Articles of persuasion Writing in the persuasive style
An article of persuasion is a style of writing where your goal is to either convince or persuade someone to a new way of thinking or acting, or reinforce existing, complimentary actions or thoughts. From advertisers convincing us to buy products, to politicians addressing the public, to students convincing parents to allow more freedoms, we encounter persuasive writing techniques every day. Like an essay, an article of persuasion will consist of an introduction, a body, and a conclusion.
The introduction With lots of other options for an audience s attention, you need to draw them in and encourage them to keep reading. The introduction is the hook or teaser that draws a reader to your work.
Opening with an Exaggeration or Outrageous Statement. Attacked by Simulium, Saved by FOKA Tom Sheppard I have to report that I was attacked and left slashed and bleeding the other day, when I stepped outside in the early evening to breathe in the warm, clean air of Nova Scotia. And I wasn t alone. The culprit was Simulium venstrum, the dreaded black fly, who likes to bite open the skin and then feast on the blood, which wells up. I know that this is distressing information, given that this newspaper is read by children as well as adults, but it is important that the public be informed.
Opening with a Quotation Academic Rigour or Rhetorical Flash? Tomas Hurka Philosophers haven t always been impressed with journalists They vomit up their bile and call it newspaper, said Friedrich Nietzsche. But journalism can reply in a similar tone about academics: They can t hiccup without adding 10 pages of footnotes. Academic and journalistic writing certainly differ. Scholarly prose is long on care and short on charisma. Journalists especially opinion-piece writers trade rigour for rhetorical flash.
Opening with an Anecdote Dressed to Kill Robert Hough Ploughing through the crowd in his blue rayon trench coat, issuing directives in a deep, theatrical voice, Tony urges his people to stay together, to march in tandem, to show a united front. Josephine, meanwhile, governs the chants, her American accent amplified through a raised megaphone. What s our mission? Fur abolition! What s our mission? Fur abolition! Then subtly she introduces a different rhyme, insinuating new words into the vocal groove. No more cages, no more traps, no more fur on human backs! No more cages, no more traps, no more fur on human backs! Pinned to her grey polyester coat is a button reading, Fur, The Ultimate Sadist Symbol.
Opening with an unusual detail Logging on for Love - Elizabeth Wasserman We've long known that sex sells. Few, however, could have predicted that a computerized matchmaking program driven by a 439-question personality quiz would be a red hot ticket.
Opening with a question What McCain Didn't Know About Sarah Palin by Marc Ambinder A few days before John Kerry introduced John Edwards as his running mate, a select few members of Kerry's research staff were given five names, told to adopt the mindset of Republican opposition research, and to prepare a political dossier. What were the likeliest lines of attack that Republicans would use? What political pitfalls might the professional attorneys who conducted the vetting process have missed?
Opening with a strong statement. Great Disruption by Elizabeth Chiles Shelburne Oil has long been regarded as the commodity with the most potential for economic mischief, and the one around which much of the world s geopolitics revolves. But food is making a case for itself this year.
Opening with a Statistic or Fact About Facebook By Michael Hirschorn Facebook s announcement in May that it was opening its Web-development tools to outsiders has been the biggest news in the Web world since the arrival of YouTube, in 2005. The announcement came amid a massive increase in the number of Facebook s visitors it doubled to 26 million between September 2006 and May 2007 and a growing sense that MySpace s reign as the unchallenged kingpin of social media was coming to a close.
The Thesis statement The introduction should also include A THESIS STATEMENT. There are three objectives of a thesis statement: 1.It tells the reader the specific topic of your essay. 2.It imposes manageable limits on that topic. 3.It suggests the organization of your paper. Through the thesis, you should say to the reader: "I've thought about this topic, I know what I believe about it, and I know how to organize it."
The Body The Body of your essay is where you get down to business. This is where you organise and articulate the arguments that support your thesis.
There are a couple of accepted structures for the body Some prefer to place their strongest arguments first, descending to their less convincing points. Others prefer to bookend their articles: Strongest first, Third-best and subsequent points next, finishing with the second best argument. Some even prefer to offer a popular contrary argument, only to refute it. This tactic offers a semblance of balance and forces a contrarian to reply with a weaker argument.
Conclusions The conclusion is the last chance to make a lasting impression. Many successful conclusions will tie back to points made in the opening of the article, but not simply restate them. Instead, challenge your readers to take the next step - to keep thinking, or start acting on the statements you ve made. A good rule of thumb is to reinforce the thesis, tie up any loose ends, and drive your point home memorably.leave readers with the impression that you have offered a strong, convincing article of persuasion, and perhaps even a desire to go make a diffrence.