I certainly had some great "take-aways" from this week’s sessions on persuasive writing. The sessions were very informative and I therefore hope to use the information received to create better persuasive pieces since this has been an area of great challenge for me. Being able to review persuasive writing in term of its purpose, areas of importance and techniques that are involved was rather enlightening.
Persuasion! - The art of convincing. From what I have gathered, persuasive writing is the act of convincing readers to believe something which will ultimately change their way of thinking or behaving.
The part that was most memorable about the sessions was the practical nature of one of the assignment which allowed us to bring to life the information that was in our notes. We were placed into small groups to come up with points for or against particular topics and was given a chance to apply as many techniques of persuasion to convince our audience. During our presentation, the use of Authoritative Evidences leaped out, so were the Exaggerations in excess. The use of Rhetorical questions were ‘red hot and flaming’ all over the room and so was Mrs. Logical appeal. There was a whole lot of Alliteration, sufficient Contrast too and Opinions were bold enough to present themselves as facts; but the biggest marriage of all was between Ms. Emotive Language and Mr. Personal Appeal. Just before the party was all over, Brother Repetition waltzed in right in time to get the message across. Those combined and mixed in well did the job of convincing the audience to change their way of thinking based on the topics being presented.
I left the session with a clearer understanding of how persuasive techniques work in convincing an audience. This helped me to make the same connection when the opportunity presented itself for me to write my persuasive piece. Additionally, the lecture’ s clarity in presenting information and her use of the most incredible illustrations during the power point presentation really did the job of helping me to understand and remember what was discussed. An example of such was the title of one of the introductory slides said, “ The People’s Court: Honourable or Dishonourable” and it was paired with a matching picture. By likening the days lecture on persuasive writing to that of a court’s proceeding helps me to always remember that persuasion is all about presenting convincing information similar to that of a court house. In the near future I hope to not only teach my students about the importance of persuasive writing but I hope also to be creative in selecting and incorporating strategies that will help my students remember and what was learned.
Ashel, the practical assignment stood out to me as well, because I was able to literally see how the different elements come into play in making a convincing case either for or against an issue. Another aspect of the session which stood out to me was the fact that it is necessary to consider any counterarguments critics may pose and refute these. This is necessary in order to be more convincing in an attempt to sway others toward my point of view. I am still improving in my writing of persuasive arguments but I am so much further than where I was previously. These gems, I am looking forward to sharing with my students in ways to allow them to make meaningful connections.
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