in text and in the media

 Who is the writer trying to reach?  Why is the writer bringing up this topic or issue?

 Emotional appeals  The use of words, descriptions, or images that call forth strong feelings, such as pity, fear, or anger.  Heart, personal stories, carefully crafted word- choice, imagery and figurative language “Innocent puppies are horribly mistreated in puppy mills.”

 Logical appeals  Appeal based on logic or reason.  Facts, research, cause/effect, experts  Statistics are logos-based arguments. “Between 10.1 and 16.7 million dogs and cats are put to death in pounds and shelters annually.”

 Ethical appeal  Attempts to gain moral support for a claim by linking the claim to a widely accepted value.  Conscience, right/wrong, values, morals, qualifications of expertise “We need this law because animals deserve decent treatment.”

 Presents a claim supported by reasons and evidence.  Claim- the writer’s position on a problem or an issue  Premise- General principal that most readers would readily agree is true. “Most people want to make a difference.”  Support- reasons and evidence that back up the claim.  Counterargument- opposing viewpoints are addressed and countered.

 Bandwagon Appeal  Taps into people’s desire to belong “Millions of teens have made City Jeanz part of their wardrobe. What are you waiting for?”  Appeal to Fear  Makes people feel as if their safety, security, or health is in danger “How clean are the hotel rooms you’re staying in? You’ll be shocked by what our documentary reveals.”

 Appeal to Pity  Taps into people’s compassion for others “For the cost of one cup of coffee a day, you could save a life.”  Loaded Terms  Uses words with strongly positive or negative connotations to stir people’s emotions “The alley next to the parking lot is dark and dangerous. Vote to increase the number of street lamps in our neighborhood. Residents deserve to feel safe and protected.

 A rhetorical fallacy is speech or writing that is misleading  Logical fallacy- an error in reasoning “Either I watch TV, or I have nothing else to do.” False assumptions- mistaken beliefs Claim 1: If you don’t volunteer, you will never get into a good college. Claim 2: If you don’t volunteer, you’ll miss out on a potentially great experience.

 Loaded Terms (part 2)  Remember, loaded terms are words or phrases with strongly positive or negative connotations. Ex: Using immature to describe a teenager casts the person in a more negative light than using young.  Leading questions  Questions that contain their answers, such as, “You don’t want all the forests to disappear, do you?”  Caricatures  Cartoon-like portrayals of opposing arguments, such as, “They want you to go around hugging trees.”

 An inclination of temperament (personal attitude) or outlook, especially a personal and sometimes unreasoned judgment.  Opinions/Prejudice  Usually has a negative connotation