Lessons 1-3

states the main idea early (thesis/position

statement) backs it up clearly uses a variety of organized evidence is audience-appropriate

A position statement should not “straddle the fence.”

An effective argument…

There are two major ways of organizing details

in persuasive writing/speaking: 1) from most to least important, and 2) from least to most important.

The second is usually preferred.

Organization

Facts can be proven, measured, verified by

experts, or observed personally. Opinions may be based on personal

preference or belief. Effective speakers and writers, however, avoid beginning such statements with “I think” or “I believe.” Opinions based on personal preference are more difficult or impossible to prove.

Persuasion may contain both fact and opinion based on belief.

Facts vs. Opinions

statistics, personal observations, scientific reports, historical precedents, expert opinions, examples, anecdotes, and analogies.

Examples of types of supporting details:

(Quotations taken from the text)

Lessons 4-5

or inductive reasoning, means that a person

“assembles a series of facts and finds a relationship between them that can be stated as a conclusion, or generalization.”

It’s like inflating a balloon: you keep adding breaths (facts) until you get one large balloon (generalization).

Example: Gloria, Kristen, Matt, and Zach are all juniors

and are wearing royal blue lanyards. Therefore, juniors at

MVHS must be required to wear blue lanyards.

Induction

Is the conclusion consistent with other known

facts? How large was the sample from which the

evidence was drawn? Does the evidence apply to the whole group it

claims to represent?” For example, faulty induction in the example on

the previous slide would ignore the students’ class rank and conclude that all students at MVHS are required to wear blue lanyards.

“A correct inductive argument will meet the

criteria below:

1. Hasty generalization/Overgeneralization

(see previous example) “occurs when your conclusion goes further than the evidence permits” (jumping to conclusions).

2. Stereotype “assumes that all members of a group have the same characteristics.”

Two types of faulty induction:

Lawyers are crooks.

Blondes can be so dumb!

or deductive reasoning, “begins with a generalization, then applies that generalization to a specific example and arrives at a conclusion.”

“De-” is a negative prefix, as in “deflating” a balloon, so deduction begins with a large statement and applies it to a smaller example.

Example: Juniors at MVHS are required to wear blue lanyards; therefore, Amber, a junior in my first period class, should be wearing a blue lanyard. “Be careful, however, in constructing such an

argument: if any statement in your argument is not true, the entire deduction becomes questionable.”

Deduction

(false statements):

Other logical fallacies

“a statement that diverts attention from the issue at hand.”

For example, if your parents reprimand you for coming home late, you may say, “But I cleaned the garage before I left.”

1. Red Herring –

a statement that seems to offer evidence but

that actually says the same thing in different words.

For example: “This nation must declare independence because it deserves freedom.”

2. Circular Reasoning –

an argument that offers no evidence but that

merely says that an action is popular.

For example: “This is the shoe that all the record-holding runners are wearing.”

3. Bandwagon Reasoning/ Bandwagon

Appeal –

an argument that assumes that one thing that

happened before another caused that second event to occur.

(It can be based on superstition.) For example: “I struck out when I was at bat

because I wasn’t chewing Juicy Fruit gum.”

4. Cause-and-Effect Fallacy –

reasoning that “assumes that there are only

two alternatives and ignores other possible explanations.”

Example: “If we don’t fight, we will be made slaves; and if we do fight, we will die.”

5. Either/or Fallacy –

Persuasive Speeches and Letters

Lessons 6-8

a powerful opening (Review the list of

“hooks.”) time limitations practicing before a mirror appropriate tone effective repetition or parallelism that can

create rhythm visual tools, such as graphs, diagrams, or pictures

For preparation of an effective persuasive speech, consider

differs from most other persuasive writing in

several ways: 1. Limited space prevents inclusion of all background information. 2. Facts must be extremely accurate and

credible. 3. The tone must be reasonable.

A letter to a newspaper editor

in both content and delivery. See the two charts at the bottoms of pages

296 and 298.

Evaluate a persuasive speech

clear purpose, credibility, audience-appropriateness, organization and coherence, interest, and variety of details

Content concerns include:

clear tone of voice, sincerity, facial expressions and gestures, appropriate tone for the occasion, and rhythm (pacing, pausing).

Presentation/delivery concerns are: