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Persuasion in Context

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Persuasion in Self-improvement Books

Part of the book series: Postdisciplinary Studies in Discourse ((PSDS))

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Abstract

The goal of this chapter is to demonstrate how persuasion strategies relate to ideology. Taking a constructionist approach, the chapter considers active roles of both persuaders and the audience in persuasion events. As the context of persuasion includes the audience, this chapter argues that persuasion strategies are influenced by the way writers imagine their audience’s values and beliefs. To examine these values and beliefs, the chapter provides an illustrative case study of self-improvement books. A move analysis of 20 body chapters from 20 different self-improvement books identifies three resources that writers use to persuade their audience: problem–solution structure, tentative language, and coherence markers.

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Koay, J. (2019). Persuasion in Context. In: Persuasion in Self-improvement Books. Postdisciplinary Studies in Discourse. Palgrave Pivot, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-12149-5_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-12149-5_4

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Pivot, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-12148-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-12149-5

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

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