What is Persuasive Writing?

English 9 HonorsNovember 6th, 2012

Writing Applications 2.4

• Write persuasive compositions:• Structure ideas and arguments in a

sustained and logical fashion.• Use specific rhetorical devices to

support assertions.• Clarify and defend positions with

precise and relevant evidence.• Address readers’ concerns,

counterclaims, biases, and expectations.

What is Persuasive Writing?• Your purpose in persuasive writing is to

persuade, or convince, others to agree with you about your position on an issue.

For Discussion:What things have you argued about

recently? With whom? How did you convince them?

Making a Claim

• Before you can argue your position on an issue, you need to have a position on an issue.

• You should feel strongly about the issue and choose a position people might disagree with (no fence-sitting).

• It should also be provable.• There are reasons and details to support it• It is not a matter of taste or personal opinion

• This is your…thesis statement!

Sample Thesis Statements• In how many after school activities should

students be allowed to participate?• Students should be allowed to participate in as

many activities as they want as long as they maintain good grades and attendance at school.

• Are overcrowded classrooms a threat to education?• Overcrowded classrooms are a threat to

education because they decrease student attention, teacher response, and safety.

• Should Michael Jordan still play professional basketball when he is 45 years old?• Michael Jordan should not play professional

basketball when he is in his forties. He left the sport as one of the best men to ever play the game; as an older man, he may be injured more easily or not be able to keep up with the younger players. It is better to go out on top than to fade away as a has-been.

Knowing Your Audience• When you argue with your parents,

friends, etc., you tailor your argument to better convince them based on what you know about them.

• In this case, you are writing for an unknown audience, but you still need to consider:• Biases• Objections• Expectations

• Tightly reasoned, organized argument• Good grammar, spelling, etc.

Reasons

• Reasons are the “why’s” that make up your argument.

• Example: Broccoli should be banned from the school cafeteria.• Reasons: Nobody likes it; broccoli smells up

the cafeteria; the school has no right to force students to eat broccoli

• These reasons will become the topic sentences of your body paragraphs.

Evidence• For each reason, you need to provide evidence to

support it and make yourself appear credible• Facts – information that can be proven true• Statistics – numerical information• Examples – specific instances of an idea or situation• Expert opinions – statements (quotations or

paraphrases) by people who are considered experts on the issue

• Analogies – comparisons that show the similarities between two otherwise unrelated facts or ideas

• Case studies – examples from scientific studies• Anecdotes – brief, personal stories that illustrate a point

• Evidence should be relevant (tied closely to your issue), reliable (from trustworthy sources), and representative (not all from one or two sources).

• To support the reason from the broccoli example that broccoli smells up the cafeteria, you might say, “72% of all students in the school agree the broccoli smells terrible.”

Aristotle’s Three Modes of Rhetoric

• Rhetoric – Using language to persuade

• According to Aristotle, rhetoric is "the ability, in each particular case, to see the available means of persuasion."

(1) Logos – Logical Appeal

(2) Pathos – Emotional Appeal

(3) Ethos – Ethical Appeal

Logical Appeals (Logos)• Logic of reason

• Even if you don’t have specific facts at hand, you can try to sway audiences with arguments that will make logical sense to them (i.e., speak to your readers’ minds and force them to be reasonable/use common sense).

• To use a logical appeal for the broccoli thesis, you might say, “If the cafeteria reeks of broccoli, teachers will try to get out of lunch duty and older students will stop using the cafeteria completely. This can only hurt the school’s lunchtime profits.”

Emotional Appeals (Pathos)• Pathos : Greek for “suffering” or “experience”• You can also try to convince your audience by

appealing to their emotions (e.g., sympathy, fear, hope, anger, desires, etc.).

• These are helpful because emotional responses are often stronger than logical ones (especially when the facts are against you).

• The danger in using these is that logical readers may recognize that their feelings and emotions are being manipulated.

• To use an emotional appeal for the broccoli thesis, you might say, you might say, “It is child abuse to force children against their will to eat and smell disgusting food that they hate.”

Ethical Appeals (Ethos)• Ethos : Greek for “character”

• Another way to convince your audience is to appeal to your reader’s sense of ethics, or moral values. These appeals:

• Rely on commonly accepted beliefs and values (e.g., honesty and fairness are values that most people accept as worthwhile)

• Establish the credibility or trustworthiness of the source

• To use an ethical appeal for the broccoli thesis, you might say, “Is it fair to force children to eat broccoli, a vegetable that even former president George Bush despises?”

Pathos Example:Pathos Example:

• How does this How does this

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appeal to emotion? appeal to emotion?

Why?Why?

Counterargument• It is important (and necessary) to acknowledge that

your reader might disagree with you, and then to show them why they are wrong.

• This can be as simple as one sentence at the beginning of one of your body paragraphs.

• Example: After writing multiple paragraphs about how no one likes broccoli and it makes the cafeteria smell terrible, you might start your last paragraph by saying, “While broccoli does have certain health benefits, it is unfair to force children to eat something they despise when those health benefits are available in other, more appetizing, foods.”

• The rest of your paragraph will be about the fairness of forcing children to eat broccoli and the availability of other foods, but you have acknowledged one of the opposing side’s main arguments.

• It is important to make sure that you don’t accidentally prove the other person’s argument. Acknowledge the disagreement, then get back to your argument.

Organization and Grammar• Introduction (hook, thesis)• Body Paragraphs

• Reason #1 (should include evidence and appeals)• Reason #2 (with evidence and appeals)• Reason #3 (with evidence and appeals)• One body paragraph (probably #3) should include

your counterargument• Conclusion (restate opinion, summarize

argument)• You might end with a “call to action” that tells

readers what they can do to help change a situation• Example: “So, if you want to keep our students

happy and our cafeterias smelling good, encourage your school to serve green beans instead of broccoli today.”

• Don’t forget to check for consistency of verb tense, complete sentences, and correct spelling/punctuation.