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PROOF AND PERSUASION:
The Rhetoric of Scientific Integrity
FALL 2023
© 2023 by Cynthia Shearer
CYNTHIA SHEARER
419-H REED HALL
BOX 297700
TEXAS CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY
PHONE EXT: 817.257.6593
ENGLISH 20803 - WRITING AS ARGUMENT
Section 63:MWF @ 2 p.m. in Reed 221
Cynthia Shearer, Instructor
OFFICE HOURS: 1 - 2 p.m. MW in Reed 419_H
WRITING AN INTRODUCTION
If you are writing to persuade the general public, how do you begin?
Very carefully. Study your audience. You want to invite the audience in to your argument, not send them howling back into their comfort zones.
What will lure them to keep listening?
You can tell an anecdote or a joke related to your topic as an icebreaker or attention-grabber.
You can use a famous quotation from someone your audience will respect, or re-tell a fable they already know, or even quote their own sacred texts to show goodwill towards them.
You can ask a provocative question, one that you plan to answer in your essay.
You can use some "shock and awe" statistical data that startle them and prove the exigence of your problem.
You can also simply state your thesis about the change you would like to see happen, but that has some risks.
What if your audience stops listening?
HERE'S A QUICK TALK ON INTROS:
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