ARISTOTLE’S MODEL OF
PERSUASION
The Art of Persuasion
Table of Contents
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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”
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What kind of evidence appeals to logic?
Definitions
 Factual data and statistics
 Quotations taken from a valid source
 Informed opinions
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What effects does logos have on readers?
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Evokes a cognitive, rational response
Ethos
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What must you do to develop Ethos?
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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
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
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How do you appeal to Pathos?
Vivid, emotionally loaded language
 Narratives
 Figurative language
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What effect does Pathos have on the reader?
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Evokes an emotional response
What is an argument?
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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?
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Directly opposes the argument just stated
Writer must remain neutral and provide evidence
(logos, ethos, pathos) for support
What is a Refutation?
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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
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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
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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.
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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?
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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?)
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Check for accuracy.
Are arguments very one-sided with no
acknowledgement of other viewpoints?
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How timely is the source? Is the source 20 years out
of date?
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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
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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.
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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
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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.
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Example:
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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:
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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 academicallyoriented 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”
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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 ejournals.
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
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Rewrite one of these thesis statements and put it
through the gauntlet.
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Something is wrong with the economy.
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Eggs make a tastier breakfast than cereal does.
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Our major modes of transportation will change
entirely in the twenty-first century.
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Trade your thesis with a partner and have him/her
put it through the thesis gauntlet.
Table of Contents
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Persuasive Topic Sentences
Evidence
Analysis
Transitions
Persuasive Topic Sentences
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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
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Thesis
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Drilling in Alaska must be made illegal because of the previous
destruction caused by the Exxon Valdez oil spill.
Topic Sentences
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The United States cannot allow drilling to occur in Alaska because
modern drilling practices still cannot guarantee there would not be any
spillage.
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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.
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OR
 Homework
should not be given to high school students.
Persuasive Evidence
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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
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Thesis
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Topic Sentences
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Drilling in Alaska must be made illegal because of the previous destruction
caused by the Exxon Valdez oil spill.
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).
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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
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You must authorize your evidence:
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Tell why your author is a reliable person to listen to:
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OR
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Tell why your source is valid:
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Mr. Smart was a graduate from Harvard with a degree in environmental
studies. He claims that…
On the website for the Museum of Tolerance, the statistic…
Embed your evidence into your authorization!!!!
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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
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In your analysis, use your evidence to persuade your
audience to side with you.
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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
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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…
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Analysis will be around 3-4 sentences
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Let your quotes do the work; that is why you must choose strong quotes!
Example
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). 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
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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…
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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…
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Introducing a new “set”
 Another
reason…
 Also…
 In
addition…
 __________ also believes…
Counterargument
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3-5 sentences directly countering your argument.
Remain neutral and present the other side.
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Example:
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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
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The opposing side fails to show that environmental
damage due to spillage will impact the American
people greatly. (Quote and Analysis)