The Writing Lab – D204d

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Strategies for WSA Essays

The order of the essays presented here is not necessarily the order in which you should
write them. Some have found it best to write the persuasion essay first because of the
reading involved, others have found the order didn’t matter. Use your best judgment for
your own unique situation.

Writing for the “Position Task”

The position task asks you to write an argumentative essay using reasoning and evidence
to take a stand on a controversial or debatable issue. Your position essay should address
various sides of the prompt you choose, but it must also demonstrate clearly why you
have taken your position.

Stage One: Pre-Writing Notes (approx. 2-4 minutes)

Identify the debatable issue. Examine the prompts for any possible controversies and
choose only one to respond to. Decide 1) how you would explain the statement prompt
to a general audience; 2) why you accept it as true, reject it as false, or could accept it if
it were changed (and how you would alter it); and 3) give two or three reasons and
examples why you have taken your position. Quickly write down notes in your test
booklet to remember your ideas for these three elements.
Explore different sides of the statement. Even if you see only one acceptable
explanation or position, consider how your reader could possibly oppose it, and use that
for the counterargument(s). Write notes on this/these as well.
Compose your thesis statement. State your position on the prompt and summarize your
argument’s main reasons in one sentence. Your body paragraphs should explain your
reasons fully.

Stage Two: Write Essay Paragraphs (approx. 40 minutes)

State your interpretation of the prompt and your opinion on it at the beginning. List and
explain the reasons for your choice. Acknowledge the other side’s arguments, and then
disprove/rebut those arguments. Apart from paragraphing, the structure is up to you.
 Select the strongest evidence from your experience or other sources and present
your points—one point per body paragraph. State the point in the topic sentence,
and use the rest of the paragraph to illustrate the point.
  Pretend that your readers are skeptical and have to be shown examples for why
you think the way you do. You can best convince them of your position by
illustrating with a mix of evidence types: facts, statistics, concrete examples, expert
opinions, and personal experience.
 Cite your sources whenever possible.
 Near the end, or in each paragraph, discuss one or two of the opposing side’s
points to show that you can see how readers might reasonably object to your
argument. Then explain how this/these counterargument(s) is/are not effective.
 Conclude with your own viewpoint and why it is the best in your opinion, but say it
in a different way from your thesis statement.

Stage Three: Revise and Edit (approx. 1-3 minutes)

 Review your initial notes and make sure your thesis and paragraphs address all
your points in an organized way, each idea building on the one that came before it,
and leading logically to your conclusion.
 Check for complete sentences, including sentence-starting capitalization and
sentence-ending punctuation, and make sure you have clear pronouns.

Writing for the “Persuasion Task”

The purpose of the persuasion task is to convince your reader to accept your thorough
analysis of and solution to a problem. You will be given a scenario, an imaginary reader,
and a character for you to imagine yourself to be as you write. You have to persuade
your reader to believe that you understand their needs and likely objections, that you
are knowledgeable about the situation, and that your advice is the best solution.

Stage One: Pre-Writing Notes (approx. 2-4 minutes)

Identify
 who your imaginary reader is
 who you are supposed to be, especially in relation to the reader
 the problem or conflict
 your solution
Determine 2 or 3 reasons why your solution is the best. Then consider why your reader
might object to your proposals and how you would respond to those objections.

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 Stage Two: Write Essay Paragraphs (approx. 40 minutes)
Start with an appeal to your reader’s interests or concerns to show that you understand
them and that you are a trustworthy advisor. Then state your thesis: what you have
decided is the best solution to the problem and why.

For each body paragraph, focus on one point to prove for each part of your solution:
 Illustrate your reasoning with a real-world business situation that is relevant
to the fictional scenario you have been given, or provide some other kind of
realistic example to support your argument. Providing concrete examples will
make your ideas clearer and more believable.
 Address any objections your reader might have regarding the point of the
paragraph, and respond with further support of your argument to conclude
the paragraph.

Be sure to address the criteria your reader has about possible solutions, and show
how your proposal meets your reader’s needs. If you can, invent any additional
information that would enhance the scenario to make your solution even better:
“original thinking” is one of the elements the graders are looking for!

Show that you have sympathy for your reader and conclude your essay with a
statement, not a question.

Stage Three: Review and Proofread (approx. 1-3 minutes)

 Make sure your thesis and paragraphs match, each idea relates to the prompt, and
the organization leads logically and persuasively to your conclusion.

 If you start or end a sentence with a number, spell it out as a word; anywhere else
in a sentence, use a numeral. If you are using percentages as illustration, start a
sentence like this: Thirty percent; in the middle, use numbers and symbols: 30%,
and end a sentence like this: 30 percent.

 Make sure that you have written complete sentences, including sentence-starting
capitalization and sentence-ending punctuation, and that your use of names is
consistent, and further proofread as time allows.