Persuasive techniques

Beginner

Facts and Statistics

Supporting an argument with a verifiable fact or number is an easy persuasive technique to incorporate:

Plastic is extremely bad for the planet. 8 million tons of plastic enters the ocean every year. 

Dark chocolate is healthier than milk chocolate. It has more fibre and important minerals like iron.

Repetition

Repeating certain words and phrases can make an argument stronger as it stresses your point or makes it more memorable:

You wanted me to eat the carrots, so I did. You wanted me to eat the broccoli, so I did. You wanted me to eat the brussels sprouts, but I won't!

Homework is just plain wrong, wrong, wrong!

Personal Pronouns/Direct Address 

Using personal pronouns such as 'you', 'we' and 'us' makes the reader feel that they writer is speaking to them directly and is included in the message: 

We must work together to end the evil that is homework!

They can take our lives, but they can't take our break time!

Intermediate

Rule of Three/Triplet

Listing or repeating items in groups of three is an easy way to get a point across as humans seem to have an affinity for the triplet pattern:

Football is a fun, exciting and healthy sport.

Jaffa Cakes are silky, sweet and delicious.

Alliteration

Repeating the same sound or letter on consecutive words makes arguments more lyrical and appealing to the reader:

Football is a fun, fantastic and fabulous sport.

Snakes are sneaky, slithering animals. 

ADVANCED

Rhetorical Question

Rhetorical questions are designed to make the reader think about the position of the person speaking and put themselves in their shoes:

How would you like to spend all your free time doing homework?

Have you ever wondered where your plastic bottles go after you've put them in the bin?

Emotional Appeal

Emotional appeals are designed to make the reader feel guilty, angry or shocked by the writer's words:

Students are starved and exhausted before lunch so why force them to do maths?

Helpless orangutans are forced out of their homes just so you can stuff your face with a bar of chocolate.