What is persuasion?

1. What is persuasion? • Requires a serious, debatable topic. • Divide into three camps: the pro (For, Benefits, Advantages, etc.), con (Against, Pitfalls/Dangers, Disadvantages), and the undecided. • No right or wrong, sort of - effective or ineffective persuasion comes down to reason, logic, credibility, and emotional appeal. • Purpose: convince a reader that a view has merit. • Sound reasoning must be employed.

2. Should euthanasia be acceptable in the U. S.? Should women be expected to fight and die on the battlefield in defense of their country? Should tighter regulations be imposed upon the general public with regard to access to our national forests? Should West be painted blue or gold? Which animal makes a better pet: a dog or a cat? Which fast-food industry giant really makes the best hamburger? How are these lists different?

3. Persuasion is… • Mind changing • Convincing • Getting a reader to admit that a certain view might make sense.

4. Persuasion is not… • A matter of right or wrong • A matter of mere personal preference

5. Potential Essay Topics • Can a valid argument be made against it? • Can I defend it logically against this argument? Child Abuse Drunk Driving Drug Use

6. Text Pattern of Arguments • Statement of case/position • Recognition of opposition • Defense of position through both confirming writer’s position and refuting (proving wrong by the strength of argument and analysis) the opposition.

7. Pull a Persuasive Rabbit from the Proverbial Hat…

8. Likely candidates drawn from West High? • Cell phones/iPods in schools as educational tools • School hours a day/Year round schools • School Uniforms • Cyberbullying and On-line Social Networks • Steroids and other Performance Enhancing Drugs in Sports • Merit pay or incentives for Student Performance…for Teacher Performance

9. Your town council is considering raising taxes for the construction and maintenance of a winter snow play area, which will be built on the side of a hill. This play area will directly adjoin a residential district on the edge of town. Some residents think this is a wonderful idea, some strongly oppose it, and some just are not sure.

10. Cheap family fun Provide jobs in a tough economy Devoted place to play Lifetime of exercise benefits OTHERS? Taxes are high enough – can we justify more spending in a tough economy? Accidents may happen—liability Late night noise OTHERS? Pro Con

11. Use Your Source Document!Underline the position (thesis) and reasons the author uses to sway the reader in the Wausau Mall example.

12. Questions to Think About • What does the author want the reader to do or believe? • How does the author choose to try to accomplish this task? • How would the author know if his efforts have been successful?

13. The most difficult challenges to developing good persuasion are… • Students have not been instructed in the proper procedures for the particular style of writing. (To this end, we will begin our final joust with one of the wonderful “packets” starting tomorrow.) • Students have not done a proper job of “arming” themselves with the information necessary to move forward with the writing.

14. Brainstorming is the free flow of ideas on a particular subject…have you started this flow on potential Persuasive/Position Paper Topics?

15. Curbside trash pickup in our town should/should not be expanded from weekly to twice-weekly pickups.

16. Curbside trash pickup in our town should be expanded from weekly to twice-weekly pickups. Home trash containers provided by the city are entirely inadequate for handling a week’s worth of trash. Expanded pickups would create more sanitary conditions throughout the entire community. Twice-a-week trash pickups would actually be more economical than weekly pickups. Increased pickups would promote greater efficiency in the trash collection system. Expanded pickups would create the need for more jobs in our community. Increased pickups would be much more advantageous and convenient for local citizens. Curbside trash pickup in our town should not be expanded from weekly to twice-weekly pickups. Increased pickups would greatly increase expense to the city and to private citizens. Increased pickups would actually encourage citizens to be more wasteful rather than less wasteful. Expanded pickups would actually make the jobs of our local sanitation workers more difficult. Expanded pickups would greatly reduce efficiency in the trash collection system. Twice-a-week pickups would be a greater inconvenience to citizens. Increased pickups would do little to improve sanitary conditions in our community as a whole. Curbside trash pickup in our town should/should not be expanded from weekly to twice-weekly pickups.

17. Arm yourself for tomorrow using one of the following two topics...

18. Pro Our school district should institute the practice of corporal punishment (intentional infliction of physical pain as a means of changing behavior) as a means of controlling unruly students… Year round schooling is a good idea because… Con Our school district should not institute the practice of corporal punishment (intentional infliction of physical pain as a means of changing behavior) as a means of controlling unruly students… Year round schooling is a bad idea because…

19. Step One: Brainstorm ideas for and against your topic of choice. Eliminate any ideas that appear to be vague, inappropriate, or unsuitable. Year round schooling is Year round schooling a good idea because… is a bad idea because…

20. The Essential Reminders: • You will bring a “publishable quality” draft version of your letter of complaint with you to class in Lab One this week. • You will generate a short list of would-be Research topics for your future Persuasive - Position Paper. You must be ready to Pro/Con (T chart) your topic of choice, first with PKB, later with multiple research sources added…build the case both for and against your position. The research will come from our search database BIG FIVE!

21. Animal testing should be banned. • Pros…why it should be banned • Cons…why it should not be banned Animal testing should be used. • Pros…why it should not be banned. • Cons…why it should be banned.

22. Step Two: Compose a simple outline. Introductory Paragraph: Statement of Position/Argument Reason Paragraph 1: First reason Reason Paragraph 2: Second reason Reason Paragraph 3: Third reason Reason Paragraph 4: Fourth reason Concluding Paragraph: Confirmation Statement of Position/Argument

23. Introductory Paragraph: The legal driving age should be raised to 18 as soon as possible. Reason Paragraph 1: Raising the legal driving age would help reduce insurance rates for all drivers. Reason Paragraph 2: Raising the legal driving age would make the roads safer for all drivers. Reason Paragraph 3: Raising the legal driving age would actually help to lower the juvenile crime rate. Reason Paragraph 4: Raising the legal driving age moves this rite of passage to the legal age of adulthood. Concluding Paragraph: Raising the legal driving age from 16 to 18 benefits all concerned.

24. Put these in order by numbering them 1 to 5. ____Carpool lanes have a direct effect in improving urban air quality. ____As you can clearly see, adding carpool lanes to all new metropolitan freeways is a logical solution to many of our urban traffic problems. ____All new freeways being constructed in major metropolitan areas should be required to have carpool lanes. ____Carpool lanes help improve the response times of city emergency vehicles. ____Carpool lanes help greatly in easing traffic congestion. Have a reason behind your ordering/sequence as well!

25. Put these in order by numbering them 1 to 5. 3 Carpool lanes have a direct effect in improving urban air quality. 5 As you can clearly see, adding carpool lanes to all new metropolitan freeways is a logical solution to many of our urban traffic problems. 1 All new freeways being constructed in major metropolitan areas should be required to have carpool lanes. 4 Carpool lanes help improve the response times of city emergency vehicles. 2 Carpool lanes help greatly in easing traffic congestion.

26. Put these in order from 1 to 5. ____When all factors have been carefully considered, mandatory curbside recycling makes sense. ____Curbside recycling would save space in our landfills. ____Curbside recycling is an excellent way to teach our children wise use of natural resources. ____Mandatory curbside recycling of plastic, aluminum, and glass is a program that should be instituted in every community. ____Curbside recycling programs would save consumers money.

27. Put these in order from 1 to 5. 5 When all factors have been carefully considered, mandatory curbside recycling makes sense. 3 Curbside recycling would save space in our landfills. 2 Curbside recycling is an excellent way to teach our children wise use of natural resources. 1 Mandatory curbside recycling of plastic, aluminum, and glass is a program that should be instituted in every community. 4 Curbside recycling programs would save consumers’ money.

28. For tomorrow… • Brainstorm a pro/con list about a topic of your choice. (T Chart) • Compose a simple outline like on page 160. Possible topics: • Eliminating school sponsored sports. • Companies reading employees’ email. • Some college sports programs send the message that academic excellence is not important. • To improve academic achievement, Wausau should create same-sex high schools. • No one under the age of 21 should be allowed to have (body piercing, tattoos, or cosmetic surgery).

29. Upcoming Deadlines… • Work through Practice Exercise 4 in the Persuasion packet for Lab 2. Be prepared to discuss. • Complete research-based T-charts in Lab 1 and 2, develop a Shotgun outline of Reasons ¶s for SG this week. • Create separate Research Notes pages from each of the 5 – 6 sources that will shape your essay. Make use of Slugs that suggest the Reason the paraphrase, summary, or direct quote might inform. Collect and create four or more such Research Notes per source. • Complete your Formal Outline as pre-draft for Lab 2 next week – the week of May 10th. • Complete the Persuasion packet through the end of Lab 2 of next week as well. Expect that Lab 1 will offer you some work time! • SG next week is when you should expect to begin the actual drafting process. BREATHE IN, BREATHE OUT – Relax!

30. Appealing to Audiences • Pathos: emotional appeals or appeals to the heart • Ethos: ethical appeals or appeals based on the writer’s authority and credibility • Logos: logical appeals or appeals to reason

31. Appeals to Emotion and Logic An appeal to logic or emotion is a deliberate attempt by a persuasive writer to appeal directly to the reader’s common sense or to arouse some particular emotion within the reader that might ultimately cause him or her to act.

32. Appeals to Logic and Emotion are… • Short---just a brief statement or two. They quickly lose effect if overdone. • Can occasionally take the form of a question or a sequence of questions, with each building upon the other.

33. Appeals to emotion work well with subjects that focus on: • Children • Family relationships • Human well-being or suffering • Basic human needs

34. Appeals to logic work well with subjects that deal with: • Money • Image or appearance (either personal or collective) • Inherently right or wrong issues outside the scope of human needs

35. The appeal to logic/reasoning can take the form of questioning. • How could a person who considers herself a decent human being make a decision that would hurt the children of her community? • Translation: Let’s make the reader feel guilty, and hopefully he will agree with us.

36. The appeal to logic/reasoning can take the form of questioning. • How could any clear thinking, well-informed citizen come to any other possible conclusion? • Translation: Let’s congratulate the reader on being such a smart person (but she’s only really smart if she agrees with us.

37. The appeal to logic/reasoning can take the form of questioning. • What kind of mother would subject her baby to such a thing? (Second hand smoke, for example…) • Translation: Let’s appeal to basic maternal instinct and change this person’s mind. • Questioning such as this can be particularly effective when used as a lead-in to the concluding paragraph.

38. The Rhetorical Triangle Topic/Message Logical Appeals (Logos) CONTEXT Audience/Readers Emotional Appeals (Pathos) Speaker/Writer Ethical Appeals (Ethos)

39. Methods of Persuasion

40. Evidence-based Methods of Persuasion • Facts • Referring to an authority • Example • Predicting the consequence • Answering the opposition For Lab 1 next week, all of you need to have at least one example of each evidence type included as a part of your formal outline! Also, you need six instances or more of source information – in the form of paraphrase, summary, or direct quote.

41. Facts • Statements of “what is true” • Appeal to reader’s mind predominantly • Avoid vague statements: “everyone knows that” “they all say” “it is common knowledge”

42. Facts • “If you need an alarm clock to get up in the morning, you are probably sleep deprived,” states the National Sleep Foundation. • Sleep deprivation can cause problems. • Your body needs sleep. • Not sleeping is bad for your health. • Sleep disorders keep some people from sleeping. • Avoid caffeine after mid-afternoon.

43. Referring to an Authority • Expert, unbiased facts and information • Valid and knowledgeable within the area

44. Referring to an Authority • According to the National Sleep Foundation, most teens don’t get enough sleep. • “The less you sleep, the more likely you are to have difficulty in school,” notes Amy Wolfson at the College of Holy Cross. • “With lack of sleep, the body’s immune system gets depressed and acquiring a cold or flu is more common,” states Dr. Mindell.

45. Examples • Clearly relate to the argument • Should be typical enough to support it. If your friend was once bitten by a dog does not adequately prove that all dogs are dangerous pets.

46. Examples “Time to wake up for school,” Bethany’s dad calls at 6:45 a.m. “Okay,” Bethany responds as she turns over to catch a few extra winks. When the alarm blares at 7 o’clock, Bethany can’t put it off any longer. Yawning, she shuts off the alarm and crawls out of bed.

47. Predicting the Consequence • Helps the reader visualize what will occur if something does or does not happen. • Avoid exaggerating the consequence. If you don’t exercise every day, you will never be truly healthy.

48. Predicting the Consequence • If you don’t get enough sleep, grumpiness and irritability will result. • The less you sleep, the more likely you are to have difficulty in school. • Students who get a good night’s rest typically do better on tests than students who stayed up all night. • For young Americans under the age of 25, more fall-asleep car crashes happen than alcohol-related crashes.

49. Answering the Opposition • Addressing critics shows that you are aware of the opposition’s argument and are able to respond to it. • Avoid calling the opposition “fools” or “crooks.” • Attack ideas, not character.

50. Answering the Opposition • Students punish themselves by being too involved so they become sleep deprived. Though some believe students work too many hours and consequently suffer from a lack of sleep, some teens need to work to help support themselves and their family. Work is not a choice; it is a necessity. These students need to search for a better balance between school, work, and sleep. Students (and their parents) may think that they are performing adequately with a lack of sleep, but the reality is they are not. Parents need to be more proactive and make sure their children are getting enough sleep on a regular basis.