Persuasive Techniques.

Question 1

Contention

Answer 1

Another word for point-of-view or opinion.

Pinpoints the issue and your main task to analyse how readers are being persuaded to agree to the “contention.”

Question 2

Tone

Answer 2

The overall feeling of the text.

Question 3

Alliteration.

Answer 3

The repetition of words starting with the same letter to create emphasis.

Question 4

Appeals

Answer 4

Writers often appeal to different emotions, such as a reader’s sense of fairness, justice or patriotism.
Persuades the reader by subtly manipulating and triggering our emotions.

Question 5

Anecdotes

Answer 5

Short, personal stories that help to illustrate a point.

Question 6

Call To Action

Answer 6

Is where the writer asks the reader to act in some specific way.
For instance, “Call now, what are you waiting for?”
Persuades the reader by directly challenging or asking them to do something.

Question 7

Cliches

Answer 7

A worn-out or overused expression. Although they should be avoided, cliches give writers an opportunity to express an idea to their readers quickly.

Question 8

Emotive Language

Answer 8

Words that provoke an emotional reaction from the audience.
Persuades the reader by evoking a strong emotional response in order to coerce agreement.
e.g. “But no, people from the bush were saying it is cruel to kill foxes with a poison that causes a slow, agonising death.”

Question 9

Exaggeration

Answer 9

Writers often overstate something to help persuade readers of their point of view. Persuades the reader by making a point dramatically to reinforce it.
e.g. “Our experts will tell you a million reasons why it can’t or shouldn’t be done here. They have turned excuse-making into an art form.”

Question 10

Evidence

Answer 10

Writers will often use evidence - which might take the form of facts, figures, quotes or graphs - to help support their argument.
Persuades the reader by adding weight and backing up the contention of the written piece, making it feel irrefutable.
e.g. “According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, males are 400 per cent more likely to commit an offence intended to cause injury than are females.”

Question 11

Expert Opinion

Answer 11

Sometimes writers will use the opinion of those who know a lot about a topic to give further weight to their argument.
e.g. “A new research report by Victorian doctors illustrates why: because when kids are worried their parents will be told their private medical details, they simply don’t go to the doctor.”

Question 12

Hyperbole

Answer 12

Extreme exaggeration.

Question 13

Inclusive Language

Answer 13

Using the words ‘we’ or ‘us’ - is often used to get a reader onside.
Persuades the reader by helping them feel like they belong on the side of the writer’s argument.
e.g. “We might not like it, but our kids’ right to confidential medical advice should take precedence over our right to know about it.”

Question 14

Imagery

Answer 14

Helping the reader to creatively imagine the outcome of an argument so as to better understand the situation and the consequences,

Question 15

Logic

Answer 15

A well-structured argument with step by step reasons to support the main point.

Question 16

Metaphor

Answer 16

A comparison that describes one thing in terms of another. It omits ‘like’ or ‘as’.
Something is like the thing they are comparing it to,

Question 17

Pun

Answer 17

Play on words
Persuades the reader by positioning them to enjoy the joke, engage the mind, and grabs attention.
e.g. “Racism is no black and white issue”.

Question 18

Repetition

Answer 18

The repetition of words, phrases and ideas can be used to reinforce an argument and drive home the message to a reader. Reminding the reader of the main point etc.

Question 19

Rhetorical Question

Answer 19

A question where the answer is obvious, can help lead readers to a particular conclusion.
Persuades the reader by manipulating the reader to agree because it assumes the answer to the question is obvious.

Question 20

Sarcasm

Answer 20

A mocking tone.

Question 21

Simile

Answer 21

when one thing is compared to another, can help to persuade by describing.
e.g. “…as dumb as a sack of hammers…”
make the comparison by saying that something is like something

Question 22

Hook

Answer 22

he way the speaker grabs the audience’s attention before they begin their speech.
May be a quote, shocking statistic, imagery, an image etc

Question 23

Rule of Three

Answer 23

A technique of grouping together three words, ideas, or phrases for emphasis

Question 24

Attacks

Answer 24

Directly attacking or insulting views which oppose your own can weaken them and make them seem less than yours.

Question 25

Praise

Answer 25

Directly giving someone a compliment for their actions or part in an event

Question 26

Generalisations

Answer 26

Speaking broadly and avoiding specifics to create a purposefully blurred image of an argument or idea, or using a small amount of evidence to support a wider claim.

Question 27

Sensationalism

Answer 27

The presentation of stories in a way that is intended to provoke public interest or excitement, at the expense of accuracy.