References:
Wyrick, J. (2010). Steps to Writing Well with additional readings. Boston, MA: Wadsworth Pub Co.
Chapter 10: Argumentation
Developing the Essay:
- Focused on a specific topic; narrow and define your subject
- Choose an appropriate subject within the overall controversy
- Research your topic thoroughly
- Write down a list of pros and cons
- Anticipate the opposing views so that you can address them in your argument
- Remember the audience because it is to them you are presenting your argument
- Organize your essay clearly
- Backing up your argument with logical and emotional appeals:
- give real or hypothetical examples
- present a comparison or contrast
- show cause-and-effect
- argue by definition
- Offer evidence that effectively supports your claim, such as:
- personal experience
- testimonies of others (especially whose opinions are prominent to the topic such as experts)
- factual information based on research
- statistics
- Try to include charts, graphs, or diagrams to illustrate your point
- Do not alienate your readers, change your tone when trying to persuade them (Try Carl Rogers debate technique)
Most common fallacies to avoid when writing a persuasive essay:
- Avoid logical and irrational emotional appeals to persuade your readers
- Avoid generalization
- Do not base topics of off insufficient or unsupported evidence
- Non sequitur - do not base your conclusion on a perceived result of the facts
- Do not present opinions as true statements unless you can support it with solid evidence
- Do no divert the reader’s attention with an irrelevant point
- Do not employ political tactics to you support your point (i.e. attacking the opponent's character rather than the argument)
- Steer clear of fault evidence
- Ad populum - do not try to appeal to the people's emotional reactions on certain subjects to evade the issues
- Do not try to convince your readers that there is only one right answer-yours.
- Do not only present "one voice" - hypostatization - using an abstract concept as if it were a concrete reality.
- Avoid the bandwagon appeal i.e. trying to validate a point by illustrating that "everyone believes this".
- Avoid using the weakest or most insignificant point to argue against in effort to divert the reader’s attention (such as President Nixon did in 1952 when he address the nation with his cocker spaniel diversion, when he was accused of misappropriating campaign funds for his personal use)
- Avoid using analogies as an extended comparison as proof of your point
- Avoid leaning too heavily on catch slogans - do not try to oversimplify your argument
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