SAT WS: Persuasive Elements

Below are three types of stylistic or persuasive elements you can look for in a text.


Interesting Diction (Word Choice)

Richard Schiffman uses this vivid word choice to describe corporate greed in the article “Why We Should Work Less”:

We can no longer afford a corporate culture on steroids that generates unsustainable profits by systematically cannibalizing our nation and the people who make it work.

“On steroids” evokes the sense that companies’ drive for profit is unhealthy and excessive. “Cannibalizing” illustrates to the audience how these companies sacrifice their own workers.

Appeals to Emotion

In his 1963 “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. makes an appeal to emotion:

You suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six year old daughter why she can’t go to the public amusement park . . . , and see tears welling up in her eyes when she is told that Funtown is closed to colored children.

King uses an emotionally charged example—including the image of a small child crying—to tug at his audience’s empathy and illustrate the pain of segregation.

Unusual Syntax (Sentence Structure)

In his article “Let There Be Dark,” Paul Bogard asks this rhetorical question:

The chance to witness the universe has inspired artists, philosophers and everyday stargazers since time began. In a world awash with electric light . . . how would Van Gogh have given the world his “Starry Night”?

By phrasing his message as a question, Bogard prompts the audience to answer it for themselves and come to the conclusion he has: that too much electric light hampers human creativity.
  1. Bogard, Paul. “Let There Be Dark.” Adapted by The College Board. Essay: Example 1 of 2, collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sample-questions/essay/1. Originally published in the Los Angeles Times, Dec. 2012.
  2. King, Martin Luther, Jr. “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” 1963. The Atlantic, Feb. 2018, www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/02/letter-from-birmingham-jail/552461/.
  3. Schiffman, Richard. “Why We Should Work Less.” Adapted by The College Board. The SAT with Essay: Practice Essay #9, collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/pdf/sat-practice-test-9-essay.pdf. Originally published in The Washington Post, Jan. 2012.