Persuasive

Week 9, Part 1

Today

1. Persuasion Continued: Logical Fallacy2. Article Quiz

Word-Of-The-Day

Thesis: A proposition laid down or stated to be discussed and proved, or to be maintained against attack.

Thesis statements develop in two stages:

• Narrow the original topic until it is vivid and small enough to handle in your allotted space.

• Make an assertion or express a viewpoint about this narrowed topic.

Thesis Statement: Persuasive

Simple Equations for a Thesis Statement

Specific topic + Attitude/Angle/Argument = Thesis

What you plan to argue + How you plan to argue it = Thesis

Strong vs WeakTheses

Example 1

Hip hop is the best thing that has happened to music in twenty years.

Though many people dismiss hip hop as offensive, hip hop music offers urban youth an important opportunity for artistic expression.

Strong VS Weak

Example 2

I would like to become a chef when I finish school.

Although both chefs and cooks can prepare fine meals, chefs differ from cooks in education, professional commitment, and artistry.

Weak Thesis

Winning the upcoming game is really important/imperative/paramount/critical.

Although winning the next game would ease anxiety, Canada will have one more game to play together as a team if they lose, which will grant them more time to practice for the gold medal game.

Successful strategies to handling objections.

1) show how the objection is flawed

• a logical fallacy• question the facts• question the values

2) concede some truth to the objection

3) offer compromises

Persuasion

Logical Fallacies

An error in reasoning

Differs from a factual error (being wrong about the facts)

An "argument" in which the premises given for the conclusion do not provide the needed degree of support

Kinds of Logical Fallacies

1) hasty generalization2) red herring3) slippery slope4) one-after-the-other/cause and effect5) tradition6) endorsement7) disconnected and circular8) either...or9) sentimentality/motherhood10) character attacks11) bandwagon

Hasty Generalization

Generally an error in inductive generalizing

Base a conclusion or claim on too few examples or oversimplified evidence

Ex. Bucket of marbles.

Red Herring

Irrelevant topic presented to divert attention from original issue (often an appeal to pathos)

Changing topic rather than reasoning

Example:

Of course Native people were promised certain lands and payments, but wouldn’t they like to stand on their own feet?

Slippery Slope

Some event (usually dire) inevitably follows from another event without explanation of how or why

1.Event X has occurred

2.Therefore event Y will inevitably happen.

Examples:

You can never give anyone a break. If you do, they’ll walk all over you.

We have to stop the tuition increase! Next thing you know, they’ll be charging $40,000 a semester.

One-After-The-OtherFaulty Cause And Effect

Claiming one thing causes another when the only relationship between the two things is that one preceded the other.

Example:

The family has deteriorated in the past 20 years—since feminism became strong. That proves how harmful feminism has been to America.

Tradition

“It’s always been done this way...”“My parents taught me to think...”Cop-outStanding behind tradition instead of providing an argument

Example:

Men should always pay for dates because men have always paid for dates.

Endorsement

Statement is seen as correct because the person saying it is seen to have some sort of authority.

Common in advertising.

Source A says that p.Source A is authoritative.Therefore, p is true.

Endorsement

Disconnected and Circular

•Unclear or unproven connection between “A” and “B.”

•Premises and conclusions are the same

•We couldn’t believe our neighbour was a cigarette smuggler: he was always friendly, hard-working, and punctual.

The soap opera is great because it is so exciting.

Either...Or

Fallacy that suggests there are only two possibilities

Presents issues in black and white (no grey area)

We should either marry or break up.

Either we enact the president’s plan or the economy will not recover.

SentimentalityMotherhood Appeal

•Pleading a cause based on feelings rather than merits•Manipulating emotional responses to symbols, values, or ideas valued by a particular group•“country,” “family values,” “prosperity,” “decency,” “freedom”

Examples:

•You’ve got to give me a “C” in this course or I won’t graduate.

•This singer should would win the award because of her strong family values.

Character AttacksAttacking Opponent

Name-callingMudslingingInnuendo

Example:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PikszBkfTHM

NDP Ad from critical analysis assignment

Bandwagon

Everyone else is doing itFear of exclusionConformity rather than reasoningMob mentality

Examples?

PracticeLogical Fallacies

Persuasive Writing

Persuasive Focus:

1.make them see your point of view

2.change readers’ minds

3.move them to action on behalf of your cause

Persuasion

- logos- pathos- ethos

Concession-Refutation

Recognizing arguments on the other side

Concession Example

Story of Stuff http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLBE5QAYXp8

Concession-Refutation

Assures your reader you are aware of the other side/you have explored the ongoing critical conversation.

Concession-Refutation Model1. My opponent says A is true (allude to

reasons)2. A is not true; B is true for these reasons

(thesis)3. Elaborate on the reasons for believing A

is not true4. Elaborate on the reasons for believing B

is true5. State final implications and reflections,

perhaps even a call to action

Structuring the Persuasive Essay

1. introduction 1. catchy opening2. counter-argument/refutation3. thesis statement

2. main supporting ideas3. conclusion

Syllogism

1. Premise 12. Premise 23. Conclusion

1) Lawyers work long hours.2) Nima is a lawyer.3) Nima works long hours.

Bad Example of Persuasion

It is obvious to anyone thinking logically that minimum wage should be increased. The current minimum wage is an insult and is unfair to the people who receive it. The fact that the last proposed minimum wage increase was denied is proof that the government of this state is crooked and corrupt. The only way for them to prove otherwise is to raise minimum wage immediately.

Syllogism

Premise 1: Minimum wage should match the cost of living in society.

Premise 2: The current minimum wage does not match the cost of living in society.

Conclusion: Therefore, minimum wage should be increased.

Premise 1

The purpose of minimum wage is to ensure that workers can provide basic amenities to themselves and their families. A report in the Journal of Economic Studies indicated that workers cannot live above the poverty line when minimum wage is not proportionate with the cost of living. It is beneficial to society and individuals for a minimum wage to match living costs.

Premise 2

Unfortunately, our state's minimum wage no longer reflects an increasing cost of living. When the minimum wage was last set at $5.85, the yearly salary of $12,168 guaranteed by this wage was already below the poverty line. Years later, after inflation has consistently raised the cost of living, workers earning minimum wage must struggle to support a family, often taking 2 or 3 jobs just to make ends meet. 35% of our state's poor population is made up of people with full time minimum wage jobs.

Conclusion

In order to remedy this problem and support the workers of this state, minimum wage must be increased. A modest increase could help alleviate the burden placed on the many residents who work too hard for too little just to make ends meet.

Monroe’s Motivated Sequence Moves people from awareness to action1. Arouse attention2. Demonstrate a need3. Satisfy the need4. Visualize the results5. Call for action

Agitprop Theatre

Rogerian Conciliation

Less concerned with winning and losing Explores common ground, building bridges,

resolving differences, and negotiating and achieving reconciliation

Example on page 267