Professional Writing

Professional Writing Notes to Anderson, Chapter 5

Planning for Persuasion • Two kinds of persuasion • To influence other people’s attitudes and actionsThis is the persuasion most of us are familiar with—argument or case-making to change readers’ attitudes • To foster a collaborative environment that encourages speakers and listeners to explore ideas and possible courses of actionThis is the persuasion common to group work such as brainstorming sessions—facility and flexibility to respond to ideas and keep communication channels open • Most of our work will focus on the first type of persuasion

How Persuasion Works • Persuasion is shaping your reader’s attitudes • You might need to • Reverse an attitude you want your readers to abandon • Reinforce an attitude you want them to hold more firmly • Shape their attitude on a subject about which they currently have no opinion

How Persuasion Works • What determines a person’s attitude towards an idea, object, or action? • Not a single thought or argument • The sum of various thoughts a person associates with the idea, object, or action • For example • If you are in the market for a new car, how do you decide what to buy? • Research • Prior experience with brands • Other people’s experience with brands or specific models • Personal associations with brands or specific models • Favorite color • The list is nearly infinite—some of the attitudes are positive, some negative; some count for more than others

Guidelines for Persuasion • Listen—and respond flexibly to what you hear • Focus on your readers’ goals and values • Address—and learn from—your readers’ concerns and counterarguments • Reason soundly • Organize to create a favorable response • Build an effective relationship with your readers • Decide whether to appeal to your readers’ emotions • Global guideline: Adapt your persuasive strategies to your readers’ cultural background • Ethics guideline: Employ ethical persuasive techniques

Guidelines for Persuasion • Listen—and respond flexibly to what you hear Successful persuasion relies on how well you listen as well as how well you write or speakListening well will help you successfully • Focus on your readers’ goals and values • Address—and learn from—your readers’ concerns and counterarguments

Guidelines for Persuasion • Focus on your readers’ goals and values • Identify your readers’ goals • Determine how the ideas or actions you are recommending can help your readers achieve their goals • Focus on the ways your recommended actions and ideas can help your readers achieve their goals

Guidelines for Persuasion • Address—and learn from—your readers’ concerns and counterarguments • Remember readers respond moment by moment asking themselves questions and generating counterarguments • Good persuasive writing anticipates readers’ questions and answers them satisfactorily • Good persuasive writing anticipates counterarguments and provides reasons for relying on the author’s argument and not the counterargument

Guidelines for Persuasion The remaining key guidelines focus on the three main persuasive strategies identified by Aristotle in his Rhetoric Logos • Reason soundly Ethos • Organize to create a favorable response • Build an effective relationship with your readers Pathos • Decide whether to appeal to your readers’ emotions

Logos • How reasoning works (according to Stephen Toulmin at least) • Sound reasoning involves • A claim • Sufficient and reliable evidence supporting the claim • The line of reasoning that led the writer from the evidence to the claim EVIDENCE The facts, observations, and other evidence that supports your claim CLAIM The position you want your readers to accept LINE OF REASONING How you (the writer) have and they (the readers) should interpret the evidence so as to arrive at the claim.

Logos • To accept your claim, readers must be willing to put faith in both your evidence and your line of reasoning • Readers require sufficient and reliable evidence • And readers often need to see and understand your line of reasoning

Logos • Sufficient evidence: • Is there enough evidence to support your claim? • Have you provided the necessary details the reader wants? • Reliable evidence: • What counts as “reliable” evidence varies from field to field • Widely accepted types of evidence include • Data—readers typically respond to claims supported by numerical data • Expert testimony—people with credentials, firsthand knowledge, or extensive experience are often credited with special understanding and insight • Examples—specific instances can effectively support (and illustrate) general claims

Logos • Explicitly justify your line of reasoning (when necessary) • Writers frequently leave out how they moved from evidence to claim, thinking that the line of reasoning is obvious • When in doubt, be explicit—you can always revise it out later

Ethos • Organize to create a favorable response • Direct organization • This organization is the one you have been taught since grade school • Main point upfront (thesis statement) followed by evidence supporting that point • The required organization for most academic writing • Usually the best choice for most kinds of writing, especially when you can expect a favorable or at least open-minded response from your audience • Indirect organization • The main point is postponed until later • The situation/problem is described, analyzed, and used as evidence for reaching a specific conclusion (the main point) • Readers can be frustrated by this organization so use cautiously • Usually the best choice when you believe the readers will respond negatively to your main point unless you prepare them for it first

Ethos • Organize to create a favorable response • Ensure that the parts fit together • Make connections for readers (do the work for them)

Ethos • Build an effective relationship with your readers • Present yourself as a credible person • Strategies for building credibility • Expertise • Mention your credentials • Demonstrate command of the facts • Avoid oversimplifying • Call on experts so their expertise supports your position

Ethos • Build an effective relationship with your readers • Present yourself as a credible person • Strategies for building credibility • Trustworthiness • Appear open and objective • Stress values and objectives that are important to your readers • Avoid drawing attention to yourself • Demonstrate knowledge of the concerns and perspectives of others

Ethos • Build an effective relationship with your readers • Present yourself as a credible person • Strategies for building credibility • Group membership • Draw attention to shared membership in groups • Appeal to group goals and objectives • Dynamic appeal • Be confident in your message • Show enthusiasm for your ideas • Power • If you are in a position of authority, note that • If not, try to associate yourself with authority

Ethos • Build an effective relationship with your readers • Present yourself as a friend not a foe • Praise your readers • Mention recent accomplishments or something they take pride in • Present yourself as your readers’ partner • Show that you understand your readers • Even if you disagree with your readers, state their side fairly • Focus on areas of agreement • Maintain a positive and helpful stance • Present yourself as wanting to help • Avoid criticizing and blaming

PAthos • Decide whether to appeal to your readers’ emotions • Pathos is commonplace and highly effective in many kinds of communication • Advertising • Personal writing • Advocacy writing (press releases, public policy, editorials, and other kinds of non-technical persuasive writing) • Pathos is considered highly inappropriate in most academic writing and most business and technical communications • How to decide? • The more personal the writing, the more tolerant audiences will be of pathos; the more impersonal the writing the less tolerant audiences will be. • If the genre of the writing discourages evidence of the “personality” of the writer, then pathos will not be welcome.

Professional Writing