Persuasion/Rhetoric Flip Chart

Persuasion/Rhetoric Flip Chart

Persuasion/Rhetoric Flip Chart

Fold along center line (to put vocabulary words on back). Quiz yourself, flipping back and forth between the front and back, to see if you know the vocab by looking at definitions and examples.

Ethical Appeal / * An appeal based on shared moral values, calling upon the reader to uphold what is right and what society considers just. Appeal is generally to benefit others, not yourself
* Related to Ethos
* Example: “For every purchase of $100, we will donate $10 to the Make A Wish Foundation”
Logical Appeal / * An appeal based upon what we can assume is true, supported by evidence such as surveys, data, and statistics. Fact-driven
* Related to Logos
* Example: “Our Toyotas come with a 7-year warranty and get 32 miles per gallon. Buying one will save you thousands of dollars.”
Emotional Appeal / * An appeal usually based on specific examples of fear, suffering or potential threats, usually loaded with strong imagery and connotations like “protect your children” campaigns that show sick youngsters and imply that their medicine will save your child from suffering. Often related to fear. Aimed at your emotions and things of importance to you.
* Related to Pathos
* Examples: An ad that says, "If you care about your children's success in school, you will buy these encyclopedias.” (Buy the encyclopedia to get rid of the fear your children will fail.)
or ... A mouthwash commercial shows two people just waking up in the morning with the words “Yech! Morning breath, the worst breath of the day.” (Use our mouthwash to get rid of the fear of bad breath)
Rhetoric / * The technique of using language effectively.
* The art of using speech to persuade, influence, or please
Rhetorical question / * A question asked solely to produce an effect or to make an assertion ... and not to elicit a reply.
* An example: “Got Milk?”
Denotation / * The direct, explicit meaning of a word or an expression, as distinguished from the ideas or meanings associated with it or suggested by it.
* The opposite of a word’s connotation
* Example: A dove is “a type of pigeon, a wild and domesticated bird having a heavy body and short legs.” This is the dictionary definition, with no extra meaning.
Connotation / * The associated or implied secondary meaning of a word or expression in addition to its explicit or primary meaning. The feelings and images associated with words.
* The opposite of a word’s denotation (see above, #6).
* Secondary meaning of a word or expression in addition to its explicit or primary meaning.
* Example: A dove is a bird, but it also can have the connotation of (implies) peace or gentility.
Explicit / * Statements that are fully and clearly expressed or demonstrated; leaving nothing merely implied.
* Example: If the first sentence of a story is “It was a dark and stormy night,” that is an explicit fact. There is no room for debate; the reader cannot be confused and think that the story is set on a sunny morning.
Implicit / * A statement that is implied, rather than expressly stated.
* Example: If a story begins with “The trees were swaying wildly outside Anne’s window as she prepared for bed, and the gutters were overflowing,” the reader can infer that it is probably dark, stormy and at night – even though these facts are not explicitly stated.
Loaded language / * Wording that attempts to influence the listener or the reader because of a strong connotation or mental image.
* Wording that attempts to influence the listener or reader by appealing to emotion, rather than facts
* Example: Instead of referring to someone as “that woman,” calling her “that temptress” or “that maiden” gives entirely different images, despite the fact that all three words refer to “woman.”
Euphemism / * The substitution of a mild, indirect, or vague expression for one considered to be offensive, harsh, or blunt.
* Example: Instead of simply saying someone has “died,” saying that the person has “passed away” or “gone to meet their maker.”
Vernacular / * The everyday language spoken by a people (from a region, a city, a nation, or even a school), as distinguished from the literary language.
* Local slang is frequently considered to be vernacular
* Examples: “Soda” vs. “pop” vs. “soft drink” vs. “cola” are all examples of vernacular, and are used depending on where you grew up
Propaganda / * Information, ideas, or rumors deliberately spread widely to help
or harm a person, group, movement, institution, nation … NOT TO SELL SOMETHING.
Figurative Language / * Based on or making use of figures of speech; metaphorical.
* Used in similes, metaphors, hyperbole, symbolism, etc.
* Example: Tropicana’s ad campaign says its orange juice is “Your Daily Ray of Sunshine.” The metaphor makes the reader think of sunshine and Vitamin C and Florida sun when thinking of Tropicana.
Juxtaposition / * An act or instance of placing close together or side by side, especially for comparison or contrast.
* Example: In an ad for toothpaste, there are two pictures of teeth, one yellowed and the other (belonging to someone who brushes with Crest) sparkly white. They are juxtaposed to show what will happen if you do or do not brush with Crest.
Repetition / * A thing, word, action, etc, that is repeated for effect or to make a point
* Example: The lyrics to the Doublemint gum ad jingle drove home the name of the product by repeating the word “double” over and over again
Double double your pleasure,
Double double your fun,
No single gum double freshens your mouth like
Doublemint, Doublemint Gum.
Claim/Thesis statement / A claim or thesis statement is when you:
* state or assert that something is the case, typically without providing evidence or proof.
* say that (something) is true when some people may say it is not true
* Note you must have an arguable statement
* An example of a claim: “Nike makes the best shoes.” It is a statement of opinion that may or may not be true, making it arguable. The claim then would have to be backed up by proof, giving facts or statistics that would show that Nike is indeed the best.
Counterclaim / * A claim in opposition to a previous claim. Used to acknowledge the other side’s point of view and claims, but then rejecting those claims.
* Example: A counterclaim to “Nike makes the very best shoes” might be something like, “Now some people may say that addidas or Reebok make better and less-expensive shoes, and I admit that their shoes have some very good qualities. However, Nike uses higher-quality materials than both of the other brands, plus 9 out of 10 NBA players use Nike shoes to play in every night.” You admit that the other shoes have good qualities, but say why your choice remains better.
Parallel Structure / * Parallel structure is repetition of the same pattern of words or phrases within a sentence or passage to show that two or more ideas have the same level of importance.
* Example: “We want to go skiing, swimming or sailing on our vacation” uses parallel structure.
“We want to go skiing, swimming or to go on a sailboat on our vacation” does not.
or
Notice that in the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson uses parallel structure as he begins each line with “that”:
We hold these Truths to be self-evident,
that all Men are created equal,
that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,
that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness ...
Fallacy of
Circular Reasoning / * A faulty reasoning technique where the writer restates something in other words without offering valid evidence
* Example: “Never lose your cool unless you need to lose your cool, then lose your cool” or “Why can’t you go? Because I said so.” Why do you say that? “Because you can’t go!”
Fallacy
of Testimonial / * A famous person endorses a product, ideal, or candidate, despite having no real connection to what they are endorsing.
* If a commercial for a car features a celebrity (such as football player Peyton Manning) saying, “I love this car,” it would be an example of this fallacy of testimonial, because what makes Manning a car expert.
Fallacy
of Appeal to Authority / * Something that is argued to be true, solely because someone of authority says it is true.
* However, usually, we do not know these “authority” figures or their credentials.
* Different than appeal to testimony, because instead of a celebrity, it involves people from the field.
* Example: “Buy Crest! It’s the best toothpaste because nine out of ten dentists prefer it.”
* Such figures can be doctor, lawyers, rich people, politicians, etc.
Fallacy of Broad Generalization / * A faulty reasoning technique or fallacy where the writer makes a statement that is too broad to prove
* Also known as “Glittering Generalities” or “Hasty Generalities
* Example of this fallacy: “All teens watch TV, so we should limit TV.” Not all teens watch TV, so saying we should limit TV watching because of that is not a valid argument.
Fallacy of
Over-Simplification / * Reduces arguments down to such statements as “it’s a simple question of …” or “it all boils down to …” or “you must realize that …”
* Example: “It all boils down to the fact that people cannot afford health care insurance, so we must provide it.” In reality, there are many more factors about health-care insurance than affordability, but this argument ignores them, hoping you will ignore them, too.
Fallacy of Either-Or / * A fallacy or faulty reasoning technique that claims there are only two possible alternatives.
* Example: “You either allow me to go out tonight or I will forever be unpopular because I’m never allowed to go anywhere.” There can be many more reasons for being unpopular than not being allowed to go out just one night.
Fallacy of Appeal
to Ignorance / * Maintaining that because no one has ever proved a claim, it must therefore be false.
* Example: “You can’t prove that global warming caused the cold snap and variations in weather this week, so the whole theory about global warming must be wrong.” Notice the person offers no proof that global warming does NOT exist.
Fallacy of Bandwagon / * Appeals to everyone’s sense of wanting to belong or be accepted
* Example: “All cool kids at school will be wearing Nike shoes tomorrow, so you should wear them, too.” It makes wearing the shoes a popularity contest, rather than offering reasons why Nike is better.
Fallacy of
Slanted Language / * Choosing words that carry strong positive or negative feelings, a person can distract the audience and lead them away from valid arguments. You have no proof, so you try to make the other person look wrong, using things such as insults.
* Example: “You are wrong about global warming because no one in his right mind would ever believe anything that dumb.” (Notice the person offered no proof about the non-existence of global warming, just insults.)
* Also known as Ad Hominem (originally Argumentum Ad Hominem ... Argument at the Man
Fallacy of
Appeal to Pity / * You are asking for something based solely on pity or emotions, not facts.
* Example: “We admit that my client robbed the bank. However, ladies and gentleman of the jury, we want you to know that his father used to beat him, his wife left him last week and his dog died this afternoon.” Notice that none of those reasons excuse robbing a bank, but the lawyer is trying to make you feel sorry for the man.