Persuasive Writing Error Hunt

Name:

Date:

Student detective with magnifying glass hunting for writing errors

🎯 WALT: We Are Learning To

Identify and correct errors in persuasive writing to make our arguments stronger and more convincing.

Success Criteria:

✓ I can spot spelling and punctuation mistakes
✓ I can identify weak persuasive language
✓ I can suggest stronger persuasive words and phrases
✓ I can explain why my improvements make the writing more convincing

🔍 Part 1: Error Detective

Read this persuasive paragraph carefully. It contains 8 errors - spelling mistakes, punctuation problems, and weak persuasive language.

I think our school should have longer lunch breaks. Some students dont have enough time to eat there food properly. Its quite good for students to have more time to play and socialise with freinds. This could help students feel a bit better about school. Many schools around Australia already do this so maybe we should consider it too. Students might be slightly more focused in afternoon classes if they have had more time to relax.

1. Circle or underline the spelling mistakes you can find in the paragraph above.

2. What punctuation errors can you spot?

3. Find examples of weak persuasive language (words like "quite", "a bit", "maybe", "might") and write them here:

✨ Part 2: Make It Stronger!

4. Replace these weak words with stronger persuasive language:

• "quite good" → _______________

• "a bit better" → _______________

• "maybe we should" → _______________

• "might be slightly" → _______________

5. Rewrite the opening sentence to make it more persuasive:

Original: "I think our school should have longer lunch breaks."

6. Choose the strongest persuasive technique for this argument:

Using statistics about student health

Telling a funny story about lunch time

Describing what happens in other countries

Explaining the benefits with strong evidence

7. Peer Discussion: Share your corrections with a partner. Discuss which improvements make the argument most convincing and why.

🌟 Differentiation & Extension

Support Strategies:

• Work with a partner to spot errors together
• Use a checklist: spelling, punctuation, weak words
• Focus on finding 4-5 errors instead of all 8

Extension Challenge:

8. Advanced Task: Write a completely new paragraph arguing for longer lunch breaks. Use at least 3 strong persuasive techniques and ensure perfect spelling and punctuation.

9. Reflection: What is the most important thing you learned about making persuasive writing stronger?