The Art of Persuasion ‘’Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”-Jonathan Edwards

The four forms of discourse: 1. narration: telling a story, developing a sequence of events (plot) 2. description: writing that appeals to the senses 3. exposition: writing that communicates information 4. persuasion: writing meant to modify behavior

How to evaluate persuasive writing: speaker, audience, occasion, and means of persuasion

speaker addresses questions of credibility look at modern advertising and the need for companies to speak through spokespersons and the need for credibility celebrities and famous people are often solicited to promote products. Why? ask yourself: who is presenting this information and what might be their intention?

audience Who is the advertisement intended to speak to? What images are used and how are they relatable to the intended audience? Think about how advertisements are targeted to particular audiences (after-school advertisements, football games versus a news program such as “60 Minutes”; advertisements on Fx vs. advertisments on nickelodeon).

occasion How is the text/advertisement appropriate given the time period? What is/was happening during the time that this product was first produced or presented? Specific occasions include Christmas, back-to-school time, and the Super Bowl. Remember, some (most) advertising is not keyed to a specific occasion.

persuasion What techniques are used to persuade? Does the speaker use fear as a basis for persuasion? Is repetition, limited opportunity, or bandwagon used? Take a look at page 12 of your Puritan Packets for more techniques used to persuade.