elements of persuasion writer’s intent credibility and evidence structure and tone your turn...
TRANSCRIPT
Elements of Persuasion
Writer’s Intent
Credibility and Evidence
Structure and Tone
Your Turn
Feature Menu
What Is Persuasion?
Persuasion is everywhere.
Elements of Persuasion
Skillful persuaders want you to see things their way:
• Trust me!
• Believe this!
• Buy that!
Elements of Persuasion
Persuasion is the use of language or images to get us to believe or do something.
You can have it all!
Elements of Persuasion
Learning to analyze a writer’s persuasive techniques, intent, ideas, and evidence . . .
can help you evaluate the quality of the argument.
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What is the most persuasive element of this writer’s argument?
• valid evidence
• personal account
Quick Check
Who said experience is the best teacher? I’m not actually sure, but I definitely believe it’s true.
In the past I never really paid attention to how my words or actions affected my younger brother. He’s just a kid, right?
My friends and I often climb up on the roof, just to prove we can. Last week my brother tried it by himself. He slipped on a roof tile and broke his leg. His experience taught me to pay more attention to how my actions affect him.
Elements of Persuasion
Authors tell their stories for different reasons.
A writer’s intent—or goal—in writing a persuasive essay is to convince you to act or think a certain way.
Writer’s Intent
Sometimes a writer wants to change the way you think.
Other times a writer wants to inspire you to act.
Writer’s Intent
To figure out a writer’s intent, ask yourself
• What is the writer saying?
• Is this a new concept or point of view?
• How does the writer want me to react?
• What effect does reading this have on me?
Writer’s Intent
Writers communicate intent either objectively or subjectively.
An objective approach uses provable facts.
Writer’s Intent
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is one of the most influential figures in American history. Born in Atlanta, Georgia, King was the son of a Baptist preacher. . . . His leadership during the civil rights movement led to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This act outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, or gender and made segregation illegal.
Sometimes writers will use both objective and subjective arguments.
A subjective approach focuses on the writer’s experiences, feelings, and opinions.
Writer’s Intent
“Back in the city, I recalled at odd moments the pup’s huge eyes, its goofy, touching cry—a cross between a lamb’s bleat and a car alarm. At the grocery store, offered a choice between a paper bag and a plastic one, I would try to calculate the ultimate benefits of each to sea lion and company.”From "Kiss and Tell" by Judith Stone from The Nature of Nature, edited by William H. Shore. Copyright © 1994 by Judith Stone. Published by Harcourt Brace, 1994. Reproduced by permission of Share Our Strength, Inc.
Is the writer using an objective approach or a subjective approach in this argument?
Quick Check
Extracurricular activities are an important part of the school experience for students.
Sports, music, art, theater, and school clubs—all of these programs can benefit students in many ways.
Studies show that participating in these activities can build a student’s self-esteem, promote team-building, foster competition, and inspire creativity.
Writer’s Intent
Would you believe someone who tried to convince you by saying, “Because I said so”?
Credibility and Evidence
Probably not.
Whenever someone tries to persuade you, ask yourself, “How is this person trying to convince me?”
What kind of evidence is he or she using?
Credibility and Evidence
Logical appeals use evidence to speak to reason and common sense.
Emotional appeals speak to your emotions—fear, sympathy, anger, joy.
Logical appeals include
• facts
• statistics
• concrete examples
• valid evidence
Credibility and Evidence
Emotional appeals often involve
• anecdotes
• loaded words
Credibility and Evidence
This emotional appeal uses loaded words for name-calling rather than a reasoned argument.
Loaded words can be used to arouse strong feelings about a particular person or issue.
Only a liberal tree-hugger would fail to see the importance of building the new toll highway. Who needs that mosquito-infested park, anyway? Let’s pave it over!
Credibility and Evidence
Propaganda also appeals to our emotions,
Propaganda is a kind of persuasion designed to keep us from thinking for ourselves.
Most propaganda consists of one-sided arguments.
rather than to logic and reasoning.
Credibility and Evidence
Not all emotional appeals are negative or try to fool you, though.
A doctor might use emotional appeals to discourage kids from smoking.
An ad campaign might try to scare you into using your seatbelt.
Credibility and Evidence
Is this a logical appeal or an emotional appeal? What does it rely on?
• facts
• evidence
• anecdotes
• loaded words
Quick Check
Senator Kathryn Hartman is a heartless warmonger with no compassion or intelligence.
Do you really want to support someone who’s in the pocket of rich fat cats and corporate lobbyists?
Vote for a compassionate progressive. Vote for David Stein—a guy you can trust.
Credibility and Evidence
Sometimes how you say something is as important as what you say. The how is called tone.
Your teacher might have mentioned it.
Tone
“Is this going to be on the test?”
Writers use tone, too. It shows the author’s attitude toward a subject, a character, or the audience.
The tone of a piece of writing may be
admiring
affectionate
bitter
comic
earnest
mocking
serious
vengeful
Tone
Tone can indicate a writer’s intent. It can also help you evaluate the credibility of an argument.
For example, if a writer uses a sarcastic tone for an objective argument, the argument might lack evidence and credibility.
Anyone with half a brain knows that Memorial High School is much better than Roosevelt High. Is that so? Yes, it’s absolutely undeniable. Hellooo. The building looks like it’s from the Middle Ages. The teachers are all old crones. And, have you seen the football team? Can you say “Neanderthal?”
Tone
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What is the tone of this passage? What is the specific call to action?
Quick Check
Who doesn’t love grandparents? Some of my fondest childhood memories are of my grandmother’s hugs and my grandfather’s quick smile. Every school vacation was a chance to visit their house in the country, go fishing in the creek, work in the wood shop, or ride my bike into town. That’s why caring for my grandparents as they age is so important. In fact, we should all cherish the loved ones who cared so much for us as children.
Tone
Analyze Persuasion
Read the Your Turn passage (from “Eulogy for Martin Luther King, Jr.”) in your textbook, and answer the questions below. Discuss your answers with a partner.
1. What is the speaker’s intent?
2. What is the tone of this passage?
3. Is the author appealing to logic or emotion, or both? Explain.
Your Turn
What Is Persuasion?
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The End