SURVEY LIT

Rhetoric: The Art of Persuasion

SOAPS

●Speaker: What qualifies you to speak about the subject? Does your audience know this or does it need to be mentioned?

●Occasion: What background information is needed to understand why this argument is being made? (context)

●Audience: Who are you trying to convince? What are their likes, dislikes, prejudices?

●Purpose: What are you trying to convince your audience to think and/or do?

●Subject: What is the topic that you are making a specific argument about?

Rhetorical Modes

●How are you going to convince your audience to feel and think the way you want them to about you (speaker) and your subject?○Logos: Logical Arguments○Pathos: Emotional Reactions○Ethos: Establishing Credibility

LOGOS

●Logic: To infer/deduce a conclusion from known facts

●Often structured in the form of syllogisms●Syllogism= two statements (premises) that

logically lead to a conclusion (think verbal proofs)○ The War on Drugs is a major cause of tension between black males and the

police. (Major)○ The tension between black males and the police should be decreased.

(Minor)○ Therefore, the War on Drugs must end. (Conclusion)○ All men are mortal. (Major)○ Socrates is a man. (Minor)○ Therefore, Socrates is mortal. (Conclusion)

LOGOS

● For logic to work, your premises (claims) must be true

● Claims that are not commonly assumed should be supported by evidence○ Established facts ○ Statistics (quantitative evidence)○ Anecdotes○ Examples

● Acknowledging or refuting a counterargument

PATHOS

●To cause the audience to have an emotional reaction that makes them identify or sympathize with the speaker, group, or cause. Alternatively, it can cause the audience to feel negatively about the opposing speaker, group, or cause.

●Often accomplished with language/images○Association/Connotation○Tone○Sensory details

●“In the blink of an eye, her husband and the father of her children was ripped out of her life by a drunk driver who thought taking a cab was too much of an ‘inconvenience.’”

PATHOS

●Humans respond powerfully to emotion, and the use of pathos can make a logical argument more persuasive and memorable in a way that logic alone cannot

●However, an argument with very little logical substance or support that heavily relies on evoking an emotional reaction is considered propaganda

ETHOS

●Convinces the audience that the speaker (or whoever he/she is referencing) is worth trusting

●Speaker: Mention prior accomplishments, prior relationships, credentials

●“I spent 10 years as a community organizer, so I have walked with you and know what you want and need to happen in this country.”

ETHOS

●Sources: Cite reliable organizations, experts, scholars, beloved/influential current and historical figures

●“The American Academy of Pediatrics has done numerous studies that have found NO link between autism and vaccination.”

Propaganda

●Information spread in order to persuade the audience to support or reject a person, organization, or cause

●Often pretends to be unbiased when it is, in fact, very biased

●Often uses lies or falsely represented information

●Often makes bold assertions without proving them

●Often abuses the three modes of persuasion

False Logic (Logos)

●False Dilemma (Either/or)●The Lesser of Two Evils●Assertion●Straw Man

False Dilemma

●Reduces a complex argument to a small number of alternatives and concluding that only one option is appropriate.

●Ex 1- “You are either with us or against us.”●Ex. 2- “If you are pro-choice, you must be

pro-abortion.”●Ex. 3- “You can subscribe to Politics

Magazine, or you can stay uninformed.”

False Dilemma

The Lesser of Two Evils

●When trying to push for an unpleasant option, offers an even worse alternative framed as the only other choice.

●Ex. 1- “Senator Williams may have lied under oath, but at least he never embezzled money from his campaign like his opponent.”

●Ex. 2- “Unilateral invasion of Iraq may not be ideal, but it is better than having the United States attacked by a Saddam-supported terrorist group.”

Assertion

●Simply stating a debatable idea as a fact, with no qualification or explanation

●Ex. 1- “The Middle East will never be at peace.”

●Ex. 2- “A record number of hurricanes have been caused by global warming.”

●Ex. 3- “Verizon has a superior network to AT&T.”

Assertion

Card Stacking

●Propaganda that gives an unfair advantage to one point of view, while weakening another under the guise of presenting both sides

●Usually honest in terms of information shared, but often misleading by obscure other important information

●Ex. 1- A debate on global warming is organized by a group dedicated to eliminating carbon emissions. Invited to represent the pro-limits side is a well-known, eloquent speaker. Invited to the anti-limits side is a fringe scientist known for his exotic theories and obnoxious behavior.

Card Stacking

Straw Man

●Creates an exaggerated or inaccurate version of an opponent’s views and attacks THAT instead of the real argument

●Ex 1- My opponent for class president says that he think athletics are a complete waste of time, and that only academic activities should receive school funding

●Ex 2- A lot of people are saying that the Stimulus was a complete failure. Well, 1 million people that have jobs because of it would disagree.

Emotional Manipulation (Pathos)

●Transfer/association●Pinpointing the enemy●Name-calling●Glittering generalities●Euphemisms

Glittering Generalities

●Uses appealing, but vague words without context or definition to provoke feelings in the audience.

●Ex. 1- “I stand for freedom; for a strong nation, unrivaled in the world. My opponent believes we must compromise on these ideals, but I believe they are our birthright.”

•Freedom•Liberty•Strength•Security•Prosperity•Choice•Equality•Change•Family•Life

Glittering Generalities

Name Calling

●Using negative words to disparage an enemy in place of logical arguments.

●“Obama is a socialist who likes to pal around with terrorists.”

●“Rush Limbaugh is a right-wing gasbag.”●“Clearly, my opponent’s anarchist

suggestions will not help to solve the current crisis.”

Name Calling

Pinpointing the Enemy

●Oversimplifies a complex problem by pointing out a single cause or a single enemy who can be blamed.

●Ex. 1- “McDonald’s is to blame for the obesity epidemic in America.”

●Ex. 2- “Wal-Mart is responsible for the destruction of small businesses in this country.”

●Ex. 3- “Videogames are the cause of teen violence.”

Pinpointing the Enemy

Transfer/Association

●Encourages the transfer of feelings and associations from one idea, symbol or person to the next

●Ex. 1- “Baseball, hot dogs, and apple pie; they go together in the good ole’ USA.”

●Ex. 2- “Barack Hussein Obama has a lot of ideas for this country, and I just don’t want to hear ‘em.”

Transfer/Association

False Credibility (Ethos)

●Plain folk/Common man●Testimonial●Bandwagon●Ad hominem

Bandwagon

●Manipulates the instinct of most people to belong to the majority group and dislike being left out

●Ex. 1- “Five million members and counting!”●Ex. 2- “Thousands of satisfied customers

can’t be wrong.”●Ex. 3- “Most scientists believe global

warming is a result of human activity.”

Bandwagon

Plain Folk

●Gains the public confidence by positioning a person or product with “ordinary people” not with “them”

●Propagandists will try to appear to be like “everyone else” by:○ Using slang phrases or intentionally making

mistakes in their speaking○ Extreme sentimentality (tears)○ Shyness or reluctance○ Photo opportunities going shopping with family or

chopping wood or other such “normal” activities

Plain Folk

Testimonials

●Testimonials have people that we trust (even if that trust is based on recognition rather than true credibility) endorse a product or person

●Athletic shoes●Wheaties●Celebrities endorsing causes

Testimonials

Ad Hominem

●Literally means “to the man”●Attacking the personal qualities of your

opponent even if they have nothing to do with his/her argument

●“President Clinton wants to expand coverage for Medicaid, but this is a guy who cheated on his wife with a White House intern!”

●“You think I should do my homework, Mom, but you’re one to talk- you just got a ticket for speeding the other day!”

Overt and Covert (Messages)

●OVERT○something that is out in the open○What you see is what you get○What is seen○The literal meaning

●COVERT○Hint; inference○Reading between the lines○Secret or hidden

Sources

●Shabo, Magedah. Techniques of Propaganda and Persuasion. 2008. Prestwick.