Persuasive Texts: Editorials/Speech
Direct Approach: State opinion then argument
Indirect approach: Discuss / argue then state opinion
Editorials:
An editorial is an article that presents the newspaper’s opinion on an issue.
• Types of editorials:
• Explain or interpret: Editors often use these editorials to explain the way the
newspaper covered a sensitive or controversial subject. School newspapers may
explain new school rules or a particular student-body effort like a food drive.
• Criticize: These editorials constructively criticize actions, decisions or situations
while providing solutions to the problem identified. Immediate purpose is to get
readers to see the problem, not the solution.
• Persuade: Editorials of persuasion aim to immediately see the solution, not the
problem. From the first paragraph, readers will be encouraged to take a specific,
positive action. Political endorsements are good examples of editorials of
persuasion.
• Praise: These editorials commend people and organizations for something done
well. They are not as common as the other three.
• Characteristics of editorials:
• The opinions of the writer, delivered in a professional manner.
• An objective explanation of the issue, especially complex issues
• Primary topic/topics
• Intended audience
• Facts and statistics
• Arguments to support the thesis
• Ideology/point of view of the writer
• Develop logical and ethical arguments; avoid purely emotional rhetoric.
• Collect evidence, examples, and support for the view you are promoting.
• Alternative solutions to the problem or issue being criticized.
Speech
• Characteristics of a speech:
• Structure: Introduction, body, conclusion
• Engaging, emotive language
• Rhetorical devices: Seek to make an argument more compelling than it otherwise
would’ve been.
• Always link back to the main idea. Clarity.
• Informal touch, it should be presented in a personal way.
• Support arguments: Facts/statistics, anecdotes, humor.
• Consider the audience: expectations, interest, and nature of the audience.
News Stories:
There are 5 key characteristics in any news story:
• Accurate: Factual accuracy – every name, date, and quote must be precise and an
accurate representation of the true facts.
• Balance: A fair perspective – must paint a whole picture of the event or idea that is
the topic of the news story, including both arguments and counter-arguments.
• Objectivity: Impartial recount – the story cannot be recounted as the writer would’ve liked
to have seen it or how the viewers would like to hear about it. People form their opinions
based on information in news stories so it is important the writer remains as objective as
possible.
•
Concise: Clear – The meaning should be organized, distilled and absolutely plain.
• Current: The information a news story offers may only be relevant for a short period
of time as events transpire. The information offered should always be the latest news on
the topic.
Articles:
There are two types of articles, each with different characteristics:
Popular Articles:
•
Written by publications’ staff of journalists.
•
Written for the general public.
•
Shorter, simpler, easier to understand.
•
An example is magazines.
Scholarly Articles:
• Written by an authority or expert in the field.
• Reviewed by a board of experts or “peer reviewers.”
• Longer, report scientific findings.
• Charts and graphs displaying research findings are included.
• Source material is cited.
Write like a journalist:
• Angle – The lens through which the writer filters the information they have gathered
and focuses it to make it meaningful to viewers or readers (point, theme).
• Introduction – first ~two paragraphs (intro, lead).
• Quote
• Attribution – Where the information in your story comes from, as well as who is being
quoted (source’s full name, job title).
Investigative Journalism:
• Systematic, in-depth, and original research.
• The uncovering of matters that are either purposefully concealed or hidden under
chaos and confusion in circumstance or information.
• Exposes facts to the public, seeks to hold larger corporations or government entities
accountable for corruption.
• Tends to be longer and more complex than a typical hard news story.
Tips for writing an investigative news report:
• Avoid absolutes: all, none, must, except, every, not, always, just, only, and never.
• Use active verbs.
• Use detailed facts to establish credibility.
• Use interviews to include different perspectives or credible sources of information.
Characteristics of reviews:
• Tone is usually formal.
• Tends to be addressed directly to the reader.
• Gives personal opinion with confidence and authority, immediately and passionately.
• Gives evidence to support opinions.
• Refers to other works by the author to offer context and sound knowledgeable.
• Focuses on strengths and weaknesses.
• Draws a conclusion that is useful to the reader.
Characteristics of blogs:
• Blogs are written from lots of locations for different purposes and audiences.
• Oftentimes not a specific audience but rather anyone who’s interested.
• Could be a recipe, a review, a diary entry, or purely informational.
• Written in first person and reflects personal ideas / beliefs.
• Language is often informal and chatty.
Characteristics of diary entries:
• Written in first person.
• Events written in the past tense.
• Paragraph breaks between events/ideas.
• Chronological order.
• Includes thoughts and feelings.
• Emotive language and descriptions so the reader can live themselves into the writing.
Letters Structure:
• Details:
• Send address
• Date
• Return Address
• Greeting:
• Dear _____:
• Ms, Mrs, Mr.
• Job title: Dear Director ____:
• Full name: Dear ____:
• Intro:
• Introduce self
• Give a brief overview of the reason for writing.
• Main body:
• The following paragraph should expand on your intro and give the details of the main
point of the letter.
• Closing:
• Should rephrase your intro.
• Call to action if necessary.
• Outro:
• Formal closings: Sincerely, Yours truly.
• Informal: Cordially, Best regards.
• Signature:
• Skip 4 lines then write your full name.
• Skip another line and write your job title and company name.
• Add a signature if necessary.
• Enclosures:
• If you’re including documents in the letter, list them here.
• Podcast Structure:
• Sponsor message:
• Often podcasts will start off with a
sponsored message.
• Introduction
• Intro jingle
• Longer introduction
• Topic 1:
Topic 2…
• Main point
•
Closing remarks
• Supporting point
•
Outro jingle
• Supporting data
•
Tips:
• Supporting quote
•
Paint pictures with your words
• Example
•
Keep it concise
• Anecdote
•
Give yourself flexibility
• Conclusion
• Segue
• Narrative writing:
• Fiction / non-fiction
• Linear: Story told in chronological order (movies, books).
• Non-linear: Story told in non chronological order (aims to emphasize character’s emotions
and perspectives)
• Viewpoint: Focuses on the narrator’s perspective of the story’s events.
• Descriptive: Focus on how the people and places in the story look and feel.
• Descriptive language
• Plot: sequence of events, varies in complexity.
• Narrative structure: Beginning (hook), middle (climax), end (resolution).
• Characters: protagonist(s), antagonist(s), main character.
• Biographies:
• Written about a person, authored by a different individual.
• Biased.
• Shows off the author’s knowledge.
• Authorized / unauthorized.
• Start with a formal introduction.
• Length depends on the audience.
• Written in third person.
• Based on facts and anecdotes.
• Educates the readers on the individual.
• Autobiographies:
• The author writes about themselves.
• May or may not start off with a formal introduction depending on the writer’s
approach (informative or entertaining).
• Written in first person.
• Very anecdotal.
• The author reveals their feelings, reactions, values, and goals.
• Travel writing:
• Anecdotal writing.
• Aims to inform or expose people to destinations they may not have heard about otherwise,
or to excite readers with the purpose of getting them traveling as well.
• Tone will be less formal and more chatty and personal.
• Written in first person.
• Descriptive / contains sensory details, the writer wants the readers to live themselves into
the story.
• Will include details and the writer’s unique perspective.
• May include helpful travel tips that the writer picked up when they were at the destination.
• Relatable.
Descriptive writing:
•
Evokes readers’ senses.
•
Communicates an idea that might not be tangible.
•
Metaphors: likens one thing to another (is).
•
Simile: describes something by comparing it to something else (like, so, than, as).
•
Hyperbole: an extreme statement to make a point.
•
Personification: given something human-like characteristics.
•
Onomatopoeia: specific sounds.
•
Alliteration: using the same first letter in a sequence of words.
•
Rule of three: when listing things, do it in sets of three.
Complex-compound sentence:
• At least two independent clauses joined by a subordinating conjunction to one or more
dependent clauses (joined by a coordinating conjunction).
• Coordinating conjunction: a word that joins two elements of equal grammatical rank and
syntactic importance. They can join two verbs, two nouns, two adjectives, two phrases, or two
independent clauses. The seven coordinating conjunctions are for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and
so. FANBOYS
• Independent clause + subordinating conjunction + dependent clause + coordinating conjunction
+ dependent clause.
Paragraph Structure:
• Topic Sentence: States the main idea – a general statement.
• Explanation / Definition (optional): Clarifies any difficult or unclear terms in the topic
sentence.
• Evidence: Supports or develops the main idea with facts, examples, experiments, studies,
arguments, quotes, etc.
• Comment: Explain what the evidence means and how it relates to your point. Supports
or develops the evidence (e.g. contrasting points, analysis, etc.)
• Concluding sentence: States the implications or consequences of the paragraph, links it
back to the topic sentence and main idea. Links forwards to the next paragraph.
Text Level Structure:
1. Intro:
• Introductory information: opening sentence (hook), interesting fact / quotation.
• Thesis: Write a sentence or statement describing the purpose of your paper. This
must answer the prompt.
• List everything you will be talking about in your body paragraphs.
• Topic + Stance + Reasons.
2. 1st Body Paragraph:
• Topic sentence: Describes what your paragraph is about.
• Write about the first item listed in your thesis statement.
• Stick to the topic.
• Make sure it all relates to your thesis. If needed, explain how.
3. 2nd Body Paragraph:
• Topic/Transition Sentence: A topic sentence that segues into your next paragraph.
Your paragraphs should move from one topic to another logically.
• Stick to the topic.
• Make sure it all relates to your thesis. If needed, explain how.
4. Conclusion:
• Final transition sentence.
• Sum up all your major points. NOT VERBAT IM. Use different vocabulary.
• Rephrase your thesis, and link the points you made in the body of your essay to your
final conclusion / point of view given the information in your body.
• Make a universal comment on your topic that anyone can connect with.
Voice:
• A mix of tone, point of view, emotions, attitude, and vocabulary that makes the content of
a text flow together in a particular manner.
•
Formal vs informal
•
Serious vs lighthearted
•
Comical vs depressed
•
Persuasive vs argumentative
•
Objective vs subjective
• Directly affects the voice and mood of a text. The same text written with a positive
voice will convey the content in a very, very different manner than if it were written with
a negative voice.
•
Examples of voice:
•
The tall, big-leaved trees of the forest cast their shadows gently overhead.
•
The crooked, looming trees of the forest cast their shadows menacingly overhead.
•
Types of voice:
•
Narrator:
•
Expresses the attitude of the narrator through which the story is directly being told.
• Narrative perspective: The role of the narrator affects their voice, for example a first
person narrator may be more directly involved and invested in the story vs. a third person
narrator who might be more objective. Either way the narrator is who the audience hears
the story from so it directly affects the way they view the contents of a text.
•
Author:
• Expresses the attitude of the author themselves. Even if the story is being told through
a narrator, the author’s voice can shine through.
• Most prominent in non-fiction, e.g. news articles where the outlet is presumably ‘objective’,
however often the opinions and ideas of the news outlet are clearly shown in the writing.
•
Character:
• The author may choose to give each character their own unique voice that expresses
their unique personality and take on the events in the story.
• Most prominent in fiction. The author may choose to tell the story through the
perspective of many characters, e.g. heroes of olympus.
•
The importance of voice:
• As aforementioned, the voice of a text directly affects the way the reader experiences
the story. It is always important to consider the voice of a text.
Tone:
•
The overall feel / emotion of the text.
•
Directly affected by the vocabulary choices of the author.
•
Affects the way the text makes the reader feel.
•
Examples:
•
Regretful
•
Joyous
•
Cynical
Audience:
•
Determines what kind of voice will be conveyed in the text.
•
Identifying audience:
•
Age range
•
Cultural context
•
Individual ideology
•
Level of education
•
Familiarity with the topic
•
Appealing to audience:
•
Formal vs informal
•
Conversational vs factual
•
Educative vs entertaining
•
The more you understand your audience, the more effectively you will be able to connect with them.
Genre:
•
Has an effect on the purpose of the text.
•
Examples:
• Descriptive pieces mean to evoke the reader’s senses and emotions through specific vocabulary use
and sentence structure.
• Analytical pieces mean to pick apart and understand the logic behind something or the credibility of it,
as well as to inform.
• Argumentative pieces mean to directly oppose a certain point of view and impose the author’s point of
view on the reader in contrast to it.
•
Comical pieces aim to entertain the reader and take their mind off of things.
Purpose:
•
Simply the reason the author wrote the text.
•
A text may have more than one purpose, but one will tend to stand out.
•
Determining purpose:
•
Does the text offer factual information? Then its purpose is probably to inform.
•
Does the text tell us how something works? Then its purpose is probably to explain.
• Does the text contain a list of steps to accomplish a specific task? Then its purpose is probably to
instruct.
• Does the text contain sensory features that help the reader create a mental picture? Then its purpose
is probably to describe.
•
Does the text contain poetry, a story, or is it a novel? Then its purpose is probably to entertain.
• Does the text contain reasoning or does it encourage the reader to do something? Then its purpose is
probably to persuade.
Modality:
•
Verbs tell the reader what is happening in the sentence.
•
Modal verbs tell the reader about the degree of certainty or obligation that is involved in the action.
•
Modality can be expressed through the choice of verbs, adverbs and adjectives in a sentence.
• Low vs high modality: Low modality shows less importance, impact, certainty, obligation, confidence,
emphasis. High modality shows greater extents of these.
High modality Medium modality Low modality
must
will
may
mustn’t
won’t
might
ought to
should
mightn’t
shall
shouldn’t
could
shan’t
can
couldn’t
has to
can’t
would
have to
need to
wouldn’t
Pragmatics:
• Definition: The study of what an author implies via. situational context, connotation, syntax, the preceding
dialogue, and its relationship to what the reader infers. Pragmatics incorporates the context of an utterance to
determine meaning.
• Example: An example is the phrase “how are you?”. The recipient doesn’t respond with every detail of
their day to day life, their medical condition, and the state of their interfamilial relationships. Instead, the
common response is “fine, how are you?”. This is a pragmatic response because you can presuppose that
the phrase was implied as a greeting rather than a directed question.