Persuasive Techniques …are the methods that a writer uses to make an audience think a certain way. Persuasion appeals to an audience’s reason, emotions, or respect for an expert--authority

Fact and Opinion A factual claim can be proved (correct or incorrect) with evidence An opinion is a person’s judgment or belief. A commonplace assertion is a statement that is generally accepted to be true, but cannot always be proved.

Rhetorical Questions a question posed for its persuasive effect without the expectation of a reply. Rhetorical questions encourage the listener to think about what the answer to the question must be.

Diction (Word Choice) Denotation: refers to the specific, or dictionary, meaning of a word Connotation: refers to the negative or positive ideas associated with a word

Persuasive techniques used to deceive are called fallacies Logical fallacies: errors in argument (writing) Rhetorical fallacies: errors in speech

Loaded terms: words with strong emotional associations Caricatures: extreme descriptions of people or positions Leading questions: Rhetorical questions worded in ways that suggest the proper or desired answers.

Generalizations: broad comments about a group of people, a group of things, or a group of ideas. Overgeneralization: Claims using words like all, never, most, and seldom not as figures of speech but as ways of avoiding assessing or questioning the likeliness of an event. Ex. Hondas never get better gas mileage than Volkswagens.

Repetition Repeating words, phrases or syntax (sentence grammar) to persuade the reader or listener to think a certain way Repetition is especially effective in speeches when the audience depends on hearing the rhythm of the speaker’s words.

Tone The tone of writing is the author’s attitude toward his or her audience and subject. Tone is expressed through an author’s choice of words, sentence structure, and details. Tone is described by an adjective, such as formal, informal, serious, playful, etc…. Tone may vary within a piece of writing. When the tone changes we call it a tone shift