better essays and techniques part 2

Better Essays and Persuasive Techniques by Dr Jennifer Minter

Part Two: Year 8

Chapter 3: Persuasive Techniques

Part 2: Year 8Chapter 3: Persuasive Techniques

The chapter focuses on:

•the author’s views, tone, style and choice of words; •the author’s appeals and values and•the author’s attacking techniques.

Better Essays and Persuasive Techniques: pp. 43-70.

Part 2: Year 8 goals• Students will identify a range

of persuasive strategies.

• Students will use persuasive strategies in their essays.

• Students will use appeals to write better topic sentences

• Students will use “attacking devices” to write better rebuttals.


Part 2: Year 8 goals


• Students will seek to improve their written expression and maturity through a series of vocabulary building word exercises.

• See introduction to tone, p. 43.

• Work through small mini-articles/exercises to learn tone words (See pp. 116-117 and e-book 2).

Summary – paragraph, p. 43


The task of analysis

Focus on:What the author says (views)How the author says it

(their tone and style).The author’s choice of words. The author’s evidence and reasons.The author’s appeals and values. The author’s purpose and impact: see the “why”

comments for each technique.


Your tone and style Your tone and style

and your choice of words are critical to your message and influence the relationship with readers.

The author’s toneHow the author speaks is

often just as important as what they say.

An author’s tone reflects their attitude, their passion and their personality and influences their relationship with the audience.


Extending yourtone word vocabulary

Tone descriptors: See tone descriptors and definitions on pp. 116-117.

Tone words are modelled in the “Suggested Responses”.See E-book 3: Better Sentences :

word games tone test matchups. extended tone list and definitions.

Better Essays and Persuasive Techniques: pp. 116-117

The author’s styleThe author’s style

complements their message and their tone.

Is the text formal or informal or a combination

of both?


The author’s style

Look for:

Colloquial language: closely imitates spoken language. (He doesn’t give a stuff!)

Questions: interrogative sentences versus rhetorical questions

Repetition: the author often repeats words or phrases for an effect. (Tripling and listing are often used for effect.)


The author’s words

Words mean different things to different people.

Some words are “neutral”; others are loaded or colourful and reveal a person’s approval or disapproval.

A fat cat


The author’s words• Words have connotations:

that is, extra meanings apart from the literal, dictionary meaning.

• Words may be inclusive or exclusive.

• Words may be figurative: similes, clichés, metaphors, idioms. Such words have connotations.

Barking up the wrong tree

Common appeals An awareness of some

common appeals and values can help you write sharper topic sentences. This knowledge helps you think about key concepts and categorise your information.

The author’s

appealsThe author’s appeals reflect their values and priorities.

An author’s appeals are a clue to how they seek to influence our thoughts and emotions.

“appeal to the nanny state”


Common appealsAppeal to common senseAppeal to emotionsAppeal to morals and guiltAppeal to duty of care

and leadershipAppeal to civil liberties

and freedomAppeal to fearAppeal to family valuesAppeal to health and wellbeing


On the attack: your rebuttal

An awareness of both your reasoning and persuasive skills helps you identify more effectively the weaknesses in your opponent’s argument.

The author’s attackAuthors often attack or criticise opponents in

order to show the superiority of their views.

How does the author criticise opponents?

What words do they use?Better Essays and Persuasive Techniques: pp. 43-70.

Criticise your opponents: criticise their motives — suggest a

person is dishonest or self-interested and is pushing their own agenda.

question their intelligence — accuse a person of ignorance, or of deliberately overlooking or twisting the facts to suit themselves.

question their moral standards — shame someone by showing they have double standards or that they are heartless

trivialise a person’s views or complaints: “the planet burns and they worry about their view”

Impact and purpose

SympathyFear and uncertaintyGuilt and shameAngerHope and reassurance

The Techniques of Persuasion: pp. 54-55, Ex.34

Think about how you can engage your readers’ thoughts and emotions.

Purpose and impact, p. 66.


Student’s paragraph, p. 69


Outcomes You will: learn to accurately identify the author’s views:

Ms Johnson criticises the installation of CCTV camerasbecause they invade people’s privacy

identify an author’s persuasive techniques and their purpose

write sentences relating to the author’s tone and persuasive techniques: Adopting an authoritative tone, Mr Jon comments that “its use is

shaming their religion and is of no benefit to anyone.”

Build an analytical vocabulary: In order to accurately identify the author’s attitude and values, you will need an extensive vocabulary relating to tone. (See E-book 2)


Outcomes: analytical precision

Students will recognise the difference between generic and analytically-precise sentences.

Generic sentences: The speech is in a forthright tone, getting straight to the point to

show you how serious he is. He uses his first-hand experience to build credibility and to show an

unbiased and reasonable perspective. He uses an expert who can be trusted because he has experience

in the field.

Outcomes: aim for analytical precision Students will rewrite their sentences:

“Sharing the fat load”, p. 30Evidence/technique; The expert, Mr Webber who is a trusted economist with experience in the airline industry, states that obese jetsetters must contribute fairly to the cost of airline travel. He adopts a logical tone to suggest that the heavier a person is, the heavier the aircraft and therefore the cost of fuel increases.

Additional resources include:

Suggested responses

E-books with exercises (downloadable and writable)

An e-licence (and class sets)


better essays and techniques part 2

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