Joyce Armstrong Caroll and Edward E. Wilson, Santa Barbara, CA, ABC-CLIO/Libraries Unlimited, 2012, 76 pp., US$25.00 (soft cover), ISBN 9781598849509, or e-book, ISBN 978-1-59884-951-6
Depending on which era and in which country readers attended secondary school, they might not have been taught the art of writing a persuasive essay. This volume, aimed at US English and social-studies teachers, sets out to instruct late high-school and early higher-education students how to write persuasive compositions, both to give confidence to the student in scholastic aptitude tests and to ground the student in persuasive-writing techniques that can be applied to different areas in the future.
Certainly this reviewer at first, based only on the title, thought the volume would delve more into copywriting and how to write the most convincing job cover letter on the planet. Perhaps this was sheer wishful thinking. Although this is not the focus, the authors do propose that, once a student has mastered the art of the persuasive text, then advertising copy or influential prose as a CEO may not be too far behind.
The authors also suggest that the current global environment – one where he who shouts loudest and most often wins, and one where media celebrities may deliberately manipulate and not have anything to do with truth – is the best time for students to learn about the ‘tricks’ of persuasive writing so as to not be taken in entirely. In fact, the authors suggest that knowing how to recognise a reasonable argument, determine facts and assess the credibility of persuaders is a life skill, which sounds remarkably like information-literacy concepts promoted by library and information professionals.
The authors begin with historical influences on persuasive writing: the Greeks, the Romans, influencers from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and contemporary figures that sway opinion. They then delve into the basics of the essay outline, which they have listed as: length, rhetorical stance, organisation and structure. Each chapter focuses on four key points and explains them, hence the Four by Four title. Even the appendices are grouped in a set of four. Most chapters also have models that show how the points work, and an application section that suggests how a teacher might teach each particular topic.
The writing is very clear and ably supported by numerous models and lesson plans. Those who do not teach but are interested in persuasive writing can apply the concepts to themselves, so while aimed at teachers, others can gain considerable clarity about and learn new methods for applying persuasive writing.
This reviewer read the electronic version of the book as a hyperlinked web page (similar to the texts provided by Project Gutenberg). She has a personal preference when reading electronic texts that they mimic the look of the print version. Others may greatly appreciate the web version. This work is recommended for English teachers of English where persuasive writing is on the curriculum.
©2012, Doreen Sullivan