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One of the primary aims of expository writing is to persuade. In fact, some writers and teachers of writing argue that persuasion is the only reason for writing.

Basically, we are persuaded or influenced by two human faculties: our reason and our emotion. Ideally, we function socially most effectively when both reason and emotion are balanced.

Successful persuasive writing appeals both to reason and emotion, or at least so it would seem. But we can be manipulated into positions we might later regret if we allow ourselves to be swayed too forcefully by one element over the other.

A Word about the Reading

The essay we will study, "A Shocking Start for a Freshman," is one I have included in my composition courses since 1970. Even though the work is dated now, each semester students request that I continue its use. The essay is an editorial that appeared on August 10, 1970, and I include it in this unit with grateful appreciation to the Dallas Morning News. You should be aware that the editorial may be shocking. It may also include words and references that some may find offensive. The purpose of the reading, however, is not to offend anyone but rather to illustrate the power of persuasive writing when developed by a master writer.

Even though the editorial addresses topical issues relevant to a violent period in U.S. cultural history, nevertheless, the editorial raises serious ethical and moral issues that confront each of us, both as readers and as future writers. These issues should always be remembered as we read and write in social, educational, and professional arenas of our lives.

A critical factor in the effectiveness of the editorial is the writer's voice. Read carefully the explanation of voice for a better understanding of this important element in persuasive writing.

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A List of Persuasive Techniques employed in the  Reading

1. Abstraction-reducing a subject to a set of distinctive features 
idealization-reducing a subject to a set of highly valued distinctive features 
burlesque-reducing a subject to a set of distinctive features which are then distorted or exaggerated for purposes of humor or criticism 
polarization-reducing a subject to its extremities 
2. Catalog-a list 
3. Innuendo-guilt by association; affirmation by association 
4. Periodic Development/Rule of Three-saving the most important concept or subject until last for emphasis; placing the most important element last in a series of three for emphasis 
5. Description-using words to create mental images of one or more of the five senses 
6. Sarcasm-using of offensive tone to reject or intimidate 
7. Vituperation-savage name-calling 
8. Rhetorical Question-using questions to emphasize what is already obvious as answers to the reader 
9. Definition-using unusual or slanted explanations of words or concepts 
10. Language usage-employing words or phrases selected from outside standard language usage (dialect, idiom, slang, argot, or other colloquial expressions) 
11. Emotional Words-choosing words for their emotional values 
12. Begging Sympathy-appealing to sympathy rather than reason 
13. Cultural Stereotyping-using biased, slanted, or other unfounded generalizations to characterize members of a social group 
14. Voice-manipulating various elements of the writer's persona to persuade

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