Junior School

Persuasive Writing in Year 1 

Article by Andria Manoli , Year 1 Level Leader 

This term in Year 1, students have been learning about persuasive writing. They have explored the purpose of a persuasive text, to convince the reader to agree with a particular opinion. Students identified the structure of persuasive texts and investigated the language features authors use to persuade their audience. They also expanded their vocabulary of persuasive and emotive phrases, including I strongly believe, I’d rather and It is important that. 

During Writing sessions, students applied their understanding of the purpose and structure of persuasive texts to plan and create their own pieces. Lessons often begin with a thought provoking topic, such as, “Would you prefer to be a doctor or a teacher?” Students select a viewpoint and use persuasive language to clearly state their opinion and convince their peers to agree with them. These experiences encouraged rich classroom discussions and supported students to justify their opinions with reasons and evidence. 

Our young authors have shown wonderful enthusiasm when sharing their opinions on a range of relevant and engaging topics. This week, students linked their persuasive writing to Book Week. After choosing from a selection of books, they wrote persuasive statements using emotive language to convince their teacher why their chosen book was the best selection. Students thoroughly enjoyed sharing their opinions with the class and experimenting with strong persuasive and emotive words and phrases such as Surely you agree that..., I strongly feel..., magical, dreadful, terrified, confident and amazed. 

The Year 1 students have impressed with their enthusiasm and commitment to this new text type, demonstrating growth in their writing skills this term.