Practicing persuasion -- Gathering brave, bold opinions for persuasive writing -- Drawing on a repertoire of strategies for generating opinion writing: writing with independence -- Considering audience to say more -- Editing as we go: making sure our audience can always read our pieces -- Taking stock and setting goals -- Gathering all we know about our opinions -- Organizing and categorizing -- For example: proving by showing -- Considering audience to select our most convincing material -- Paragraphing to organize our drafts -- Revising for sound and to evoke emotion -- Inquiry into petitions and persuasive letters -- Becoming our own job captains -- Gathering a variety of evidence: interviews and surveys -- Revising your introductions and conclusions to get your audience to care -- Taking stock again: goal setting with more independence -- Tackling a cause from different angles -- Becoming informed about our cause -- Yesterday's revisions become today's drafting strategies -- Getting our writing ready for readers -- Celebrating activism.