THΣ POWΣR OF WORDS

Well, guess what you did… How many of you have ever done the following: Begged your parents to stay home from school Asked your parents for spending money Asked for a treat, a toy, or new outfit from the store Pleaded with your teacher to go easy when grading or for another day for a project or test Well, guess what you did…

You have been practicing argumentative techniques using the art of persuasion! Persuasion is defined as communication that is intended to make its audience adopt a certain opinion or pursue an action or do both through appeals to reason or emotion

How Is Persuasion An Art? How do effective writers create argumentative essays using persuasive techniques?

With Art techniques, one can go from good to great by immersing oneself in knowledge and through practice. With Persuasion and Argumentative Writing, one must immerse themselves in knowledge and practice to skillfully craft their words into a logical order with facts to support, in order to convince those around them. This task becomes increasingly more difficult when attempting to persuade one who is educated especially in the topic of discussion.

Who Came Up With This Crazy Thing Called Persuasion/Argument?

Back when the world was being discovered scholars, religious leaders, and political figures used Rhetoric in order to convince others of their beliefs and discoveries. Many of the influential figures who further developed the techniques of persuasion were of Greek and Roman decent.

One such influential man was called Aristotle. According to Aristotle, rhetoric “is the faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion.” In more simple terms rhetoric is discovering how to use language effectively to please, persuade, and argue one’s point.

How Does Rhetoric Work?

Available Means (How To Get What You Want)‏ Ethos – making yourself seem trustworthy and believable Example: Believe me! I’ve been there before. I’m just like you. Logos – using logic, numbers, facts, and data to support your argument Example: A Snickers bar has 280 calories and 30 grams of sugar. That’s not very healthy. Pathos – appealing to your audience’s emotions Example: Your donation might just get this puppy off the street and into a good home.

Available Means Continued… Kairos - building a sense of urgency for your cause Example: This is a one-time offer. You can’t get this price after today. Big Names – experts and important people that support your side of the argument Example: Former U.S. president Bill Clinton thinks that junk food should be taken out of vending machines. Research – using studies and information to make your argument seem more convincing; you can use words, graphs, tables, illustrations Example: A recent study found that students who watch TV during the week don’t do as well in school.

Why Should We Care About What Some Dead Guys Did?

Persuasion equals power Persuasion equals power. Power to do good, or unfortunately Power to do bad.

How Do You Create a Powerful Argumentative Message?

Parts of an Argument Claim- Your argument Position- Point of view or opinion on an issue Logical Order- series or sequence that makes sense, where one idea flows naturally into the next Evidence (Round 1,2, POW Moment)- facts, quotes, examples and other information supporting an opinion; information helpful in forming a conclusion or judgment

Parts of the Argument Continued Objections- reasons against something or objecting to something Counter Argument (Knock Back)- A reason or a line of reasoning given in opposition to another argument; an objection to an objection; a rebuttal Call to Action (Do This Please)- A statement usually found towards the of a piece of rhetoric, that urges the audience to act through accepting the given position or to physically do something Tone-Attitude a writer takes in a piece of writing or toward a subject; way of speaking

POW Line POW! Moment BEGINNING (For letters only)‏ Shake MIDDLE Do This, Please Knock Back END Round 1 Show Tell Round 2 Lead POW! Moment

POW! Shake (only in letters)- thank your opponent for something; flatter him or her Or Lead- A sentence that draws your reader in without telling the topic Show- Use Dialogue and interaction to intro topic Tell- Your opinion Round 1 - Your first Reason Round 2 - Your second Reason POW Moment - knockdown opponent with strongest argument Knock Back - your opponent’s predicted final argument Do This Please - Asking your reader to act Shake (only in letters) - Make Nice Again

Step 1: POW Moment Choose your strongest and most convincing reason or argument Your opponent should be knocked down by the power of this one persuasive point MIDDLE BEGINNING END POW! Moment

Step 2: Knock Back Your POW moment should have ended the match, but your opponent will attempt a final comeback. Your job is to PREDICT what this final argument will be and KNOCK IT BACK with a decisive and commanding rebuttal. Knock Back

Step 3: Shake/Lead Go back to the beginning of the POW line. Shake: Start by MAKING NICE so your opponent won’t feel attacked. Mention how he or she helped you in the past. Use flattery, or state your trust in your opponent’s judgment. Shake again to end your letter. Shake Shake

Attention Getting Leads Dialogue- “ Ralph, can you spot Denise? asked my mom. Small Movement- We waved wildly from the back of the auditorium. A Thought or Feeling- It was true. All the kids looked alike. Startling Fact or Statistic- 23% of schools have or are planning school uniforms.

Step 4: Show Relate an experience Use interaction and dialogue to create or recall a short experience that illustrates or shows your problem. Make up portions you can’t remember, or create a realistic scene that shows the problem. End the scene by stating this could happen if your point of view is not considered. Show

Step 5: Tell Step 6: Round1 & Round 2 State your position Tell what you want to happen Step 6: Round1 & Round 2 Jot down first and second reasons to defend your point of view Round 2 Round 1 Tell

Step 7: Do This Please Tell your readers what you want or do not want them to do Do it nicely, please! Do This Please

Don’t Forget… Signal Words tell readers that something important is coming or something is changing. There’s More Important Info: Keep in mind Remember that It’s important note Further more Moreover Also First In Addition Most Important Sometimes Something is Changing However Otherwise On the other hand Rather than Although While Yet With this is mind For all the reasons Despite this

Example

Your goal this unit is to become Masters of Rhetoric, where by convincing me, the keeper of grades, through the use of different argumentative techniques!

Remember the POW! Line You must include the following in your argumentative essay: Lead/Shake Show Tell Round 1 Round 2 POW! Moment Knock Back Call to Action