Appeal to Authority
Definition:
A rhetorical strategy
that calls upon an individual or other source as an expert
to give credence to an argument
made by an author of a work.
Examples:
An allergy commercial actor
explains why the medication works well while wearing a
white lab coat.
A composition uses the phrase “They
say … ”
A well-known professional basketball
player is shown in shoe advertisements.
A composition
quotes a local university professor.
-
Which of
the four examples above can be considered a dependable
authority?
-
Explain why the ones you didn’t choose
aren’t
dependable authorities?
-
Which of the four examples above
might impress or sway people’s
minds if they aren’t specifically watching out
for such influence?
-
Pretend that you have been assigned to write
a paper against gun control in your state. What legitimate
authority figure
might you call upon for help?
-
What persuasive — but
not necessarily credible — authority
figure or phrase might you call upon for help?
Download a PDF file of the student handout,
Appeal to Authority. |
