Effective Persuasion Developing Persuasive Arguments

Overview This presentation will cover: ◦ The persuasive context ◦ The role of the audience ◦ What to research and cite ◦ How to establish your credibility ◦ How to create a debatable thesis ◦ How to support a thesis with valid claims

What is Persuasive Writing? Definition: persuasive writing… seeks to convince its readers to embrace the point-of-view presented by appealing to the audience’s reason and understanding through argument and/or entreaty.

Persuasive Genres You encounter persuasion every day. TV Commercials Letters to the Editor Junk mail Magazine ads College brochures Can you think of other persuasive contexts?

Steps for Effective Persuasion Understand your audience Support your opinion Know the various sides of your issue Respectfully address other points of view Find common ground with your audience Establish your credibility

When to Persuade an Audience Your organization needs funding for a project Your boss wants you to make recommendations for a course of action You need to shift someone’s current point of view to build common ground so action can be taken

Understanding Your Audience Who is your audience? What beliefs do they hold about the topic? What disagreements might arise between you and your audience? How can you refute counterarguments with respect?

Understanding Your Audience What concerns does your audience face? For example: – Do they have limited funds to distribute? – Do they feel the topic directly affects them? – How much time do they have to consider your document?

Understanding Your Audience Help your audience relate to your topic Appeal to their hearts as well as their minds. ◦ Use anecdotes when appropriate ◦ Paint your topic in with plenty of detail ◦ Involve the reader’s senses in these sections

Researching an Issue Become familiar with all sides of an issue. -find common ground -understand the history of the topic -predict the counterarguments your audience might make -find strong support for your own perspective

Researching an Issue Find common ground with your audience For example: Point of Opposition: You might support a war, whereas your audience might not. Common ground: Both sides want to see their troops come home.

Researching an Issue Predict counterarguments Example: Your Argument: Organic produce from local Farmers’ Markets is better than store-bought produce. The Opposition: Organic produce is too expensive.

Researching an Issue One Possible Counterargument: Organic produce is higher in nutritional value than store-bought produce and is also free of pesticides, making it a better value. Also, store-bought produce travels thousands of miles, and the cost of gasoline affects the prices of food on supermarket shelves.

Support Your Perspective Appeal to the audience’s reason –Use statistics and reputable studies Cite experts on the topic ◦ Do they back up what you say? ◦ Do they refute the other side?

Cite Sources with Some Clout Which source would a reader find more credible? ◦ The New York Times ◦ Which person would a reader be more likely to believe? ◦ Joe Smith from Fort Wayne, IN ◦ Dr. Susan Worth, Prof. of Criminology at Purdue University

Establish Credibility Cite credible sources Cite sources correctly and thoroughly Use professional language (and design) Edit out all errors

Cite Sources Ethically Don’t misrepresent a quote or leave out important information. Misquote: “Crime rates were down by 2002,” according to Dr. Smith. Actual quote: “Crime rates were down by 2002, but steadily began climbing again a year later,” said to Dr. Smith.

Tactics to Avoid Don’t lecture or talk down to your audience Don’t make threats or “bully” your reader Don’t employ guilt trips Be careful if using the second person, “you”

Have More Questions? Visit us at the Writing Lab ◦ Heavilon Hall 226 ◦ ◦ Visit us online at the OWL ◦

Developing Debatable Thesis Statements The Thesis statement or main claim must be debatable

Example of a non-debatable thesis statement: Pollution is bad for the environment.

Example of a debatable thesis statement: At least twenty-five percent of the federal budget should be spent on limiting pollution.

Another example of a debatable thesis statement: America's anti-pollution efforts should focus on privately owned cars.

The thesis needs to be narrow Although the scope of your paper might seem overwhelming at the start, generally the narrower the thesis the more effective your argument will be. Your thesis or claim must be supported by evidence. The broader your claim is, the more evidence you will need to convince readers that your position is right.

Example of a thesis that is too broad: Drug use is detrimental to society. ◦ What is included in the category "drugs"? ◦ In what ways are drugs detrimental ◦ Finally, what does the author mean by "society"?

Example of a narrow or focused thesis: Illegal drug use is detrimental because it encourages gang violence. ◦ In this example the topic of drugs has been narrowed down to illegal drugs and the detriment has been narrowed down to gang violence. This is a much more manageable topic.

Narrowed Debatable Thesis 1: At least twenty-five percent of the federal budget should be spent on helping upgrade business to clean technologies, researching renewable energy sources, and planting more trees in order to control or eliminate pollution.  This thesis narrows the scope of the argument by specifying not just the amount of money used but also how the money could actually help to control pollution.

Narrowed Debatable Thesis 2: America's anti-pollution efforts should focus on privately owned cars because it would allow most citizens to contribute to national efforts and care about the outcome.  This thesis narrows the scope of the argument by specifying not just what the focus of a national anti- pollution campaign should be but also why this is the appropriate focus.

Narrowing a Thesis with Qualifiers Qualifiers such as "typically," "generally," "usually," or "on average" also help to limit the scope of your claim by allowing for the almost inevitable exception to the rule.

Types of Claims Claims of fact or definition: These claims argue about what the definition of something is or whether something is a settled fact. ◦ Example: What some people refer to as global warming is actually nothing more than normal, long- term cycles of climate change.

Types of Claims Claims of cause and effect: These claims argue that one person, thing, or event caused another thing or event to occur. ◦ Example: The popularity of SUV's in America has caused pollution to increase.

Types of Claims Claims about value: These are claims made about what something is worth, whether we value it or not, how we would rate or categorize something. ◦ Example: Global warming is the most pressing challenge facing the world today.

Types of Claims Claims about solutions or policies: These are claims that argue for or against a certain solution or policy approach to a problem. ◦ Example: Instead of drilling for oil in Alaska we should be focusing on ways to reduce oil consumption, such as researching renewable energy sources.