Persuasion Notes

Mrs. Ts 10th Grade English

Name: ___________________________________________

Pd. ________

What is Persuasive Writing?

Persuasion takes many forms

Commercials, billboards, cartoons, newspaper stories, etc.

Any type of writing that attempts to persuade us to

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

Any type of writing that involves an

_________________________________________

Point of View

Every piece of writing including persuasive writing, comes from a specific

__________________ or _________________________

Ex.

Have you ever known a couple who broke up? If you talk to both people
from the relationship, you will likely get two different accounts of how
and why they broke up.

All ______________________ writing has a point of view

If its your paper, it will be from your point of view, of course. If its by
someone else, it is important to look at that point of view.

If a piece is telling how a political candidate is a brilliant,

highly talented leader, it is important to know that it is
being written from the point of view of the campaign
manager.

If a piece tells how the same candidate is an incompetent

nincompoop, it is important to know that it is being
written from the point of view of her opponents campaign
manager.

P.O.V. Examples

Cinderellas p.o.v.

My dad used to have good taste in women. He married my beautiful,

kind mother, didnt he? After she died, though, he settled for my
stepmom, who is nothing but a mean, hateful old hag.

Wicked step-mothers p.o.v.

When I first met my husband, I should have known he was too good
to be true. If I had known then that Id be saddled with his lazy,
worthless stepdaughter, I would never have agreed to marry him.

The Dead Greeks

Socrates, Plato, an Aristotle developed and refined the art of

______________________.

They believed that ___________________ or _____________ was the highest form

of discussion and that it could eventually reveal the highest ideals or truths.

Many of ancient Greece would gather or walk around and literally argue for
the sake of ___________________________________.

Those who could argue both sides of an issue, regardless of their own beliefs,
were _________________________________________

Socrates

Invented the art of _________________________ discussion

After inheriting money upon the death of his father, he devoted his life to
engaging in discussion with young people from wealthy families in Athens.

He questioned their confidence in the truth of popular ____________________.

Because of his insight into moral character and popular opinion of the time,
Socrates had a very loyal following of _____________________________________.

However, parents were leery of his influence

He was eventually charged with

______________________________________________________________________________
.

He was convicted and sentenced to _____________________.

Socrates killed himself by drinking _____________________ while surrounded by

friends and family.

Most of what is known about his idea comes from the writings of
______________________.

Plato

Student of ______________________

He also studied under _____________________________

Established his own ___________________ in Athens

Asked difficult questions Is it ever justified to defy the rules of the state?

Most famous work, ____________________________

Aristotle

Spent ________ years studying at Platos Academy in Athens.

He became a ______________________ himself and created his own school

Spent his life examining various topics such as ______________, philosophy,

ethics, _______________, biology, psychology, _____________, and rhetoric.

The First Amendment

Like the ancient Greeks, the founders of the United States believed in the
importance of ___________________________________________.

They believed such freedom would allow a marketplace of ideas, where any
idea could be thrown out for discussion.

The First Amendment to the Constitution protects our rights to freedom of

______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

Universities

Higher education began in __________ B.C. when Plato created his ancient
Greek Academy.

Students were taught to discuss and debate difficult questions such as, What
is the meaning of life?

Eventually this discipline of debate and discussion became the center of a

__________________ education, which is the foundation of many of todays
universities.

Even today on university and college campuses across the country, you can
find groups of students engaged in lively debates with their teachers.

Congress

Before a bill can become law, it is debated and discussed in committee

meetings or on the floor of the
____________________________________________________________

The result is the legislators can change minds or create compromises that
ultimately ensure a bills passage into law.

_____________________, argument, and persuasion grease the wheels of

government.

Fact vs. Opinion

To write a persuasive paper, you must present an ______________________.

Youve got to make a point and try to convince others that your opinion is the
correct one.

For example, you cant write a persuasive paper about, say, penguins. You
might right a report on penguins, or an informative paper. However, you
would not be trying to persuade readers of anything. You would just be telling
them about penguins.

Papers that persuade must be filled with facts and opinions.

What is fact?

A fact is
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

For example:

You can confirm that sea water tastes salty (Simply have someone take
a sip of it).

You can confirm that Johnny Depp was in Pirates of the Caribbean (Go
to the video store and check out a copy)

What is an opinion?

______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

See the difference

It is fact that some tomatoes are red / It is an opinion that tomatoes

taste disgusting

It is a fact that The Simpsons is a t.v. show / It is an opinion that it is

the funniest cartoon on t.v.