There are three commonly acknowledged
types of persuasion: 1) ethical, 2) emotional, and 3) logical.
I. Ethical Persuasion: A writer
convinces the reader to accept an argument because of the type of person that
the writer is. Ethical appeal is usually most effective in the
introduction or conclusion, but it can appear anywhere in the paper, and
usually is created throughout the document. Since the type of person that will
appeal to one audience will probably not work with another audience, keep in
mind the concept of persona. The persona
is the image of the writer created by the writing. Persona is the "mask" that the writer wears to appeal to
the reader/audience. This mask can be created in the following ways:
i. How something is said (rather than
what is said). Style makes the man, and the appearance of
words (vocabulary and sentence structure) often are as important as what
the words actually mean.
Example: You are
writing a letter to a close friend who is your age. You are asking to borrow
money. The first paragraph might read something like this:
Hi! What's up? Certainly not my bank account. In fact, it's empty.
Empty---just when I needed the money to visit my very best friend! Too bad I
spent my last paycheck buying Christmas presents (including yours). I'm sure
glad you're not asking me for money---like you used to do in high
school. By the way, now I need to ask you a small favor.
Since the writer knows his or her
friend's personality, the cheerful, lighthearted persona created by the paragraph would appeal to that friend (and
remember that behind the mask the "real" writer may actually be
desperate for the money).
But would you find this introduction
persuasive? Does it persuade you to accept or believe an argument even before
the writer has told you what it is that he wants you to accept or believe? Why
or why not? In answering this question, you will find it helpful to consider
the concept of tone: the writer's attitude toward a) his subject and b)
his audience. Tone can be "formal,'' "informal,'' or
"mixed.'' A key to determining tone is a) vocabulary and b)
sentence structure. (Hint: Another
useful concept in understanding tone is distance: how "far'' or "close'' the writer is to the
reader.)
ii. What the writer reveals about himself (rather than how it is said). This has two major
divisions:
a) Professional information: The
writer reveals that he or she has skill, training, experience, or knowledge in
the area. The writer reveals herself as an expert whom you should believe
simply because s/he is an expert.
b) Personal information: The
writer reveals that s/he has the personality/character/ non-technical
background of someone with whom you would want to agree.
Exercise: Write the
introduction, in which you create ethical appeal, to a letter that asks for a
loan from a bank official. Persuade with what you write and with how
you say it. Be prepared to discuss why you composed your introduction as you
did.
II. Emotional Persuasion: A
writer convinces the reader to accept an argument by appealing to the reader's
emotions. Which emotion should be addressed depends upon the reader, the
writer, the situation, and the topic. All emotions are subject to appeal: love,
hate, greed, envy, selflessness, fear, terror, pity, patriotism, desire to
belong, sensuality, piety, desire to excel, anger, etc.
There are four basic methods of
appealing to the emotions:
i. Include sensational facts or
statistics that will stir the reader's emotions.
Example: In an essay
arguing the ban of guns, the writer might begin by asserting that
"according to the FBI, in four out of five cases, a drug user carries a
handgun.'' This would appeal to the reader's anger at drug users to convince
them to support gun control (though it is illogical to ban guns simply because
drug users carry them: what about constitutional rights, the possibility of
obtaining illegal weapons, the many legitimate purposes for guns, the
effectiveness of guns in deterring drug use?) Nevertheless, the emotional
statistic would tend to persuade people to support gun control.
ii. Tell an emotional story (the entire
paper) or an anecdote (part of the paper).
Example: In an essay
supporting the death sentence for drug dealers, the writer relates the story of
someone whose life was ruined by drugs. This sad story would appeal to the
reader's sense of outrage and pity (though it is illogical to execute all drug
dealers simply because someone's life was ruined by drugs: what about other
forms of punishment, the question of effective deterrence, an individual's
responsibility in choosing to use drugs, the question of legality or justice?).
iii. Instead of a telling a story, tell
the reader something that will cause them to remember a story or incident, or
use evocative language that will stir the memories.
Example: In a letter to
a friend, you ask for a favor. Before asking, you include information such as,
"Rember the Christmas when we shared each
other's toys?" or "I haven't seen you since we went skiing in
Colorado. Remember the snow falling from that soft, grey sky, encrusting on the
boughs of the evergreens?"
iv. Instead of telling a story, relate
facts in emotionally-charged language.
Example: In a letter to a friend asking for money, you
write, "And according to Education
Today, 83% of students like me who drop out now, never return, instead
becoming society's losers in the education game, victimized by a system that
brands us losers even before we've started our lives." This is quite a
vivid way of stating the consequences of not getting a loan!
Exercise: Use emotional
appeal to convince either a friend or a bank official to lend you money. Use
dialogue, specific details, and sensory perception to enhance the story.
III. Logical Persuasion: The
writer persuades the reader to accept an argument by appealing to their logic. Logical
appeal includes the following: i. Facts; ii. Statistics; iii.
Experience; iv. Expert testimony; v. Examples vi. General reasoning. This last
method is often synonymous with “logical think.” Logic---Greeks and Romans and
museums? No. Logical reasoning is more closely related to foresight. It is like
juggling a dozen things at once and being able to visualize the next position
of each item---even five juggles before it's there! So far only computers have
been able to do this, at least effectively. An excellent way to begin to
develop this ability is not to study fossilized terms from classicism but to
work puzzles. You might try puzzles published by Penny Press, available in most
stores. Hint: If you buy one of these books, look in the back of the book and
order old issues at a bargain price Also, the regular Logic Problems are often
too difficult. Look for England’s Best Logic Problems or England’s
Finest Logic Problems
Example: An essay that
argues for one six year term for a President might include the following:
i. Facts: This proposal has been
intensively studied by a variety of groups across the country. This is a fact
that noone could dispute.
ii. Statistics: A recent poll revealed
that 54% of Americans support this proposal.
iii. Expert testimony: A team of experts
from Princeton recently concluded that "overall, the proposal works.''
iv. Examples: Where this proposal has
been adopted, it has met with amazing success. For example, in
. .
v. General reasoning: If the President
does not face reelection, s/he will devote less time to campaigning at the end
of the first four years in office. This would seem a reasonable statement that
does not require additional proof to support it.
Exercise
Use logical appeal to convince either a
friend or a bank official to lend you money.
FINAL
NOTE:
Techniques of persuasion are methods for developing an argument; they are not
useful for organizing your paper. For example, in a five paragraph paper, do not adhere to the following pattern:
Paragraph #1: Introduction
Paragraph #2: Emotional
Paragraph #3: Ethical
Paragraph #4: Logical
Paragraph #5: Conclusion
Instead, follow this pattern:
Paragraph #1: Introduction
Paragraph #2: Reason 1
Paragraph #3: Reason 2 Use ethical, emotional, logical persuasion
in all paragraphs
Paragraph #4: Reason 3
Paragraph #5: Conclusion