Persuasive Writing

1. Persuasive Writing

2. Persuasive Writing Consider purpose or occasion persuade readers call to action influence readers Audience target those with interest in issue target those who are unsure or disagree call to action those who agree Point of View Writer’s attitude, opinions, or belief about the topic direct (explicit) - through a topic sentence indirect (implicit) - through words & examples

3. Tone writer’s attitude Consider: sarcastic, serious, formal, casual, satirical, sincere, respectful, rude… Voice how you sound as writer Ineffective tone: “People who don’t recycle are just stupid.” Serious, respectful tone: “Our world’s resources are being used much more quickly than they are being produced. We must encourage one another to be responsible citizens of the earth.”

4. EVIDENCE facts Examples Expert testimony OPINION

5. Logical Appeals (logos) Speak to readers’ minds, foundation of paper Types of Evidence Facts can be observed or proven, statistics Expert opinion statements by knowledgeable people Anecdotes & examples illustrations of a general idea

6. Logical Appeals reasons - why readers should accept opinion evidence - facts, examples, anecdotes, expert opinion

7. Emotional Appeals (pathos) Appeal to readers’ emotions sympathy, anger, goodness, etc. Tools for Emotional Appeal Anecdotes - bring situations to life, readers relate Word Choice - use of words to suggest emotions Connotation - associations or feelings a word suggests Loaded Language - suggests very strong emotions

8. Emotional Appeals

9. Evidence must be: Relevant tied closely to issue Reliable from trustworthy sources Representative from various sources

10. Avoid Circular Reasoning Good reasoning leads the reader through a progression of thoughts Bad reasoning ends up in a repetitive cycle

11. Persuasive Organization Introduction Get attention (powerful quote, startling statistic, anecdote) Identify & explain the issue State opinion (thesis) Body each reason is a paragraph with 2+ evidence for support Consider modified order of importance 2nd most important, least important, most important Conclusion review (not repeat) opinion summarize reasons Draw final conclusions without introducing entirely new ideas Present a call to action

12. VOICE The “sound” of a writer’s work Determined by vocabulary sentence structure figurative language Also by perspective 1st person refers to writer, informal (I, me, my, our, we…) 2nd person refers to reader, informal (you, your) 3rd person objective reference, formal (he, she, it, they, one…)

13. Getting Started Write an opinion statement Add at least 2 because clauses Rewrite each “because clause” as a topic sentence for a body paragraph Delete “because” Add introductory or transitional words as necessary The state government should not create laws that limit the noise levels coming from car stereos. …because there are already laws about disturbing the peace that cover this situation. …because such a law will only add to the burden of the already over-worked police. One reason for defeating the proposed law is that there are already laws about disturbing the peace that cover this situation.