Persuasive Techniques Reference Sheet
Type
Logical Appeal
Emotional Appeal
Appeal to Authority
Arguing From “Is” To
“Ought”
Bandwagon Appeal
Either/Or
Over-Generalization
Invincible Ignorance
Red Herring
Loaded Language
Testimonials
Snob Appeal
False Cause & Effect
Anecdotes
Commonly Accepted
Beliefs
Facts
Begging the Question
Counterclaim
Rebuttal
Definition
Writers appeal to a reader’s intelligence by using facts, statistics, common sense and other
potentially rationale arguments. Logical appeals refer to arguments derived from the nature of
the case, or from information about the topic or issue under discussion.
Writers may appeal to fear, anger or desire to sway their readers. They may also add climax or
excitement. This technique is strongly connected to the essay's mood.
Appealing to authority is when a writer cites another person in a position of authority as
support for their argument. The practice becomes fallacious when one of the following
happens: the authority is not an expert in the field in which one is speaking; the allusion to
authority masks the fact that experts may be divided down the middle on the subject; no
explicit reference is made to the authority or the argument ends simply with the appeal.
A fallacy in which someone claims that just because something is this way this is how it should
remain. What is may not be the same thing as what ought to be.
This technique is often used in advertising. It encourages you to think as others are thinking. It
basically says, “Everyone else believes this so why don’t you?” It appeals to people’s desires to
belong to a group.
A fallacy occurring when the number of alternatives is said to be fewer/less than the actual
number. This technique tries to convince you that there are only two possible solutions to a
problem or ways for looking at something, when in fact there may be many. Common
examples of this fallacy are statements containing either/or, nothing/but, all-or-nothing
elements.
A generalization is a broad statement about a number of people or things, which may include
stereotypes. While it is possible to accept some generalizations, many are too broad to be true.
They often include hyperbolic language like all or none.
The fallacy of insisting on the legitimacy of one's position in the face of contradictory facts.
Statements like "I really don't care what the experts say; no one is going to convince me that
I'm wrong"; "nothing you say is going to change my mind"; "yeah, okay, whatever!" are
examples of this fallacy.
An attempt to divert attention away from the crux of an argument by introduction of a new
argument, an anecdote, or irrelevant detail.
Writers or speakers who want to convince you that they are right may try to appeal to your
emotions by using loaded language. This means using words to which you are likely to have a
strong positive or negative reaction.
Often used in advertising, testimonials employ celebrities or satisfied customers to endorse a
product or idea. Businesses that use this technique hope that you will buy a product because a
person supports it.
This technique is an opposite version of the previous bandwagon technique. It appeals to a
person’s desire to feel superior to other people. It tries to convince you that you are smarter or
better than other people.
This occurs when one event is said to be the cause of another event just because the two events
happened in sequence. You cannot assume that an event caused whatever happened afterward.
An anecdote is a personal story or observation that illustrates a point.
These are specific instances or illustrations of a general idea that most people would accept as
true.
Statements that can be proven true; some facts are in the form of statistics or numerical
information.
This approach assumes the truth of a statement before it has been proven. Typically, it is a
restatement of opinion using different words. It is often called circular reasoning because the
argument goes in a circle and never proves anything.
An opinion that challenges the reasoning behind an argument and shows that there are grounds
for taking an opposite view.
To prove something to be false or someone to be in error through logical argument or by
providing evidence to the contrary. You need a rebuttal to have an effective counterclaim.
http://www.docstoc.com/docs/22803091/Persuasive-Appeals-and-Logical-Fallacies