Because graduating high school seniors and college freshmen have difficulty writing persuasive arguments, elementary and secondary school writing curricula must teach students how to create a persuasive argument by producing evidence or support for their claims. One strategy for teaching persuasive writing that has proven to be successful is a mapping exercise using a wheel-shaped blank outline, which students fill in with main ideas and supporting information. Students begin by reading persuasive essays and mapping out their arguments, with main ideas forming the "hub" of the wheel outline and large supporting ideas forming the "spokes." Peripheral ideas then radiate from the spokes. After applying the technique to professional essays, students can use the wheel map to plan their own arguments. If they see that they lack supporting information to make up the wheel spokes, they continue to research their topic and acquire more. Students' maps can be copied for class examination and comment which focuses attention on the logical structure of the argument instead of surface errors. Because of their consistency, compositional maps foster internalization of assessment criteria. Additionally, maps are superior to revision checklists because they are visual rather than verbal, and because they distance and objectify problems which student writers are then able to resolve. Six pages of works cited are included. (JC)