Persuasive Essay Tiered

Lesson
Troy Williamson

Depending on which group you

are in, sit at either the front
table or the back table.

These groups are not definitive, simply readiness groups I have made based on
your pre-assessment.
If you are not confident with or want a refresher in persuasive essay structure
and you are in the TEEL group, you are more than welcome to join the essay
Those
of you
who were away, I have grouped you based on observed
structure
group.
readiness. However, depending on how confident you are with persuasive
essay structure, you may join the TEEL group.

Persuasive essay structure + TEEL

(FRONT TABLE)

William
Luke
Dylan
Christopher

Daniel
Jake
Tahira
Kaine
Dylan
Zara
Claire

TEEL (BACK TABLE)

Daniel
Angelika
Dylan
Trent
Emily
Abby
Sarah
Gemma
Bianca
Claudia

Brandon
Kayleigh
Brodie
Mark
Kristen
William

Lesson outline
Today we will be doing a tiered lesson based on your
readiness for persuasive essay writing.
A tiered lesson is where we will have different tiers or
groups working at different levels.
It is important to emphasise that doing well on this
persuasive essay has nothing to do with your
readiness. Your readiness is simply what YOU
know already and what WE can do to best prepare
you for the persuasive essay on what you DONT
know.

Time management
1:45 2:15
Front table: outline persuasive essay structure, then
outline TEEL.
Back table: read through the TEEL format and practice
deconstructing paragraphs using the TEEL format.
2:15 2:45
Whole-class: explore the TEEL format/examples and
outline persuasive essay task
2:45 3:15
Independent study: start persuasive essay plan

The TEEL format

What is the TEEL format? What does TEEL stand for?
TEEL is an acronym to structure the paragraphs for your
body. It helps structure each paragraph in your body to
have a clear link to your topic and ensure that you
explain the significance of your evidence.

T Topic Sentence
E Evidence
E Explanation
L Linking Sentence

Example 1
It has been claimed that chocolate is a healthy food, but in
fact it contains a lot of sugar, which can be unhealthy. For
example, sugar can cause tooth decay, which can lead to
dental problems later in life. Too much sugar can also lead to
obesity, which is a serious health risk. In addition to this,
sugar contains a high amount of fructose, which is bad for the
liver. As a result, if sugar leads to health risks such as tooth
decay, obesity and liver damage then it is clear that it is
unhealthy for the human body. Therefore, despite the claim
that chocolate is a healthy food, the sugar contained inside is
unhealthy and should either be avoided or eaten minimally.

Example 2
Initially, many university students find that getting the right
balance between social activities and academic work can be a
challenge, but being organised will help students be more
successful. As Burdess (2007, p.8) believes, getting organised is
something that students need to work at, and that it will not just
happen naturally for them. Therefore, one of the important time
management skills that students can use to help meet deadlines is
to use a semester planner and a weekly timetable to mark in due
dates and plan a study program. Another management skill is goal
setting, allowing students to create short-term and long-term goals
and to prioritise between them. These management skills can help
students lower their stress levels, help maintain motivation and,
therefore, improve their chances of success. Clearly, using
organisational skills to get a work and life balance is one of the

Example 3
A person who lacks empathy can destroy the lives of others. Many
people create an isolated world for themselves and, in the process,
never learn that other people have feelings. The narrator in Edgar
Allen Poes The Tell-Tale Heart is an example of what can happen
when a person lacks the ability to empathise with others. In Poes
story, the narrator states, It was not the old man who vexed me but
his Evil Eye (189). The narrator only sees the old mans eye and
makes no effort to consider his victims thoughts, feelings or his life.
Just prior to the murder, the narrator shines his lantern on his victims
eye and says he could see nothing else of the old mans face or
person (191). Even after eight days of plotting the murder, the
narrator never gave himself the opportunity to empathise with the old
man. A simple thought about the pain he could inflicted, both
emotional and physical, and the outcome of the tragic story the

Example 4
Learning to write college English papers is not necessary
to a well-rounded education. As one professor stated,
We dont have to assign papers, and we should stop. We
need to admit that the required-course college essay is a
failure. This failure is based on the fact that students do
not enjoy writing them and can even resort to buying,
borrowing or stealing English papers, if necessary.
Therefore, it is clear that college English papers are not
necessary to a well-rounded education and alternatives to
summative tasks should be encouraged, such as
presentations, reports or debates.

Example 5
Elies survival is linked inextricably to his farther. Ellie relies on him
for emotional security the reassurance that if another family
member is alive then he too must endure the hardships of the
environment in which he has been thrust. Indeed, as the narrative
progresses, their survival transitions from a question of him or me
to him and me. Elies fathers reliance on him for food and
support and Elies reliance on his father for emotional security
demonstrates that Elie and his father would live or die together.
Clearly, the ability for a young boy and his father to survive the
Nazi death camps for so long reveals the extent to which we rely
on the other for physical and emotional survival. As a result, the
only way that Elie can survive is if his father survives as well,
making them inextricably connected.

Example 6
Jonas made the right decision to leave the community because
everyone there would have benefited from his action. The people
of the community were living a sad, limited existence. They had no
access to many of the most beautiful things about life, like love
and colour. Their very humanity had been gradually removed from
them and leaving the people almost like robots, unable to make
decisions for themselves because they thought they had to
protect people from wrong choices (p. 128). When Jonas left, he
released all his colourful memories for the community to gradually
learn to understand and enjoy. This would eventually benefit the
people as they would now have access to the memories and the
interesting details they contained. They were now more informed
and educated and could make choices about the way they lived
their lives. Jonas was clearly justified in leaving, as it would mean a

Persuasive essay outline

Your task is to write an essay answering the following question:
Should Australia Day be a day of mourning or celebration of nationhood?

Essay requirements:
1,000 words (10% over or under is acceptable).
Introduction (100 words)
Body (250-300 words x 3)
Conclusion (100 words)

At least 6 references must be used (we shall go over

referencing next week).
Typed, double-spaced, size 12 font. Something that is easy to
read.

Persuasive essay outline

You can argue for your persuasive essay that
Australia Day should be a day of mourning.
Australia Day should be a day of celebration.
Australia Day should be a day of but .
You will argue your position based on the historical
research we completed for the jigsaw research activity.
You should focus on at least three different events for
your research, using at least 6 different sources.

Persuasive writing plan

For the rest of the lesson, plan out your persuasive essay
by:
Choosing your argument.
Choosing three key events you will use to support your
argument.
Then, choose which evidence/sources you will use when
discussing your key events (you may use the laptops
for this process).

Homework

Finish your persuasive writing plan (Due Tuesday, June

2nd).
Email to yourself or copy the jigsaw/teacher research
onto a USB to complete your plan over the weekend.
Be ready to start typing out your persuasive essay for
next week.