Logic
Propaganda – Persuasive Devices
SPI. 3002.5.5 Select the persuasive device
Identify and analyze persuasive devices that are
used in written and oral communication (e.g.,
bandwagon, loaded words, testimonial, name-calling,
plain folks, snob appeal, misuse of statistics,
transfer).
Are you an unthinker?
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Rhetoric is the art of persuading someone. Unless you live
as a hermit, totally isolated from people, rhetoric is a vital
skill. Propaganda is a subset of rhetoric, in which they
speaker/writer attempts to manipulate the audience with
emotion or fallacious reasoning.
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Propaganda is commonly found in speeches and writings of
politicians and lawyers, as well as in advertising. In other
words, propaganda is commonly used by experts in
convincing people.
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Because of propaganda’s appeal to emotion, use of
fallacious reasoning, and appeal to membership in groups,
propaganda appeals to an audience that is either irrational
or unthinking (Standler, 2).
Persuasive Devices
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Bandwagon
Loaded words
Testimonial
Name-calling
Plain folks
Snob appeal
Misuse of statistics
Anecdotes
Emotional appeal
Transfer
Bandwagon

Do it because everyone else is –
copycat.
Loaded words

strong emotional
overtones or
connotations, ...
Loaded language is
often used by news
broadcasters as
a propaganda
technique
Testimonial

A famous person
recommends a product.
If they use it you should
too.
Name-calling – insults the
competition
Plain folk –
appeals to
the regular
guy. – He is
just like you
wearing
Wrangler.
Snob appeal – appeals to the rich or
wanna-be rich
Misuse of statistics
Skewing graphs and charts to fit their
needs.
 This real estate graph from the New
York Times has zoomed in on the area
from 100-150 and magnified the
growth in the last 15 years

2012 election fact checker
Compare the statistics
Emotional appeal

Appealing to one’s
emotions to sell a
product or idea.
Transfer
Transfer is the process of getting you
to feel the same way about the
product that you feel about something
else.
 Transfer clip
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Propaganda in
History
North Korea
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Israel
Sower of Peace
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Politics!!!!
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Naziism –
Joseph Goebbels reflects on the past year during World War II. He implies
that the Nazis are innocent and concludes: Therefore in this hour as we
bid farewell to a great year and enter a new one, the homeland greets the
front. We greet soldiers in bunkers and the front lines, at airbases and in the
navy. The homeland and the front join in a common greeting to the Führer.
May a gracious fate keep him healthy and strong; then we will look with
assurance into the future. Today more than ever he is Germany, the faith of
our people, and the certainty of its future. We bow in honor before the great
sacrifices of our people. The sacrifices of the past and those yet to come
must not be in vain. We owe that to the Reich and its future.
As we raise our hearts in grateful thanks to the Almighty, we ask his gracious
protection in the coming year. We do not want to make it difficult for him to
give us his blessing. We want to work and fight, and say with that Prussian
General: “Lord, if you cannot help us or choose not to, we ask at least that
you do not help our damned enemies!”
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Use these techniques in an
advertisement
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In your groups you have will have 15 minutes to create an
advertisement.
You will be given a product to advertise with the persuasive
device you need to use to persuade the reader to purchase
your product.
You may create a magazine advertisement with pictures and
words or create a 30 second live action commercial.
You may use anything in the room for this project.
Be prepared to present your advertisement to the class.
Each person must take on a role in the group. Read the
instructions for the role you are assigned. I will be grading
not only your success of the advertisement but also the way
you carry out your personal role.
Works Cited
• http://www.rbs0.com/propaganda.pdf