Power of Persuasion

Persuasive Rhetoric/Devices What’s rhetoric? Deductive – big to small Inductive – small to big Rhetorical question = obvious answer : “Should we be judged on appearance or rather the content of our convictions?” Antithesis: contrasting ideas are expressed in a grammatically balanced statement. Repetition Parallelism – pattern from line to line Rhetoric: study & use of lang. Ind: begin w/facts & proceed to conclusion (small to big)

EXs "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way." (Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities)

Allusion Difference between illusion and allusion? Illusion = magician “ I have taken the hallway less traveled by, and that has made all the difference” – Ms. Koller She looks in the “mirror, mirror on the wall” and doesn’t like what she sees.

Appeals - Convince Others Your job is to CONVINCE (persuade) others by giving strong arguments. Great.. How do I do that? Think of this like SALES. You have a product to sell and you have to convince people to buy it.

Appeals – 3 types Appeal to Logic (logos): This means, give me a solid reason why I should believe you and back it up with clear, legit statistics “4 out of 5 dentists prefer Crest over Colgate” “8 out of 10 travelers prefer Travelocity” Statistics, facts, hard evidence are what you want for PFD. They are your STRONGEST arguments.

Logical (Rational) appeals facts case studies statistics experiments logical reasoning analogies anecdotes authority voices

Appeals to Emotion 2. Appeal to Emotion (pathos): Use language to inspire strong feelings in order to persuade. “Why would anyone kill an innocent child?” “Little Pedro is waiting for you to save him.” “Men: you don’t have to deal with hair loss anymore.” “Women: Get back your high school figure!”

Emotion types higher emotions belief in fairness love pity etc. lower emotions greed lust revenge etc.

Appeals 3. Appeal to Ethics (ethos): This hits right at the reader’s sense of right and wrong. “For less than the cost of a cup of coffee, you can save Pedro” “Elizabeth Dole voted on the side of oil companies every time” “If you want your children protected by licensed, trained, qualified staff…”

Ethics examples trustworthiness credibility reliability expert testimony reliable sources fairness

Let’s see what we have http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40DykbPa4Lc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gspElv1yvc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hc2vA_1NCcE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYhCn0jf46U http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1i7rn7y8xs http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owGykVbfgUE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDUQW8LUMs8

Logical Fallacies – book p 216 Type Definition Example Either/or Name-calling Overgeneralization False Cause

Wanna argue? Argument: expresses opinion and supports it. Begin with a claim – your position Offer support. Anticipating the opposition = counterclaim.

The Parking Ticket You work at Carolina Place Mall. You’re working very hard saving money for college. On January 11, you went to work, despite a freak snow storm. You pulled into a parking spot, covered in snow. You return, 8 hours later to a melted parking lot only to discover your car has been towed. Upon investigation, you discover that the snow covered a handicapped parking spot with a picture and blue lines painted on the ground, but no sign. You paid $250.00 for the tow and have been given a $500 ticket.