1950's Cigarette Ad

Persuasive Writing

You don't need jedi mind tricks when you have the art of persuasion.

    Today you are going to be creating persuasive artifacts for your multi-genre projects. The main purpose of persuasive writing is to give an opinion and then attempt to influence your audience's way of thinking of the topic through the use of multiple persuasive devices. Basically, you're writing to sell people on an idea, yourself, or a product.

There are many devices you can use to persuade in your work, these include:
— An anecdote
— Rhetorical questions (a question which is not meant to be answered)
— Humor
— A sense of urgency (Act now! Help is needed! etc.)
— Research / facts
— Statistics / numbers
— Rebuttal/Counter attack (This takes an argument from the opposing side and explains why it is not a problem)
— Presenting challenges to be overcome (ex: Having a hard time making friends, spilling soda on the table, being unhappy, etc.)
— Use of color
— Sex appeal
— The use of trusted figures.
— Body language
— The idea of a "better life".
— Reaching goals or dreams.
— Nostalgia (a sentimental want for return to or of some past period)
— Visually (pretty, handsome, cute, etc.) appealing places, people, or things.
— Familiar or easily related to.
— Music
— Repetition
— Making you feel personally responsible
— Fear
— Guilt
— Hope
— Joining in
— Bribery
—Explicit claims
— Testimonials
— Charisma
— Flattery
— Newness
— A warning against opposing views, and / or negative possibilities they hold or could cause.
— Glittering generalities (a vague word or phrase used to evoke positive feelings rather than to convey information, such as love, health, freedom, motherhood, etc.)
— Providing a "cure"

    To see some of these "in action" watch this video with the annotations on:

    All of those elements can be used to persuade someone through writing, and hence, through your multi-genre project. So now, you get to decide what kinds of persuasive writing you want to do. Here is a list of your options:
— Debate Script
— Facebook Page with a Persuasive Purpose
— Infomercial
— Letter to the Editor
— Letter of Recommendation
— Magazine Advertisement
— Personal/ Want Ad
— Persuasive Pamphlet
— Political Speech
— Propaganda Poster
— Wanted Poster
— Commercial
— Others with teacher permission