Persuasive Techniques. Flashcards
Contention
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.”
Tone
The overall feeling of the text.
Alliteration.
The repetition of words starting with the same letter to create emphasis.
Appeals
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.
Anecdotes
Short, personal stories that help to illustrate a point.
Call To Action
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.
Cliches
A worn-out or overused expression. Although they should be avoided, cliches give writers an opportunity to express an idea to their readers quickly.
Emotive Language
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.”
Exaggeration
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.”
Evidence
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.”
Expert Opinion
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.”
Hyperbole
Extreme exaggeration.
Inclusive Language
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.”
Imagery
Helping the reader to creatively imagine the outcome of an argument so as to better understand the situation and the consequences,
Logic
A well-structured argument with step by step reasons to support the main point.
Metaphor
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,
Pun
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”.
Repetition
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.
Rhetorical Question
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.
Sarcasm
A mocking tone.
Simile
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
Hook
he way the speaker grabs the audience’s attention before they begin their speech.
May be a quote, shocking statistic, imagery, an image etc
Rule of Three
A technique of grouping together three words, ideas, or phrases for emphasis
Attacks
Directly attacking or insulting views which oppose your own can weaken them and make them seem less than yours.
Praise
Directly giving someone a compliment for their actions or part in an event
Generalisations
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.
Sensationalism
The presentation of stories in a way that is intended to provoke public interest or excitement, at the expense of accuracy.
