This week, we learned the ins and outs about effectively communicating and persuading in the email format.  For this assignment, we’ll use those lessons and combine them with previous lessons on rhetoric and fallacies to create an effective, persuasive communication that hopefully gets you something you want!

For this assignment, you will write a persuasive email to your supervisor and request a pay raise (I’ll play the role of your supervisor).  This may seem easy on the surface, but it isn’t exactly child’s play.  After all, any company is trying to maximize profits, which are at their most basic form, revenues minus expenses.  Payroll is an expense, so why would a company ever give an employee a raise? 

That’s for you to ponder.  Once you figure that out, you have the basis for your argument.  However, there are other things to consider here.  Remember, an effective argument has elements of ethos, logos, and pathos.  Your email should have all three:  an emotional connection, a logical connection, and it should be believable/credible.

Your email should have the structure explored on page 160, and you need to use the process discussed on pages 165-166.  In all, your work will be judged on:

•  Your use of ethos, logos, and pathos
• Your use of the structure and processed discussed in pages 160-166
• Grammar and spelling
• Whether or not I, as your supervisor, decide to give you a raise.