What Are Persuasive Appeals? Persuasive writers try to make you think or act a certain way. They say things in a way to make you respond by using appeals. There are three main kinds of persuasive appeals:
• An appeal to logic shows why something makes sense.
| EXAMPLE | If you limit your shower time to five minutes, you will save up to 1,000 gallons of water a month. |
• An appeal to ethics suggests the right way to behave or think.
| EXAMPLE | Corporations have a responsibility to make sure their actions do not harm the environment. |
• An appeal to emotions tries to make you feel strongly about an issue.
| EXAMPLE | Imagine hundreds of birds unable to fly to safety because their feathers are coated in black, sticky oil. |
Practice Together
Identify Appeals Decide which kind of appeals the writer uses.
Use the chart to analyze appeals. Copy it and fill in the missing information.
| Kind of Appeal | Example | How It Affects Me |
|---|---|---|
| appeal to ethics | To protect our planet in the future, we must make responsible decisions today. | It makes me realize how important my actions are. |
| appeal to logic | ||
| appeal to emotions |
Try It!
Analyze Persuasive Appeals Look at “Handle with Care” and “Going Green.” Identify appeals with a partner and add them to the chart.