The Persuasive Aim

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The Persuasive Aim
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The Persuasive Aim, cont.

• The Persuasive Aim is used to accomplish one of
  two basic purposes
• 1) To change the readers attitudes or beliefs.
• 2) To get the reader to do something.
• When using the Persuasive Aim, the writer focuses
  on an issuea reflection of attitudes and
  opinions, a point of disagreement, a statement of
  opposing points of view.

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The Persuasive Aim, continued

• The general characteristics of the Persuasive Aim
  are as follows
• 1) A claim is made.
• 2) Support for the claim is offered.
• 3) A warrant (general belief) is present.
• 4) Language appropriate to the reader and to the
  situational context is used.

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A Claim Is Made

• The central idea of a persuasive essay is called
  a claim.
• A claim is an assertion about the rightness of
  the writers position on an issue.
• This claim is what the writer is trying to get
  the reader to accept and/or act upon.
• A persuasive claim (unlike a referential thesis)
  cannot be proved beyond a shadow of a doubtthe
  best that can be said is that it is
  well-supported.

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Support

• Support for the claim can come in two forms
• 1) Direct support documentation.
• Facts
• Examples
• Testimonials
• 2) Indirect support argumentation.
• Personal experience
• Statistics
• Slogans
• Devices that appeal to the audience

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A Warrant Is Present

• A warrant is a general belief or principle that
  most people take for granted.
• Warrants are often expressed as social or
  cultural myths.
• A social or cultural myth is a value system
  accepted by a majority of the people in a given
  society or culture.
• For example, the American Work Ethic (the belief
  that hard work is a virtue and will be rewarded )
  is a value not shared by many other cultures.

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Language Appropriate to the Reader/Situational
Context

• The persuasive writer should have a specific
  reader in mind and use language geared toward
  this target audience.
• By using language that the reader feels at ease
  with, or tends to identify with, the persuasive
  writer has already put one foot inside the door
  of the target audiences opinion.
• The writer may use everyday speech, slang,
  jargon, or Standard Edited American English,
  based on the audience.
• The language should also suited to the
  situational context (the occasion for the
  writing). For example, an English Composition I
  student might use different language from
  assignment to assignment even though the target
  audience (the teacher) remains the same.

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Support In-Depth

• Direct support means documentation. This is the
  best form of support and should be used whenever
  possible.
• Direct support comes in only a few forms
• Facts a fact is something that can be verified
  by some objective means (weighed, measured, etc)
  or looked up in a reference book.
• Examples an example is a specific instance of
  something (Web-based Comp I is an example of a
  course at Murray State College).
• Testimonials a testimonial is the opinion of an
  expert on the subject at hand, someone who has
  been formally trained or has a great deal of
  first-hand experience.

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Support In-Depth

• Indirect support means argumentation. This form
  of support should be used only in combination
  with direct support. When you as a reader see an
  argument that has only indirect support to
  recommend it, you should be very cautious about
  accepting its claim as valid.
• Indirect support comes in many forms, some
  sneakier than others. Indirect supports are
  sometimes referred to as motivational supports
  because they are used to motivate the reader to
  change his mind rather than to prove the
  correctness of the writers claim.
• In the following slides we will study the four
  kinds of motivational appeals.

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1) Personal Appeal

• A personal appeal focuses on the credibility of
  the writer.
• If the writer can present himself in a favorable
  light, the target audience is more likely to
  accept his argument.
• Characteristics
• The writers identification with the reader is
  shown.
• The writer is presented as an expert on the
  issue, through personal experience, introducing
  himself as an authority, or celebrity
  endorsements.
• The writers good intentions toward the reader
  are revealed (often by using second person
  pronouns you, your, yours), and the writers
  honesty is asserted.

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2) Emotional Appeal

• With the emotional appeal (the most direct of the
  four appeals) the writer plays on the emotions of
  the target audience in order to affect how the
  reader sees the issue.
• Characteristics
• Focus on the readers desires, needs, and/or
  fears (for example Buy my new book, Get Rich
  Quick, for 19.95, and become a millionaire!).
• The importance of the issue is emphasized.
• The benefits of accepting the writers claim are
  shown.
• The good intentions of the writer are supported.

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3) Stylistic Appeal

• The stylistic appeal works by presenting pleasing
  images that lure the target audience to accept
  the writers claim (for example, Sports Utility
  Vehicle commercials).
• Characteristics
• Aesthetically pleasing images and symbols are
  shown (sleek young models rolling around on the
  S.U.V. or stroking its plush interior).
• Concrete, graphic imagery is used.
• Startling and/or dramatic situations are
  presented.
• Images consistent with social and cultural myths
  are used (for example, the American love of the
  great outdoors).

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4) Rational Appeal

• The rational appeal attempts to convince the
  target audience by using logic.
• Characteristics
• Assertions are made and the opposing view may be
  refuted (attempts to undermine opposed viewpoints
  through reason are a hallmark of the rational
  appeal).
• The expertness of the writer is supported (often
  through the use of statistics).
• Common sense is appealed to.
• Logical structures are used.

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Focus on Logic Deductive Reasoning

• Deductive Reasoning moves from general to
  specific.
• Deductive reasoning is a logical process that
  draws particular truths from general truths (this
  is what scientists do, when they come up with
  theories to explain natural occurrences). It is
  very reliable.
• A syllogism is the way that the process of
  deduction is usually structured.
• A syllogism consists of a major premise, a minor
  premise, and a conclusion. If the major and minor
  premises are correct, then the conclusion must be
  correct as well. It cannot be otherwise.

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Deductive Reasoning An Example

• The syllogism can be used to prove things beyond
  a reasonable doubt. For example, here is the
  basic syllogism used to disprove the contention
  of faith-based Medieval astronomy that the earth
  is the center of the universe, and to usher in a
  new age of science-based study of the heavens
• Major premise All planets orbit the sun.
• Minor premise The earth is a planet.
• Conclusion The earth orbits the sun.

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Focus on Logic Inductive Reasoning

• Inductive Reasoning moves from specific to
  general.
• Inductive reasoning is a logical process that
  draws a general truth (conclusion) from
  particular truths (evidence). This is what
  detectives do. They collect evidence and seek to
  draw a conclusion based upon it.
• Evidence is a collection of facts, observations,
  and data that supports the inductive thesis.
• An Example A patrolman stops you for veering
  across the yellow line. He finds empty beer cans
  in your floorboard and smells beer on your
  breath. What is his conclusion?
• Yep. You are going to be taking a breathalyzer
  test...

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Inductive Reasoning, continued

• Inductive reasoning is less certain than
  deductive reasoning. Even when there seems to be
  an overwhelming amount of evidence, sometimes the
  conclusion is incorrect.
• Think back to the previous example. The beer cans
  may have been your boyfriend/girlfriends and the
  smell of beer on your breath may have come from a
  goodnight kiss. You may have swerved across the
  yellow line to miss an opossum. Unlikely? Maybe.
  But this is why criminal court cases have to be
  proved beyond a reasonable doubt.
• An inductive analogy is when a writer tries to
  apply the rules/conditions/evidence of one case
  to another separate case. The problem here is
  that each case is unique, and what holds true in
  one instance may not do so in another.

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Inductive Reasoning, conclusion

• An Inductive Generalization is more widely
  applicable than an analogy. A valid inference can
  be made if observed events are in agreement.
• An inductive generalization assumes that under
  the exact conditions, the same circumstances will
  apply in more than one case. We use inductive
  generalizations in our everyday lives all the
  time.
• A recipe is an example of an inductive
  generalization. When you follow the steps
  correctly, a recipe will turn out right nine
  times out of ten. When it doesnt, the odds are
  that the conditions have changedyour flour is
  old, or youre trying to bake bread on a humid
  day...

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Using Logic

• There are two things that you need to be able to
  do with logic.
• First, you should be able to put together simple
  deductive and inductive arguments and use them to
  make rational appeals.
• Second, you should be able to detect the presence
  of deductive and inductive argumentation in the
  writing of others and evaluate whether or not
  their reasoning is sound.

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An Example

• In her essay Separate Is Better (Packet,
  55-56), Susan Estrich makes a persuasive claim
  that single sex classes are better for girls. Her
  argument is backed up by a powerful combination
  of both direct and indirect support.
• The most important form of indirect support she
  uses is a rational appeal. Estrich constructs a
  deductive argumenta syllogismwith the following
  structure
• Major premise Coed education is bad for women.
• Minor premise Single sex classes fix those
  problems.
• Conclusion Single sex classes are better for
  women.
• What do you think of Estrichs argument?

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An Example, continued

• Thats right. It doesnt work. Why not?
• Remember that with a syllogism, the way to
  evaluate the deductive argument is by examining
  the premises.
• If both premises are true, then the conclusion
  must be true as well. However, if one of the
  premises can be shown as false, then the
  syllogism falls apart.
• Lets evaluate Estrichs premises
• Her major premisethat coed classes are bad for
  girls, especially in science and mathis backed
  up with a ton of direct support (2 separate
  studies and a battery of Achievement Test
  scores).

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An Example, conclusion

• However, her minor premisethat single-sex
  classes can fix the problemis only directly
  supported by a couple of not very convincing
  examples (2 pilot programs).
• The main way she backs up her minor premise is
  through indirect support. Estrich makes a
  personal appeal based on her own time at a
  single-sex college (Wellesley) and then, setting
  herself up as an expert, tells the reader that
  our entire educational system should be changed
  on the basis of Estrichs college experience.
• Therefore, because her minor premise is doubtful,
  so is her conclusion.