In-class essay 2: persuasive format practice

Background:

Your name is either Gladys or Fernando, you are eighteen years old, and you are a freshman here at Macon State.  You live in an apartment near campus and you work four nights a week either a) at Chuck E. Cheese's on Mercer University Drive in Macon, or b) at an old folks home on Watson Blvd.

Sadly, your parents are divorced: your mom is a dentist who lives in Atlanta, and your dad is a race car driver whose shop is in Charlotte, NC.  While the divorce was traumatic for your whole family (you may have as many siblings as you like), you have dealt with the pain, and until now you have gotten along with both parents very well.  For the first two years after the divorce, your mom and dad were vicious in their hatred of one another, but now they are at least on speaking terms.  Both have gotten over the incident in that custody hearing, when he tried to shut her up by stuffing the bailiff's toupee down her throat, and she responded by kicking him in the—you remember, that's when she broke his nose.

Both parents contribute funds towards your education, but you yourself are paying a hefty chunk of your college expenses.  You and your parents each paid equal parts for the candy-apple red 1991 Ford Taurus you drive.  It has a tinted sunroof, white-letter tires (oversized in the back), and fiery black flames painted down the sides.  Your taste is questionable, definitely, but you love this car—you worked all through high school to pay for it, either a) cleaning out septic tanks, or b) giving the elderly sponge baths at a retirement home. In short, the Taurus is your pride and joy.

The problem:

You are in trouble.  You either

a)  made an F in Pottery 101 because your teacher was "totally unfair,"
b)  got arrested for driving the Taurus 125 m.p.h. after an exciting high school football game,
c)  got caught cheating on a Biology exam, or
d)  have just moved out of college housing to "live in sin" with your (imaginary) sociology instructor.

Your parents are not happy—they are deeply concerned.  How could their precious child do this (a, b, c, or d)?

Your mom wants to bring you to your senses, she wants to punish you by taking away your beloved car.  She has told you that your father agrees that they should take away the car, but you haven't talked to your dad since he found about a, b, c, or d.

You are in trouble!  You might lose the beloved Taurus!

The assignment:

Write a five-paragraph letter in the persuasive format to your dad arguing that you should be allowed to keep your car. Double space lines on the page, and use only the front side of each piece of paper. 

But before writing the letter:

1.  Write down your intro question, which should definitely mention the car directly.
2.  Write the topic sentence for the opposing view (Mom)—make sure this sentence answers the intro question directly and gives her main reason for wanting to take away the beloved Taurus.
3.  For at least two separate paragraphs of "your views," write topic sentences that answer the intro question directly and give the main reasons you think you should be allowed to keep the car.
4.  Write the thesis that will be presented in your conclusion.

Now save your car! Write a persuasive letter!

Note: The opinions expressed in this assignment are not necessarily those of Macon State College, and no offense is intended to anyone who may own, lease, or otherwise have in possession a candy-apple red Ford Taurus with big tires, sunroof, and black flames painted on the sides, hood, roof, and/or trunk.