children’s immune systems.

Persuasive Essay (Without Sources)

Purpose

· Argue for community issues from a personal perspective

· Think critically about community issues; draft and revise a 5-paragraph Persuasive Essay in a Word doc. using MLA formatting; identify and correct writing errors; and reflect on the writing process

· Organize ideas into introduction, body, and conclusion paragraphs

In your essay, you need to follow these directions:

· Complete SoftChalk Modules 4 and 5 about the process of writing and organizing a persuasive essay.

· Brainstorm ideas about a community issue you face or have faced in the past. Remember that your community can be any group you have belonged to. (Communities could include schools, apartment buildings, workplaces, neighborhoods, towns, or states etc.)

· Chose an issue that you have experienced personally and feel confident arguing about using those experiences to support your statements. (You can argue for a solution, for awareness, or for prevention).

· Include the following:

· Title

· Introduction

· Thesis statement

· At least three body paragraphs

· Conclusion

Your paper must adhere to the following guidelines:

· 500-550 words in length

· Double-spaced, Times New Roman/Calibri, 12-point font

· MLA format

· 1-inch margins

· Use correct punctuation, grammar, and mechanics

· Use complete sentences

· Submit your paper to SafeAssign on Blackboard

Sample Persuasive Essay

Jane Doe

Professor Smith

ENG 1100

10 July 2021

Growing our Future

I can remember running down to the mulberry tree with all my cousins at my Grandma’s house. We stuffed ourselves with the juicy purple berries, staining our mouths, cheeks, and hands. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if all children could have such memories from their childhood? Luckily, mulberries and raspberries will grow almost anywhere, so it’s possible for communities to create spaces where children can congregate to enjoy the bounty of mother nature. This is a possibility in our neighborhood, too. The empty Barberry Park should be planted with maintenance-free fruit trees and berries to help the community come together, provide healthy activity for the children, and improve our local environment.

In our busy modern lives, we need reasons to come together as a community. What better cause for socializing than to plant a garden? But not just any garden. Most gardens need quite a bit of care and weeding; however, there are many types of fruit trees and berries which will produce fruit year after year whether any human pays any attention to them or not. The act of coming together and planting a variety of fruit trees and berry bushes in Barberry Park would be one way our neighborhood could work together as a community to make our lives and our children’s lives better. I’ve seen how much everyone enjoys annual picnics and bonfires, and perhaps we could add an annual tree planting to our list of activities.

Having fruit trees and berries growing in our park will benefit our children in many ways. First, children will learn to connect to nature when they pluck ripe berries from a branch and enjoy the delicious juices. This is a tangible way for children to understand how people, trees, and plants are all interconnected. Also, these fruits will be free of pesticides and full of anti-oxidants and vitamins to support our children’s immune systems. In my experience, even food that my daughter won’t eat at the dinner table, she will gladly gobble up when she gets to harvest that item outside. I’ve seen her stuff kale and lettuce into her mouth simply because she was able to pick these leafy greens outside and had complete control over the process, instead of being forced to eat a healthy salad at dinner time. This will likely be true for a variety of fruits many kids never try such as currents, mulberries, and gooseberries. Everyone needs the space and time to reconnect with nature, and our children are no different.

Planting new trees is always a vital way to improve any local environment, especially a park. Our neighborhood was historically an orchard and what better way to revive the past than to plant fruit trees in honor of the farmers who lived here before us. The new trees will help to clean our air and sequester carbon which can play a small part in the fight against global warming. Added to this, many fruit trees and berries are native plants which help to support the local ecosystem. These native plants are usually very hardy and require few fertilizers or pesticides. This contributes to making the local ecosystem a thriving green habitat for both humans and animals.

Building a park is an activity which enables us to structure our local environment: we build the future that we want to live in. Can you think of better future than one where young children can walk out of their houses and find healthy fresh fruit to eat, that is free of cost and free of pesticides? Imagine a future where neighbors gather to harvest cherries together and meet new friends while connecting with nature and the seasons. This is a future we are capable of creating for our children today and the next generation of Wildwood Park kids.

Rubric (See Blackboard for Digital Rubric):

Argues for a community issue from a personal perspective (20 pts.) ______

Introduction provides background to topic (10 pts.) ______

Thesis statement clearly states issue and position (20 pts.) ______

Each body paragraph addresses one topic to support thesis (30 pts.) ______

Detailed examples are provided in each paragraph (10 pts.) ______

Conclusion reviews the argument and its importance (10 pts.) ______

Essay is the appropriate length (10 pts.) ______

MLA formatting is followed (10 pts.) ______

The essay is mostly free of errors (30 pts.) ______