Persuasion

1. Persuasion A Writer’s Tool .

2. Persuasion is… …writing or speaking that attempts to convince people to accept a position or take a desired action. position (or claim): a stated idea or opinion that a writer has about a subject or issue.

3. *How does persuasion apply to me? In your high school career, you will be required to write many types of essays: • Narrative • Descriptive • Expository and…

4. Persuasive! A persuasive essay is a way for a writer to share his/her views and convince others to accept them. The goal of a persuasive essay is to state the position clearly and support it with reasons and evidence. Reasons may include rhetorical devices and persuasive techniques. rhetoric: art of speaking or writing effectively

5. Parts of Persuasive Essays • Thesis: a clear, arguable statement in response to the topic. This should explicitly state your point of view as specifically as possible. • Anticipating Biases: predict beliefs/opinions that your reader may hold that may cause them to disagree and convince them otherwise. • Counter-argument (counterclaim): take your opponent’s strongest arguments and prove them wrong. • Concession: the “Yeah . . . But”; accepting part of the opponent’s argument while showing why it doesn’t counter yours • Call to action: the explicit statement of what you want your audience to do, think, or feel. Often stated (or restated) in the conclusion.

6. Persuasive Language • Vivid descriptions/powerful images: appeal to the reader’s five senses with detailed descriptions. Figurative language can help create these images and evoke the appropriate emotion. • Metaphor: extended comparisons between dissimilar things; the audience may be familiar with what you are comparing the topic to, so it will help them understand your point of view. • Analogy: a form of direct comparison. Come up with a similar situation and compare it to yours. • Loaded words: choosing words that carry emotional connotation with them even when isolated.

7. Persuasive Language, cont’d • Repetition: stating and restating as often as possible what you are trying to convince your reader of. • Anaphora: a specific type of repetition in which the word or phrase (or whole sentence) is used repeatedly to build up emotion or rhythm (used especially in speeches). • Rhetorical questions: posing questions as “food for thought” for your readers. The answer is usually implied, not explicitly stated. The question should evoke an emotional response.

8. Persuasive Techniques • Anecdote: offer a specific personal experience that serves your cause. Use names and specific details. Show the reader your experience. • Testimonial: personal endorsement; a statement in support made by an individual. • Over-generalization: when authors use words like “only”, “all”, and “every” to exaggerate their opinions in order to make them seem stronger.

9. Persuasive Techniques, cont’d • Bandwagon: mass appeal; convincing your reader that the majority share your view. • Statistic: numerical fact; percentage. • Case study: Using research, seek out facts that support your side. • Expert opinion: opinions that count more than most because of the specialized experience of the person giving the opinion.

10. *Persuasive appeals help a writer support his/her position. Rhetorical devices appeal to the reader’s • Emotions (pathos) - feelings • Logic (logos) - evidence (facts and examples) • Ethical beliefs (ethos - good and evil and moral (right and wrong) duty • Appeal to authority – having a spokesperson Therefore, there are four types of appeals:

11. 1. Emotional appeal (pathos) • Emotional appeal is aimed at readers’ hearts. • Emotional appeals speak to emotions such as fear, love, sympathy, and pride, outrage, and happiness. • Tools used: Vivid descriptions, anecdotes, testimonials, analogies, repetition, over-generalization, bandwagon • Example: Recycling keeps us from being buried in trash.

14. 2. Logical appeal (logos) Logical appeal speaks to readers’ common sense and logic. Logical appeals make sense. Tools used: Analogies, statistics, case study, expert opinions Example: Recycling saves precious resources.

17. 3. Ethical appeal (ethos) Ethical appeal addresses the readers’ sense of right and wrong as determined by their culture, religion, or upbringing. Ethical appeals also rely on a reader’s belief that the writer is ethical. Example: Recycling reduces the garbage we produce.

20. 4. Appeal to Authority • May overlap with the three above • Convince others by showing them that people they know and respect share your position. • Tools used: Expert opinions, testimonials, analogies

24. Beware… It is important to be able to recognize emotional appeals in arguments - AND to be aware of how they can persuade an audience without credible (believable) evidence. argument: a series of statements in a text designed to convince the reader of something.

25. *Sample writing prompts: Every year, certain books read in the schools are objected to by various individuals and organizations as being immoral, subversive, or offensive to minority groups. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye, Huxley’s Brave New World, and Twain’s Huckleberry Finn are typical of the books that often figure in such incidents.

26. *Continued: • Consider and present both the arguments for and those against studying controversial books in class or having them available in the school library.

27. *Writing prompt: Through tatter’d clothes small vices do appear; Robes and furr’d gowns hide all. Plate sin with gold, And the strong lance of justice hurtless breaks; Arm it in rags, a pigmy’s straw does pierce it. Shakespeare, King Lear

28. *Continued… • The lines above are from a speech by King Lear. Write a carefully reasoned essay in which you briefly paraphrase Lear’s statement and then defend, challenge, or qualify his view of the relationship between wealth and justice. Support your argument with specific references to your reading, observation, or experience.

29. *Writing prompt: There’s an old proverb, “There’s no great loss without some gain.” Another way to put it is, “Every cloud has a silver lining.” Do you agree or disagree with this observation? Support your position with illustrations from your observation, studies, reading or personal experience.

30. *Writing prompt: “The fearless are merely fearless. People who act in spite of their fear are truly brave.” -James A. LaFond-Lewis

31. *Frank Herbert: “I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”

32. *Continued… Do you agree with the idea that people can exercise control over their fear, or does fear control people? In an essay, support your position by discussing an example (or examples) from literature, science and technology, the arts, current events, or your own experience or observation.