Rhetorical Strategies and Persuasive Techniques

Match the following appeals:

• Appeal to Authority

• Trying to elicit an emotional response.

• Appeal to Emotion

• Using experts to support the claim.

• Appeal to Reason

• Establishing yourself as a trustworthy source.

• Appeal to Trust

• Using facts and relevant information to support the argument.

When the author / speaker is trying to make themselves relatable to the audience.

• Imagery

• Plain Folks

• Narration

• Bandwagon

Implies that if everyone else believes it, then it must be true. There are strength in numbers.

• Bandwagon

• Exemplification / Illustration

• Plain Folks

• Narration

Rhetorical Questions

• The use of personal stories and / or hypothetical stories that are relevant to the main idea.

• Shows the differences between the main points in an argument.

• Presents steps separately and in order.

• Intended to be obvious and not require an answer.

When the speaker / author uses a repeated word, phrase, and / or image to emphasize a point.

• Repetition

• Narration

• Bandwagon

• Exemplification / Illustration

Focusing on brief and specific examples that are told in great detail.

• Narration

• Imagery

• Classification

• Exemplification / Illustration

Narration

• Used when the use and understanding of a specific word, term, or concept is the central idea of the argument.

• The use of personal stories and / or hypothetical stories that are relevant to the main idea and will explain / demonstrate the point(s) being made.

• Presents and evaluates the causes and effects for doing something.

• Explains the main points and / or specific words rather than general or abstract words.

Focuses on concrete, sensory details used to describe a location, person, event, object, etc.

• Narration

• Refutation

• Imagery

• Process (Analysis)

Cause and Effect

• Presents steps separately and in order.

• Refers to reasons and consequences to present and evaluate why something is happening.

• Presents the items of comparisons then analyze and / or explain these in relation to a main idea.

• Helping argue a position on a controversial issue.

Shows the similarities, differences, or both when presenting the items of comparisons then analyzes and / or explains these in relation to a main idea.

• Repetition

• Refutation

• (Extended) Definition

• Compare and Contrast