The Importance of Persuasion In everyday life… Appealing a grade, asking for a raise, applying for a job, negotiating the price of a new car, arguing in traffic court In academic life… Defending your ideas, engaging intellectual debate On the job… Getting people to listen to your ideas, winning buy-in, getting your boss to notice, getting cooperation, moving people to action In writing… Irrefutably making your point, writing to be read In reading and listening… Critically evaluating other’s arguments, protecting yourself from unethical persuasive tactics, recognizing faulty reasoning when you see it.

Persuasion- What is it? An essay in which the writer takes a position- Defends that position with reasons & claims- Supports the reasons with evidence.

Persuasion- Key Ingredients An issue open to debate Your position on the issue- THESIS Your REASONS for that position Your EVIDENCE to support your reason Experience expert opinion research statistics

Persuasion- Structure An INTRODUCTION Hook Thesis (position statement) The BODY Your reasons for that position Evidence to support your reason The CONCLUSION Restate your POSITION Review your REASONS Leave your reader with a FINAL THOUGHT

THESIS  Directly states your position or viewpoint of the essay  Example: to live in a secure nation, Americans must be willing to sacrifice some basic freedoms.

Example: Which thesis statement is the best? Parents, often too busy to watch television shows with their families, can monitor their children’s viewing habits with the aid of the V-chip. To help parents monitor their children’s viewing habits, the V-chip should be a required feature for television sets sold in the U.S. This paper will describe a V-chip and examine the uses of the V-chip in American-made television sets.

The TONE  Be serious and respectful.  Shows you are fair-minded and therefore adds to your credibility  No matter how passionate you are about the issue, don’t resort to careless, harsh words; this would show more about you than the issue.

The AUDIENCE  Understanding your audience is key to effective writing of all kinds, especially persuasive writing  Know your audience  What is their position on the issue?  How strongly do they feel about it?  Are they open-minded enough to consider other views?  What will their objections be to your argument?

Persuasive Do: The CLAIM Claims are statements that can be argued and always backed up with evidence. Example: Students should put their academic work above all other considerations.

Persuasive Do: The EVIDENCE EVIDENCE is how you support your claims and reasons. EVIDENCE can be: your experience expert opinion research statistics

Persuasive Do: The GENERALIZATION A GENERALIZATION is a conclusion drawn from several examples.

Persuasive DON’T: The ASSUMPTION An ASSUMPTION is an opinion or belief taken for granted without true proof.