AQA English - Persuasive Language Techniques - Foundation Paper

This text informs and persuades by using a number of language techniques. First it uses a rhetorical question. “Why don’t you…?” By using this rhetorical question, the reader is encouraged to think about whether they should take part in Sport Relief, this is persuading the reader to take part. The second technique is identifying with a celebrity. It suggests “dress up as their favourite sporting personality.” The reader is encouraged to take part as they can be creative in their choice of dress up. By focusing on your favourite celebrity, these are people that we aspire to be. Another technique is repetition. “Get in the Olympic spirit, your students could come dressed as the Olympic flag or wear the kit of different Olympic sports.” The word Olympic is being repeated, this informs the reader of the theme of the event, but it also, by making stick in their minds, persuades them to take part. The final technique I’m writing about is shocking and emotive language. “£25 could provide ten street children in India with their own bank account to save their earnings securely and work towards a brighter future.” This amount doesn’t seem like a lot to us, but it is to them. The fact they’re on the street and they’re young people like us makes us feel sympathetic towards them. The ‘Work towards a brighter future,’ makes it seem like we can change their lives with this donation.

Some info on GRIPPERS

Group of 3, 3 descriptive adjectives – The cheese was yellow, stinky and mouldy R – a question to provoke the reader I – Make sure the celebrity is appropriate P – The way it is laid out – article, letter, speech, leaflet P - ;:.,!”,. E – Where you make out that something is better or worse than it is. I’m hungry = I’m starving, I could eat a horse! R – What’s repetition? What’s repetition? S – Words that are linked to your feelings – love, rage, disgusting Do you want to find love? I am a personal trainer with long, beautiful, ginger hair! Johnny Depp says: “He’s a wonderful person, and you should go for a ginger beer with him!” Do you still want to find love? Reply to me direct for the time of your life!

Literary Beginnings

Beginnings

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Avoiding Cliche

Putting the Original into Original Writing

Cliche

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Ten Top Tips for Planning Writing to Persuade

Plan your answer:
· make a list of ideas
· number them to give you a paragraph plan
· remember to add an introduction and a concluding paragraph

1. Define your audience

2. Make your purpose explicit

3. Choose the appropriate form: a letter
· greeting, opening, conclusion, farewell

4. Choose your language with care:
· formal but friendly
· avoid abbreviations, slang, clichés, common sayings
· choose words to influence your reader

5. Pay attention to sentences:
· vary length
· link complex sentences properly with connectives not commas

6. Use paragraphs to give a clear structure:
· make them short, one line to six lines
· leave a line between each paragraph
· one paragraph covers one idea
· link each paragraph to the previous one
· point direction of the paragraph with opening sentence

7. Spell simple and common words accurately

8. Look for opportunities to use different punctuation:
· full stops, commas, question marks, exclamation marks
· colons, semi-colons, speech marks, hyphens

9. Make your content interesting:
· give details
· provide examples, stories, evidence

10. Use deliberate devices to catch the reader’s attention:
· repetition and emphasis
· rhetorical questions
· a surprising opening or conclusion
· unusual images or comparison

Writing to Persuade

Write a letter to a local celebrity inviting her/him to support your school in setting up a link with a school abroad.

Plan
1. Explain who celebrity is and why chosen him/her
2. Which school linked with and kind of school it is
3. What we’re trying to do to help students in Uganda
4. How our school can benefit from the link
5. What fundraising we’ve done so far
6. How celebrity can help
7. What we hope to achieve on the day
8. Thank celebrity for considering our invitation
9. Hope to hear from him/her soon



Our school is trying to set up a link with a school in Uganda to try to help them get better buildings and textbooks and so on. We have raised about £500 so far and want to get more money so they can get better teaching in future.

We thought it would help if we had a famous person supporting our fundraising, we’d like to invite you to come to a fundraising day we’re having in school in June. Their will be stalls and competitions and games for the kids and food and drink, we hope it will be a big event with loads of people there, they can spend lots of money and help us get more books so they can have better teaching in there school.

If you could open our day for us that would be really good as it would mean lots of people would come to see you and it would help us raise lots of money for the children in Uganda.

Please write and let us know if you can come.

Peter