LESSON 1: PERSUASIVE TECHNIQUES

 Persuasive Writing
- In persuasive writing, a writer takes a position FOR or AGAINST an issue and writes to
convince the reader to BELIEVE or DO something.

 Where do we find Persuasive Writing?

✓ Advertisements to get the reader to buy a product.
✓ Newspapers, magazines, essays, and other texts to get the reader to accept a point of
view.
✓ Speeches, petitions, and political cartoons to convince readers to believe a certain
political viewpoint.
✓ Blogs, webpages, and social media sites to convince the reader to subscribe to or
follow the author.

 What is Persuasive Technique in Writing

- Persuasive technique is a form of writing style that students use in their writing. With the
use of this, a student or writer is able to convince the reader that his or her ideas are
correct.
- Persuasive Techniques are commonly used in advertisement to influence people to
buy a certain product or use a particular service.

 Persuasive Techniques
✓ Use of Powerful Verbs – powerful verbs are words that give a vivid picture of an action
or what someone is doing. We use them to stimulate a mental image of a specific
action in the minds of the audience.
✓ Use of Emotive Language – emotive language refers to words that carry emotional
content or those that evoke feelings; it is to elicit a strong emotion from the audience.
✓ Use of Sensory Words – these are words that appeal to any of the five senses: sight,
sound, smell, taste, and touch.
✓ Use of Rhetorical Questions – these are questions that are asked only for effect and do
not require answers; it is meant to capture the audience’s attention. It is also a question
that where the answer is obvious, it leads readers to a particular conclusion.
✓ Use of Figurative Language – figurative language, or the use of figures of speech
makes the advertisement interesting and thus engages the audience. It allows you to
paint vivid pictures, punch home your meaning, and be more persuasive as a writer.
1. Personification – giving non-human things human characteristics.
2. Alliteration – when the same consonant is used at the beginning of each word in
a sentence.
3. Onomatopoeia – sound words
4. Hyperbole – an exaggeration
5. Metaphor – comparing 2 or more unlike things without “like” or “as”
6. Simile - comparing 2 or more unlike things using “like” or “as”
✓ Exaggeration – this is an overstatement used to emphasize a point or to create a strong
impression. Writers often exaggerate or overstate something to help persuade the
readers of their point of view.
✓ Use of Facts – facts are pieces of information that can be verified or checked through
tests and observations.
✓ Repetition – done when words or phrases are repeated in a text to reinforce a point or
to make the audience remember an idea.

LESSON 2: MEDIA BIAS

 Definition of Media Bias
- a term used to describe a real or perceived bias of journalists and news producers
within the mass media in the selection of which events will be reported and how they
are covered.

 Types of Media Bias

1. Bias by Source Selection – when there are more sources to support one side of an
issue compared to the other or certain sources are selected over others.
 2. Bias by Omission – a side of the story is left out.
3. Bias by Story Selection – the action of selecting or omitting some stories over others
to highlight particular events and perspectives.
4. Bias through Placement – the placement of a story in the paper, the order
presented in broadcast, and even location of quotations in articles.
5. Bias by Spin – when the story has only one interpretation of an event or policy, to
the exclusion of the other.

 How to Detect Bias in News Media

✓ Who are the sources?
✓ Is there a lack of diversity?
✓ From whose point of view is the news reported?
✓ Are there double standards?
✓ Are stories on important issues featured prominently?

LESSON 3: THESIS STATEMENT

 Definition of Thesis Statement
- This is the main idea of an essay or any academic text. (claim)
- This idea controls the content of the entire paper. It serves as a guide.

 Thesis Statement includes:

✓ Your distinct standpoint on the subject
✓ A brief summary of the main arguments
✓ A roadmap for the paper

 FAQ regarding Thesis Statements

1. Does every paper need a thesis statement? – Yes.
2. Where do I put it? – At the end of the introduction.
3. Can it be longer than 1 sentence? – No. It should be exactly 25 words.
4. Can I rewrite it if I change my mind? – Sure. You can revise as you work.

 A Strong Thesis Statement is:

✓ Disputable – not obvious, some readers can disagree.
✓ Focused – not too broad, your position is clear.
✓ Relevant – not boring, readers won’t say “so what?”

 How a Thesis Statement relates to the rest of the paper:

✓ Answers the questions ‘how’ and/or ‘why’
✓ Provides the logic of the paper
✓ Covers the entire paper

 The Thesis Statement should also avoid the following:

✓ Personal pronoun ✓ Attempting 2 topics at once
✓ Unclear language ✓ Just stating a fact

 Steps to Write a Thesis Statement

1. Make a Thesis Question 4. Make a Thesis Roadmap
2. Brainstorm Answers 5. Add Emphasis
3. Pick a Thesis Answer

 Argumentative Essay & Thesis Statement

- An argumentative essay aims to present and support a claim through the effective use
of sound reasoning and evidence. A thesis statement is usually presented at the
beginning of an argumentative essay to let the readers know the writer’s belief, claim,
or opinion about the issue.
- A thesis statement in an argumentative essay is a sentence which reflects the position
or the main idea of a writer. This guides a writer in presenting and developing the
arguments and ideas in his or her paper.
  Thesis vs. Thesis Statement
- Thesis is your argument, central idea, and your message.
- Thesis Statement is one or two sentences expressing your thesis (one sentence
summarizes your main idea).

 Characteristics of a Good Thesis Statement

✓ F – Focused
✓ I – Insightful
✓ O – Opinionated

 Focused
- Narrow down your topic. Don’t try to deal with too much details. The best thesis
statements are very specific.
- WEAK THESIS:
1. Lord of Flies is a book about human nature.
2. The civil war was caused by many factors.
- STRONG THESIS:
1. In Lord of Flies, William Golding uses the downfall of innocent children to show the
inner depravity of human beings.
2. The issue of states’ rights was a bigger cause of the civil war than slavery.

 Insightful
- Add something new to the topic. Don’t just repeat common wisdom. Look for the
depth of an issue.
- WEAK THESIS:
1. Romeo and Juliet is one of the greatest love stories ever told.
2. Violence in the media can cause violence in society.
- STRONG THESIS:
1. Romeo and Juliet is actually a story of teenage delusion and hysterics.
2. The media provides people with a catharsis of emotion, thus reducing violence in
society.

 Opinionated
- It must be arguable. It must not be a fact. It must be proven.
- WEAK THESIS:
1. Lord of the Flies is a novel about British schoolboys.
2. Violent revolutions have both positive & negative results.
- STRONG THESIS:
1. The character of Simon in Lord of Flies supports Golding’s belief that humans have
moved away from spiritual belief.
2. Although we might assume violent revolutions cause much harm, in fact they
have many positive effects.

 Must REMEMBER!
- A good thesis statement embodies a judgement, evaluation, or criticism.
- It is a statement that can be considered significant because it contributes to a
scholarly understanding of a subject.

LESSON 4: RESEARCH
 Guidelines in Choosing a Research Topic
1. Interest in the Subject Matter
2. Availability of Information
3. Timeline and Relevance of the Topic
4. Limitations on the Subject
5. Personal Resources

 Research Title
- This is the most basic and important aspect of a research paper. It must be original,
clear, concise, and specific. It should be 12-15 words only (prepositions not counted).
  A Good Research Paper Title:
✓ Condenses the paper’s contents in a few words.
✓ Captures the readers’ attention
✓ Differentiates the paper from other papers of the same subject area.

 Research Question
- A focused question provides structure to the search for information.
- A well-crafted research question helps avoid aimless searching and wasted time.

LESSON 4: COMMON LOFICAL FALLACIES

 Argument
- An argument is not a fight. It is making a point about a subject and supporting it with
evidence. [Attorneys make many arguments.]

 Argument can be supported with 3 types of evidence:

1. Logic – facts, statistics, expert testimony
2. Ethics – fairness, an appeal to one’s sense of right and wrong
3. Emotions – an appeal to one’s patriotism, fears, or sympathies

 Logical Fallacies
- A fallacy is an error of reasoning. It refers to a flawed statement that often sounds true.
- Logical fallacies are often used to strengthen an argument, but if the reader detects
them the argument can backfire and damage the writer’s credibility.

 Begging The Question

- An argument + unproven assumption
- This happens when you assume that something is true although it has not yet been
proven. Hence, a conclusion is made without real evidence.
- EXAMPLE:
✓ People who watch a lot of TV are less active than people who watch no TV
because the major networks broadcast hidden waves to make people passive
and lazy.

 Ad Hominem (to the man)

- This weak argument focuses attention on people rather than on arguments or
evidence. It attacks the person rather than the issue.
- In this fallacy, an argument is countered through a personal attack or name-calling.
- EXAMPLE:
✓ It’s hard to take your claims seriously because you spend your days playing
video games.

 Hasty Generalization
- It draws a conclusion about an entire group based on insufficient evidence.
- It happens if an assumption is made based solely on an insufficient number of samples.
- EXAMPLE:
✓ I’ve met three redheads and they were all mean, so all redheads are mean.

 Post Hoc (Black Cat Reasoning) / Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc
- Also known as False Cause, Questionable cause, or Mistaking Coincidence for Cause.
- The term Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc is a Latin term which means “after this, therefore
because of this.” This logical fallacy assumes that two things have a cause-and-effect
relationship because one thing happened before another.
- EXAMPLE:
✓ He was listening to rap music before robbing the bank. The rap music caused
him to commit the crime!

 Slippery Slope
- This assumes that one event leads to a terrible outcome.
- EXAMPLE:
✓ If we allow gay marriage, the next thing we know, people will want to marry their
dogs, or their cats, or what about their pigs?
 Appeal to Authority
- It is using a celebrity or authority figure’s name to support an issue which is not really his
or her expertise.
- This happens when an argument is perceived to be true just because it is endorsed by
a famous or influential personality.
- EXAMPLE:
✓ Einstein said, ‘God does not play dice with the universe,’ therefore God must
exist.

 Appeal to Pity
- It is appealing to someone’s emotions in order to distract them from the truth.
- This happens when speakers persuade their listeners to believe their arguments by
appealing to their emotions or by making them feel sorry for someone.
- EXAMPLE:
✓ I have served the company for more than 10 years with all my heart and
dedication. Therefore, it is just proper that I be promoted to a higher
administrative position.

 Appeal to Ignorance
- It occurs when someone claims that a conclusion must be true if it hasn’t been proven
false, or false if it hasn’t been proven true.
- This assumes that a conclusion is true just because it has never been proven wrong.
- EXAMPLE:
✓ The concept of reincarnation is true. Nobody has ever came back from death to
tell us that it does not exist.

 Bandwagon
- It occurs when one assumes that something must be true or good based on the fact
that it is popular.
- EXAMPLE:
✓ Most people believe that there is God, so it must be true.”

 False Dilemma
- It occurs when a limited number of choices, outcomes, or views are presented as the
only options when, in fact, more options exist.
- It is committed when an either-or situation is constructed when there are other options.
- EXAMPLE:
✓ Our country is facing an economic crisis. We either vote for that candidate or
our economy will worsen.

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