Review for Test on Persuasion

Author’s Purpose The author’s purpose is his or her reason for writing. The purpose may be to:  Persuade  Inform  Entertain  Pay tribute

How do writers persuade you?  Writers may try to persuade you by using appeals to logic or emotion.  Readers should judge a writer’s argument based on its credibility, or believability.

Author’s Argument An author’s argument is the reasoning for his or her opinion on an issue. To understand an argument, analyze its structure and tone. Structure is the organization an author uses to present reasoning and evidence in an argument. Three types of structure are:  Question and answer  Order of importance  Time order To support an argument, an author might include facts, statistics, examples, and quotes from experts in the field.

Tone  Tone shows the writer’s attitude toward the subject and you, the reader.  Tone is determined by a writer’s word choice.

Rhetorical Devices  Rhetoric is the art of language, of using its resources effectively, usually with a certain goal or effect in mind. These resources include word choice, any and all figures of speech, and structure of composition.  Alliteration is the repetition of initial consonant sounds.  An allusion is a reference, explicit or implicit, to something in previous literature or history.  Anaphora is the repetition of words, phrases or clauses in successive lines, stanzas, or paragraphs.

Rhetorical Devices  An aphorism is a memorable, brief expression of some principle or truth; a saying or adage. “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.” Ralph Waldo Emerson  An apostrophe is a figure of speech in which someone absent or dead or something nonhuman is addressed as if it were alive and able to reply.  A rhetorical question is a statement constructed as a question that is not intended to be answered.

From An Indian’s View of Indian Affairs  Chief Joseph is pleading for equal treatment for his people.  His tone is serious, determined, sorrowful, and passionate.  Details of his speech which appeal to emotion are “My dead people”, “Shot down like animals”, and “Good words will not give me back my children.”  Details which appeal to logic are “We ask that the same law shall work alike on all men.”

“Cinderella’s Stepsisters”  Toni Morrison is speaking to the graduates of Barnard College, an all-female college.  She uses the analogy of Cinderella’s stepsisters to persuade the young women that they should be kind to other women when they have positions of power in the workplace.  She tells them that the function of freedom is to free someone else, meaning that since they have a good education and will have good jobs, they should help others instead of oppressing them.

“The Next Green Revolution”  Alex Steffen is trying to persuade others to use technology to solve environmental problems.  He uses facts, statistics, examples and quotes from experts to support his arguments.  Steffen is a credible author for this topic because he has spent years traveling all over the world conducting research, speaking, and serving as a consultant on environmental issues. He cofounded Worldchanging.com.

“Ain’t I a Woman?”  Sojourner Truth is speaking to persuade her audience that women should have the same rights as men.  She repeats the rhetorical question “Ain’t I a Woman?”

“Why I Wrote Persepolis”  Persepolis is a graphic novel which Marjane Satrapi wrote to tell about her childhood in Iran.  She wanted people in other to see that Iranians are similar to them and that she grew up just like other children.  Her solution for solving the world’s problems is to provide scholarships for young people to study overseas and learn about other cultures.  Subheadings organize the information in the article.

“Setting the Record Straight”  Scott McCloud uses visuals and words to teach about the comic art form.  When he was a child he thought comics were poorly drawn and crude. Now he thinks they are an art form.  A definition of comics is sequential art.

“Graphic Novels 101:FAQ”  Robin Brenner uses a question and answer structure to address common misconceptions about graphic novels and explain why kids should read comics and graphic novels.  She refutes the ideas that graphic novels are just for kids, full of violence, only about superheroes, and only for reluctant readers.

Comparing Texts  All three of the authors who wrote about graphic novels believe they are an art form, a valid way of telling a story.