Persuasive Writing: Audience

Name: ___________________________
 
The purpose of persuasive writing is to convince your reader to think or
act in a certain way. This means you must give more consideration to who
your audience is more than in other types of writing. What motivates one person
won’t necessarily motivate another.

For example, You’ll learn and get good grades.

on a scale of
1-5, how much Your teacher will be happy.
would each
Your teacher will give you prizes.
reason to do
your Your parents will be happy.
homework
motivate you? You won’t have to stay in for recess.

Pretend you are going to write a persuasive essay about the importance of your peer
group joining organized sports. The audience matters!

Rate how motivating each factor would be for each audience on a scale of 1-5.

Doctors Parents Peers Teachers

Keep healthy/fight disease

Keep out of trouble

Earn better grades

Make friends

Look good

Earn college scholarships

Using the chart above, choose your top three motivators for the audience listed.
 
1. Peers: _________________________________________________
 
2. Parents: _________________________________________________
Copyright © Kerry Tracy 2012-present. All rights reserved.
 You are writing a persuasive essay about whether or not students should be allowed to have
cell phones in school. In the space below, brainstorm a list of all the benefits supporting
students having cell phones in schools.

For #1-5, choose any five motivators from your brainstorm to list. Then fill in the chart using a
scale of 1-5 to rate how motivating each factor would be for each audience.

Peers Parents Teachers

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Using the chart above, choose your top three motivators for each audience listed.
 
1. Peers: ___________________________________________________
 
2. Parents: ___________________________________________________
 
3. Teachers: ___________________________________________________

Copyright © Kerry Tracy 2012-present. All rights reserved.