This guided workbook will develop all the skills needed for effective persuasive writing and give students practice creating a wide range of opinion pieces. It will also prepare students for persuasive writing tasks on the AzMERIT English Language Arts tests. The first section contains sets of exercises and writing prompts that will develop the persuasive writing skills listed in Arizona's English Language Arts standards. The second section gives students practice applying the skills by writing a wide range of opinion pieces. Section 1: Developing Persuasive Writing Skills - 11 sets of exercises and writing prompts develop all the key skills required - focused sets develop key persuasive writing skills one by one - sets cover introducing a topic, stating an opinion, providing supporting ideas and reasons, using linking words, and writing conclusions - each set introduces the skill, guides students to complete a task, and then provides independent practice - additional warm-up exercises teach key persuasive writing skills - guided tasks and planning activities teach students how to produce effective writing Section 2: Applying Persuasive Writing Skills - 10 sets of writing prompts allow students to apply persuasive writing skills - each set focuses on one style or one genre of persuasive writing - includes practice for opinion essays, letters and letters to the editor, reviews, research-based essays, and promotional texts - includes practice writing opinions in response to literary and informational texts Key Benefits - develops the persuasive writing skills described in the state standards - focusing on each skill one by one encourages strong skill development - students apply skills by writing complete texts in different styles and genres - examples, guided tasks, and hints guide students through the tasks - planning activities help students learn the process for creating focused, well-organized, and effective opinion pieces - helps prepare students for persuasive writing tasks on the AzMERIT ELA tests, including writing opinion pieces in response to texts