Critical Literacy
Critical Literacy
Notes on Style, Critical Literacy
and Persuasion
Critical Literacy
Style:
● Style is how language is manipulated and changed in order to
achieve a specific purpose/intention.
● A writer’s style is thus made up of a variety of aspects: choice of
words; variety in sentence structure and length; the use of figures
of speech.
● Style is something that is developed out of many features of
writing, and it expands as a writer becomes increasingly skilled
and aware of the impact of his work.
Style:
Questions could range from looking at specific elements of style
(“Explain the shift in the writer’s tone”) or more open questions.
(“Discuss which of the two texts is more persuasive/subjective/
objective”) that allow you to draw from your knowledge of the
range of language that you have studied.
The higher aim is targeted at critical literacy which
assesses your ability to recognise that language
changes according to its intention, source and
audience.
● Critical literacy is about understanding how the text
“positions” its audience to see the world.
● Students who are critically literate are able to examine the
Power relations inherent in language use; recognise that
language is NOT neutral; and confront their own values in
the production and reception of language.
● Critical Literacy raises such questions as “Whose story is
this?”, “Who benefits from the story?” and “What voices
are not being heard?” Mastering the elements of style is the
first step towards developing your critical literacy.
Style in General:
forceful
unadorned
verbose
flowery
animated
colloquial
grateful
sensational
grandiose
humorous
pedantic
informal
tongue-in-cheek
delicate
dignified
abstract
satirical
eloquent
repetitive
intense
terse
concrete
surrealistic
subjective
technical
formal
conversational
racy
factual
matter-of-fact
lively
Style in General:
How to Tackle Style Questions:
The most important starting point for engaging in any style question is to be aware of the specific
intention/purpose. Ask yourself what the writer is intending to do with the text.
The five categories introduced below are a helpful way of narrowing down the writer’s intention:
1. Writing that is intended to persuade. E.g. essays, letters (to newspapers), opinion
pieces, advertising copy.
2. Writing that is intended to inform. E.g. reports, descriptions, letters, reviews,
encyclopaedias.
3. Writing that is intended to create and re-create. E.g creative writing (short stories,
novels, poems, plays), biography, narrative, descriptions.
4. Writing that is intended to instruct. E.g. textbooks, manuals, cooking books.
5. Writing that is intended to entertain. E.g. Satirical writing, lifestyle articles, opinion
pieces.
NOW you can begin to use you knowledge of language by putting the text under a microscope.
Some key things to consider and use as proof include:
- TONE.
Describe the feeling/attitude the writer has towards what he is writing
about. Use diction as proof.
- DICTION (word choice). Quote individual words and consider: denotation vs
connotation,jargon, slang, emotive qualities, how certain words can be grouped
together.
- SENTENCE STRUCTURES and TYPES. Active vs Passive; Simple, Compound,
Complex;Loose vs Periodic; Use of repetition (anaphora); use of long and short
sentences; sentence fragments; commands (imperative).
-
PUNCTUATION. Revise notes. e.g Use of parenthesis and rhetorical questions
can heighten immediacy.
- PRONOUNS. First person (I, me, we, us) vs Third person (He, she, him, her,
they, them, it) vs second person (you).
- USE OF FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE. You have many notes on these. Figurative
language can be very persuasive and emotive.
Discuss the writer’s use of such things as: Puns, Metaphors,sounds devices,
Allusions, Euphemism, Idioms, Irony, Hyperbole, Oxymoron, Satire,
Paradox,Antithesis, Chiasmus, Metonymy, Synecdoche.... Explain the effect of
the writer’s use of these devices and comparisons.
And now for something
completely different...
THE ART OF PERSUASION
The Greeks referred to this as a discipline called
rhetoric
The distinctions that
Aristotle made can be a
very helpful way of
analysing how texts
persuade us.
He said that we can be
persuaded on the basis of
three things:
Pathos,
Ethos,
Logos.
PATHOS
#1
Pathos, meaning suffering or experience (from where we get the word
empathy) refers to persuasion by appealing to emotion. It is an idea
that you have most probably used in style questions before. In terms of
style this would usually make the writing very subjective with strong
use of figurative devices. Whenever dealing with this type of
persuasion always be specific in the type of emotion (anger, happiness,
sadness) that the text is targeting. In this form of persuasion
the audience to persuaded to believe in something because they are
made to feel strongly about something.
ETHOS
#2
Ethos is the Greek word for “character” and it refers to the values, nature and
expertise of a given person. There is simply too much knowledge in the world
for us to become experts in everything when we make our decisions. This form
of persuasion appeals to the authority, expertise and influence/reputation of
someone. This is why writers quote from professionals in essays and speeches.
Ethos persuades us by encouraging to us to trust in the character and expertise
of someone else.
LOGOS
#3
Logos is the Greek word for “word” or “reason.” This is the mode of
persuasion that Aristotle thought we should pay the most attention to. This
persuades us to believe in something because the argument being made is
logical. This means that we are persuaded because strong and rational reasons
have been given for us to believe in it.
Logos has a strong correlation to factual and objective writing styles, but when
thinking about logos remember that while facts are important what really
makes something logical is the strength of the connection between ideas.