Non-Fiction and Intentional Persuasion Unit 4 English I

Analyze the piece for… Structure/Organization Controlling Idea Substantiated/Unsubstantiated Opinion Figurative Language Understatement/Overstatement Rhetorical Devices Logical Fallacies

Organizational Patterns The pattern an author constructs as he or she organizes his or her ideas and provides supporting details. –Problem & solution –Compare & contrast –Chronological order –Cause & effect –Descriptive

Substantiated Opinion An opinion that can be  PROVEN  VERIFIED  CONFIRMED “A January 2012 Gallup Poll of teenagers who read popular magazines and view at least 20 hours of television a week report that the media is a “heavy influence” on their purchasing and grooming habits.”

Unsubstantiated Opinion Statements made from a personal perspective, understanding, feelings, or belief. They are not supported by facts. “In media people are more concerned with which Hollywood star is going out with which millionaire rather than the thousands of people dying of hunger in third world countries.”

Inductive Reasoning The use of specific evidence that lead to a logical conclusion. –Facts –Examples –Expert opinions –Leads to a substantiated opinion…

Deductive Reasoning a logical progression from general observations to a more specific observation or statement and leading to a specific conclusion (your position as stated in your thesis) –Leads to an unsubstantiated opinion…

Generalization A straight-forward statement about a group/class of persons, places, things, events supported by information

Logical Fallacies Emotional –Emotional fallacies appeal to the audience's emotions. Ethical –Ethical fallacies unreasonably advance the writer's own authority or character. Logical –Logical fallacies depend upon faulty logic “If we can send a spacecraft to Mars, then we can discover a cure for prostate cancer among squirrels.”

Personal Connection If you make a personal connection with a piece of literature, you might ask yourself something about the content you read. –How does this effect you? –What would you do in that situation? –How does this make you feel? –What are your thoughts about the essay? –How would you do things differently?

Author’s Purpose Entertain – to provide an entertainment to the readers Inform – to describe a specific topic by providing accurate details and information about the subject Persuade – to try to get the reader to do something or buy something.

Controlling Idea The main point or underlying direction of a piece of writing. A controlling idea makes the reader ask a question that will be answered by reading more or helps the reader understand the author’s purpose for writing the paragraph or essay.

Rhetorical Devices A rhetorical device is a use of language that is intended to have an effect on its audience. Below are a few examples: –Antithesis –Figurative Language –Parallelism –Repetition –Rhetorical Question –Simile/Metaphor

Rhetorical Appeals A technique that an author or speaker uses to influence or persuade an audience.

Scare Tactic Manipulative words or actions that create a sense of fear or shock in the audience. These fears, rational or irrational as they may be, are often enough to force people into making uninformed decisions or taking rash actions.

Grammar to refresh your memory on… Complex sentences – 1 independent clause & 1 dependent clause joined together with a subordinating conjunction Run-on sentence – 2 or more independent clauses are conjoined without a conjunction Sentence fragment – fails to be a sentence; doesn’t even have 1 independent clause Subject/verb agreement – singular or plural (they must match!)