Persuasive Communication

A writer’s style is a reflection of his or her personality, unique voice,
and way of approaching the audience and readers.

However, every piece writers write is for a specific purpose—for
example, writers may want to explain how something works or
persuade people to agree with their point of view. While there are as
many writer's styles as there are writers, there are only four general
purposes that lead someone to write a piece, and these are known as
the four styles, or types, of writing. Knowing all four different types
and their usages is important for any writer.
1. Expository
Expository writing's main purpose is to explain. It is a subject-

oriented writing style, in which authors focus on telling you about a
given topic or subject without voicing their personal opinions. These
types of essays or articles furnish you with relevant facts and figures
but do not include their opinions. This is one of the most common
types of writing. You always see it in textbooks and how-to articles.
The author just tells you about a given subject, such as how to do
something.
Key Points:
Usually explains something in a process.

Is often equipped with facts and figures.
Is usually in a logical order and sequence.
When You Would Use Expository Writing:
Textbook writing.
How-to articles.
Recipes.
News stories (not including opinion or editorial pieces).
Business, technical, or scientific writing
2. Descriptive
Descriptive writing's main purpose is to describe.

o It is a style of writing that focuses on describing a
character, an event, or a place in great detail.
o It can be poetic when the author takes the time to be very
specific in his or her descriptions
Key Points:
It is often poetic in nature

It describes places, people, events, situations, or
locations in a highly-detailed manner.
The author visualizes what he or she sees, hears, tastes,
smells, and feels.
When You Would Use Descriptive Writing:
Poetry
Journal or diary writing
Nature writing
Descriptive passages in fiction
3. Persuasive
Persuasive writing's main purpose is to convince. Unlike
expository writing, persuasive writing contains the opinions and
biases of the author.
 To convince others to agree with the author's point of view,
persuasive writing contains justifications and reasons.
 It is often used in letters of complaint, advertisements or
commercials, affiliate marketing pitches, cover letters, and
newspaper opinion and editorial pieces.
Key Points:
Persuasive writing is equipped with reasons, arguments, and

justifications.
In persuasive writing, the author takes a stand and asks you
to agree with his or her point of view.
It often asks for readers to do something about the situation
(this is called a call-to-action).
When You Would Use Persuasive Writing:
Opinion and editorial newspaper pieces.

Advertisements.
Reviews (of books, music, movie, restaurants, etc.).
Letter of recommendation.
Letter of complaint.
Cover letters
4. Narrative
 Narrative writing's main purpose is to tell a story.
 The author will create different characters and tell you what
happens to them (sometimes the author writes from the point of
view of one of the characters—this is known as first person
narration).
 Novels, short stories, novellas, poetry, and biographies can all fall
in the narrative writing style. Simply, narrative writing answers
the question: “What happened then?”
Key Points:
A person tells a story or event.

Has characters and dialogue.
Has definite and logical beginnings, intervals, and endings.
Often has situations like actions, motivational events, and
disputes or conflicts with their eventual solutions.
Examples of When You Would Use Persuasive
Writing:
Novels
Short stories
Novellas
Poetry
Autobiographies or biographies
Anecdotes
Oral histories
To Persuade and Argue
What is Persuasion?
Scholars have defined persuasion in different ways. Persuasion,

according to communication Scholars, is:
A communication process in which the communicator seeks to elicit
a desired response from his receiver;
A conscious attempt by one individual to change the attitudes,
beliefs, or behavior of another individual or group of individuals
through the transmission of some message.
What is Persuasion?
A symbolic activity whose purpose is to effect the

internalization or voluntary acceptance of new cognitive
states or patterns of overt behavior through the exchange of
messages;
A successful intentional effort at influencing another’s
mental state through communication in a circumstance in
which the persuade has some measure of freedom.
Why Persuasion?
1.Persuasion is a symbolic process.

2.Persuasion involves an attempt to influence.
3.People persuade themselves.
4.Persuasion involves the transmission of a message.
5.Persuasion requires free choice.

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A writer’s style is a reflection of his or her personality, unique voice,

and way of approaching the audience and readers.

Expository writing's main purpose is to explain. It is a subject-

Usually explains something in a process.

Descriptive writing's main purpose is to describe.

It is often poetic in nature

Persuasive writing is equipped with reasons, arguments, and

Opinion and editorial newspaper pieces.

A person tells a story or event.

Scholars have defined persuasion in different ways. Persuasion,

A symbolic activity whose purpose is to effect the

1.Persuasion is a symbolic process.

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