- Connectives game / discussion

- Connectives sort
- Thinking hats approach to discursive topic
- Discursive text deconstruction
- aforest technique
- Planning
- drafting
Should hoodies be banned from all public
spaces ? Discuss




Is it ever right to go to war? Consider both sides of the argument and
give reasons for your conclusion.

Since the dawn of time, peoples have battled against one another. Opinions have differed as to whether these
wars can be justified. Both sides have strong arguments that must be respected.

Some people argue that revenge is a good reason for going to war. They might quote the Old Testament: But if there is
an injury, you are to take life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth (Exodus 21:23-24). Therefore, their response to the
destruction of the twin towers on September 11th 2001 might be to support a war on terrorism. Some may see the
atrocities as an act of extreme provocation and justify a military response in this way.

Some interpret the text about an eye for an eye as one that limits the level of military action to be used. Any response
should not be greater than the original attack. This means that the force used should be proportionate to the original
action. In this way, war can again be justified.

War should be limited to the engagement of military forces. A Muslim might quote the Qur'an where it forbids the killing
of civilians and innocent people. As long as steps are taken to avoid, collateral damage war can be justified.

Finally, war can be justified if it is a last resort. If all else fails, and there is a need for a massive change, perhaps then
it might be right to go to war.

A pacifist is one who is opposed to all war and violence. Such a person might argue that there is never a reason to take
human life. Life is sacred. It is a belief shared by Jews, Christians and Muslims that life is God-given and therefore
only God can take it away.

A further argument is that war is part of a spiral of violence. It does nothing to create a real and lasting peace. A
Christian, to whom I spoke about this, said that Jesus taught his followers to forgive and to love their enemies. She
said, "The only way to lasting peace is through forgiveness and reconciliation." Could it be argued, on these grounds,
that war cannot be justified?

I'm not so sure. Human beings seem to have so many things over which they differ. Sometimes war may be the lesser
of two evils. In my opinion, the arguments justifying war outweigh the case made for pacifism. I do, however,
recognise that many will not agree with me - but I shan't fall out with them.
Remember: A FOREST PIE!
A = Alliteration
F O
R E
S
T
Fact Opinion
Rhetorical
Question
Emotive
Language
Statistics
Triplets
P I
E
Personal
Pronouns
Imperatives Exaggeration
Whats the Issue?

Should the Death Penalty Be
Abolished?

Find out about the Death penalty;
Make a decision about how you feel about it;
Revisit persuasive techniques;
Write a discursive piece .

The Death Penalty Some Facts:
Over half the countries in the world have now abolished the death penalty in law or practice.
69 countries and territories retain and use the death penalty, but the number of countries which
actually execute prisoners in any one year is much smaller.
Over 40 countries have abolished the death penalty for all crimes since 1990.
In 8 countries in the world, children under the age of 18 can be put to death as a punishment for crime.
A Chinese legal expert was recently quoted as stating that the figure for executions is approximately
8,000 based on information from local officials and judges, but official national statistics on the
application of the death penalty remained classified as a state secret.
There were 60 executions in America last year.
Stoning a person to death is deemed to be a suitable method of execution in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Currently, In America there are 3400 people in prison, under sentence of death.
Since January 1990 Amnesty International has documented 46 executions of child offenders in eight
countries. The USA carried out 19 executions of under 18s more than any other country
. 38 of the 50 US states provide for the death penalty in law.
A woman who worked for a bank and lost millions in bad deals, is facing the risk of being executed by a
firing squad in Vietnam.
During 2005, at least 2,148 people were executed in 22 countries and at least 5.186 people were
sentenced to death in 53 countries. These were only minimum figures; the true figures were certainly
higher.
Scientific studies have consistently failed to find convincing evidence that the death penalty deters
crime more effectively than other punishments
Since 1973, 123 prisoners have been released in the USA after evidence emerged of their innocence of
the crimes for which they were sentenced to death.
I lost someone I loved to the senseless act of murder. He was left
to bleed to death, unable to call for help. Left to die alone.
Before his death, together he and I fought hard to have the
death penalty abolished. It is ironic and very horrible that he
died at the hands of someone very much like he was fighting
for.
The death penalty is the ultimate form of revenge.
Perhaps it is too tempting to take it? But, how can we
communicate the message "Killing is wrong!" by killing
someone? England has proven again and again what a
civilized country we are. We proved it in 1976 when we
finally abolished the death penalty. We, as an intelligent
nation, came to grips with the fact that killing human beings
is not a deterrent. We, as people with a conscience, realized
that an innocent person could be and has been killed by
judicial murder. Once in a while, however, even in England,
one or two very uneducated, ignorant politicians will try
again to reinstate capital punishment. They play on the fears
of people whenever an extremely horrendous crime is
committed at which time they feel they are able to buy
votes. These men must be stopped before we, as a country,
revert back to the archaic practice of killing anyone who
upsets us.
Lets talk about some facts concerning the death penalty. Since the
USA is our biggest ally, and is in the big business of killing
people, the facts will be about them. As of the end of 1997,
only 12 states did not have the death penalty; This may be a
coincidence, but out of all the states in the USA, these states
are the most beautiful. Perhaps it's because they are not
covered in blood. Right now Texas is the proud state bearing
the name, "Murder Capital of the World"
with 180 murders, however Virginia is trying to claim
that title at 67 murders.
The United States executed 16 people in 1989. In
1997, the government saw fit to execute 74 people,
and by the end of December 1999, 98 people were
executed. This dramatic increase in executions makes
us aware of how blood thirsty a country they are. Is the
United States so confident in their justice system that
they believe all of these people they murdered were
guilty? Murder is wrong - no one has the right to kill
another human being. When a state empowers itself to
the level of playing God, they only set an example for
would be killers. When a government kills a person in
the name of justice, it puts itself on the same level as a
murderer in devaluing human life. Simple point.
But the state is very humane when they kill someone.
If the prisoner is to die by lethal injection, his arm is
rubbed with alcohol before the injection. They don't
want the murder victim to get an infection and drop
dead before they are able to kill him. A few years back,
in Oklahoma, authorities revived Robert Brecheen after
a suicide attempt, pumped his stomach and cheerfully
executed him a few hours later. John del Vecchio was
given heart surgery twice in November of 1996, and
then he was killed in December. You must wonder why
the government goes to this extreme with a dead man.
The answer is very simple. The prisoner will not be
allowed in any way to take away the fun from the
witnesses, who want to see him dead. Some politicians
make their way into office by being bought by voters
who ask only one thing in exchange - they want to
witness an execution. These are some of the same
people who are running your country and making
decisions on your behalf. Scary, isn't
it?


How to adapt the idea for
different forms of writing
For Discursive Writing:
Get your Red Hat views down on paper and
move them to one side you need to remain
unbiased.
What is a more sophisticated structure all the
Yellow Hat ideas followed by all the Black Hat
ideas, or Yellow/Black, Yellow/Black?
White Hat ideas reinforce a point, but are not a
point one their own.
Start to write:
The Opening of your argument?
Introduce what the Death penalty is
(use the wiki page to support that);
Explain how you feel about the Death
Penalty;
Introduce your argument do you want
to start with a shocking story? Or a
reason for your opinion?
EMOTIVE
WORDS

Words that arouse
emotion

RHETORICAL
QUESTIONS

Questions that dont
require an answer

CRITICISE THE
OPPOSITE
OPINION
Destroy the point of
view of the opposing
argument

CHATTY STYLE

Speaking to the
reader in a friendly
way

STATISTICS

Numbers/graphs which
provide convincing
information

CLUSTERS OF
THREE
Three phrases or
describing words
used to emphasise
PERSONAL
PRONOUNS

Using words like
we, us and
you to make the
writing more
appealing

HUMOUR

Light hearted
expression of a
viewpoint.

PLAY ON THE
READERS
SYMPATHY

Make the reader feel
sorry for something or
someone

EXAGGERATION
(HYPERBOLE)

Being over-the-top to get a
point across



CATCHY
PHRASES OR
SLOGANS

Words that stick in
your mind
REPETITION OF
WORDS/
PHRASES

Saying the same word
or phrase more than
once for emphasis

PLAY ON THE
READERS
GUILT

Make the reader feel
bad about something

QUOTE A
RELIABLE
SOURCE

Support a point with
the views of a
professional

SHOCK TACTICS

Making the reader
surprised or horrified

2) 1-2 paragraphs in which you give 2/3
reasons for the statement.


3) 1 paragraph in which you give 2/3
reasons against the statement but
disprove them.
Writing your own conclusion:
Conclusions are effective when they
address the reader;
A conclusion should sum up your whole
argument and convince your reader
that your opinion is right;
Make them remember what you have to
say - pack a punch !