This document outlines a lesson plan for using the book "Better Essays and Persuasive Techniques" to teach writing skills to students from years 7 to 9. It is divided into three parts, one for each year. Part 1 focuses on essay structure, reasoning techniques and vocabulary building for year 7 students. Part 2 teaches persuasive strategies and techniques to year 8 students. Part 3 helps year 9 students identify different persuasive text types and improve their sentences through exercises analyzing and writing various persuasive texts. The goals are to improve students' reasoning, writing skills and written expression.

1. Better Essays and
Persuasive Techniques by
Dr Jennifer Minter
Writing Better Essays and
Persuasive Techniques helps
students improve their essays and written skills.
Chapters 2 and 3 introduce students to reasoning and
persuasive strategies.
Chapter 4 outlines a range of persuasive text types
and their features.
Chapter 5: “Writing Better Sentences” shows students
how a basic knowledge of parts of speech and
phrases/clauses can help them overcome common
grammatical pitfalls.
Better Essays and Persuasive Techniques

2. Better Essays and Persuasive
Techniques: Overview
The following lesson plans are
intended as a suggested guide for
teachers/students from Years 7 to 9.
Part 1: First Stage (Year 7)
Part 2: Second Stage (Year 8)
Part 3: Third Stage (Year 9)
Better Essays and Persuasive Techniques

3. Part 1: Year 7
Chapters 1-2: Essay
structure and reasoning
techniques.
Chapter 1 focuses on the
process of writing an essay,
planning and structure.
Chapter 2 focuses on different
types of evidence and
reasoning strategies.
See also tone-word building
strategies.
Better Essays and Persuasive Techniques: pp. 5-34.

4. Part 1: Exercises
(“downloadable” and “writable”)
•Exercises 1 - 13,
pp. 23 – 35.
•Revision exercise 15
p. 41
Plus supplementary exercises
(if required) :
•mini-articles with tone word lists to
build tone vocabulary and
•essay-writing practice with plans
and source material.
Better Essays and Persuasive Techniques: pp. 5-34.

5. Part 1: Year 7 goals
• Students will identify a range of
reasoning strategies authors use
to persuade their audience.
• Students will improve their
essay-writing skills through:
• a knowledge (and use) of
different types of evidence and
reasoning strategies and
• an awareness of essay structure
and signposting techniques.
Better Essays and Persuasive Techniques: pp. 5-34.

6. Part 1: Year 7 goals
• Students will seek to improve
their written expression and
maturity through a series of
vocabulary building word
exercises.
• See introduction to tone, p. 43.
• Work through small mini-
articles/exercises to learn tone
words (See pp. 116-117).
Better Essays and Persuasive Techniques: pp. 5-34.

7. Part 2: Year 8
Chapter 3: Persuasive
Techniques
The chapter focuses on:
•the author’s views, tone,
style and choice of words;
•the author’s appeals and
values and
•the author’s attacking
techniques.
Better Essays and Persuasive Techniques: pp. 43-70.

8. Part 2: Year 8 goals
• Students will identify a range
of persuasive strategies.
• Students will use persuasive
strategies in their essays.
• Students will use appeals to
write better topic sentences
• Students will use “attacking
devices” to write better
rebuttals.
Better Essays and Persuasive Techniques: pp. 43-70.

9. Part 2: Year 8 goals
Better Essays and Persuasive Techniques: pp. 43-70.
• Students will seek to improve their
written expression and maturity
through a series of vocabulary
building word exercises.
• See introduction to tone, p. 43.
• Work through small mini-
articles/exercises to learn tone
words (See pp. 116-117).

10. Part 2: Exercises
Chapter 3: Persuasive
Techniques
Exercises 18 - 29, pp. 48-68.
Revision Exercise 30, pp.
73-74
Better Essays and Persuasive Techniques: pp. 43-70.

11. Part 3: Year 9
Chapters 4-5: Persuasive
text types and Better
Sentences
Students will identify (and
discuss in a fluent manner) a
range of persuasive and
reasoning techniques.
Students will use a variety of
techniques to write different
persuasive texts.
Better Essays and Persuasive Techniques: pp. 77-94.

12. Part 3: Exercises
Exercises 33, p. 79
Exercise 35, p. 84
Exercise 36, p. 87
Plus downloadable
supplementary exercises to
help students identify a range
of persuasive/reasoning
techniques.
(See fill-in-the-table samples).
Better Essays and Persuasive Techniques: pp. 77-94.

13. Part 3: Aims
Students will use their
knowledge of persuasive and
reasoning strategies to write a
variety of text types.
Exercises 33 – 39, pp. 77-95
Students will analyse a variety
of texts, p. 84 and p. 86 and
write a short essay.
(See Presentation on essay writing
Part 1 and responses)
Better Essays and Persuasive Techniques: pp. 77-94.

14. Resources include:
Suggested responses
E-books with exercises
(downloadable and
writable)
An e-licence (and class
sets)
Better Essays and Persuasive Techniques: pp. 77-94.