Persuasive Techniques, Rhetorical
Fallacies, and the Persuasive Essay
Effective Persuasion
Developing Persuasive Documents
This presentation will cover:
•The persuasive context
•The role of the audience
•What to research and cite
•How to establish your credibility
Persuasive Genres
You encounter persuasion every day.
• TV commercials
• Letters to the editor
• Junk mail
• Magazine ads
• College brochures
Can you think of other persuasive contexts?
Understanding Your Audience
• Who is your audience?
• What beliefs do they hold about the topic?
• What potential disagreements might arise
between you and your audience?
• How can you refute counterarguments with
respect?
What is Persuasive Writing?
Definition: Persuasive writing…
seeks to convince its readers to
embrace the point of view presented by
appealing to the audience’s reason and
understanding through argument and/or
entreaty.
Steps for Effective Persuasion
• Understand your audience
• State your case clearly in a thesis
statement that uses a verb like
“should,” “must,” or “need(s)”
• Support your opinion
• Know the various sides of your issue
• Establish your credibility
• Respectfully address other points of view
• Find common ground with your audience
Understanding Your Audience
What concerns does your audience face?
For example:
– Do they feel the topic directly affects
them?
– How much time do they have to consider
your document?
– With which side are they likely to relate?
– Do they have limitations to consider?
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Persuasive Techniques, Rhetorical
Fallacies, and the Persuasive Essay
Understanding Your Audience
• Help your audience relate to your topic
• Appeal to their hearts as well as their minds
– Use anecdotes when appropriate
– Paint your topic with plenty of detail
– Involve the reader’s senses and emotions
in these sections
Researching an Issue
• Find common ground with your audience
For example:
Point of opposition: You might support a
war whereas your audience might not.
Common ground: Both sides want to see
their troops come home.
Researching an Issue
Possible ways to address that
counterargument:
Organic produce is higher in nutritional
value than store-bought produce and is
also free of pesticides, making it a better
value. Also, store-bought produce travels
thousands of miles, and the cost of
gasoline affects the prices of food on
supermarket shelves.
Researching an Issue
Become familiar with all sides of an issue.
– Find common ground
– Understand the history of the topic
– Predict the counterarguments your
audience might make
– Find strong support for your own
perspective
Researching an Issue
• Predict counterarguments
Example:
Your argument: Organic produce from local
farmers’ markets is better than store-bought
produce.
The opposition: Organic produce is too
expensive.
Offering a Counterargument

Addressing the claims of the
opposition is important in building a
convincing argument.

It demonstrates your credibility as a
writer: You have researched multiple
sides of the argument and have come
to an informed decision.

Organize your counterargument(s) by

building each of your main points as
a contrast to an oppositional claim.

offering a counterargument after you
have articulated your main claims.
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Persuasive Techniques, Rhetorical
Fallacies, and the Persuasive Essay

Support Your Perspective Use Sources with Real Clout

Appeal to the audience’s reason: • Which source would a reader find more credible?
• Use statistics and reputable studies – The New York Times
• Cite experts on the topic – http://www.myopinion.com
– Do they back up what you say?
– Do they refute the other side? • Which writer would a reader find more credible?
– Be sure to cite your – Caitlin Self, a blogger on Shmoop.com
sources! – Teresa Gibert, a writer for Journal of the Short
• Remember that eye-witness Story in English, collected in Short Story
accounts and “common” sense Criticism
can be wrong!

Establish Credibility Cite Sources Ethically

• Cite credible sources
• Cite sources correctly and thoroughly
• Use professional language (and design)
• Edit out all errors
Do not misrepresent a quote or leave out
important information to make it sound as
if it supports your point.
Actual quote: “Crime rates were down by
2002 but steadily began climbing again a year
later,” said Dr. Ed Smith of Harvard’s School of
Criminology.
Misquote: “Crime rates were down by 2002,”
according to Dr. Ed Smith of Harvard’s School
of Criminology. This proves the effectiveness of
the Bush Administration’s crime policy.

Counterarguing effectively

Consider your audience when
you offer your counterargument.

Concede to some of your
opposition’s concerns to
demonstrate respect for his/her
opinions.

Remain tactful yet firm.

Rude or deprecating language
can cause your audience to reject
your position without carefully
considering your claims.
Tactics to Avoid
• Don’t lecture or talk down to your audience
• Don’t make threats or “bully” your reader
• Be careful if using the second person,
“you” (avoid doing so in formal writing)
• Avoid using the first
person singular, too,
unless you can be
considered an expert
• Don’t employ guilt trips

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Persuasive Techniques, Rhetorical
Fallacies, and the Persuasive Essay

FALLACIES OF ARGUMENT FALLACIES OF ARGUMENT

We live in a culture in Sometimes a writer or speaker will

which people tend to glide use a bogus line of argument out of
on the surface of things, ignorance and lack of experience.
seldom pausing long enough However, writers and speakers
to consider anything very sometimes use fallacies of argument
deeply; this leaves us very
with a conscious intent to deceive
vulnerable to what are called
and manipulate. This intent is not
fallacies of argument:
certain “moves” in arguing a uncommon in advertising and politics.
claim which by their very An ethical communicator must never
nature are invalid or stoop to using these deliberately in
deceiving. order to manipulate his or her audience.
Purdue University Writing Lab Purdue University Writing Lab

FALLACIES OF ARGUMENT FALLACIES OF PATHOS

(Rhetorical Fallacies) (fallacies of the emotional appeal)

can be divided into three categories:

Pathos (emotional fallacies) unfairly appeal
to the audience’s emotions.

Ethos (ethical fallacies) unreasonably ad-
vance the writer’s own authority or character.

Logos (logical fallacies) employ faulty logic.
Keep in mind that rhetorical fallacies often
overlap.

Sentimental appeals use emotion to distract the audience from the facts.
Example: The thousands of baby seals killed in the Exxon Valdez oil spill have
shown that oil is not a reliable energy source.

Red herrings use misleading or unrelated evidence to support a conclusion.
Example: That painting is worthless because I don’t recognize the artist.

Scare tactics try to frighten people into agreeing with the arguer by threatening
them or predicting unrealistically dire consequences. Example: If you don’t
support the party’s tax plan, you and your family will be reduced to poverty.

Bandwagon appeals encourage an audience to agree with the writer because
everyone else is doing so. Example: Paris Hilton carries a small dog in her purse,
so you should buy a hairless Chihuahua and put it in your Louis Vuitton.

Slippery slope arguments suggest that one thing will lead to another, often with
disastrous results. Example: If you get a B in high school, you won’t get into the
college of your choice and will never have a meaningful career.

False need arguments create an unnecessary desire for things. Example: You
need an expensive car or people won’t think you’re cool.

Purdue University Writing Lab

FALLACIES OF ETHOS FALLACIES OF LOGOS

(fallacies of the ethical appeal)

False authority asks audiences to agree with the assertion based simply on
the authority a person or institution who may not be fully qualified to offer that
assertion. Example: My high school teacher said it, so it must be true.

Using authority instead of evidence occurs when someone offers personal
authority as proof. Example: Trust me; my best friend wouldn’t do that.

Dogmatism shuts down discussion by asserting that the writer’s beliefs are
the only acceptable ones. Example: I’m sorry, but I think X, and that’s that.

Moral equivalence compares minor problems with much more serious crimes
(or vice versa). Example: These mandatory seatbelt laws are fascist.

Guilt by association calls someone’s character into question by examining
his or her associates. Example: Al must be a thug; his friend robbed a bank.

Ad hominem arguments attack a person’s character rather than reasoning.
Example: Should we trust a candidate who admitted to smoking marijuana?

Strawperson arguments misrepresent an opponent’s point as an easily refu-
table argument. Example: A: We need to regulate access to handguns. B: My
opponent says we should ignore the rights guaranteed by the Constitution.
Unlike my opponent, I am a firm believer in the Constitution and a proponent
of freedom.
(fallacies of the logical appeal)

A hasty generalization draws conclusions from scanty evidence.
Example: I wouldn’t eat at that restaurant—the only time I ate there, my
entree was undercooked.

A non sequitur (Latin for “It doesn’t follow”) is a statement that does not
logically relate to what comes before it. An important logical step may be
missing in such a claim. Example: If those protesters really loved their
country, they wouldn’t question the government.

An equivocation is a half-truth, or a statement that is partially correct but
that purposefully obscures the entire truth. Example: “I did not have sexual
relations with that woman.” — President Bill Clinton

Begging the question occurs when a writer simply restates the claim in a
different way; such an argument is circular. Example: His lies are evident
from the untruthful nature of his statements.

Stacked evidence represents only one side of the issue, thus distorting the
issue. Example: Cats are superior to dogs because they are cleaner, cuter,
and more independent.
Purdue University Writing Lab

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Persuasive Techniques, Rhetorical
Fallacies, and the Persuasive Essay

Persuasive Essay Assignment

(This is on the handout.)
MAIN POINT Considering the situation that the priest faces in Arthur C. Clarke’s “The
Star,” write a 1,000-to-1,200-word, five-paragraph essay to persuade
your readers (who could include the priest) to agree with a particular view-

You do not have to point on the topic. For example, you might try to convince your readers that
1. this confirms faith by indicating that human beings (or all living things
memorize all these on Earth) are superior to other beings,
types, but recognize 2. this challenges Christian faith and/or confirms another faith by indicat-
ing the Star of Bethlehem at the birth of Jesus was a coincidence,
rhetorical fallacies 3. this confirms or challenges faith by indicating that God is not fair or
just in the way that human beings understand fairness or justice,
so that you can 4. this confirms or challenges faith by indicating that God is not infallible
address them in and may sometimes make mistakes, or
5. this challenges faith by indicating that there is no God.
others’ arguments You can even try to prove nothing about God but instead convince your
and avoid them in readers that this evidence indicates that
6. people have a psychological need for a belief system like religion.
your own. (You are not limited to choosing from these five, but if you decide on a dif-
ferent viewpoint about the topic, get my OK before you start working on it.)
Purdue University Writing Lab

Persuasive Essay, continued Persuasive Essay, continued

(This is on the handout.)
Because this is a very complex topic, you might start prewriting by
putting yourself in the position of the priest and considering how you would
feel. What does the priest need to tell himself to deal with this discovery?
Your thesis should use a persuasive verb like “should,” “must,” or
“need(s)” and make a clear point, and your body paragraphs must provide
clear “evidence” (support, reasons, details) why your audience should
believe you. I encourage you to post your thesis statement on our MyHCC
message board or take it to the ASC with these assignment instructions
before you begin your draft.
Write the essay in formal, academic style. Do not use casual language,
and do not address your readers (or the priest) directly with first- or second-
person pronouns (I, you, we, etc.). Be sure to provide specific details—
including direct quotes from the story with MLA-style parenthetical
citations — in your body paragraphs to support your thesis statement. For
this topic, the “evidence” does not have to be strictly scientific or factual
(the nature of religion is typically that it goes beyond what can be proven
scientifically), but it should be logical or philosophical, not “because I say
so” or “because that’s what I believe.”
(This is on the handout.)
Your essay must contain an introduction with the author’s name, title,
genre, and theme and ends with the thesis statement. The essay must also
include three body paragraphs providing specific “evidence” or details
(including direct quotes from the story, at least one per body paragraph,
and at least one quote from a secondary [expert] source), and a
concluding paragraph that returns to the idea of the thesis and provides a
sense of closure.
Also, be sure you submit all five steps in the writing process:
1. prewriting/brainstorming (due at our next class)
2. organizing/outline with thesis statement (due at our next class)
3a. drafting (the first draft is due Feb. 23; bring one printout that day)
4. revising (submit the draft to a tutor AND participate in the small-group
discussions on Feb. 23; these hard copies are due March 8),
3b. drafting again (the second draft is due on March 1; bring TWO printouts
that day), and
5. proofreading (by at least two classmates on March 1; turn in March 8).
The final version of the essay is due on Canvas before class March 8.
Final essays will NOT be accepted if you have not done all five steps!

Have More Questions?

Bring your PREWRITING and • Visit the HCC tutoring centers

OUTLINE for the PERSUASIVE – YLRC 105, BACA 207, DLRC 312
ESSAY to our NEXT CLASS! • Visit Purdue’s OWL online
– http://owl.english.purdue.edu
Submit the FIRST DRAFT on Canvas and
to a tutor or e-tutor before class begins
• Contact your instructor
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23! – 813-259-6470
– jbielecki@hccfl.edu
– YADM 108, see syllabus for office hours or
e-mail for an appointment