Name____________________________________________ Date_________________________ Block___________

ARGUMENTS, PERSUASIVE TECHNIQUES, & RHETORICAL DEVICES

I. What is an Argument? An ________________________is a writing that expresses ______________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________.

II. Parts of an Argument

1. ___________________________________ - the author’s main point about an issue. It is often based on a ________________________ which is a general idea on which most people can agree.

Example- A policy that bans cell phones from school grounds will cause more problems than it will solve.

2. _________________________ - the material that proves a claim with reasons and

evidence. Example- A school in Dallas, TX tried to banned cell phones and ended up having riots in the cafeteria for a whole week.

3. _____________________ - is the specific ___________________used to back up support in an argument. Solid evidence is something that can be easily proved and will hold true when analyzed or double-checked against ___________________sources.

Would the above example be solid evidence?

III. Types of Evidence

1. ___________________- a statement that can be_________________ true.

2. ____________________- a record of someone’s ___________________ about a topic.

3. _________________- a specific __________________ that ___________________a general

idea.

4. _________________ - a ________________ given in _____________________form.

5. _________________ a brief ______________that can be used to illustrate a point.

IV. Persuasive Techniques

1. LOGOS - Logical Appeal Uses sound ___________________ and ___________________ to persuade. Relies on ________________________

2. ETHOS – Ethical Appeal

Uses the speaker’s __________________or reputation for integrity to persuade. Relies on the _____________________________of the speaker or source Appeals to people’s sense of _________________ or values and their desire to

do what is ___________________ or fair

3. PATHOS - Emotional Appeal Uses ________________________, rather than facts, to persuade. _____________________________ are used to tap into feelings of fear, sympathy, or

vanity. Based on ____________________________

V. More Persuasive Techniques

1. “Plain Folks” Appeal- implies that _________________________________ are on the side of

the person making the argument.

2. Bandwagon Appeal- taps into people’s desire to _______________________by claiming that _________________________ already supports the argument being made.

3. Testimonial- relies on endorsements from _____________________ people or satisfied _________________________.

4. Loaded Language- uses words either strong _____________________ or ___________________________connotations to stir people’s emotions (key part of an emotional appeal).

VI. Rhetorical Devices

1. Repetition- uses the same word or phrase _______________________________ for

emphasis. “Let there be justice for all. Let there be peace for all. Let there be work, bread, water, and salt for all.”

~Nelson Mandela

2. Parallelism- uses similar grammatical ______________________ to express ideas that are related or ___________________in importance.

“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.”

~Barak Obama

3. Analogy- makes a ____________________between two subjects that are ____________ in some ways.

VII. Logical Fallacies

1. Circular reasoning: supports a statement by repeating it in _______________________

_____________________.

2. False cause and effect: assumes that because Y _________________after X, then X is what ___________________ Y.

3. Hasty generalizations: conclusions drawn from too _________________evidence.

4. Either/or fallacy: suggests that there are only ___________choices _________________in

a situation that really offers more than two options.

5. Name-calling: an attempt to ______________________an idea by _____________________the person or group behind it.

VIII. Counterargument

Sometimes, an author will bring up an __________________ viewpoint. This viewpoint is refuted, or shown to be _______________________ in a counterargument.

A counterargument is another form of _______________________for an author’s claim. Like an argument, it can use _____________________or ______________________ appeals or contain logical ___________________________.

Example: Others might say that gun control laws will infringe upon their constitutional right to bear arms, but with more and more school shootings occurring, stricter laws are needed to ensure the safety of our children.