THE POWER OF WORDS

POW LINE

How many of you have ever done the following:– Begged your parents to stay home from school– Asked your parents for spending money– Asked for a treat, a toy, or new outfit from the

store– Pleaded with your teacher to go easy when

grading or for another day for a project or test

Well, guess what you did…

You have been practicing argumentative techniques using the art of persuasion!

Persuasion is defined as communication that is intended to make its audience adopt a certain opinion or pursue an action or do both through appeals to reason or emotion

How Is Persuasion An Art?

How do effective writers create argumentative essays using persuasive techniques?

• With Art techniques, one can go from good to great by immersing oneself in knowledge and through practice.

• With Persuasion and Argumentative Writing, one must immerse themselves in knowledge and practice to skillfully craft their words into a logical order with facts to support, in order to convince those around them. This task becomes increasingly more difficult when attempting to persuade one who is educated especially in the topic of discussion.

Who Came Up With This Crazy Thing Called Persuasion/Argument?

Back when the world was being discovered scholars, religious leaders, and political figures used Rhetoric in order to convince others of their beliefs and discoveries.

Many of the influential figures who further developed the techniques of persuasion were of Greek and Roman decent.

According to Aristotle, rhetoric “is the faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion.”

In more simple terms rhetoric is discovering how to use language effectively to please, persuade, and argue one’s point.

One such influential man was called Aristotle.

Why Should We Care About What Some Dead Guys Did?

Persuasion equals power. Power to do good, or unfortunately Power to do bad.

How Do You Create a Powerful Argumentative Message?

Parts of an Argument

• Claim- Your argument• Position- Point of view or opinion on an issue• Logical Order- series or sequence that makes

sense, where one idea flows naturally into the next

• Evidence (Round 1,2, POW Moment)- facts, quotes, examples and other information supporting an opinion; information helpful in forming a conclusion or judgment

Parts of the Argument Continued

• Objections- reasons against something or objecting to something

• Counter Argument (Knock Back)- A reason or a line of reasoning given in opposition to another argument; an objection to an objection; a rebuttal

• Call to Action (Do This Please)- A statement usually found towards the end of a piece of rhetoric, that urges the audience to act through accepting the given position or to physically do something

• Tone-Attitude a writer takes in a piece of writing or toward a subject; way of speaking

POW LineBEG

INNIN

G

MIDDLE

END

Kno

ck B

ack

Rou

nd 2

Tell

Rou

nd 1

Sho

w

POW! Moment

Do

This

, Ple

ase

Sh

ake

(Fo

r le

tter

s o

nly

)

Sha

ke(F

or le

tter

s on

ly)

Lead

POW!• Shake (only in letters)- thank your opponent for something;

flatter him or her Or

• Lead- A sentence that draws your reader in without telling the topic

• Show- Use Dialogue and interaction to intro topic• Tell- Your opinion• Round 1 - Your first Reason• Round 2 - Your second Reason• POW Moment - knockdown opponent with strongest

argument• Knock Back - your opponent’s predicted final argument• Do This Please - Asking your reader to act• Shake (only in letters) - Make Nice Again

Step 1: Shake/Lead

• Shake: Start your LETTER by making nice, so your opponent won’t feel attacked. Mention how he or she helped you in the past. Use flattery, or state your trust in your opponent’s judgment.

• Shake again to end your letter.• Lead: Start out your ESSAY with a “hook”

Shake

Shake

Attention Getting Leads

• Dialogue- “ Ralph, can you spot Denise? asked my mom.

• Small Movement- We waved wildly from the back of the auditorium.

• A Thought or Feeling- It was true. All the kids looked alike.

• Startling Fact or Statistic- 23% of schools have or are planning school uniforms.

Step 2: Show

• Relate an experience• Use interaction and dialogue to create or recall

a short experience that illustrates or shows your problem.

• Make up portions you can’t remember, or create a realistic scene that shows the problem. End the scene by stating this could happen if your point of view is not considered.

Show

Step 3: Tell

• State your position• Tell what you want to happen

Step 4: Round1 & Round 2• Jot down first and second reasons to defend

your point of view

Tell

Round 1

Round 2

Step 5: POW Moment

• Choose your strongest and most convincing reason or argument

• Your opponent should be knocked down by the power of this one persuasive point

MIDDLEBEGINNING END

POW! Moment

Step 6: Knock Back

• Your POW moment should have ended the match, but your opponent will attempt a final comeback.

• Your job is to PREDICT what this final argument will be and KNOCK IT BACK with a decisive and commanding rebuttal.

Knock

Back

Step 7: Do This Please

• Tell your readers what you want or do not want them to do• Do it nicely, please!• Also named “Call to Action”

Do T

his

Ple

ase

Don’t Forget…

Signal Words tell readers that

something important is

coming or something is

changing.

• There’s More Important Info:– Keep in mind– Remember that– It’s important note– Further more– Moreover– Also– First– In Addition– Most Important– Sometimes

• Something is Changing– However– Otherwise– On the other hand– Rather than– Although– While– Yet– With this is mind– For all the reasons– Despite this

Example

Your goal this unit is to become Masters of Rhetoric, where by convincing me, the keeper of grades, through the use of different argumentative techniques!

Remember the POW! Line You must include the following in your argumentative

letter/essay: Shake/Lead Show Tell Round 1 Round 2 POW! Moment Knock Back Call to Action Final Shake/Reflection