Adapted by Dr. Mike Downing from Crawford Killian’s book: Writing for the Web

 Information is providing facts and details about, for example, the local zoo;  Advocacy is attempting to convince people that the zoo is an important part of the local economy.

 Register involves how you choose words based upon your understanding of the social context.  For example, when addressing your professors in an , you should open with “Dear Dr. Smith,” rather than “Hey.”  The basic rule is: the more formal the client, the more formal the tone. If you are building a website for a bank, use very formal tone. If you are building an informal blog, informal tone is acceptable.  ALWAYS ERR ON THE SIDE OF FORMAL TONE!

 As professional writing majors, you know by now that you can create different meanings by using different words.  According to Killian, Web writers can use Purr Words or Snarl Words  Purr Words have positive connotations  Snarl Words have negative connotations  Examples: “tree hugger” or “naturalist”  “accountant” or “bean counter”

1) Logical Argument: Appeals to reason…state thesis and provide data to support your thesis.  For example, you might argue that there are too many people on the planet, and, as a result, birth control needs to be taught and provided in high schools across the country.  Your evidence would include population projections for the upcoming decades.  You might also want to include the number of abortions that could be avoided if people used birth control on a regular basis.

2) Emotional Appeal: Appeals to emotion…promote change based on feelings rather than rationale.  This approach is considered valid if you appeal to positive emotions such as love, trust, friendship, rather than negative emotions, such as fear, hatred, or contempt.

3) Establish Credibility: Enabling your readers to believe your words and opinions  Goals include: Demonstrate a shared interest between yourself and your readers  Allow yourself to maintain an open mind, rather than simply offering a “knee-jerk” response  Listening carefully and honestly evaluating the ideas of others

 Recognized authorities  Scientific observation and studies  Logical deduction based on facts  Reader’s opinions, when combined with existing facts

 Anecdotal evidence (“My cousin saw a UFO”)  Celebrity (“Tom Cruise says…”)  Logical fallacies (“All liberals are _____” or “All conservatives are ______”)  Wishful thinking (“I’m sure the people who want to build the tire-burning plant have carefully considered the environmental impact”)  Readers prejudices (“I’m sick and tired of these corrupt politicians…”)

 Social/Political: Develops or strengthens attitudes and beliefs over the long term, such as a newspaper that consistently attacks a particular administration.  Shock: Encourages immediate action on a subject. Political campaigns often use this strategy.  Black: Information that is supposedly a message from one side, but is in fact originating from the opposing side.  Silent: Suppresses or ignores inconvenient or damaging information (“WMD’s don’t matter any more”)

 Progress: Everything is getting better all the time. “Yesterday was awful, but tomorrow will be better…” Not always the case.  The Final Judgment: You had better behave as well tell you because you will be judged on the last day, and if you don’t listen to us, you will suffer.  Scapegoat: Our problems can be attributed to one group or another: illegal immigrants, terrorists, unions, corporations.  See pages for additional propaganda myths

 Questions?