02 Understanding Argument

Part I: Understanding Argument

Persuasive Appeals

Objective

• You will take Cornell notes over arguments, evidence, and appeals in order to understand persuasion in print and media.

The Art of Persuasion

Persuasive arguments surround you everyday.

•Television commercials

•Print ads in magazines

•Ads in movies and videos

•Ads on Facebook

•Blogs/ editorials/ radio

•Websites


Can you think of other sources?

•Your parents

•Your friends

•Teachers

•Celebrities


It is IMPERATIVE that you learn to “read” arguments—understanding how they are formed—so that you

can make important decisions using your own mind!

Effective Persuasion: Repetition

Saying the same thing numerous times

Effective Persuasion:Parallelism

The use of identical or equivalent syntactic (sentence style) constructions in corresponding clauses or phrases.

Example: government of the people, by the people, and for the people…

Effective Persuasion:Strong Diction and Word Connotation

The use of good, strong words

Effective Persuasion:Evidence

Evidence is used to prove points.– Facts– Opinions– Commonplace assertions

What is a fact?

a statement that can be proven with supporting information

OPINION

what a person believes—his/her own personal view; cannot be proven

OPINION

Evidence

• Facts and opinions are easy to spot, but often, writers and advertisers (and even our friends and families) use arguments that are based on another type of evidence that is a little trickier…

Commonplace Assertions

Evidence

Let’s break this idea down:

1. Commonplace – If something is commonplace, it is commonly accepted by people. In other words, most people believe it.

2. Assertion – An assertion is something you declare, or state as truth, often without proof, however.

COMMONPLACE ASSERTION

So, a commonplace assertion is:

•a statement that people might accept as true, but which is not necessarily a proven fact


“Kids never sit still long enough to dry off.”


“Kids never sit still long enough to dry off.”

Do most people believe this? Yes.Is it a proven fact? No.

Other examples of commonplace assertions:

Most people want pets.

Everyone loves puppies.

There is not a man alive who believes that_______ is a good thing for our country.



• Commonplace assertions use general words like:– Most– Everyone– Never– Always

Let’s review…What are the three types of evidence?

(Turn and talk.)

Now consider…What type of evidence makes the

strongest argument? Why?

Part II: Blurring the EvidencePersuasive Appeals and Rhetorical Fallacies

What writers do…

Good writers (and arguers) understand how to use evidence to persuade. This is done through devices we have already studied (e.g., repetition, parallelism, strong diction and imagery) as well as through two new ways we are about to study:

– persuasive appeals– rhetorical fallacies

Persuasive Appeals

• Logical Appeals (logos)– Appeal to the head, not the heart– Rely on facts, logic, hard evidence

Logical Appeals

Notice the reliance on facts and logic. This appeals to the brain.

Persuasive Appeals• Emotional Appeals (pathos)

– Appeal to the heart, the emotions– Make the reader care about something

Emotional Appeals

Notice the focus on emotional reaction. This ad plays off of a fear of death and a love of family.

Persuasive Appeals• Ethical Appeals (ethos)

– Appeal to the sense of belief in something– Rely on experience of speaker/source, their

expertise– Rely on belief that source has the good of the

audience at heart

Ethical Appeals

Notice the reliance on expertise, which screams “This is why you should trust me. I have your pet’s best interests at heart!” “After sixty years of research at the Waltham Center, we guarantee outstanding performance…”

Most arguments (including ads) combine several

different types of appeals.Let’s look at an example.

What types of appeals are these?

Emotional

Ethical

LogicalEthicalLogical

Which type of appeal do you think is most effective?

Why?

Which type of appeal do you think is used most often in

advertising? Why?

One more thing…One more thing…Writers/arguers often use one last trick Writers/arguers often use one last trick

to persuade. It is called…to persuade. It is called…

RHETORICAL FALLACYRHETORICAL FALLACY

Rhetorical Fallacies• Misleading (sometimes false)

statements that appeal to emotion, ethics, or authority– Create errors in reasoning– Meant to distract the audience– Generally offered instead of factual

evidence– Can be VERY persuasive

Examples of Rhetorical Fallacies

• Loaded terms

• Leading questions

• Incorrect premises

• False assumptions

• Caricature

Loaded Terms – words or phrases that cause strong emotions

Same magazine… two different women… Both were accused of murder. The one on the left was acquitted. The one on the right was found guilty, but the conviction was later overturned.

Look closely at the covers. The magazine is trying to persuade you of its opinion of the two women. They are using loaded terms and loaded pictures.


Which woman is presented favorably? Which words are loaded terms—persuading you to feel badly for her?How is her picture more favorable (loaded visual)?

Now do the same for the other. Which terms are loaded? How is the picture also more negative?


Do you see how easy it is for media to manipulate your feelings?

We are NOT commenting on either case—just noticing how the media can cause us to feel one way or another very easily.

Leading question –a question in whichthe questioner suggests the answer he/she is seeking

“What could make a body happier?” The advertiser doesn’t want an answer. He/she is leading you to the answer… his/her product!

Leading questions• Other examples:

– “Will you support us by voting ‘yes’ on this proposition?”

– “The light was green when you went through the intersection, right?”

– “Is this really what you want?” (emphasis on really, sarcasm in the tone)

Incorrect Premise – a false statementFalse Assumption – a false idea

offered without proof

Obviously this statement is false. No matter how great the gas mileage is, the driver will still have to stop for gas!

Caricature – a persuasive technique in which features, beliefs, or actions are exaggerated to make them easier to attack or emphasize for humor

This is an example of caricature designed to draw attention to the behavior of extreme coupon clippers so that people will watch the reality show about them. According to this ad, this woman is literally buried in coupons.

Caricature• Other examples:

– Political ads which exaggerate a weakness (or strength) of a candidate

– An editorial referring to people who care about the environment as tree-huggers who wander around forests all day

– Most political cartoons

The Main PointIn other words, WHY does any

of this matter?

Purpose

• Why would a writer/speaker/arguer use a rhetorical fallacy?

TURN AND TALK

Purpose

• Why would a writer/speaker/arguer use a persuasive appeal or rhetorical fallacy?

Persuasive appeals and rhetorical fallacies are meant to make a person believe whatever the speaker wants him/her to believe; sometimes that purpose is to mislead.

ALWAYS, THE PURPOSE IS PERSUASION!

Purpose

• Why is this important to you as a reader?

• Why is this important to you as a writer?

DISCUSS.

Main Points

• Persuasive texts blend evidence (fact, opinion, commonplace assumptions) and persuasive appeals (logical, emotional, and ethical) in an effort to persuade you to believe or do something.

• Some texts use rhetorical fallacies in an attempt to persuade.

Main Points

• It is important to examine the evidence presented and know what type of appeal a writer is using so that you can make reasonable decisions about the argument.

• Understanding appeals and evidence will help you to know when you are being manipulated.

Main Points

• Understanding appeals and evidence will also help you to argue more effectively when you are trying to convince someone of something.

Persuasion is around you everyday, everywhere. Know how to read it

critically!

02 Understanding Argument

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