An analysis of persuasive discourse: Learning how to take a stand

Abstract

The purpose of this study was twofold: (a) to determine the effects of instruction on students’ persuasive writing at two grade levels (3rd and 5th), and (b) to determine the categories and types of written persuasion used by students at four grade levels (3rd, 5th, 10th, and 12th). The first objective, determining instructional effects, was accomplished by specifically instructing students in oral and written argument/persuasion. There were no significant main effects for instructional strategy or for the presence of the oral interaction component. The second purpose of this study was to categorize students’ written persuasive responses and to determine grade and gender differences, if any, in the nature of the responses given. Weiss and Sachs’ (1991) classification system was used. There was no significant main effect for gender, but there was a significant main effect for grade. Students in Grade 3 did not use Compromise at all, whereas 10.8% of the 12th‐grade students’ responses utilized Compromise. Simple statements were used more by students in Grade 3 than by students in Grades 5, 10, or 12. There were also differences in the types of responses by grade level.