ENG 111 College Composition I
Lori Johnson
Unit 3 – Persuasive Essay – Introduction to Persuasion
Persuasive writing is considered to be one of the most difficult forms of writing. Why? Because
composing a thoughtful, effective persuasive essay is a complex task. It involves not only a lot of ideas
that you will have to understand that are foundational to the art of persuasion, but also a number of
techniques you will have to master and learn to demonstrate. All that, in addition to the subject matter
you will choose for your topic!
We will cover persuasive writing very thoroughly in ENG 112. But for now, we are going to move slowly
through the discussion of persuasion, and I will share with you a simple technique that will help you
begin mastering this difficult writing form.
First, a little history.
The advent of classical Greek rhetoric is commonly considered to have begun with Corax of Syracuse
(not New York!), who first formulated a set of rhetorical rules in the fifth century BCE (that does not
mean the art of rhetoric began then, it only means that classical Greek rhetoric began then). Corax’s
student, Tisias, was influential in the development of courtroom rhetoric. This was quite an important
skill to have, as at the time there was no such a thing as a lawyer, and if you had a legal dispute before a
judge you were on your own. Tisias may have been the teacher of Isocrates, who fell into the “paid”
Sophist camp (as opposed to the “unpaid” Socratic camp) and sought to teach the art of rhetoric to
those who could pay for the skillful use of words (which may not have always coincided with the truthful
use of words, hence the pejorative term “sophistry”). However, within a few decades of Isocrates’ time,
“rhetoric had become an important art, its growth driven by the social and political changes, such as
democracy and the courts of law” (Wikipedia on Isocrates).
In the 4th century BCE Aristotle, that most eminent of ancient scholars, defined rhetoric as the power “of
observing in any given case the available means of persuasion” (On Rhetoric, 1.2.26). He was a tutor of
Alexander the Great. He was a student of Plato (who himself was a student of Socrates) and an arch
enemy of Isocrates, or so it seemed, until the end of his book Phaedrus, in which he seems to be praising
Isocrates (though some scholars read that as pure sarcasm). Aristotle and Isocrates had very different
ideas about what could, and should, be accomplished by rhetoric, and they had opportunity for some
finely crafted public arguments in their day. See Wikipedia on Isocrates, Aristotle, and Plato for brief but
intelligent discussions.
Most of what I understand about rhetoric comes from reading Aristotle On Rhetoric, about two lightyears ago. In preparation to share some things with you, I have found some important information that I
need to digest and “translate” for you as you open your eyes to what truly constitutes a “rhetorical
situation.” But now, to get you started on your persuasive essay, let us turn to a simple technique called
the Four Square Writing Method. You can read about it here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Square_Writing_Method
On the next page you will see this method represented graphically.
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ENG 111 College Composition I
Lori Johnson
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ENG 111 College Composition I
Lori Johnson
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