Learning the

Language of Persuasion

Sally HumphreyAustralian Catholic University

Session 2

Interpersonal resources for persuading audiences

evaluative vocabulary

rhetorical devices

Genre (text type): Specific Persuasive Purpose

Register:

field: issue or ideas

tenor: relationship with the audience solidarity and/or authority

mode: role of language, image or other modality

Tools for analysing the language of persuasion

4

Interpersonal meanings:

Experiential meanings

Textual meanings

A multi-functional view

Genre/ Text types

Field

Register

Context of culture

Context of situation

Tenor Mode

• Persuade through control of tenor

• Appeal to reason, emotions and/or cultural values

• Subvert expectations (challenge readers’ values)

• Acknowledge wider audience

Band 4• Supports reader understanding

(more than assertions/opinions)+Band 6• Controls writer/reader

relationship• Establishes strong credible voice• Crafts writing to influence reader

by precise and sustained language choices and persuasive techniques

• Takes readers values and expectations into account

TENOR in analytical– creating authority

Band 4

Sustained and effective use of persuasive devices

?

Exploring evaluative meanings

Exercise 7Highlight the wordings in the following excerpts which express evaluative meanings.

Makes notes about who or what is evaluated, whether the evaluation is positive or negative and the differences in the way evaluation is expressed in the excerpts?

Meaning ‘categories’Positive and negative values of:

• Affect: to express people’s feelings

• Judgement: to praise or criticise peoples’ behaviour

• Appreciation: to assess objects, settings and appearances.

Evaluative vocabulary and meaning

Text 2

Conservationists, on the other hand, argue that logging and woodchipping are destroying the forests. The loss of trees affects the entire ecosystem of the forest, including the soil, vegetation and wildlife. Trees protect the soil from erosion and provide habitats for many different kinds of animals.

Text 3

It is offensive because you are saying that although it is appropriate for young children to read about heterosexual relationships it is inappropriate for them to read about homosexual ones.

Text 6

Let me begin to answer by telling the Parliament just a little of one person's story - an elegant, eloquent and wonderful woman in her 80s, full of life, full of funny stories, despite what has happened in her life's journey, …. a member of the stolen generation …

Explicit evaluative vocabulary (inscribed)

Text 7

Every 3 seconds, a child dies from hunger. This phrase, popularized by the MakePovertyHistory campaign along with the Live8 concerts, shows the world what state it is in. Worldwide, 208 million young people live on less than US$1 a day, and a further 515 million live on less than US$2 a day. 85% of young people live in developing countries and most of them live in rural areas where poverty and diseases like HIV/AIDS and malaria cause havoc

Text 8

So we got into a little leaky fishing boat, more than 100 of us. I was one of 30 children and babies on board. It took us 10 days to get to Australia - 10 days of horror, sadness, no food or drink and so many worries about our future. Can you believe that a child could die in the middle of the ocean without a drop of water?

Implicit evaluative vocabulary (Invoked)

Implicit evaluative meaningsText 2

Conservationists, on the other hand, argue that logging and woodchipping are destroying the forests. The loss of trees affects the entire ecosystem of the forest, including the soil, vegetation and wildlife. Trees protect the soil from erosion and provide habitats for many different kinds of animals.

Text 3

It is offensive because you are saying that although it is appropriate for young children to read about heterosexual relationships it is inappropriate for them to read about homosexual ones.

Text 6

Let me begin to answer by telling the Parliament just a little of one person's story - an elegant, eloquent and wonderful woman in her 80s, full of life, full of funny stories, despite what has happened in her life's journey, …. a member of the stolen generation …

Implicit evaluative meaningsText 7

Every 3 seconds, a child dies from hunger. This phrase, popularized by the MakePovertyHistory campaign along with the Live8 concerts, shows the world what state it is in. Worldwide, 208 million young people live on less than US$1 a day, and a further 515 million live on less than US$2 a day. 85% of young people live in developing countries and most of them live in rural areas where poverty and diseases like HIV/AIDS and malaria cause havoc

Text 8

So we got into a little leaky fishing boat, more than 100 of us. I was one of 30 children and babies on board. It took us 10 days to get to Australia - 10 days of horror, sadness, no food or drink and so many worries about our future. Can you believe that a child could die in the middle of the ocean without a drop of water?

Evaluative vocabulary and Grading

Excerpt from Kevin Rudd’s apology

Some of these stories are graphically told in Bringing them home, the report commissioned in 1995 by Prime Minister Keating and received in 1997 by Prime Minister Howard. There is something terribly primal about these firsthand accounts. The pain is searing; it screams from the pages. The hurt, the humiliation, the degradation and the sheer brutality of the act of physically separating a mother from her children is a deep assault on our senses and on our most elemental humanity. These stories cry out to be heard; they cry out for an apology...

Evaluative vocabulary and Grading

17

Phases Text 8 Attitudinal motifs

‘Setting’ There were six of us: me, then aged 14, my little sisters, 13 and 3, my little brother, 9, my father and mother.

‘Problems 2’ A smuggler hid us in the back of a truck for our escape from Afghanistan to Pakistan Then we were smuggled to Indonesia where we had to stay in hiding My mother had to go to hospital to give birth. The rest of us were locked in a terrible flat 24 hours a day, until it was our turn to get on the boat. So we got into a little leaky fishing boat, more than 100 of us. I was one of 30 children and babies on board.

danger

‘Reaction 1’ It took us 10 days to get to Australia - 10 days of HORROR, SADNESS, no food or drink and so many WORRIES about our future. Can you believe that a child could die in the middle of the ocean without a drop of water? The only music I heard in my childhood in Bamiyan was the SCREAMING WITH HORROR and mothers CRYING for their children's future, and I heard it again on this boat. We were all vomiting My poor mother with a newborn baby was sick the whole way.

misery & Fear

‘Solution 2’ Finally, in September 2000, our boat was guided by the Royal Australian Navy and landed on Australian land safely

safety

‘Reaction 2’ I was HAPPY because my miserable life was over and a new horizon with no more death and killing was welcoming

happiness

From retelling to rhetoric – Emotional appeals within Reaction phases

Creating ‘dialogue’ with audiences

interact with Evaluative vocabulary and Grading systems to:

• influence the opinions of readers, listeners and viewers

• align audiences with the position of the speaker or writer.

Rhetorical devices

Rhetorical Devices

• Modality

• Citation

• Concession

• Comment/Viewpoint

Adverbials

Rhetorical Devices

Modality: resources used to temper or modulate positions so that the audience is given some ‘room to move’.

Polarity: express non-negotiable or already agreed upon positions (eg. is/isn’t; yes/no).

a) Mobile phones are harmful to health (polarity)

b) Mobile phones may be harmful to health

c) It is clear that mobile phones are not good for you.

d) Mobile phones are not harmful to health (polarity)

IS

ISN’T

Modality

Meanings

Possibility

Tempering opinions about how likely something is.

(more common in Analytical persuasion)

Obligation

Tempering meanings of obligation or ‘mustness’ so that recommendations do not appear too strong.

(more common in Hortatory persuasion)

Grammatical resources: Modal verbs

Text 9Even though TV is valued by some people for its entertainment, it can also deceive the responder and prevent them from discovering new worlds or new, fascinating ideas. Books, such as novels allow the responder to enter a whole new world and experience unrealistic features, which may help with the growth of their imagination. Exposing the youth of today with novels will allow them to interpret the story through their imagination and creativity, which further improves their creative thinking and view of the world. Factual books will help expand the youth’s knowledge and way of life, by teaching them the right path to take.

Modality:Additional resources

Exercise 10

1. Highlight examples of modality in Text 10

2. Compare the range of grammatical resources used to express modality in Text 10 to those used by the student in Text 9

Text 10Are mobile phones a problem? Mobile telephony is without doubt one of the most explosive developments ever to have taken place in the telecommunications industry. Mobile phones definitely offer enormous advantages but it seems that there are also costs.

The potential impact of mobile phones on the human brain has received little attention until relatively recently, and it is probably still too soon to say what the effects are. However, there are certainly concerns about the frequent use of mobile phones on human health. It is possible that excessive exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF) could cause such undesirable effects as memory loss, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases, and even brain tumours. It may also be that mobile phone use could affect the nerve cells responsible for short-term memory. This suggests that excessive use of mobile phones causes headaches and fatigue.

On the other hand cellular telephony has definitely brought great and new freedoms for youngsters – and increased security and peace of mind for their parents. It is now possible for young people equipped with mobile phones to stay in touch with their parents and for parents to stay in touch with their children. This can help reduce or eliminate the need for meaningless restrictions on young people. Costs might not even be a major issue, since these can be controlled through the use of pre-paid cards.

With a little effort on everyone’s part, I believe the benefits of mobile phones can serve to enhance our experience of life, offering us more freedom, and ultimately creating a more connected society.

Text 10Are mobile phones a problem? Mobile telephony is without doubt one of the most explosive developments ever to have taken place in the telecommunications industry. Mobile phones definitely offer enormous advantages but it seems that there are also costs.

The potential impact of mobile phones on the human brain has received little attention until relatively recently, and it is probably still too soon to say what the effects are. However, there are certainly concerns about the frequent use of mobile phones on human health. It is possible that excessive exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF) could cause such undesirable effects as memory loss, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases, and even brain tumours. It may also be that mobile phone use could affect the nerve cells responsible for short-term memory. This suggests that excessive use of mobile phones causes headaches and fatigue.

On the other hand cellular telephony has definitely brought great and new freedoms for youngsters – and increased security and peace of mind for their parents. It is now possible for young people equipped with mobile phones to stay in touch with their parents and for parents to stay in touch with their children. This can help reduce or eliminate the need for meaningless restrictions on young people. Costs might not even be a major issue, since these can be controlled through the use of pre-paid cards.

With a little effort on everyone’s part, I believe the benefits of mobile phones can serve to enhance our experience of life, offering us more freedom, and ultimately creating a more connected society.

Reporting and challenging the words and ideas of others

what is said, thought and believed and found (ie. through studies or experiments).

Grammatical resources:

reporting verb in a quote or paraphrase. For example:

Quote: Some have asked ‘Why apologise?’

Paraphrase: Conservationists argue that logging is destroying the forests

Citation

Citation

Adding authority through high status sources

.

High status in analytical exposition: researchers argue, findings suggest…

High status in hortatory exposition:

.

 

A new study undertaken by Monash University has reported that soon, kids will be unable to think. Their findings suggest that the next generation of teenagers will be unable to think, spell or concentrate because of the increase in the use of mobile phones, and text messaging.

“We are not just pulling these figures out of nowhere” A representative from the university said. “Over time text messaging and the many forms of passive entertainment have decreased the ability of teenagers to form extensive or coherent sentences.” The university has called for a ban on mobile phones for under 18’s. This, researchers argue, will encourage a more focused learning environment.

This argument has been met with mixed responses. Some parents and teachers support the call for a ban on mobile phones, however, teenagers have expressed strong disagreement. Student representative from Burmont High school, Kelly Brackenberry has responded to the call for a ban with a clear statement “On behalf of the students of this school I’d like to say that we are strongly opposed to the idea of such a law. In fact there is an argument that the abbreviations used in text messaging allow for much quicker communication and allows kids to be creative with language Without further evidence this study can not be taken seriously.”

Kids at war with adults is nothing new but this battle is expected to last for a while.

Exercise 11: Highlight the resources used to cite sources in Text, Indicate if the source is high or low status and discuss the rhetorical effect

Citation: exercise Text 7.7:Saving Kids from The Unthinkable.

A new study undertaken by Monash University has reported that soon, kids will be unable to think. Their findings suggest that the next generation of teenagers will be unable to think, spell or concentrate because of the increase in the use of mobile phones, and text messaging.

“We are not just pulling these figures out of nowhere” A representative from the university said. “Over time text messaging and the many forms of passive entertainment have decreased the ability of teenagers to form extensive or coherent sentences.” The university has called for a ban on mobile phones for under 18’s. This, researchers argue, will encourage a more focused learning environment.

This argument has been met with mixed responses. Some parents and teachers support the call for a ban on mobile phones, however, teenagers have expressed strong disagreement. Student representative from Burmont High school, Kelly Brackenberry has responded to the call for a ban with a clear statement “On behalf of the students of this school I’d like to say that we are strongly opposed to the idea of such a law. In fact there is an argument that the abbreviations used in text messaging allow for much quicker communication and allows kids to be creative with language Without further evidence this study can not be taken seriously.”

Kids at war with adults is nothing new but this battle is expected to last for a while.

 

Contrast and Concession

Contrast: Strengthening positions through rebuttal

Then we come to the argument of intergenerational responsibility, also used by some to argue against giving an apology today. But let us remember the fact that the forced removal of Aboriginal children was happening as late as the early 1970s.

Concession: conceding part of the alternate argument before challenging it.

It is clear from the above arguments, that while television in moderation has some educational and entertainment value, its benefits are far outweighed by its negative effects.

.