ACT Question of the Day

1
ACT Question of the Day

• We spent an exhausting day shopping we
• A
  B
• could hardly wait to get home.
• C D

2
SPI and Essential Question

• 3003.5.5 Select the persuasive device used in
  the speech.
• How is the persuasive device used to help enhance
  the speakers argument or point?

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Persuasive Techniques

• AKA How some people are able to argue so
  effectively

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Definition

• Persuasion writing meant to convince readers to
  think or act in a certain way

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Persuasive Writers/Thinkers

• Appeal to emotions or reason, offer opinions, and
  urge action
• Back up points with evidence
• Use charged words
• Words producing strong emotional responses (ex.
  Tyranny may provoke outrage)
• Form appropriate diction
• The choice and arrangement of words may be
  casual, formal, sophisticated, or simple often
  altered to address the aims of the speech and the
  type of audience

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Persuasive Appeals

• Effective persuasion involves making appeals to
  various parts of the psyche
• Ethos an appeal to ethics / morals / values
  (causes listeners to trust the strong character
  of the speaker)
• Ex. I am a responsible student who honors school
  policies however, I even think the school dress
  code policy needs to change.
• Pathos appeals to emotions (stirs audience up
  pulls at their heart strings)
• Ex. Animals are treated inhumanely and suffer in
  harsh conditions just so we can have meat on the
  table each night.
• Logos appeals to logic (it makes good sense)
• Ex. Changing to school uniforms might prevent
  students from expressing themselves fashionably,
  and they might resort to less peaceful ways of
  expressing themselves.

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Persuasive Techniques

• Restatement repeating an idea in a variety of
  ways
• Mr. President, it is natural to indulge in the
  illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes
  against a painful truth.
• Repetition restating an idea using the same
  words
• Parallelism repeating the grammatical structures
• He has endeavored
• He has obstructed
• He has made judges
• He has erected
• Rhetorical Question asking a question whose
  answer is self-evident

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Persuasive Techniques Contd

• Hyperbole extreme exaggeration
• Ex. Ive told you a million times to study your
  vocabulary every night.
• Bandwagon you should take action because
  everyone else is doing it
• Ex. Everyone elses parents are letting them
  stay over night.
• Card Stacking telling the perspective of only
  one side not acknowledging negatives (AVOID)
• Personal Anecdote stories from personal
  experiences that give the speaker/writer validity
  and credibility
• Appeal to Authority A writer may mention an
  important event or person in an essay to lend
  importance or credibility to his/her argument.
• Ex. Mr. Cain believes The Crucible is an
  important play.

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Persuasive Techniques Contd

• Analogy This tool is not limited to poets. Essay
  writers often use figures of speech or
  comparisons (simile, metaphor, personification)
  for desired emphasis.
• Ex. Your brain on drugs is like an egg frying in
  a pan.
• Ad Hominem Directly attacks someones
  appearance, personal habits, or character rather
  than focusing on the merit of the issue at hand.
• Straw Man Here is a technique we have all seen
  and heard by politicians. The speaker/writer
  attributes false or exaggerated behaviors to the
  opponent and attacks him on those falsehoods or
  exaggerations.