A time to reflect…that is what I will give my Pre-AP English 10 students as I ask them to study this Wordle of President Barak Obama’s speech and then to read his speech and gather evidence of the following persuasive techniques:
- Claim: State your argument.
- Big Names: Important people or experts can make your argument seem more convincing.
- Appeal to Logos: Facts, numbers, and information can be very convincing.
- Appeal to Pathos: Getting people to feel happy, sad, or angry can help your argument.
- Appeal to Ethos: If people believe and trust in you, you are more likely to persuade them.
- Kairos: Try to convince your audience that this issue is so important they must act now.
- Research: Using reliable research can help your argument seem convincing. Yes, Antigone would be considered research in this essay.
Just wish I had thought to create this assignment for Martin Luther King’s speech as a prelude to Obama’s speech. Another example of hindsight being 20/20! Will have this lesson ready in four years, though!
Thanks to ReadWriteThink.org for this list. A graphic organizer of the above techniques and Wordle may be found on my class wiki.Partial credit for the Wordle also goes to the following two blogs:
- Daniel H. Pink, author of a A Whole New Mind
- Mrs. Huff’s English Classes, English teacher from Georgia and author of A Question of Honor
Thanks!
