Terms to Know

PERSUASION AND

ARGUMENTATION

Ad Hominem (Fallacy)•An attack “on the person” rather than an attack on his/her ideas or reasoning•Sometimes includes name calling

Analogy•An illustrative comparison between things that have a similar function or structure•Often uses the words like or as

Anecdote (Evidence)•An anecdote is a tale involving real life events, a true story. To support a contention, and to make themselves appear more credible, writers often use personal anecdotes. •Sometimes a logical appeal; sometimes an emotional appeal

Aphorism•A widely accepted truth•A maxim; a proverb; an adage

Appeal to Authority (Fallacy)•A suggestion that the audience should agree with an idea because a respected authority happens to believe it•Ex: The world’s greatest scientist, Sir Isaac Newton, believed that iron could be turned into gold, so who are we to question the idea?

Appeal to Emotion (pathos)• An attempt to persuade using the manipulation of the recipient's emotions, rather than valid logic, to win an argument.•Touch the audience’s hearts• Encompasses several logical fallacies

Appeal to Ethics (ethos)•Ethical appeal is used to establish the writer/speaker as fair, open-minded, community minded, moral, honest. The writer/speaker creates a sense of him or herself as trustworthy, honorable, and credible.

Appeal to Fear (Fallacy)• A fallacy in which a person attempts to create support for an idea by using deception and propaganda in attempts to increase fear and prejudice toward a competitor. The appeal to fear is common in marketing and politics.•Emotional Appeal

Appeal to Logic (logos)•Persuasion that appeals to the audience’s intellect•Provide a “smart” argument•Specific evidence, statistics and facts, expert opinions, and support for the topic are examples of logical appeals

Bandwagon Appeal (Fallacy)•Bandwagon is an appeal to the subject to follow the crowd, to join in (or to buy, or to believe) because others are doing so as well. •Emotional Appeal

Caricature (Satire Technique)•Exaggeration of a physical feature or trait•Seen in editorial cartoons and other satirical visual art

Counterargument•A viewpoint that opposes your main argument. •Counterarguments are part of good persuasive writing and speaking strategy because they show that you've considered other points of view. •They also set up the chance to refute the opposition and show why your position is the right one to have. •Placing a counterargument in your persuasive piece increases your ethos (credibility) because it shows fairness.

Credibility (Source)•Credentials and other qualifications that indicate whether a source is reliable or not

Double Speak•Language that deliberately disguises, distorts, or reverses the meaning of words. •May take the form of euphemisms (e.g., "downsizing" for layoffs), making the truth less unpleasant, without denying its nature.•It may also be used to intentionally confuse or reverse meaning.

Either/Or Fallacy•This logical fallacy involves a situation in which only two alternatives are considered, when in fact there are other options. •Also called false dichotomy, false dilemma

Euphemism•An inoffensive or indirect expression that is substituted for one that is considered offensive or too harsh•EX: Pre-owned vehicle instead of used car•See Double Speak

Exaggeration (Satire Technique)•To enlarge, increase, or represent something beyond normal bounds so that it becomes ridiculous and its faults can be seen.

Expert Opinion (Evidence)•To make a writer’s position seem more credible, they may quote the opinions of experts that correspond with their own. As in a court case, experts are often called on to make one side seem stronger and more believable. •Logical Appeal

Fact vs. Opinion•A fact can be verified/proven by consulting a reliable source or by personal observation

•An opinion cannot be proved, only supported by evidence and details

False Cause (Fallacy)•The presumption that a real or perceived relationship between things means that one is the cause of the other.•Many people confuse correlation (things happening together or in sequence) for causation (that one thing actually causes the other to happen). Sometimes correlation is coincidental, or it may be attributable to a common cause.

Flattery•Excessive and insincere praise, especially that given to further one's own interests.

Glittering Generalities (Fallacy)•Words that glitter and sparkle, while only stating generalities. •Give us a general or vague sense of what they are trying to sell; they just LOOK good. •Emotional Appeal

Hasty Generalization (Fallacy)•A conclusion based on insufficient or biased evidence. In other words, you are rushing to a conclusion before you have all the relevant facts. •Also called overgeneralization•Induction is the process of overgeneralizing

Incongruity (Satire Technique)•To present things that are out of place or are absurd in relation to their surroundings.•EX: A fish giving a lecture on water pollution

Innuendo• An indirect or subtle reference, especially one made maliciously or indicating criticism or disapproval; insinuation; hint

Loaded Language (Fallacy)•Diction that carries with it a heavy emotional charge.  •Loaded language usually contains words with strong positive or negative connotations that unfairly frame words into limited or biased contexts.   

Logical Fallacy•A logical fallacy is, roughly speaking, an error in reasoning. •When someone adopts a position, or tries to persuade someone else to adopt a position based on a bad piece of reasoning, they commit a fallacy.

Motivation (Author)•The underlying reason an author speaks/writes about an issue•Why is the issue especially important to the author?

Name Calling (Fallacy)•An attempt to discredit an opponent by labeling or describing him with words that have unfavorable connotations. • Name-calling directs attention to a person (specifically, his flaws), rather than a person’s ideas about an issue. 

Oversimplified Generalization•When you read/hear words like always, never, only,…you might be dealing with an oversimplified generalization. Be careful

Parallel Structure•The use of repeated grammatical form to emphasize a point•Purpose: To organize, to clarify, to stress•EX: Joe likes swimming, hiking, and jogging.

Parody•To imitate the techniques and/or the style of some person, place, or thing in order to ridicule the original.•May or may not be a satirical technique

Plain Folks Appeal (Fallacy)•The use of ordinary people to promote a product or a service (as opposed to a celebrity) OR•When a prominent political figure or celebrity acts like the “average Joe” in order to gain acceptance. Attempt to relate to the common people

Point of View•Objective: Unbiased information; just the facts (news articles, reference materials,…

•Subjective: Opinion. May be based on fact, but it’s the writer’s/speaker’s interpretation of the information (news editorials, reviews,…)

Propaganda•Biased, one-sided communication meant to influence the thoughts and actions of an audience. Methods used in propaganda are deceptive and misleading, and include lies/distortion of the truth, concealing contradictory information, and loaded language.

Props and Visual Aids WHY?To improve communication effectiveness

To improve audience's perceptions of the presenter

To improve speaker's confidence

Red Herring•A fallacy in which an irrelevant topic is presented in order to divert attention from the original issue. The basic idea is to "win" an argument by leading attention away from the argument and to another topic.

Repetition•The purpose of repetition is to drive home a point (sometimes unproven) by repeating it so often that the audience will accept it

Reversal (Satire Technique)•To present the opposite of the normal order•Can focus on the order of events, such as serving dessert before the entrée•Can focus on hierarchal order, such as a young child making the decisions for the family

Rhetoric•Using language effectively and persuasively in spoken or written form •The art of discourse, which studies and employs various methods to convince, influence, or please an audience.

Rumor•Talk or opinion widely disseminated with no discernible source

•A statement or report current without known authority for its truth

Sarcasm•A cutting, often ironic remark intended to wound.• A form of wit that is marked by the use of sarcastic language and is intended to make its victim the butt of contempt or ridicule.•More harsh than verbal irony

Satire•Type of persuasion that ridicules the foolishness and faults of individuals, an institution, society, or even humanity in general•The purpose of satire is to bring about social reform•Caricature, exaggeration, incongruity, parody, reversal, and wit are all satirical techniques

Slanting (Fallacy)•Ignoring the counterevidence•One-sided assessment•Suppressed evidence“He who knows only his own side of the case, knows little of that.”

Slogan•A short and striking or memorable phrase used in advertising

•A motto associated with a political party or movement or other group

Statistics/Facts (Evidence)•Like any form of evidence, statistics can be used to make an argument seem more conclusive, a writer’s opinion more valid. Often statistics are used that are out of context, or from unreliable sources.•Logical Appeal

Testimonial (Fallacy)(Faulty Use of Authority): A fallacy in which support for a standpoint or product is provided by a well-known or respected figure (e.g. a star athlete or entertainer) who is not an expert and who was probably well paid for the endorsement.

Understatement (Satire Technique)•A figure of speech in which the stated meaning is purposely less than (or under) what is really meant. •Opposite of exaggeration/hyperbole•EX: Donald Trump is a bit self-absorbed

Wit/Humor (Satire Technique)•Verbal cleverness; language that amuses, surprises, and delights