Persuasive Essay: PERSUASIVE TECHNIQUES
Exit Pass/Writing Section
$ What does the acronym FRESCA stand for?
o Facts
o Rhetorical questioning
o Examples
o Statistics
o Comparison/Analogies
o Anecdotes
o And the additional Quotations
o Also, repetition of ideas, is another persuasive technique.
$ An allusion is reference to something outside the text.
$ Give FIVE examples of an allusion:
1. Book/Literary Character
2. Quote by another author
3. Song/Poem/Movie
4. Current event in the media
5. A time period in history
$ It is also important to add “real-life” examples.
$ Types of arguments:
1. Logos (logic) means an argument based on reason (facts).
2. Pathos (passion or emotion) is the use emotional arguments to get the audience to accept one’s viewpoint. It is intended that the message inspire followers.
3. Ethos (ethics or morals) is a moral or ethical argument that appeals to the reader’s morals or values; what the reader believes is morally or ethically right. Aristotle called it the “moral rightness” of an argument.
$ The history of rhetoric and the concepts of ethos, pathos, and logos began in Greece.
$ Who was Aristotle? A famous Greek philosopher who studied the art of persuasion.
$ Who was Plato? Aristotle’s teacher
$ Ethos= a moral argument
1. A speaker must establish moral credibility in the minds of the audience at the beginning of his or her speech/essay.
2. An “ethos” argument demonstrates a moral or ethical argument that appeals to the readers’ morals or values; what the reader believes is morally or ethically right.
$ Pathos= an emotional argument
1. An effective use of “pathos” will alter the mindsets of the audience through the use of emotional appeal.
2. Touches a nerve and compel people to not only listen, but to also take the next step and act in the world.
3. Those who wish to persuade you will play with your emotions. They may persuade you with fear, love, patriotism, guilt, hate or joy.
$ Logos= Logos means logic
1. Logos refers to any attempt to appeal to the intellect OR, our brains.
2. Logos appeals to the left side of the audience's brain. The audience relies on reasoning and facts to make its decision.
3. Numbers, polls, and statistics are also examples of the persuasive use of logic.
$ Logos Examples (read only)
1. “OnStar service inside your car is better than carrying a cell phone because a cell phone can’t call for you when you’re injured.”
2. “There was no discernible difference in the ACT scores of graduating seniors who wore school uniforms and those who didn’t.”
3. “We are the only company who will roll over and save your unused phone minutes each month.”
4. “Stand firm, parents. If you say ‘no’ at first and then give in later, you are only teaching your children to beg, whine and pester you.”
$ Pathos Examples (read only)
1. A politician says that we have to fight the war “over” there so that we don’t have to fight it here at home.
2. A commercial offers to tell you what your friends won’t.
3. A newspaper editorial for private-school vouchers states that our public schools are dens of thieves and thugs.
4. A high school runs an article about drinking and driving with detailed descriptions and graphic pictures of automobile crashes.
$ Ethos Examples (read only)
1. “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” — John Fitzgerald Kennedy
2. “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
3. “The way ahead is not easy. We shall need all the wisdom, imagination, and courage we can muster. We must and shall guarantee the civil rights of all our citizens.” – Harry Truman addressing the NAACP
$ WE WILL REVIEW PERSUASIVE TECHNIQUES ON TUESDAY. REMEMBER, THE QUIZ ON THE EXIT PASSES IS WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 31ST 2. MEET IN THE LIBRARY THIS MONDAY AND MAKE SURE YOU HAVE YOUR USERNAME AND PASSWORD TO LOG ONTO THE COMPUTER!!!
HOMEWORK: JOURNAL ENTRY DUE TUESDAY!
Fill an entire page of your journal (front AND back) and give a place where you would like to go in the United States. It can be a place you have already visited. Explain WHY you want to go there. DESCRIBE the scenery, things to do, why it would be a good field trip (educational purposes, cost effectiveness, etc). If you get stuck, look up this place on the internet and pull ideas from there. Be certain to identify vivid words you could use in your essay. Remember this is a journal entry, so you can “free write”. Don’t worry about organization, spelling, grammar, etc… Worry about CONTENT!!