Dialogue

Dialogue:

Take 3-5 minutes and create a person who would oppose you on your issue. Jot some notes about this person's age, occupation, family, where they live, what TV shows they watch, what they eat for breakfast etc. Be careful to make the person as real as possible, not some cardboard stereotype. Now imagine being in some Department of Motor Vehicles line from hell, bored out of your mind, and this person is next to you. You needn't spend any time making the broaching of the subject plausible, just make some statement about your subject, and then write your opponent's response. Freewrite a dialogue for fifteen minutes or so, or until you have a solid page, making sure you keep it from degenerating into name calling. Look over your list, and pick put what you think are the strongest arguments on both sides.

After taking a short break, imagine another character, not an opponent but someone who could represent your audience. Your audience is someone who needs to hear your position, if at all possible someone who can help make the change in the world that you're advocating. Don't pick someone who already agrees with you, nor someone like your first character who could never be persuaded no matter what you say. Again, in describing this person, avoid the easy stereotype; if she's not real, you're wasting your time. Now, drawing on some of the strong arguments you generated on your side in the last dialogue (as well as any new ones that come to you), freewrite another dialogue in which you try to convince her of your position. Your goal here is not to win but to get real reactions to your arguments. Do this till you get a solid page, go 15-20 minutes without stopping or run out of steam, then take a break. Now look over your responses (or again get a partner to do it; we'll do this in class) and see if you can see any pattern that reveal her values and concerns. Do you share any of those values?

You've probably already noticed that what you've accomplished is to create your logos and pathos. Now review how to make an argument in Easywriter (pp 26-38). Think especially about ethos. What kind of person will your audience listen to? What is it about you that makes them comfortable, respectful, nervous or skeptical? In the text there's a workable structure for an argument, but think if it more like steps or phases. You can't just walk up to someone you've never met and make a demand. Now, you have to get their attention, establish common ground, make your proposal, and show why it's a good idea. Now look at half a dozen ways to write an introduction that accomplishes these steps. I suggest you try several that establish your ethos and perhaps addresses pathos (if you know what attracts or scares your audience, you can make a startling statement). If you have trouble, you can skip the intro and write the paper. Now might be a good time to knock out a rough outline for the body of your paper.