METHODS TO PERSUADE

Tell students that today they are going to take a closer look at methods Truth uses to build her argument and persuade her audience. Explain to students that when people speak to persuade, not only do they think about what they’re going to say, but they also think about how they’re going to say. They consider their argument and audience, and try to figure out how to build and support their arguments in ways that are persuasive for their audiences. The strategies they use are their methods.

Methods may include such things as: the use and placement of reasons, claims, & rebuttals to counterarguments; the use of analogies, metaphors, case studies, quotations, facts, etc. to support reasons and opinions; loaded words; repetition of key phrases; appeals to logic, emotions, or ethics; rhetorical questions; etc. The speaker’s purpose for using certain methods might be to establish credibility, grab the reader’s attention, appeal to the reader’s sense of sympathy or pride, cause the reader to stop and think, shock the reader, etc.

These are ways of making your thinking “visible” and being explicit about the ways good readers work with texts. This kind of modeling supports all students’ learning, but may be especially helpful to English learners.

Listen carefully to students’ responses, making sure they use evidence from the text and consider both themselves and others in terms of whether the speech is persuasive. If students say this speech is not persuasive, a follow-up question you might ask is, “Who might this speech be persuasive to?”

Ask students to look again at their homework from the previous evening. Ask:

After they have talked for a few minutes, ask them:

As students share specific lines or phrases, have them say how or why those are persuasive. Support them to articulate the method or strategy Truth is using to persuade her audience. Then ask students to talk about the effect the method had on them, the listener, and what effect they think Truth was hoping for from her audience, especially the male ministers who disagreed with her. Share a choice of your own as a model for students.

As students share, chart the methods and an example of each method on chart paper titled Methods to Persuade. You will be adding to this throughout the unit, so it is important not to list the effects of these methods on the listener. Before long, students will learn that methods have different effects depending on the argument and audience.

Students may or may not be familiar with English language arts academic vocabulary for the persuasive methods that Truth uses. Help them to acquire the academic vocabulary by writing the academic term on the chart for the methods students offer. For example, if a student says, “Truth makes you feel bad for her when she talks about seeing most of her children sold off into slavery,” respond by asking something like, “so, are you saying she’s appealing to your emotions?” Give the student an opportunity to confirm your revoicing. Then write “emotional appeal” on the Methods to Persuade chart with the student’s example.

The same can be done for the method she is using to build her argument. If a student says, “she’s telling that guy that what he said about women needing help all the time isn’t true,” respond with a question like, “so she’s rebutting a counterargument?” then, with the student’s agreement, write “rebut a counterargument” on the Methods to Persuade chart. Support students to learn and use terminology such as “rebutting a counterargument” or “making a claim” when sharing.

Following is an example of a Methods to Persuade chart that shows some methods Truth uses that students might offer:

Methods to Persuade

After students have shared, ask them to go through the rest of the speech, rereading parts that were not discussed to continue to examine Truth’s methods. Have students share with the whole group providing examples from the texts. When students share methods, they should also talk about the effect those methods had on them as readers/listeners and what effect they think Truth was hoping for from her audience. Press them to be specific; ask them to consider why Truth would use a specific method considering her argument, audience, and purpose.

As part of this discussion, have students evaluate the support Truth offers to rebut the counterarguments. Have them consider if the evidence that Truth uses is accurate, adequate, and appropriate.

Students will likely remark that Truth uses mostly her personal experience as evidence. Ask them if they think that deters from the persuasiveness of her speech. Have students consider the validity of her personal experience as evidence for her argument.

* Spend extra time looking at the two imperative sentences. Ask students what they notice about those sentences and what meaning those sentences convey. What is the effect on the reader/listener? Have students contrast those sentences with the sentences where she talks about her experience (“I have…”). Guide students to understand how different sentence structures carry different meaning and have different effects on the listener/reader. Explicit attention to how language structures signal meaning is an important support for English learners.

Structure Linked to Purpose and Audience

As the discussion of Truth’s argument and methods is winding down, have students examine how Truth structures her argument.

Display an overhead of the text, and with students guiding you, quickly label each paragraph in terms of how it advances Truth’s argument (paragraph 1 = states the issue; paragraphs 2-4 = rebuts counterarguments, paragraph 5 = call to action). Then have students consider why she orders the rebuttals they way she does, considering her audience and the context of this speech. Ask: