Quick Write
 Is failure something that is necessary in
life? How have you learned from failure?
English 11 Honors
Taking a Stand
Persuasive Vocabulary
Unit Objectives
 To identify persuasive techniques in
informational texts and our world
Summative Assessment
A group project that looks at persuasion in
the world today. You will have an
individual component in the project. Your
research will be presented to the class.
We will look at the Revolutionary time
period and how persuasion was used at
the start of our country.
Persuasion:
a type of speaking or writing that is
intended to make its audience adopt a
certain opinion, perform a certain action, or
do both.
RHETORICAL DEVICES
Pathos –
 an appeal to the audience’s emotions.
Sometimes we come to believe
something or to act upon something just
because of a gut feeling or an appeal to
our emotions. For example, we may act
out of fear, greed, love and compassion.
Logos –
 an appeal to the audience’s sense of
logic. Sometimes it just seems logical to
believe or do something because the
speaker or writer offers facts, quotations
and/or statistics from reliable experts.
Ethos  an appeal based on someone’s
credibility. Sometimes we believe
something simply because someone we
trust tells us it is true or act upon
something because that person says we
should.
PERSUASIVE TECHNIQUES
Charged Words
 Charged words are words with strong
connotations beyond their literal meaning that
are likely to produce an emotional response.
 Tyranny (evokes a feeling of fear, suggests living in
a state of terror)
 Liberty (suggests an ideal life characterized by
freedom)
 Justice (can be associated with freedom and
equality)
 Honor (evokes a sense of morality and dignity)
 From Donald Trump’s position paper on Immigration Reform:
“When politicians talk about ‘immigration reform’ they mean:
amnesty, cheap labor and open borders. The Schumer-Rubio
immigration bill was nothing more than a giveaway to the
corporate patrons who run both parties.”
Rhetorical question
 Rhetorical question/questions are the
questions the speaker asks the audience.
However, the audience internalizes the
answer. Nothing is answered orally.
Restatement
 Restatement is stating the same idea in
different words
 On Hillary Clinton’s position paper on
campaign reform she is stressing the income
gap. Note her word choice:
 Wealthy, well-connected, big money, billionaires
 Regular voters, everyday voters, cross-section of
voters
 https://www.hillaryclinton.com/issues/campaignfinance-reform/
Repetition
 Repetition is repeating the exact same
words over again.
Parallelism
 Parallelism refers to the repeated use of
phrases, clauses, or sentences that are similar
in structure or meaning. Writers use this
technique to emphasize important ideas,
create rhythm, and make their writing more
forceful and direct.
 From John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Speech:
Let every nation know, whether it wishes us
well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear
any burden, meet any hardship, support
any friend, oppose any foe to assure the
survival and the success of liberty.
 Parallelism is verb + “any” + noun
Exclamation
 Also used in some speeches is the use of
the exclamation (or highly emotional or
provocative statements)
 May or may not include an exclamation mark
 Make America Great Again!
Bandwagon
 A fallacy based on the assumption that the opinion of
the majority is always valid: everyone believes it, so
you should too.
 This persuades us by inviting us to “jump on the
bandwagon” and be part of the “in” crowd.
Appeal to Authority
 A fallacy in which a speaker seeks to
persuade, not by giving evidence but by
appealing to the respect people have for
the famous or highly respected.
Exaggeration
 To represent as greater than is actually
the case; overstate
Call to Action
 Words that urge the reader or listener to
take an immediate action, such as "Write
Now," "Call Now," or (on Internet) "Click
Here.“
Patriotism:
 appeals to one’s love of
country over self to persuade
Formative Assessment
 From the video at the beginning of the
hour, does Marcus Zusak convince you
that failure is necessary? How did he
use logos, pathos and/or ethos? Do you
remember? 