The Art of Influencing: Exploring Persuasive Strategies in the Writings of Iranian University Students

This study investigates persuasive strategies used in the writings of Iranian university students in the field of teaching English as foreign language (TEFL). The study utilized the 7 principles of persuasive strategies presented by Cialdini (The psychology of persuasion, Quill William Morrow, New York 1984; Pre-suasion: A revolutionary way to influence and persuade, Simon & Schuster, New York 2016), which include ‘reciprocity’, ‘commitment and consistency’, ‘social proof’, ‘liking’, ‘authority’, ‘scarcity’, and ‘unity’. The results indicate that strategies such as ‘liking’, ‘unity’, and ‘authority’ were used more frequently than other persuasive strategies. On the other hand, ‘scarcity’ was the least used strategy by the participants. Significant gender differences were also observed in the data. These findings have important pedagogical implications and suggest the need to incorporate persuasive strategies into instructional materials and teaching practices to enhance the persuasive writing skills of university students. Furthermore, gender differences highlight the importance of considering individual differences when teaching persuasive writing. Finally, the study discusses the pedagogical implications of these findings in the context of learning and teaching.