Include the date of the notes given. Unit 3: Notes #19 Remember to label your notes by number. This way you will know if you are missing notes, you’ll know what notes you need, etc. Include the date of the notes given.

“You can’t go back and change the beginning but you can start where you are and change the ending.” ~ C.S. Lewis

PERSUASIVE TECHNIQUES & ARGUMENTATION: MAKING THE ARGUMENT

What are Persuasive Techniques? Persuasive techniques are techniques that writers use to enhance their arguments and make their writing effective Some common devices are: Repetition Anecdote Parallelism Metaphor/Simile Rhetorical question Hyperbole Analogy Irony/Sarcasm Loaded words Pun Allusion Alliteration Facts & Statistics Anaphora

REPETITION Repeated word or group of words used more than once for emphasis Example: The curfew law should be repealed – repealed immediately in fairness to the community, the police, and the students.

PARALLELISM Repetition of the same grammatical form to express equal, or parallel ideas. A noun is paired with a noun, a phrase with a phrase, a clause with a clause, and so on. Example: This week, the Norwin High School student council had to cancel its annual charity dance-a-thon, not because of a lack of interest, not because of a shortage of funds, and not because of a failure to sign up enough enthusiastic volunteers.

RHETORICAL QUESTION Questions that are not meant to be answered but are asked for effect Example: Should students who are out past curfew for such events be jailed or fined? Should such school activities be dropped simply because some people feel the need to assert more control over teens?

ANALOGY A comparison of two or more similar objects, suggesting that if they are alike in certain respects, they will probably be alike in other ways as well Example: If the curfew law aims to reduce youth crime, it mistakenly targets the wrong hours. It is much like shutting the barn gates after the horses have already escaped.

LOADED WORDS Carry strong emotional associations Example: Our football team won the championship game, pulverizing the other team in the fourth quarter.

ANTITHESIS A figure of speech in which an opposition, or contrast, of ideas is presented Example: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” “To err is human; to forgive is divine.”

ANAPHORA Repetition of the same word or groups of words at the beginning of phrases, clauses, or sentences Example: “In books, I find the dead as if they were alive; in books, I foresee things to come; in books warlike affairs are set forth…”

Allusion: A reference to a familiar person, place, thing, or event Facts & Statistics: Information and data that can be proved to be true Anecdote: A short summary of a humorous event used to make a point Metaphor/Simile: Comparison of two unlike things/using like or as Hyperbole: Use of exaggeration to make situation seem must better or worse than it really is Paradox: A statement that appears to be contradictory but, in fact, has some truth

Oxymoron: A paradox reduced to two words Irony/Sarcasm: Ideas presented in a way that seems opposite to what is really meant Pun: Joking use of a word sounding the same as another Alliteration: Within a sentence, series of words that begin with the same sound Assonance: Within a sentence, repetition of similar vowel sounds in two or more words Oxymoron: A paradox reduced to two words Personification: giving human qualities to nonhuman objects

COUNTER ARGUMENT An important component in persuasion is acknowledging the “other side’s” argument and refuting it. This is the COUNTER ARGUMENT. A counter-argument is an argument opposed to your thesis, or part of your thesis. It expresses the view of a person who disagrees with your position. Addressing the opposing viewpoint shows respect for the other side as well as knowledge of the argument being made. This strengthens the argument.

EVIDENCE Evidence is needed to prove an argument. There are many different types of evidence, including: Anecdotes Observations Examples Statistics Views of experts