicate that a healthy hot meal at lunch improves children’s performance, whether the lunch is provided by parents or the school� She based her statement on a year-long research project that studied over 300 children�

Example 2: The Institute of Better Nutrition did a year-long study on over 300 children� Dr� Hannah Krueger, a researcher at the Institute, said: “A healthy hot meal at lunch ( � � � ) improves children’s performance�”


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Example 2 is shorter, simpler, easier to read and conveys the same information as example 1. Notice the punctuation in the direct quote. • The quote is introduced by a colon (:), which is used instead of the comma (,) in the formal language register. • It is encased in quotation marks (“ ”). • It contains ellipsis points ( . . . ) to shorten the quotation by omitting less important information.

For more information on this, go to your Reference Booklet * and look up “Orthography: Punctuation: Quotation Marks and Ellipsis.” You can also look up “Sentence Structure: Reported Speech: Direct Speech.”

An interactive exercise is available on this topic if you need to practise. Go to <cours1.sofad.qc.ca/ressources> and access your course resource web page, or use your Centre’s procedure.

Explain the Benefit(s) of Your Opinion

This should be targeted toward your audience. For example, if you’re addressing an audience that is motivated by money or has financial worries, you might emphasize the economic benefits. If your audience is a small community worried about security, you might explain how crime reduction and surveillance will be improved.

Do you think you’re ready to put this into practice with an exercise? Use your notes to help you. You’ll see, it’s really quite simple.

Exercise 1.5

Read the protest email, then answer the questions.

To: [email protected]: [email protected]: Boycott

My dear friends,

I’m asking all of my contacts to boycott Bambino Construction Inc. and to share this information with all of your contacts as well. I was discriminated against, and I want as many people as possible to know so that justice will come to this delinquent and dreadful company.

Last February, I applied for a job there as a foreman. I have 20 years’ experience. The only other person applying for the job was a young guy, fresh out of school. He had six months of experience working with his dad. I thought for sure I would get the job. Surely, like me, you believe that experience is everything, especially for a foreman position. That’s what I thought also.

Boy, was I wrong! I found out one week later that I had not gotten the job. What a travesty of justice! Can you believe it? There was not a valid reason for me not to have gotten the job! It’s preposterous!

If you support me in boycotting this company, it will bring awareness to this awful discrimination problem, and maybe next time you apply for a job yourself, the employer will think twice before giving the job to a young guy instead of you.

Caleb

* A PDF document with the corresponding Reference Booklet page numbers is available for download on the resource website.

Did you notice that the “To:” field is the same as the “From:” field? That’s because all the recipients’ emails are hidden under the “Bcc:” designation. Bcc is short for blind carbon copy.

http://cours1.sofad.qc.ca/ressources/


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A. Underline the persuasive words and expressions.

B. Which persuasion techniques did the author use? Write an example from the text for each persuasion technique used:

Technique 1: Use solid facts Yes No

Example:

Technique 2: Connect with your audience Yes No

Example:

Technique 3: Cite models and people of authority to support your opinion Yes No

Example:

Technique 4: Explain the benefit(s) of supporting your opinion Yes No

Example:

C. Improve the letter to help make it more convincing by using persuasive language and techniques you learned about. Rewrite it in approximately 150 to 200 words.

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You’ve just seen how to make a letter more convincing. There’s also something else you should consider when you’re trying to convince someone to think like you—proposing solutions.


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Propose Solutions

Proposing solutions is indeed a good way to convince your audience. Let’s see how this works.

Read the blog post by a concerned citizen who disagrees with the school board about how students are relocated.

Wrong DecisionsWell, it seems the school board doesn’t care about its students.

St-Andrews, our neighbourhood school, is being shut down. Yes, they have a valid reason. The school is infested with mould. They’re going to tear down the school and rebuild. That’s the good part.

Here’s the problem. Our children have to be relocated.

They’ve decided that each grade will be added to a different existing school. So Grade 1 will head off to St-Kyle, second grade will go to Laurie-Macarthur, and so on. This means our 500 students will be split into seven to 10 different schools. This is totally ridiculous!

Siblings are going to attend different schools, for heaven’s sake!

Not only that, the time it will take these children to travel is revolting. My daughter will have to travel one hour to and from school every day. My son, who will be going to a different school, will travel one hour and 20 minutes to and from school. It’s just insane!

My daughter has been crying almost non-stop since she found out about this. She’s going to be separated from her best friend. Since there are five Grade 4 classes they could not fit them all into the same school. So they’ve split those up as well. Grade 5s will be sent to three different schools! My daughter’s world has crumbled, and she doesn’t want to go to school anymore.

We’re also mad because we found out at the last minute. The school board has known about this problem for a whole year. It did not think we needed to know until recently. We could have prepared our children for the events to come. But no! We were the last to know.

The school board needs to find solutions because we have a group of unhappy, unmotivated kids.

Thoughts About My Life by Brittany Douglas

Comments:

I am a mom of two, a wife and a freelance journalist.


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The local parents are not happy about their children being relocated. Find three reasons for their discontentment in the text:

Reason 1: E.g. Brothers and sisters are not necessarily going to the same school.

Reason 2:

Reason 3:

Reason 4:

In order for the parents to convince the city to make changes to its policy, they could suggest different solutions.

When you want to make suggestions, it’s important that you justify them with solid evidence: facts, statistics, and pertinent examples.

Rephrasing the information will help you put forth your solution.

Rephrase InformationDo you remember what rephrasing is?

When you rephrase, you basically say the same thing as the original version, but in your own words. In this case, you want to say it again, but more persuasively.

Then, you add your proposed solution.

Look at this example using Reason 1 from above:

The text says: Siblings are going to attend different schools.

You can rephrase it by saying something like: They’re going to separate brothers and sisters.

Do you think you get it? Check out your understanding by doing the next exercise.

Exercise 1.6

A. Read the newspaper editorial about a recent protest about implementing a ban on pit bull terriers in your city.

The St-Leopold Express December 4

Pit bull on its way out?

Strict Pit Bull Law a Mustby Kayla Longford

A group of St-Leopold citizens protested last Saturday to ask the city to implement a strict anti-pit bull law. Although many cities across the province have forbidden owning one, St-Leopold has yet to pass a similar law.

Over the last 10 years, over 250 North Amer-icans were killed and hundreds more injured by pit bull terriers. Pit bulls are a crossbreed, and apparently this is what makes them ferocious. It’s in their DNA; there’s no way around it.

Some argue that it’s not the pit bull’s fault. Bridget Mansfield, a pit bull breeder and owner, said: “Not all pit bulls are vicious and potential dangers.”

continued . . .


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. . . continued

However, many owners train them to be guard and attack dogs. This phenomenon is increasing in frequency and could develop into a crisis if nothing is done.

Strict rules are necessary to stop this growing problem. Of course protesters would like all pit bulls to be taken off the street. This is unrealistic; we cannot ask owners to just give up their dogs. We could however put a stop to future problems

by making their breeding illegal. All pit bulls would have to be sterilized.

Also, we could force existing owners to have their dog on a leash at all times. This would re-assure the population.

All in all, we should not take a chance with other people’s lives. We must end this pit bull problem now.

B. Identify the problems mentioned by the author regarding pit bulls.

C. Identify the solutions proposed by the author.

D. What other solution not mentioned by the author could be appropriate?

E. The author is not very persuasive when it comes to proposing solutions. Rephrase her suggestions, and transform them into propositions that will convince the reader to sign a petition to impose a ban on pit bulls.

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To help you propose solutions, you might want to use the future perfect tense.

The Future Perfect

The future perfect is made with the simple future of the verb have + the past participle.

Example: By next month, the city will have banned pit bull breeding�

We mainly use it to talk about an action that will finish at a certain time in the future, but we don’t know when. It is often used with by.

If you need extra help before moving on to the exercise, go to your Reference Booklet and look up “Verbs: Verb Tenses and Moods: Indicative Mood: Future Perfect.”

Exercise 1.7

Complete the sentences by conjugating the verbs in the future perfect tense.

1. She (to finish, affirmative) her exam by 10, so we can go to lunch after.

2. Karen (to file, interrogative) her report before the 5 o’clock deadline?

3. Sandra (to get, negative) home before your plane lands.

4. My parents (to work, affirmative) for 50 years by the time they retire.

5. My friend Sam (to do, affirmative) the laundry by the time I get home.

6. the monkey (to eat, interrogative) the banana by the end of the show?

7. The students (to write, negative) their essay by tomorrow.

8. The citizens (to sign, affirmative) the petition by 8 p.m. tomorrow.

9. The police officer (to arrest, affirmative) the culprit by the time you arrive.

10. the customer (to buy, interrogative) the candies yet?

11. Jonathan (to discuss, affirmative) his upcoming wedding with his mother by next week.

12. Chad (to leave, affirmative) for Paris by next month.

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Proper language use is very important when writing formal letters. If there are grammar or punctuation mistakes, it decreases your credibility. For example, you know by now how to form plurals: book/books, leaf/leaves, woman/women, etc. But do you know how to form the plural of certain words that have a Latin or Greek origin?

In the text on pit bulls, for example, there’s a sentence that contains two of these words: This phenomenon is increasing in frequency and could develop into a crisis if nothing is done.

How would you pluralize these two words? . Let’s see if you got it right.


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Latin and Greek Plurals

Did you write phenomena and crises? A certain number of technical, specialized or formal words that have Latin or Greek origins don’t follow the usual rules of pluralization.

Examples: criterion/criteria, oasis/oases, larva/larvae�

These unusual plural forms have to be learned or looked up in a dictionary.

Go to your Reference Booklet , and look up “Nouns: Forming Plurals: Irregular Plurals: Latin and Greek Origin.”

Extra exercises are available on these topics if you need to practise. Go to <cours1.sofad.qc.ca/ressources> and access your course resource web page, or use your Centre’s procedure.

You’ve already seen many different tools to help you write a persuasive letter. In the next section, you’ll use what you’ve learned to turn such a letter into a petition.

Put the Petition in Writing

Now that you know how to write a persuasive letter, you’ll use what you’ve learned and turn it into a petition text.

The petition text should be around 125 to 150 words long. It should explain the issue in a way that convinces people to sign it. Remember to keep these style rules in mind to make your text dynamic and forceful: • As you have just seen, use punchy words and expressions that give a good idea of what the petition is about. • Repeat keywords. • Use short sentences with simple language. • Keep your paragraphs short as well, making sure to have one idea per paragraph.

Discover Petition Components

Here’s a petition text with its components. Observe the structure and different parts of the text. As you read, ask yourself, “If I did not know about the situation, would I understand it by reading this petition text?”

Date and place: Start with the date on which you’re initiating the petition and your location. October 21, 20xx, Rockford, Québec

Statement: The statement clearly establishes the subject of the petition. What is the subject of this petition?

A good petition text will start with an issue that is clearly defined in the statement. It shows the main idea of the text.

Is the issue clearly defined in this petition statement?

The Canadian government must make child survival around the world a priority.

http://cours1.sofad.qc.ca/ressources/


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Petition text: The issue is clearly defined. We know that the author wants to get the government’s attention about child suffering.

The text itself will be based on facts. Is that what this text is based on?

If you said the text is based more on feelings than facts, you were right. As you saw earlier with the persuasive letter, if you want to convince people to think like you, you must base your arguments on solid facts.

Over 16,000 children die every day. This is a tragedy.

We at the Montréal Health Organization

are asking the government to save the children of the world.

It makes us sad to see that many of these deaths could have been prevented. We cannot believe that in this modern era, some children are still dying of illnesses that are treatable. Most developing countries need funds to modernize equipment to help these children live in better conditions.

It makes us mad that even here in Montréal, children are being mistreated. The government must invest to help these children. They are our future after all.

We feel the Canadian government has the power to change all this. Let’s let the authorities know we care and show them we want them to invest in our children and in the children of the world.

Closing: The closing recaps the issue and should move people to action, asking them to sign the petition.

You and I can make a difference. Let your voice be heard by signing this petition and letting the government know it must act now.

Spaces for signatures:

These are the different components of a petition, but there are other things to consider to create an effective petition.

The next element to consider is the target audience.

Why is it important to keep the target audience in mind?

You learned that when you’re trying to persuade and show the benefits, your target audience is important. You should not forget to use the other persuasion techniques you learned about.

And of course you know by now that the language register is influenced by the target audience. In the case of a petition, since the intended audience is almost always an official entity, the register is always formal.

Another aspect is the organization of the text, the layout.

The layout is important. The petition statement should stand out. The petition text should be divided into an introduction, a body and a conclusion. Remember: The paragraphs should be short and easy to scan. And in addition to repeating certain words or ideas, you can emphasize them by using CAPITAL LETTERS or words in bold.

You can add a punchy photo; it will help convince your audience. You may also add a relevant graph to help the reader better understand the issue. Be careful to match layout style to the target audience and purpose.


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As for the example above, can you see the problem(s) with this text?

If you mentioned that there are no solutions proposed, you got it. How could you come up with solutions?

If you want to find solutions, you can try researching the topic. Find reliable sources to justify them, basing them on solid evidence.

Are you feeling overwhelmed? This is a lot of information. Let’s take the main components one by one. You’ll see it’s not that complicated!

Petition Statement

One key element of a petition text is the statement. Often it is the only thing people will read before deciding to sign or not. Let’s find out how to make this effective.

Exercise 1.8

For each statement, check “Yes” if you think the statement is effective and “No” if not. Ask yourself: If I did not know about the situation, would I understand it by reading this statement?

Statement Yes No

1. Reusable diapers must be free for low-income families everywhere.

2. Pesticides stink.

3. Zoos are outdated and do not respect animals’ right to live free. We must put a stop to these exploiters.

4. Would you like to live in a neighbourhood where pedophiles and murderers roam the streets? Certainly not.

5. The city of St-Augustine must do something about the growing skunk population. These pests are going through our garbage, ruining our lawns and scaring our children.

6. Our teenagers are dropping out of school at an alarming rate. Our education system is just not cutting it anymore. Join me in petitioning our government for education reform.

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Notice that the effective statements really express the main idea—the general issue that the petitioner is concerned about.

In statement 2, all we know is that pesticides are not good. Should they be banned? Should we reduce their use? Should the government do something about them? We don’t know.

Statement 4 is the same; we don’t have enough information. We don’t know what the issue is.


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Now that you’ve practised with petition statements, let’s go over petition texts.

Petition Text

Here is a petition about protecting the Canadian wolf. Read it carefully then do the exercise.

We must save the Canadian wolf!

The Canadian wolf population is on the decline in certain areas of Québec, including our beloved Mauricie National Park region. We must force the government to put a stop to this decline.

This is an issue you must be concerned with. The ecological integrity of the park is at stake.

Wolves play an integral part in maintaining the diversity of the park’s vegetation by feeding on prey such as deer and moose and also contributing to keep these populations at balanced levels.

What is happening now is that hunters are killing wolves at an alarming rate. The wolves are protected in the park, but as soon as they wander out, which they’ve started doing more and more, people track them and shoot them on the spot.

Our government must put a stop to this and protect the Canadian wolf.

Join us in our quest. After all, the survival of your park is at risk.

Exercise 1.9

Answer the questions.

A. Who is the target audience of the petition about protecting the Canadian wolf?

B. What is the language register of the petition text?


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C. Did you notice? There are no solutions in this petition text. Apply what you learned in ANG-5101-2 Examining Issues about doing research. At the library or online, find possible solutions to solve the Canadian wolf problem.

D. Rephrase the text in your own words, and make the petition better by adding persuasive language and using persuasive techniques.

E. Proofread your petition text, and write the final draft.

!Tip If you need a refresher on checking your text for mistakes, go to the Annex of your Reference Booklet .

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You are now ready to tackle your first task.

Your Task 1.1: Gender-Neutral Washrooms: For or Against?

Your city borough wants to offer gender-neutral washrooms in all public places on its territory� You will examine the issue, take a stand and write a petition to get support for your point of view: either implementing or stopping the creation of gender-neutral washrooms in public places�

Step 1: Plan and Prepare

You must start by becoming familiar with the issue. Here are some texts to start you off.

A. Read the newspaper article. Answer the questions in the table below.

Some schools in the Sher-brooke area are getting new washrooms in an effort to pro-tect teenagers who are question-ing their sexual identity.

This effort comes after par-ents requested universal bath-rooms or single-stall bathrooms for their worried teens.

It seems that transgender teen-agers were fearing for their safe-ty in mixed school bathrooms.

Sheryl Langley is a good ex-ample. She was born a boy, but identifies herself as a girl. When she walks into the girls’ bath-room, she gets stares and even screams from other girls and was once even shoved into a stall and called a pervert by one of the girls.

The new bathroom will help her feel safe. She’ll be able to focus on her studies, instead

of stressing about going to the washroom during breaks.

“For now, only the schools that request the washrooms will be receiving them,” said Doug-las Elford, spokesperson for the Sherbrooke School Board.

Sherbrooke Daily News Hailey Poynter

Transgender Washrooms in Sherbrooke Schools

Notes:


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B. Read the magazine article. Answer the questions in the table below.

Gender-Neutral Washroom Protest

Gets Ugly

On November 18, a protest was held at the Brian Orser Arena, where construction of gender-neutral washrooms and locker rooms was to be started� Protestors against the construction blocked the entry of the work crew�

When protestors from the other side showed up, things really got out of hand� A shouting match between both sides turned into an all-out brawl� When police finally showed up, two people had to be brought to the hospital and three more were treated on the spot�

The construction will go ahead, with those opposed to gender-neutral spaces promising to boycott the arena� They say they will not put their children at risk� They feel the lockers and washrooms will allow sexual predators to roam freely and have more opportunities to attack children�

Also, they believe this will cause their kids to be more prone to bullying� Teenagers are self-conscious about their changing bodies� “If we allow girls and boys to be in the same lockers, there’ll be more mocking and disrespectful comments,” says Miranda Layton, one of the protestors�

Those who are “for” say the stress is on the transgender people because they are looked badly upon at the moment in whichever washroom or locker room they choose� They are constantly being bullied by both sides, and that is not fair for them�

This is not an easy issue, and with protests going on in many different areas of the province, we’re sure to hear more about it in the future�

by Jade Zealey

Notes:

Article information based on: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/more-gender-inclusive-washrooms-needed-say-sfu-students-1.2962693.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/more-gender-inclusive-washrooms-needed-say-sfu-students-1.2962693

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/more-gender-inclusive-washrooms-needed-say-sfu-students-1.2962693


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C. Read the blog post about transgender washrooms in public spaces. Answer the questions in the table below.

A Big Fuss over NothingThe recent outcry by transgender individuals claiming gender-neutral washrooms is over nothing.

First of all, in many public spaces such as airports, sports venues and education facilities, there are already individual washrooms that can be used by either sex. Transgender individuals can simply use those. I don’t see what the big problem is! That’s what I do. If none is available, well the choice is simple. I’m dressed like a girl; I use the girl’s washroom. I go in, close the door and do my business. No one is going to check if you have a penis or not. It’s that simple.

Also, honestly, the number of transgender individuals is not high enough to justify all this fuss and money. At a time when the government is cutting direct services to the population, we should not ask it to invest in new washrooms when the ones in place are already working fine.

I do understand that transgender people can be self-conscious about using gender-separate washrooms, but the fact is there are already solutions out there, and they work fine as is.

My Blog by Jessie Magge

Comments:

Jessie Magge writes for the Clearwater Weekly Express. She is transgender and has a weekly blog about different controversial issues.

D. Answer the questions about the three texts:

Newspaper Article Magazine Article Blog PostWhat is the main idea?

Is the language register appropriate for the target audience, context and purpose of the text?Apply the REAL checklist. Is the text reliable?


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Newspaper Article Magazine Article Blog PostWhat are the facts?

E. What are the arguments on each side?

Arguments for Transgender Washrooms Arguments Against Transgender Washrooms

Newspaper article

Magazine article

Blog post

F. Optional. At the library or online, find more information and read other points of view about this issue. Add what you find to your notes.

G. Which side do you agree with?


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H. Think about two possible solutions that could be applied for each side, and note them below:

Solutions for the Pro-Transgender Washrooms Side

Solutions for the Anti-Transgender Washrooms Side

Step 2: Write

Use what you gathered and organized in Step 1 to write a petition statement and text for the side you chose.

Use either an electronic device with the appropriate software or a separate loose-leaf sheet of paper. Start with the petition statement that clearly identifies what you want people to support.

In 125 to 150 words, write your petition text. Remember, it should explain the issue, suggest what is needed and explain why.

Make sure the layout of your letter follows the form and style you learned about in the situation.

Proofread your text.

Write your final copy.


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Step 3: Reflect

How did that go? Are you satisfied with your task? Fill in the table below as truthfully as possible.

If you practised with a partner, ask for an opinion on these points. Then you can compare.

EVALUATION TABLE

Criteria Excellent Very Good Good Weak Very WeakI used the persuasive vocabulary and expressions I learned in the situation

I identified the main ideas and points of view in texts skilfully

I conjugated the future perfect correctly

I formed Latin and Greek plurals accurately

I identified the facts in texts appropriately

I understood the components of petitions adequately

I reviewed scanning strategies thoroughly

I applied the REAL checklist efficiently

I reviewed the punctuation used in quotes thoroughly

C2 – Reinvest understanding of textsI distinguished language registers in texts accurately

I identified the context, purpose and target audience in texts competently

I supported my opinions with solid facts successfully

I rephrased texts satisfactorily

I proposed solutions convincingly

C3 – Write and produce textsI used the correct grammar, syntax and vocabulary consistently

I used correct capitalization, spelling and punctuation constantly

I adapted my text to the target audience appropriately

I proofread my work and corrected my mistakes properly

I respected the required layout effectively

english as a second language - sofad · organize information to make it persuasive ... vocabulary,...

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