In my opinion, one of the most empowering skills we as teachers of all subjects and grades can teach is how to form a viewpoint, support it with logic and evidence, and express it persuasively. Whether students are advocating for climate action, petitioning for school change, deabting the best type of cookie in class or writing letters on human rights issues, persuasive writing connects academic outcomes with real-world voice and agency.

But persuasive writing doesn’t come easily for all students, honestly it doesnt come easy for MOST students. Many struggle with organizing ideas, adopting a formal tone, or even knowing when to speak up and the best ways in which to do so. For students who are neurodivergent, English language learners, or navigating school with an IEP, language can feel more like a barrier than a bridge and it is up to us educators to build the supports to help students safely traverse the powers of language.

That’s why this year, I’ve begun to reframe my persuasive writing unit (from my teaching practicums), to use with my 2025/2026 modified language class, around language awareness, inclusive scaffolding, and identity-affirming practice. This post reflects that shift, and how I’m integrating sociolinguistic understanding into a core academic task.

Persuasive Writing: Where to start to gain control?

Too often, students enter high school with strong opinions but weak confidence and/or ability in expressing them persuasively. In my own classroom, I see students with brilliant insights, but who freeze when asked to write a “formal” argument. Others slip into overly casual language, unsure of the difference between texting a friend and writing a persuasive letter. We recently had an inclass debate on Pie’s. I asked the students “Which is the better pie – Blueberry or Strawberry Rhubarb?” and to support there choice with 2 – 3 points that would convince me that yes their pie choice is clearly better. What I observed was many students could tell me which is better in their opinion but not support their choice. Some students were able to give more surface level supports to their arguement and then one student let me know that not only has he never had these two pie types he has NEVER had a pie in his life but has had cake and gave me several reasons that cake was the better dessert! This little icebreaking debate led to some fun inclass arguements going forward as my kiddos developed some persuasive skills that will better them in the long run.

Persuasive writing, then, is not just a genre-it’s a life tool. Persuasive writing helps students to “develop logical arguments and a cohesive summary to support their opinions”Âč. But to get there, students need control over the purpose, structure, and tone of persuasive texts.

That control doesn’t come through rote learning. It comes through discussion, modeling, voice-building, and feedback, all of which are intentionally woven into my approach this year.

Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing – The 4 ways in which we develop our Language Skills.

Students need to hear strong ideas, talk through their thinking, see examples, and write with purpose, and they need to do all of that in a safe space that honours who they are and how they speak. Learning new language skills can be super intimidating so I make it fun and use silly starting topics like Pie flavours or asking students which Italian Brain rot character has more “rizz” and why its Tralalero tralala (its all the rage with the kids right now – could not begin to tell you why or how).

This approach also responds to what we see every day in inclusive classrooms. Not every student walks in with the same access to academic language, but every student has something to say. When we slow down and teach the structure, the tone, and the power of words, we’re not just building better essays, we’re building confidence. Including language diversity and sociolinguistic awareness in our teaching isn’t just a nice-to-have; it’s a must if we want our classrooms to reflect the real world and truly empower all learners.

To develop confidence and control, I integrate all four language strands:

Listening: Hear It First

We begin with persuasive media—youth speeches from Kiddy123’s TED Talks or Build a Biz Kids’ KidTalks are great models to start with. Listening to news media and political debates are also selections that can be made that allow for students to focus on tone, language, and structure before they try it themselves.

Reading: Analyze Mentor Texts

We read relevant persuasive texts—such as letters to the principal or environmental opinion pieces—and annotate for structure and language. We build anchor charts with thesis examples, modal verbs, transitions, and calls to action.

We analyze a mix of student-written and published persuasive texts. We focus on:

  • Structure (thesis, reasons, evidence, counterargument, conclusion)
  • Language (modal verbs, rhetorical questions, linking phrases)
  • Tone and audience awareness

Drawing on Academic Language in Diverse Classrooms by Gottlieb and Ernst-Slavit, we explore the meta-linguistic awareness needed to “see how language choices shape meaning and purpose in discipline-specific genres”³. This includes using color-coded examples and guided annotation templates to scaffold reading comprehension.

Writing: Scaffolded Drafting

I model a full persuasive paragraph using a graphic organizer and sentence frames. We co-write as a class, revise for stronger wording, and explore tone. Students then work on their own persuasive pieces, with differentiation supports like speech-to-text, templates, and peer feedback.

ogether, we co-write a class example—usually on a topic they care about, like phones in school or longer lunch breaks. I model how to:

  • Develop a clear thesis
  • Choose three focused arguments
  • Add reasoning and evidence
  • Address counterpoints
  • Conclude with a call to action

We use graphic organizers, sentence stems, and revision strategies. We revise weak claims like “We should recycle” into “We must recycle to reduce landfill waste and protect our planet for future generations.”

As Sedita (2018) notes, explicit instruction in academic language is critical, especially when students may not use “school English” at home⁎. Sentence-level modeling makes academic forms feel achievable—not intimidating.

Speaking: Low-Stakes to Public Speaking

Students rehearse ideas through partner debates and small group presentations before sharing their speeches with the class—or recording them. We use sentence stems and “power words” to boost confidence. ( If you want a fun tip, bring in some MASSIVE blazers that students can put on to feel ‘suited up’ for their debate – my kids love this)

Persuasive writing is also about performance. Students rehearse their arguments orally through:

  • Think-pair-share debates
  • Group discussions
  • Small audience previews
  • Full-class speeches or recorded videos

Zwiers (2019) emphasizes the importance of “academic conversations” as a pathway to deeper comprehension and clearer writing⁔. When students speak through their ideas first, they gain clarity in their thinking and confidence in their voice.

Structure thoughts make for Structured Arguements.

During my practicum experiences, I often skimmed over the structure of persuasive writing—assuming students “got it” once they heard a few examples. But as Grifenhagen and Barnes (2022) argue, “genre structures must be made visible, practiced repeatedly, and revisited across contexts”⁶.

This year, I plan to introduce:

  • A visual framework for persuasive writing (with color-coded thesis, support, and conclusion)
  • Student-friendly exemplars
  • A co-created success criteria chart

I will also aime to unpack the language of counterarguments, linking phrases, and calls to action with real examples. The difference in students’ final pieces has been significant—not just clearer structure, but more purposeful voice. Now I havent yet done this so I am not sure on my success but am confident that creating building blocks for students to build upon will be benefitial in the long run to their learning of persuasive language but also in their learning of academic writing skills. Whats so great to me about this Structure plan is that I can integrate it cross curricularly as its not just something to work into English and Socials but would also be useful in some Science lab work and perhaps Careers.

How you can utilise this within the Social Studies domain

Now as I have mentioned a few times my official title is as an Inclusive Ed teacher (formerly Special Ed) and not really that of a subject teacher but I do have a love of humanities an will be running a modified Socials program at my highschool next year. While pondering the best ways to instruct perusasive writing techniques I thought of what I already teach now and how to build up from there.

While persuasive writing fits squarely into English Language Arts, it’s also a powerful tool in Social Studies, where students examine power, justice, and decision-making; which means I have many places in which I can integrate persuasive writing into our curriculum. Some ideas I thought of include:

  • Advocating for more gender-neutral bathrooms
  • Making fake propoganda during a war/political study
  • ‘Letters from the front’ excersises
  • Petitioning for environmental action
  • Writing to local politicians about youth mental health

These ideas all connect directly to the BC SS9 curricular competencies:

“Acknowledge different perspectives on people, places, issues, or events in their lives (perspective)

Identify fair and unfair aspects of events, decisions, or actions in their lives and consider appropriate courses of action (ethical judgment)

Through persuasive writing, students learn that their voice matters, not just on paper, but in policy, community, and change.

Language, Identity and Power – Sociolinguistic Integration

Language is never just about sentence structure or spelling instead it’s about identity, belonging, and power. This understanding has been deepened during my current Queen’s course, CONT938, through my exploration of sociolinguistics (the study of language in relation to social factors, including differences of regional, class, and occupational dialect, gender differences, and bilingualism), which emphasizes that language variation is normal, meaningful, and rule-governed, even if it doesn’t match the so-called “standard” English used in school (CrashCourse, 2020).

In fact, in his TES podcast, Robert Drummond explains that young people’s slang and dialects aren’t mistakes, they’re identity markers. That statement really shifted how I approach classroom language. Instead of asking students to abandon their voice in favour of formality, I am now aiming to help them reflect on when and how they shift their language intentionally – without erasing their previous dialects and knoweldge.

So, during our future persuasive writing unit, I plan to invite students to consider:

  • Who am I writing for?
  • What tone will be most persuasive to that audience?
  • How can I sound like myself and still meet the expectations of the assignment?

These questions help students see language choice as power, not pressure. Matt Levinson (2012) writes about code-switching in teens’ digital lives and highlights how naturally students already shift between texting, speaking at home, and writing for school (no-one really uses text slang in our verbal dialect, not many say LOL outloud or BRB). Rather than correcting those shifts, we can help students understand them as strategic and skillful tools.

This mindset moves us from a deficit-based approach (correcting “improper” grammar) to an asset-based one, where students’ linguistic and cultural backgrounds are seen as strengths rather than weaknesses. Washington (n.d.) reminds us that when educators ignore the home language patterns of Black students and other students with differing home dialexts, we risk distancing them from literacy altogether. Similarly, ColorĂ­n Colorado (n.d.) advocates for teaching that celebrates multilingual and multicultural identities while still providing access to academic success.

“Young people’s slang and local dialects aren’t mistakes. They’re identity markers.”

Robert Drummond

So how can I celebrate all dialects while instructing a new academic dialect?

  • Encouraging students to brainstorm or draft in their home language or dialect
  • Discussing real-life examples of code-switching and what it feels like
  • Highlighting persuasive speakers who blend personal voice with professional impact
  • Explicitly teaching when and why formal tone might be effective, without framing it as “better”

Teaching persuasive writing is ultimately about more than essays, it’s about empowering students to recognize their language as valid, to make intentional choices, and to advocate for themselves and otheres with confidence. When we acknowledge the links between language, identity, and power, we invite students not just to meet the standards we have set for them, but to also question it, reshape it, and take their place within it.

Ultimately, teaching persuasive writing isn’t just about building strong arguments. It’s about helping students understand that their voices matter and that their language, in all its forms, is valid and valuable. When we center identity and power in our writing instruction, we’re not just teaching writing. We’re inviting students to take up space with confidence, and that’s a kind of literacy they’ll carry with them long after the unit ends.

Sources for further exploration: