Persuasion and Rhetorical Devices

PERSUASION

Persuasion is used when the writer or speaker is trying to convince a reader or listener to think or act in a particular way.

PERSUASIVE APPEALS

Appeals to Reason/Logic Logical arguments based on verifiable

evidence, such as facts, statistics, or expert testimony

PERSUASIVE APPEALS

Appeals to Emotion Statements intended to affect

listeners’/readers’ feelings about the subject. These statements often include charged language-words with strong positive or negative associations.

RHETORICAL DEVICES

Speakers use rhetorical devices to: emphasize their ideas help their listeners to remember

the important points arouse an emotional response in

an audience

REPETITION

Repetition is expressing different ideas using the same words or images in order to reinforce concepts and unify the speech.

RESTATEMENT

Restatement is expressing the same idea in different words to clarify and stress key points.

What’s What?

“We will never give up; we will never surrender, we will never be defeated.”

“We will never…” is an example of…

repetition

“Never give up,”“never surrender,” and “never be defeated.” is an example of…

restatement

What’s What?

“I wanna talk about me,Wanna talk about IWanna talk about #1”

“Wanna talk about” is an example of…-repetition

“me”, “I” and “#1” is an example of…-restatement

PARALLELISM

Parallelism is the repetition of a grammatical structure or an arrangement of words in order to create rhythm and make words more memorable.

Faulty Parallelism Example

faulty parallelism:

She revels in chocolate, walking under the moonlight, and songs from the 1930s jazz period.

Better Parallelism

good parallelism: She revels in sweet chocolate eclairs, long moonlit walks, and classic jazz music.

"She revels in”"sweet chocolate eclairs," [Adjective--Adjective--Object]

"long moonlit walks," [Adjective--Adjective--Object]

"and classic jazz music." [Adjective--Adjective--Object]

Even Better Parallelism

more good parallelism: She loves eating chocolate eclairs, taking moonlit walks, and singing classic jazz.

She revels in""eating chocolate eclairs" [Gerund--Adjective--Object of Gerund]

"taking moonlit walks" [Gerund--Adjective--Object of Gerund]

"and singing classic jazz." [Gerund--Adjective--Object of Gerund]

Analogy

a similarity between like features of two things, on which a comparison may be based: the analogy between the heart and a pump. Examples:

Glove is to hand as paint is to wallCitizens are to president as solar system

is to galaxyHorses are to past societies as

computers are to future societies

RHETORICAL TRIANGLE