Writing Focus – Organizing Your Support and Creating an Outline

The Rhetorical Triangle

According to Greek philosopher Aristotle, effective persuasion depends on the use of logical appeals (logos), emotional appeals (pathos), and credibility (ethos). The balance of these three components is known today as the rhetorical triangle. Although some examples of persuasion may emphasize one appeal over another depending on the purpose and context of the argument, a balance of all three appeals can contribute greatly to establishing an effective persuasive argument.

You should strive to employ a little of each component of the rhetorical triangle in order to make the strongest argument. Take a moment to explore the three appeals that make up the rhetorical triangle. In this interactivity, you will view examples of each appeal as well as questions to that you can ask yourself to identify use of persuasive appeals when examining an argument. Click the player button to begin.

View a printable version of the interactivity.

 

Logical Fallacies

How often do you win debates with your friends, teachers, or family members? Is it ever acceptable to trick your way into winning an argument? Have you ever felt that an argument or claim was faulty, but you could not say exactly why? If so, you may have encountered a logical fallacy, which sometimes involves confusion between fact and opinion. Facts can be tested and proven true. Opinions are arguable.

A logical fallacy is a faulty argument, or an argument that uses poor reasoning. Using faulty reasoning, or logical fallacies, will undermine the logic of your argument and ultimately hurt your credibility with your readers. Fallacies trick your reader or audience and are used to make a weak argument appear strong or valid by using illegitimate arguments or irrelevant points. Fallacies are easily identified in arguments because they lack real evidence to support the claim. There are literally hundreds of tactics to bolster a weak argument. You see them all the time in political speeches, advertisements, reviews, etc.

Take a moment to explore some of the most common faulty arguments that you should avoid in your persuasive writing. In this interactivity, you will view descriptions and examples of each logical fallacy in greater detail. Notice how the logical fallacies are grouped according to the type of persuasive appeal that is used in propaganda. Click the player button to begin.

View a printable version of the interactivity.

 

Logical fallacies are sometimes used by speech writers, essayists, and newspaper editorialists who want to persuade an audience for a specific purpose. Fallacies are also used to convince people every day to buy a product, vote for a candidate, join a cause, or believe a particular viewpoint.

When you classify the logical fallacies into three categories, you see how logical fallacies are successful because they rely on the basic principles of persuasion:

• Who says something?
• What evidence is used?
• What is the conclusion?

Finalizing Your Thesis Statement

So far in this topic, you have taken a look at different rhetorical strategies based on logos, pathos, and ethos. You have also explored some logical fallacies to avoid when making your persuasive argument. Now it is time to take this new knowledge along with your research findings and create a rough outline for your research paper.

Before you begin thinking about organizing your claims and supporting evidence, first take a look at your initial thesis statement. After conducting extensive research on your topic, you may find it necessary to revise your thesis statement to take into account information that you did not know before your research. Revising your thesis may be as simple as using a more specific term or rewording a phrase, or you may have to modify one of the finer points of your argument based on your findings. On the other hand, it is also possible that after learning more about your topic, you no longer agree with your initial working thesis. Whether you have decided to take a different angle or even to adopt the opposing viewpoint completely, it is okay to modify your thesis statement as long as you have strong evidence to support your argument.

Take a moment now to review your working thesis statement and make any changes necessary. Your thesis is the single most important part of your research paper, so it is essential to have one that is clear and accurate before you move on to composing your paper.

Developing a Rough Outline for a Persuasive Research Paper

For your persuasive research paper, you will learn how to create a general outline to help you format and plan your essay so that you thoroughly address your chosen topic and convincingly express your opinion. When you have finished your rough outline, it will resemble a list of words or phrases that briefly summarize in sequential order the major points that you will make as you compose your first draft. You can think of your rough outline as a road map to which you can refer during the drafting stage. Take a moment now to learn more about developing an effective rough outline for your persuasive research paper. Click the player button to begin.

View a printable version of the interactivity. View examples of outlines that organize counterclaims in different ways.

 

Organizing Your Support and Creating an Outline Review

Now that you have explored how to organize your supporting evidence and create a rough outline for your research paper, it is time to review your knowledge and practice what you have learned. In this non-graded activity, read the set of directions associated with each question and provide your answer. Click the player button to get started.