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REASONING AND ORGANIZATION
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Persuasion REASONING AND ORGANIZATION

Enduring Understanding (REO-1)
Writers guide understanding of a text’s line of reasoning and claims through that text’s
organization and integration of evidence.

A writer’s message is only effective if it achieves his or her purpose with an audi-
ence. That means the message must reach, affect, influence, or appeal to his or
her intended audience. Some writers have a goal of trying to call an audience to
act — to do something or stop doing something. In this unit, you’ll examine ways KEY POINT
writers appeal to their audiences in an effort to persuade them.
Persuasive
arguments may
be organized
Persuasive Arguments Call for Action inductively or
deductively and
Persuasion starts with a purpose. As speakers and writers observe and experience include a call to
the world around them, they are moved to make changes in others’ attitudes and action for the
behaviors. While all writers make arguments, not all writers attempt to persuade. audience.
Argumentation and persuasion are similar concepts, but a key difference is that
persuasive texts call an audience to action. That is, the writer calls his or her
audience to act — to do something or stop doing something.
The potential for persuasion exists all around us — our homes, our schools,
our communities, our country, and our world. It is at the heart of our political and
legal systems and serves as the basis for advertising campaigns in commercials
and social media. In your life, persuasion may look different than a politician’s
moving speech, an impassioned op-ed, or a glossy advertising campaign. However,
whether the audience consists of friends, teachers, and parents or a trial jury, an
eager consumer, or prospective voters, persuasion works similarly.
As you’ve learned, writers share their ideas and perspectives about topics or
issues through the claims they make. But writers can’t just make claims without hav-
ing reasons to justify and evidence to support them. When you consider the audi-
ence you’re trying to address, the order that you present your information could
influence the degree to which they continue to listen to or hear your argument.
Imagine that you are making a speech to a group of your friends to support a
particular student council candidate. You and your friends may have similar beliefs,
so you may begin by saying that this candidate ought to win. You may then offer a
few reasons that you know your friends will agree with. This seems simple, right?
But what if you are trying to convince a group of students who are unlikely to sup-
port your candidate? In that case, you may begin by giving specific reasons that
illustrate points of concern that resonate with your new audience. Then, finally get
to the point of support for that candidate. In both instances, the reasons you gave

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