PERSUASIVE WRITING

1. PERSUASIVE WRITING ALMOST EVERYDAY, EACH AND EVERYONE OF US ARGUES FOR OR AGAINST SOMEONE FOR SOMETHING. • What exactly is “Persuasive Writing”? Any type of writing that attempts to persuade us to adopt a point of view (POV), agree with an opinion, or take action. It is any type of writing that involves an argument. • Where do we see “Persuasive Writing”? Everywhere in our daily lives! From commercials, to billboards, newspapers, and more.

2. Being persuasive… Learn how to persuade your peers!

3. PERSUASIVE WRITING • Why do we write a persuasive paper? To convince others that your opinion is the correct opinion. • What makes a good persuasive paper? Good persuasive writing presents logical reasoning and solid evidence that will persuade your readers to accept your point of view. • Papers that persuade must be filled with facts AND opinions, but based on facts. • Support your opinion with facts, anecdotes, and examples.

4. PERSUASIVE WRITING • Appeal to… • Reason: to develop a convincing argument, present facts about a subject then draw a conclusion based on those facts. • Authority: If you admire a person, you may be more than likely to agree with his/her opinion. • Emotion: Choose words and examples that will trigger an emotional connection in the reader.

5. PERSUASIVE WRITING • Don’t… • Make hasty generalizations. • This is when the writer bases the argument on insufficient or unrepresentative evidence. • Follow where there is no logic. • If the writers conclusion is not necessarily a logical result of the facts, do not follow it. • Fall for the “Straw Man”. • This is when the writer selects the weakest, most insignificant point to divert the reader from the real issues. • Go for the “Quick Fix”. • The writer relies heavily on catch phrases or empty slogans; the writer oversimplifies the issue. • Base your argument solely on emotion. • This happens when the writer evades the issue by appealing to the readers emotions on certain subjects. • Use “Either/Or”. • This happens when the writer tries to convince the reader there are only two sides to an issue- Right and Wrong. • Use the “Bandwagon Appeal”. • This appeal happens when the writer attempts to validate a point by persuading the reader that everyone else believes it.

6. PERSUASIVE WRITING Monroe’s Motivated Sequence The advantage of Monroe's Motivated Sequence is that it emphasizes what the audience can do. Too often the audience feels like a situation is hopeless; Monroe's motivated sequence emphasizes the action the audience can take. It also helps the audience feel like you know the problem at hand. • Get the attention of your audience • Use storytelling, humor, a shocking statistic, a rhetorical question… anything that will get the audience to sit up and take notice

7. PERSUASIVE WRITING 2. Establish the need • Convince your audience there is a problem. This set of statements must help the audience realize that what's happening right now isn't good enough – and it needs to change. • Use statistics to back up your statements. • Talk about the consequences of maintaining the status quo and not making changes. • Show your audience how the problem directly affects them. • Remember, you're not at the "I have a solution" stage. Here, you want to make the audience uncomfortable and restless, and ready to do the "something" that you recommend.

8. PERSUASIVE WRITING 3. Satisfy your need • Introduce your solution. How will you solve the problem that your audience is ready to address? This is the main part of your presentation. It will vary significantly, depending on your purpose. • Discuss the facts. • Elaborate and give details to make sure the audience understands your position and solution. • Clearly state what you want the audience to do or believe. • Summarize your information from time to time as you speak. • Use examples, testimonials, and statistics to prove the effectiveness of your solution.

9. PERSUASIVE WRITING 4. Visualize the future • Describe what the situation will look like if the audience does nothing. The more realistic and detailed the vision, the better it will create the desire to do what you recommend. Your goal is to motivate the audience to agree with you and adopt similar behaviors, attitudes, and beliefs. Help them see what the results could be if they act the way you want them to. Make sure your vision is believable and realistic. • You can use three methods to help the audience share your vision: • Positive method – Describe what the situation will look like if your ideas are adopted. Emphasize the positive aspects. • Negative method – Describe what the situation will look like if your ideas are rejected. Focus on the dangers and difficulties caused by not acting. • Contrast method – Develop the negative picture first, and then reveal what could happen if your ideas are accepted.

10. PERSUASIVE WRITING 5. Action/Actualization • Your final job is to leave your audience with specific things they can do to solve the problem. You want them to take action now. Don't overwhelm them with too much information or too many expectations, and be sure to give them options to increase their sense of ownership of the solution. This can be as simple as inviting them to have some refreshments as you walk around and answer questions. For very complex problems, the action step might be getting together again to review plans.