EN 1002 – Summer 2010 – Cheryl Crawford
Lecture 5 – July 07
Writing to Persuade
- Know the difference between argument and assertion.
- Know your audience.
- Know the importance of evidence.
- ‘A thorough written attack on some opinion or policy, usually within a theological
or political dispute, sometimes also in philosophy of criticism.’
- Derived from the Greek word ‘Polemikos’, which means ‘warlike’ and ‘hostile’.
- ‘An aggressive attack on or refutation of the opinions or principles of another.’
- An artifice or device to which a person resorts in order to escape the force of an
argument, to avoid condemnation or censure, or to justify his conduct; an evasion
or shift. Chiefly of discourse, argument, debate, but also of action in general.
- Means of escape (from censure, etc.) an excuse.
When Writing to Persuade Know:
- The difference between an argument and an assertion.
- Your audience.
- The importance of evidence (concrete, specific that will support argument.