G10 ESL HUMANITIES - Persuasive Writing Lead-in

People use persuasive language to ________.

• convince someone to act or agree

• encourage someone who's feeling down

• teach someone how to do something

• paint a picture with words

Which of the following would be the strongest argument to persuade you to buy a new video game?

• The video game is expensive.

• The video game won an award for Game of the Year.

• The video game is almost as fun as the ones you have.

• The video game has OK graphics.

Read the passage below. What is the child trying to do? Hey Mom, I really think we should make my bedtime half an hour later. Everyone in my class goes to sleep later than I do. I don't think I need as much sleep as I used to. Each night, I lay awake for a long time before I go to sleep.

• entertain his mother

• teach his mother how to do something

• give reasons to support his argument

• get to sleep before his mother

Karla is giving a speech about why students should have class pets. What should she do to persuade her audience?

• Tell her audience that she's a really good student, so they should agree with her.

• Give specific examples of pets that are clean and easy to take care of.

• Keep repeating the same thing until everyone agrees.

• Tell her audience the story of how her cat died.

What is a claim?

• Convincing the audience that the speaker/writer can be trusted.

• The main argument that the text focuses on.

• Making the audience feel a certain way.

• Evidence such as facts, statistics, examples, first-person accounts, expert testimony, and numerical data like graphs and charts.

What is evidence?

• Making the audience feel a certain way.

• An arguable or debatable statement.

• Not based on logical reasoning and often irrational or unreasonably emotional.

• Facts, statistics, examples, first-person accounts, expert testimony, and numerical data like graphs and charts.

What are appeals to emotions?

• Developed to make the audience feel a certain way: angry, happy, sad.

• Not based on logical reasoning and often irrational.

• Aimed at convincing the audience through logical evidence.

• Convincing the audience that the speaker/writer can be trusted.

What are appeals to logic and reasoning?

• Convincing the audience that the speaker/writer can be trusted because the argument is supported through personal experience and expert support.

• Making the audience feel a certain way: angry, happy, sad, outraged, guilty.

• Convincing the audience through logical evidence such as statistics, facts, historical accounts, expert testimony, first-person accounts, and examples.

• Used by authors; critical readers can see through these faulty appeals, making the argument weak or ineffective.

What are appeals to credibility or authority?

• Convincing the audience through logical evidence such as statistics, facts, historical accounts, expert testimony, first-person accounts, and examples.

• Convincing the audience that the speaker/writer can be trusted because the argument is supported through personal experience and expert support.

• Based on logical reasoning and often irrational or unreasonably emotional.

• Making the audience feel a certain way: angry, happy, sad, outraged, guilty.

What are fallacies?

• Convincing the audience that the speaker/writer can be trusted.

• Convincing the audience through logical evidence such as statistics.

• Making the audience feel a certain way.

• Not based on logical reasoning and often irrational or unreasonably emotional.