Writing with FRAMEs: Persuasive Essay Writing FRAME

Teach your student-scholars the art of writing a Persuasive Essay! This FRAME will walk them through both the WHY and the WAY to successfully write a Persuasive Essay. This is the second in our top selling Writing with FRAMES line of products!

I teach in one of the top Strategic Instructional Method (SIM) districts in Texas. This graphic organizer/writing FRAME aligns with:

Current TEKS:

Strand 6, 110.23 and 110.24, inclusive.

Purpose: The purpose of this FRAME is to give students an outline in writing essays, particularly with persuasive essays. By incorporating sentence stems into the FRAME model, we are also providing differentiation and support to EL students, as well as our native speakers who need additional support.

This FRAME was constructed for my 7^th and 8^th grade Pre-AP, ESL, and Gen Ed students. It is based on the Strategic Instructional Method (SIM) FRAME Routine. The original use was to help guide students in writing a persuasive essay on the topic of trophy hunting, but has been subsequently used for a number of assignments. The FRAME is used for the first rough draft only, and students do all subsequent drafts on lined paper or using google docs. I do collect and grade the FRAME as a daily grade, with all drafts attached or referenced.

The first step in the FRAME is to have students write out the prompt you are having them write to. The prompt used in my sample completed FRAME is one my students wrote extensively about. When you give them the prompt, have them write it both verbatim and paraphrased; this will help you recognize students who may be misunderstanding the prompt. This is your FOCUS stage.

The next step is to have students conduct any research you may be having them use. For the original assignment on trophy hunting, students read articles about Cecil the lion, the illegal ivory trade, rhinoceros and elephant hunting, and the letter/op ed piece, “In Zimbabwe, we don’t cry for lions”, in order to provide an alternate perspective. Students did close reads of their selected articles, and were also encouraged to do additional research.

After gathering their research, the students return to the FRAME. At this point, I encourage my students to decide what evidence they will be using, and to make note of it, as well as an MLA citation for the source (a separate lesson in and of itself). When students begin writing, I often have them begin with paragraph 2, skipping the “R” and moving to the “A” stage, assembling their arguments and evidence. One of the benefits of this is that it relieves the “I don’t know how to start” syndrome that our scholars face. By beginning with the assembling stage, they are unknowingly refining their introduction.

It now becomes a natural progression to move into the “M” portion of the FRAME, and “Make a ‘So What’ Statement”. By having our students develop a counter-argument to their own work, we are pushing them to strengthen their argument and to respect the viewpoints of others.

After paragraphs 2 through 4 (or whatever your last body paragraph is prior to the conclusion), I now have students return to paragraph 1. They need to write their introduction. Reminding them to hook the reader BEFORE giving their thesis is a great way to demonstrate that the main idea is not always obvious! After completing the introduction of the FRAME, we complete the conclusion.

The “E” step is used for extension, and with this FRAME it also lends itself to moving into the editing and revising, as well as rewriting, portions of the writing process. Additionally, I always add a reflective element to my lessons, and you will find these at the end of the FRAME.

Suzanne and I would love to hear from you! Please let us know how this product worked for you and your scholars by leaving feedback for us here, or by emailing us at elainmiddleschool@gmail.com.

Best wishes always!
Matthew and Suzanne

ELA in Middle School