ARISTOTLE’S MODEL OF PERSUASION

The Art of Persuasion

Table of Contents

Logos, Ethos, Pathos Argument, Counterargument, Refutation Questions to ask while researching

Other places to search and Online

References Online Libraries, Newspapers, and

Articles

Aristotle’s Model of Persuasion

Logos

Ethos Pathos

Logos

The Greek word “logos” is the basis for the English word logic

Logos refers to any attempt to appeal to the intellect, the general meaning of “logical argument”

What kind of evidence appeals to logic? Definitions Factual data and statistics Quotations taken from a valid source Informed opinions

What effects does logos have on readers? Evokes a cognitive, rational response

Ethos

Related to the English word ethics and refers to the trustworthiness of the speaker/writer

Ethos is an effective strategy because we want to believe that the speaker does not intend to do us harm, so we want to listen to what he/she says

The writer/speaker must also first establish ethos What must you do to develop Ethos?

Professional language Restrained demeanor Appropriate level of vocabulary Correct grammar

What effect does ethos have? Demonstrates authors reliability and respect for the

audiences’ ideas and values

Pathos

Related to the words pathetic, sympathy, and empathy

Whenever you accept a claim based on how it makes you feel

Although the pathetic appeal can be manipulative, it is what makes people move to action

How do you appeal to Pathos? Vivid, emotionally loaded language Narratives Figurative language

What effect does Pathos have on the reader? Evokes an emotional response

What is an argument?

Each Argument provides a new prospective for the audience to view your claim

Must provide multiple types of evidence (logos, pathos, ethos)

NO OPINIONS! The audience wants to read an educated and researched argument (NO- “I think”, “I want”, etc.)

What is a Counterargument? Directly opposes the argument just

stated

Writer must remain neutral and provide evidence (logos, ethos, pathos) for support

What is a Refutation?

Addresses counterargument and exposes why counters are not valid/logical/morally correct

Must use evidence (logos, ethos, pathos) to prove counterargument wrong or inconsistent

Evaluating Sources

Make decisions about what to search, where to look, if it is a valid or useful source for your writing.

Before you read a source or spend time hunting for it, begin by looking at the following information to evaluate whether it's worth finding or reading:

Questions to ask while researching

Check for a list of references or other citations that will lead you to related material

Determine the intended audience. Consider the tone, style, level of information, and assumptions the author makes about the reader. Are they appropriate for your needs?

Determine if the content of the source is fact, opinion, or propaganda.

Do you think there's enough evidence offered? (As you learn more and more about your topic, you will notice that this gets easier as you become more of an expert.)

Is the language objective (neutral) or emotional?

Are there broad generalizations that overstate or oversimplify the matter?

Does the author use a good mix of primary and secondary sources for information? Check out their bibliography.

If the source is opinion, does the author offer sound reasons for adopting that stance? (Is this person reputable?) Check for accuracy.

Are arguments very one-sided with no acknowledgement of other viewpoints?

How timely is the source? Is the source 20 years out of date? Some information becomes dated when new

research is available, but other older sources of information can be quite sound 50 or 100 years later.

Do some cross-checking. Can you find some of the same information given elsewhere?

How credible is the author? If the document is anonymous, what do you know about the organization?

Internet Sources

Using search engines is not the only way to find material on the web, but they are one tool you can use.

Knowing a few search strategies and hints, as you use these engines, can make the search more profitable.

Search engines, such as Google or Yahoo, are large databases of information

No search engine or web directory will have the same sites listed in the same order, and none will have all of the possible sites on the Internet listed.

The ranking of a website within a search engine (i.e. how high up on the results list it appears) is not important to your research.

Avoid "sponsored links"; links that appear on the first few pages of the search results and that are paid for by advertisers.

Search Engines

Search engines are good for finding sources for well-defined topics. Typing in a general term such as "education" or "Shakespeare" will bring too many results, but by narrowing your topic, you can get the kind (and amount) of information that you need.

Example: Go to Google (a search engine) Type in a general term ("education") Add modifiers to further define and narrow your topic ("rural

education Indiana") Be as specific as you can ("rural education Indiana elementary

school") Submit your search.

Adjust your search based upon the number of responses you receive (if you get too few responses, submit a more general search; if you get too many, add more modifiers).

List of the most powerful search engines:

All4one: One of the first metasearch engines, All4One allows simultaneous searching of 10 major search engines.

Alta Vista: Allows you to search for websites, audio, video, and news. It also allows searches by location and language.

Bing: Microsoft's search engine. Dogpile: A metasearch engine that will search Google, MSN, Yahoo, and Ask. Environment Web Directory: A web directory that focuses on environmental and health

issues. Excite: A search engine that lets you search by language, for video, audio, and mp3, and

by relevant date. Google: Includes a new type of search, "Google Scholar," which allows you to search for

more academically-oriented searches. Lycos: A search engine that allows for news searches but does not have many advanced

search features. Metacrawler: A metasearch engine and will search other search engines. The Open Directory Project: One of the largest and most comprehensive human-edited

directories in the world. Only higher quality websites will be listed here as each site submitted must be approved by a directory editor.

People Search: People Search has online white-page directories for telephone numbers, addresses, e-mail addresses, etc.

WebCrawler: Another search engine that allows searching by location, domain name, and for multimedia.

The “Invisible Web”

Alexa: A website that archives older websites that are no longer available on the Internet. For example, Alexa has about 87 million websites from the 2000 election that are for the most part no longer available on the Internet.

Complete Planet: Provides an extensive listing of databases that cannot be searched by conventional search engine technology. It provides access to lists of databases which you can then search individually.

The Directory of Open Access Journals: Another full-text journal searchable database.

FindArticles: Indexes over 10 million articles from a variety of different publications.

Find Law: A comprehnsive site that provides information on legal issues organized by category.

HighWire: Brought to you by Stanford University, HighWire press provides access to one of the largest databases of free, full-text, scholarly content.

Infomine: A research database created by librarians for use at the university level. It includes both a browsable catalogue and searching capabilities.

Invisible Web Database: A database maintained by Chris Sherman and Gary Price, authors of the book Invisible Web, that provides a host of links to invisible web resources in a variety of categories.

MagPortal: A search engine that will allow you to search for free online magazine articles on a wide range of topics.

Other powerful places to search

Librarians' Internet Index: Provides librarian-reviewed websites and material on a host of different topics. While this site is not exhaustive, it will provide you quality information on a large variety of topics. Some of this material is invisible-web material.

About.com: Provides practical information on a large variety of topics written by trained professionals.

Wikipedia: The largest free and open access encyclopedia on the internet.

Refdesk: A site that provides reviews and a search feature for free reference materials online.

Online References

AllRefer offers encyclopedia entries and references for a variety of fields. Encyclopedia Britannica Online provides articles from the famous

encyclopedia. Infoplease has a complete encyclopedia, dictionary, and almanacs for

research as well as information organized by subject matter. Libraryspot.com is one of the most comprehensive site you'll find on the Web

for links to libraries across the world. The University of Victoria's Writer's Guide offers a hyper-textual set of

information relating to writing. This site could be of special interest to writers in first-year composition.

The Writing at the University of Toronto offers over 50 "homemade" files concerning writing and links to writer resources for various fields including engineering.

Ask Oxford is a very comprehensive site produced by the editors of the Oxford English Dictionary that has answers to questions on English grammar, spelling, and usage and access to searchable dictionaries.

Writer's Free Reference is an extensive list of free information on the Internet that could be useful to writers (or anyone else doing research online.

Wikipedia is a collaborative project that is attempting to produce a free and complete encyclopedia in every language.

Online Libraries

The Internet Public Library is an online reference site, the IPL organizes websites into subjects as well as provides links to e-texts, magazines, and newspapers.

The Library of Congress provides information about the world's largest library as well as links to popular collections and topics.

Libraryspot.com: is a comprehensive portal to libraries around the world.

Purdue's Libraries searches Purdue's catalog as well as an extensive list of online databases and eJournals.

Newspapers, News Services, Journals and Magazines online

The Chronicle of Higher Education provides news and and articles concerning education and research.

The Washington Post provides links to articles from one of the world's most popular newspapers located in America's capital.

New York Times provides links to articles from one of the world's most popular newspapers.

USA Today provides news and articles on sports, money, weather, and more.

Wall Street Journal links to the articles concerning politics, the world, sports, and international format of the paper.

Electronic Journals is a collection of links to databases and collection sites for e-journals.

Pathfinder (Time Warner publications) provides links to magazines owned by Time including "CNN Money", "Instyle" and "People".

The Associated Press site provides links to stories posted by one of the world's largest news agencies.

Reuters News Media is a collection of stories from one of the world's largest news agency.

Newseum allows you to find daily newspaper front pages from 68 countries across the globe.

Good vs. poor thesis statements Rewrite one of these thesis statements

and put it through the gauntlet.

Something is wrong with the economy.

Eggs make a tastier breakfast than cereal does.

Our major modes of transportation will change entirely in the twenty-first century.

Trade your thesis with a partner and have him/her put it through the thesis gauntlet.

Table of Contents

Persuasive Topic Sentences Evidence Analysis Transitions

Persuasive Topic Sentences

Your persuasive topic sentences must: Directly connect to your thesis and act like

reasons to prove your thesis Each answer the question “why”? Be specific

Examples

Thesis Drilling in Alaska must be made illegal because of the previous

destruction caused by the Exxon Valdez oil spill.

Topic Sentences The United States cannot allow drilling to occur in Alaska because

modern drilling practices still cannot guarantee there would not be any spillage.

Drilling in Alaska must also be banned because Alaska contains wildlife found only in that region and we must work to protect these animals.

It must be made illegal to drill in Alaska because environmentalists are still cleaning up the mess and destruction caused by the Exxon Valdez oil spill and cannot afford to do damage control on yet another spill.

Practice

With a partner, write three topic sentences to support the thesis:

Uniforms should be mandatory in all schools across America.

OR

Homework should not be given to high school students.

Persuasive Evidence

Persuasive evidence works to support your T.S. and thesis Do not choose “great” evidence that does

not connect to the T.S. In a persuasive essay, this is your most

important part besides your thesis

Examples

Thesis Drilling in Alaska must be made illegal because of the previous

destruction caused by the Exxon Valdez oil spill.

Topic Sentences The United States cannot allow drilling to occur in Alaska because

modern drilling practices still cannot guarantee there would not be any spillage.

Evidence Sam Warner, an environmental specialist currently working in Alaska

cleaning up the Exxon Valdez oil spill states, “Look what occurred off the coast of Mexico. Oil companies cannot fully guarantee that another tragic oil spill will not occur at any point of their drilling” (Warner).

The Environmental Research center located in Portland, Oregon has done extensive research in this field and claims that “oil rigs that pump on a consistent basis have a ten percent chance of failure at any given moment” (“Environmental Research Clinic”).

Integrating Evidence into your Research Paper You must authorize your evidence:

Tell why your author is a reliable person to listen to: Mr. Smart was a graduate from Harvard with a degree in environmental

studies. He claims that… OR

Tell why your source is valid: On the website for the Museum of Tolerance, the statistic…

Embed your evidence into your authorization!!!! Sam Warner, an environmental specialist currently working in

Alaska cleaning up the Exxon Valdez oil spill states, “Look what occurred off the coast of Mexico. Oil companies cannot fully guarantee that another tragic oil spill will not occur at any point of their drilling” (Warner).

The Environmental Research center located in Portland, Oregon has done extensive research in this field and claims that “oil rigs that pump on a consistent basis have a ten percent chance of failure at any given moment” (“Environmental Research Clinic”).

Analysis

In your analysis, use your evidence to persuade your audience to side with you. Use persuasive words like should, must, need, will,

do…

You may include a “call to action” Do not use “I”, “you”, or “me”- you may use “us”

or “we” as a universal identity Therefore, it is important that we (Californians) help

contribute to local businesses in order to stimulate the economy keep family-owned companies alive.

Analysis Cont…

Analysis will be around 3-4 sentences Let your quotes do the work; that is why you must choose strong quotes!

ExampleThe United States cannot allow drilling to occur in Alaska because modern drilling practices still cannot guarantee there would not be any spillage. Sam Warner, an environmental specialist currently working in Alaska cleaning up the Exxon Valdez oil spill states, “Look what occurred off the coast of Mexico. Oil companies cannot fully guarantee that another tragic oil spill will not occur at any point of their drilling” (Warner). Because spillage has happened recently, it is clear that scientists have not developed any full-proof methods to prevent another destructive oil spill from occurring. Furthermore, the Environmental Research center located in Portland, Oregon has done extensive research in this field and claims that “oil rigs that pump on a consistent basis have a ten percent chance of failure at any given moment” (“Environmental Research Clinic”). It is apparent that we are taking a risk by allowing corporations to drill in Alaska. The government must explicitly make it clear to the general population that we may be risking another destructive pollution incident if we allow these practices to occur. Until the science behind oil drilling guarantees no spillage, we need to make sure no more drilling occurs in Alaska.

The United States cannot allow drilling to occur in Alaska because modern drilling practices still cannot guarantee there would not be any spillage. Sam Warner, an environmental specialist currently working in Alaska cleaning up the Exxon Valdez oil spill states, “Look what occurred off the coast of Mexico. Oil companies cannot fully guarantee that another tragic oil spill will not occur at any point of their drilling” (Warner). It is apparent that we are taking a risk by allowing corporations to drill in Alaska. The government must explicitly make it clear to the general population that we may be risking another destructive pollution incident if we allow these practices to occur. Until the science behind oil drilling guarantees no spillage, we need to make sure no more drilling occurs in Alaska.

Transitions

Beginning of Counterargument Critics often claim… It can be proven/said/argued that… Other studies show… In contrast… On the other hand… Although… In a different light… Some people think… A general misconception is… The opposing side will argue… While a common belief is…

Beginning of a Refutation However… On the other hand… Other studies have shown… The opposing side fails to show… The opposing side does not consider… In reality… This theory can be disapproved by… What [they] don’t tell the public is… Critics seem to have over/underestimated the problem… Despite this… Still, many agree…

Introducing a new “set” Another reason… Also… In addition… __________ also believes…

Counterargument

3-5 sentences directly countering your argument. Remain neutral and present the other side.

Example: However, some critics believe that it is worth the risk

of more spillage in Alaska due to our need to stop our dependence on foreign oil. These critics would argue that the rate of actual spillage is small compared to the problems that arise in our country when we rely on outside sources for oil. We must think about the damage to the American population before considering the damage to the environment.

Refutation Example

The opposing side fails to show that environmental damage due to spillage will impact the American people greatly. (Quote and Analysis)