English 72 (83R)Week 12, Day 2, April 9, 2014

Professor Elizabeth Buchanan

Agenda Argument Claims Activity – please put on front desk if you

did not turn it in on Wednesday. Revised Tentative Schedule Emotional and Manipulative Appeals The book thief Lab Contract is due at end of class.

EMOTIONAL & MANIPULATIVE APPEALS

By: Elizabeth Buchanan, Adapted from Joanne Chapman & Gwen Silva

DEFENSE ATTORNEY“Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I urge you to acquit John

Jones of this crime of murder. He is married and has three children. If he is executed or goes to prison for life, his family will end up in the poorhouse.”

PROSECUTING ATTORNEY“Ladies and gentlemen, I urge you to convict John Jones of

this crime of murder. We need to put him where he can never commit any crimes. If you don’t convict him, you may be his next victim.”

SOUND CONVINCING? Both arguments sound convincing, but you can’t take both

sides. Both sides are manipulating with emotions. Neither side has addressed the real issue. What is the real issue?

EMOTIONAL APPEALS An appeal is something that makes an argument attractive,

worth considering, plausible. Appeals are considered illegitimate when they serve as

substitutes for evidence and seeks to control our emotions, which diverts us from the real argument.

This becomes manipulative propaganda. Manipulative propaganda is used when someone plays with

our emotions in a way designed to make us agree with them without thinking through the matter carefully.

APPEAL TO AUTHORITY Definition: Allows the claim

to rest solely on the fact that a supposed authority is behind the claim. The authority may not be identified or may be highly biased or may be a faulty authority.

“Seven out of ten dentists recommend Trident gum for their patients who chew gum.”

(FAULTY) APPEAL TO AUTHORITY

A faulty appeal to authority is an appeal to someone who has no special knowledge in the area being discussed.

“My car mechanic says the best way to fix computer problems is to just give the computer a good, sharp kick. He says it should always work.”

APPEAL TO FEAR An appeal to fear is used

when someone makes you fear the consequences of not doing what is being suggested. Watch!

APPEAL TO PATRIOTISM An appeal to patriotism

suggests that an argument is worth holding out of loyalty to one’s country, political party, or some other group.

Implies that going against the country or group’s policies is wrong.

APPEAL TO PITY OR SYMPATHY When someone tries to make us do something only because

we pity him or her, that person is appealing to pity. “Mr. Jones lost the last election because his opponent used

a smear campaign to discredit him. Mr. Jones lost the election before that because of voter fraud. Mr. Jones lost the election before that because nobody knew who he was. Don’t you think it is about time you voted for Mr. Jones?”

WSPA commercial

APPEAL TO PREJUDICE

Using emotionally charged terms to attach value or moral goodness to believing a claim.

The appeal inflames negative feelings, beliefs or stereotypes about racial, ethnic or religious groups or about gender or sexual orientations

APPEAL TO TRADITION

When someone makes an appeal to tradition, he or she encourages to buy some product or take some action because it is associated with things of the past.

"Your invention is a bad idea because it has no historical precedent."

MACY’S TV COMMERCIAL http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nm2FJMJWKkQ

IN GROUPS, COME UP WITH AN APPEAL ABOUT ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION.

1. appeal to authority

2. appeal to patriotism

3. appeal to prejudice

4. appeal to fear

5. appeal to pity or sympathy

6. appeal to tradition

OTHER MANIPULATIVE APPEALS

BANDWAGON

Should you buy a product just because it is the most popular?

The bandwagon technique appeals to the reader’s need to belong and to do what everyone is doing.

APPEAL TO FLATTERY

An appeal to flattery occurs whenever a person attempts to compliment or flatter another in order to get her to accept the truth of a claim.

JUST PLAIN FOLKS

The plain folks appeal is an attempt by the speaker or writer to convince the public that his or her views reflect those of the common person and that they are also working for the benefit of the common person.

TRANSFER Transfer is an appeal in which

someone tries to make us transfer our good or bad feelings about one thing to another.

Suggestion: favorable associations about a product will transfer or carry over to the consumer. Watch!

http://youtu.be/unPzH8-PqfQ

NAME CALLING

Writers may use name calling to deflect attention away from the real argument.

This old WWII propaganda poster calls Japanese citizens the enemy. Also this poster makes them look like monsters.  

RIDICULE This appeal asks the reader to dismiss an idea by subjecting it to ridicule

rather than by analyzing its inherent weaknesses. It may substitute humor for supporting evidence. Watch!

TESTIMONIALThis man seems like a normal, likeable guy who is making a recommendation.

The text is written as if he is talking directly to the reader.

Celebrities are often used in this appeal and can be confused with transfer.

Testimonial (w/ Celebrities)This transfer technique uses a famous person.

The attempt is to connect the writer’s opinion about a product to the reader/viewer’s feeling about this person.

IN YOUR GROUP, COME UP WITH AN APPEAL ABOUT HOMESCHOOLING

1. bandwagon appeal

2. plain folks

3. ridicule or name calling

4. transfer

5. flattery

6. testimonial

Conclusion• Emotional appeal techniques can be

extremely effective in persuading the reader to act on a feeling.

• As readers of persuasive writing, we must learn to recognize emotional appeals.

• If we focus on the facts instead of the feelings, we will make a better decision about the writer’s opinion.

• YouTube Review!