Persuasive Writing CRAFT NOTES

Persuasive Writing

Rhetorical Devices: structures that appeal to readers or listeners and communicate ideas rhetorical question- asked but answer is not expected to be given antithesis- expresses contrasting ideas in parallel structures repetition-repeating of words or phrases parallelism-repeats words or phrases using same form to connect ideas Biblical allusions- references to events, figures, or phrases from the Bible

More Parallelism "I don’t want to live on in my work. I want to live on in my apartment." - Woody Allen “Veni, vidi, vici (I came, I saw, I conquered).” (Julius Caesar) We have petitioned; we have remonstrated; we have supplicated; we have prostrated ourselves before the throne, and have implored its interposition to arrest the tyrannical hands of the ministry and Parliament. "Today's students can put dope in their veins or hope in their brains. If they can conceive it and believe it, they can achieve it. They must know it is not their aptitude but their attitude that will determine their altitude." - Jesse Jackson “My fellow citizens: I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors.” - Barack Obama

More Antithesis "Love is an ideal thing, marriage a real thing." - Goethe "We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools." - Martin Luther King, Jr. “Money is the root of all evils: poverty is the fruit of all goodness.” (source unknown) It was the best of times, it was the worst of times - Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens To err is human; to forgive divine. - An Essay on Criticism by Alexander Pope

What do you have to do today? Analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of the structure an author uses in his or her argument, including whether the structure makes points clear, convincing, and engaging. In other words... Does the layout of the speech make sense? Does it “work”? Why or why not? Does the order of the speech make it easy to understand?

What do you need to be able to do? Objective: You will be able to identify and analyze the structure of an argument which include these things: Argument Claim Support Bridge Counterargument Rebuttal

Argument An argument expresses an opinion on an issue and supports it with reasons and evidence. An argument contains these three important parts: claim: the writer’s position on an issue or problem support: evidence gathered to support your claim bridge: explanation of why or how the evidence or data supports the claim, the underlying assumption that connects your evidence to your claim. (The “so what?”) Counterarguments or counterclaim: A claim that negates or disagrees with the thesis/claim rebuttal: Evidence that negates or disagrees with the counterclaim.

Important! When planning an argument, you need to know what the counterargument might be so that you can make sure that you disprove it with your reasons and evidence.

Argument Example Can you Identify each of the five components of an Argument? Hybrid cars are an effective strategy to fight pollution. Compared to all other activities, a typical citizen pollutes the air most by driving his car. Because cars are the largest source of private air pollution, switching to hybrid cars should have an impact on fighting pollution. Some say that instead of focusing on cars, which still encourages a culture of driving even if it cuts down on pollution, the nation should focus on building and encouraging use of mass transit systems. While mass transit is an environmentally sound idea that should be encouraged, it is not feasible in many rural and suburban areas, or for people who must commute to work; thus hybrid cars are a better solution for much of the nations population.

Argument: Example Claim: Hybrid cars are an effective strategy to fight pollution. Support: Driving a private car is a typical citizen’s most air polluting activity. Bridge: Because cars are the largest source of private, as opposed to industry produced, air pollution switching to hybrid cars should have an impact on fighting pollution. Counterclaim/argument: It is said that instead of focusing on cars, which still encourages a culture of driving even if it cuts down on pollution, the nation should focus on building and encouraging use of mass transit systems. Rebuttal: While mass transit is an environmentally sound idea that should be encouraged, it is not feasible in many rural and suburban areas, or for people who must commute to work; thus hybrid cars are a better solution for much of the nations population.

On a sheet of paper, make two charts like this: Claim   Support Bridge Counterclaim/argument Rebuttal

Practice! As you view two videos, fill in your charts with the claim, support, bridge, counterargument and rebuttal as it is presented. Mystery Men http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFC2o44koIA The Lorax http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUvHO33iaxg