Persuasion

and �Rhetorical Strategies

PERSUASION

When a writer / speaker tries to convince the audience to think / act a certain way

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PERSUASIVE APPEALS

• The three main rhetorical strategies are:
• Ethos
• Logos
• Pathos

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Continue to the next 3 slides to learn about each type.

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PERSUASIVE APPEALS

Author/Speaker Credibility (Ethos)

• using credibility through experience, or by establishing credibility through legitimate sources of information (such as experts in a particular field).
• EX: Doctors, Scientists, Presidents

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PERSUASIVE APPEALS

Appeals to Reason/Logic (Logos)

• Logical arguments based on verifiable evidence, such as facts, statistics, or expert testimony. Hypotheticals also work for this.

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PERSUASIVE APPEALS

Appeals to Emotion (Pathos)

• Statements intended to affect listeners’/readers’ feelings about the subject. These statements often include charged language-words with strong positive or negative associations.

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RHETORICAL DEVICES

Speakers use rhetorical devices to:

• emphasize ideas
• help listeners remember the important points
• evoke an emotional response in an audience

Testing Persuasive Appeals

• Is the author’s argument supported by evidence, or is it based on faulty assumptions? (Using reliable sources.)
• Does the author link ideas clearly or make leaps in logic? (Transitions between ideas help.)
• Is the argument consistent or contradictory? ( A clear thesis will help with this.)

ALLITERATION

• Alliteration is the repetition of initial consonant sounds.
• Writers use alliteration to give emphasis to words, to imitate sounds, and to create musical effects.

“Once upon a midnight dreary,

while I wondered weak and weary,…”

“The Raven”-Edgar Allan Poe

RHETORICAL QUESTION

• A Rhetorical Question is a question with an obvious answer.

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• A question that you don’t expect people to answer, but it is a question that makes people THINK!

REPETITION

• Repetition is expressing different or like ideas using the same words or images in order to reinforce concepts and unify the speech.

RESTATEMENT

• Restatement is expressing the same idea in different words to clarify and stress key points.

Examples

• “We will never give up; we will never surrender, we will never be defeated.”

“We will never…” is an example of…

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repetition

“Never give up,”

“never surrender,” and “never be defeated.” is an example of…

restatement

Examples

“I wanna talk about me,

Wanna talk about I

Wanna talk about #1”

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“Wanna talk about” is an example of…

-repetition

“me”, “I” and “#1” is an example of…

-restatement

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PARALLELISM

• Parallelism is the repetition of a grammatical structure or an arrangement of words in order to create rhythm and make words more memorable.

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Parallelism Example

good parallelism: They enjoy short funny movies, long moonlit walks, and classic jazz music.

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• “short funny movies," [Adjective--Adjective--Object]

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• "long moonlit walks," [Adjective--Adjective--Object]

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• "and classic jazz music." [Adjective--Adjective--Object]

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Even Better Parallelism

They love watching funny movies, taking moonlit walks, and singing classic jazz.

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• ”watching funny movies" [Gerund--Adjective--Object of Gerund]

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• "taking moonlit walks" [Gerund--Adjective--Object of Gerund]

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• "and singing classic jazz." [Gerund--Adjective--Object of Gerund]

Additional Strategies

Allusions can be used to draw parallels between real-world situations and events of literary significance. Character references are also important to consider when dealing with persuasive speaking or writing.

Hyperbole is also significant in that it allows speakers and writers to intentionally exaggerate in order to ridicule a topic or target--or to highlight a small feat, issue, or situation.

Symbolism can also be used to help convey a specific point or line of reasoning. The use of a natural object or thing to represent a larger concept or idea.

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