PERSUASIVE WRITING is defined as presenting reasons and examples to influence action or thought. Effective persuasive writing requires a writer to state clearly an opinion and to supply reasons and specific examples that support the opinion. Here are Room 5's arguments: Is graffiti an art or vandalism? By Riana I believe that graffiti is an art if it is used in the right way. So yes graffiti is an art, but it is also vandalism if you do it where someone does not want it. My point of view is that graffiti is a street art, but unfortunately some people use it in the wrong way. They vandalised buildings that are new in the central city and everywhere, or are still being used. Some people don't want street art along their shops etc. They will clearly be upset, and angry if it is inappropriate. They will complain to the council asking for them to clean it up as it is their job to stop this happening. My conclusion is that yes graffiti is a street art, but some people use it in the wrong way and vandalize properties that aren't theirs. The point is that yes graffiti is a street art, but it’s best to ask permission if you can do it on the building because if the owner doesn’t want it their. They will call the council and they will come and clean it, thus wasting money on cleaning when they could use that money for something else. Should we be spending more time processing our writing on computers than in books? By Aaron On January 1977 Apple created the first ever PC or the Personal Computer. Since then other companies have created better, smaller, PCs like Windows or Linux. And since then we are more dependent on using computers to play games, save photos and other stuff but most importantly we use it to process our writing. So should we be writing on computers rather than on the traditional book? In my opinion I say yes because when we write in our books we use up paper but on computers we use up energy that can be generated via solar, wind and dams. But with paper we have to use trees, and we need trees to live! On paper when we screw up (especially with pen) we have to use a rubber/eraser or twink, those cost money. But with computers there’s a key called, backspace that eliminates the keys that when I make a mistake. The future is here, we don’t use pen and paper as much now. Some job interviews are on computers. Maths sheets can be on computer and the entire books can be processed on computers and not paper, they’re just printed on paper My conclusion is that we should be using computers to process our writing and not on books because it’s the future. Everything is on computer now and that it’s tree friendly! Should 2-dollar shops sell toy guns? By Chiara I think yes 2-dollar shops should sell toy guns, because toy guns aren't armed so what's the damage? Toy guns are made to be played with, not be shot at people. Toy guns are fun and are harmless, they are kind of like the aliens that come from another world and they are saying we come in peace. I think no 2-dollar shouldn't be allowed to sell toy guns because some toy guns are actually armed and sometimes when children shoot they accidentally hit someone’s eye, and did you know that in the US a 13-year-old boy was killed just using a toy gun. And also sometimes people use toy guns for robberies, so now you know how dangerous toy guns actually are. Yes they might be toy guns but they can still injure people. So my final opinion is no, I don’t think 2-dollar should be allowed to sell toy guns because some toy guns are actually armed and sometimes when children shoot they accidentally hit someone’s eye, Sometimes people use toy guns for robberies, so now you know how dangerous toy guns actually are. Yes they might be toy guns but they can still injure people and this is why I think toy guns shouldn’t be sold in 2-dollar shops. Should all books have ratings on them? By Kiana Right now there are problems with books that apparently have inappropriate stuff that you could imagine. Should all books have ratings on them? Yes, I think yes because if books don't have ratings children or teens could buy it and read inappropriate stuff that's supposed to be for adults. It’s just like the inappropriate language they speak these days and what if they accidentally read the book 50SOG? So yes I think they should have ratings on the books. No, I think no because what's the point of having ratings on it? It's just a book not a CD and also could you really stop under aged people for buying it? They probably just buy even though they don't know what's it all about. No ratings in a book is also fine because we all grow and learn what's it about even inappropriate stuff. In my opinion I strongly believe that it's a yes, I think books should have ratings on them because if they don't children might accidentally buy inappropriate books and read them. It is not good for children's mind to read inappropriate books because it can lead them to different thinking. They make them say inappropriate language that you cannot imagine them say. I have a friend his name is Nash he bought a book before and didn't know it was for people aged 18. There were lots of bad words there, and now he says them which is really disappointing. In my opinion I think they should have ratings on books for they can lead to serious damage to the children. Should endangered animals be left in the wild or protected in the zoo? By Iuvale Endangered animals should not be left in the zoo because what if some endangered animals are being taken away from their families. What if they are relocated in a place where they have no idea where they are at? It could really frighten some endangered species. Yes, they could be left in the wild because a lot of endangered animals are at risk of being killed with all other dangerous animals that could hunt them. I think they would be better off in the zoo protected than risked being killed in the wild. My final opinion is yes, endangered animals should be kept in the zoo. They are safer and looked after than when they stay in the wild surrounded by other animals who are more likely to kill them. And also it could help prevent extinction of their kind. Should parents be allowed to drink at children’s parties? By Lexi Alcohol we all know how much our parents love alcohol wine, beer, cider, champagne. Honestly how would our parents survive without a little bit of alcohol in their system each day. Baby showers, I have only been to one and there was no alcohol and the whole thing went fine. Birthday parties for young ones yes there was alcohol but I don't think there needed to be any. Yes, I am still not old enough to try alcohol but I don't think parents need to have it everywhere they go. A big point of this debate is the amount they have. I don't think that a little girl or boy wants mum and dad looking like idiots in front of all their friends and other parents. What happens if at a baby shower the mum has an addiction to alcohol and sips some down while pregnant because everyone else is? A solution is in the invitation to a baby shower put in a BYO so it can be their choice, not the parents. And at a children's party if someone is having too much send them home. So in my final opinion I think that parents should not be able to drink alcohol at a baby shower or children's party. Baby showers I have only been to one and there was no alcohol and the whole thing went fine. Birthday parties for young ones yes there was alcohol when I went, but I don't think there needed to be any. Yes I am still not old enough to try alcohol but I don't think parents need to have it everywhere they go. Personally I don't think that a little girl or boy wants mum or dad looking like idiots in front of all their friends and other parents. Therefore I believe that parents should not drink at a children's party or baby shower. Should tourists be allowed to drive as soon as they arrive in New Zealand? By Genevieve In New Zealand, we have recently experienced tourists driving on the wrong side of the road (which is the right side of the road, actually, confusing, right?). I think that tourists should first apply for a Temporary Driver's Licence, which applies to our road safety rules and regulations. One reason why tourist shouldn't automatically drive when in New Zealand is that they drive on the wrong (right!) side of the road, as they do in the U.S., which has caused multiple crashes and even some deaths. Another reason is that they will probably break the speed limits, not knowing what they are. This will most probably result in a devastating crash if not tampered with. And even another reason: late at night, they could be driving drunk, and now that it's a lower limit, they wouldn't suspect being taken to court or something. So my conclusion is that tourists should not drive straight away on New Zealand roads because they would drive on the wrong(RIGHT!!!!!) side of the road, which could cause crashes, large or small. And they could even break speed limits and drive drunk if not taught not to. I would recommend a Temporary Driver's License for tourists personally. Is It Good To Take Children Away On Holidays During Term Time ? By Kaleb I reckon it is fine to take children away during term time because we only have two weeks off like every 10 weeks which means you don't get to do the things that take a while to do like go on long holidays across seas. Us kids do enough school work because we have normal school work then we have homework which we have to do at home. What if your parents didn't have enough money in the holidays and then two weeks later they have enough money to go overseas and it's term time, I would hate to have to wait another eight weeks just to go on a holiday. Also if you went on holiday during term time you could ask for some homework during the holiday even. Of course you would miss out on school work and maybe even productions or trips but you would learn and see stuff amazing on a holiday too. So in my final opinion I think it is fine for children to go on holidays during term time because you learn a lot of stuff at school all the time and it wouldn't hurt just to go have a holiday somewhere.It’s the same if a teacher went away they are the ones that teach us. Also just ask to take homework along with you to where your holiday is but just don't do it, that’s a good idea. Well for kids it is. Is it the right time for Richie McCaw to get a knighthood? By Owen What has Richie McCaw done for everybody? sure he’s played rugby all his life and made the All Blacks a pretty good team, but what else? Everybody thinks the reason Sir Edmund Hillary was knighted is because he climbed Mt Everest but actually it was because of his kindness and generosity. When Sir Ed was young he helped build schools for the poor kids in Nepal. Did Richie McCaw do any of these? Did he do anything like this? No… all he did was nothing. Richie McCaw has refused knighthood a number of times anyway so maybe he should get it when he’s older when he’s done something beneficial for everybody other than rugby. And this is why I think Richie McCaw shouldn’t get a knighthood. Is it necessary to change the NZ flag? By Nicholas!! I disagree, it is not necessary to change the New Zealand flag. I think changing the New Zealand flag is a big, fat, waste of money. The New Zealand flag is the flag the people in the two world wars died for. The people who want it to be changed don’t know how those loved ones who are left and are still alive from the wars feel patriotic and are feeling sad about it. Changing the flag will mean all the New Zealand sights with the flag on it will have to be changed and that will mean more money spent on a stupid debate on changing the flag. People of the wars will feel so down because the soldiers who fought for New Zealand died in honour of the flag. Well, in my opinion I think it is a big, fat, waste of money changing the flag. The government could do something useful like help the poor in other countries or help rebuild Christchurch. Changing the flag will be bad because it is a shame and remember the soldiers in the wars who died in the name of our country and our flag!