Persuasive Writing – considering your audience and purpose.
Match the best topic with the right person and reason for writing. It is possible to have a
range of different answers here.
Persuasive Topic
Person/ institution to write
to
The editor of The Herald
Sun
Purpose for writing
The AFL should
You want to share
support Aboriginal
your opinion
AFL players
Glenroy College
The Chairman of the AFL
You want to make a
students should be
change at school
able to use their
phones at school
Discuss the booing of
Mr Arney
You want to
Adam Goodes
complain
Big companies should
Your local MP
You want the AFL to
pay taxes
make changes
There should be an
The CEO of the corporation
You want to
Aboriginal Voice in
respond to an
parliament
article you read
You read a newspaper
The editor of The Herald
You want the
article you agree/
Sun
company to change
disagree with
its’ policies.
You want to share
Your personal blog.
You want the
your opinion on the
government to
media’s treatment of
change the law.
Adam Goodes
If I want to complain about something, I can write to
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________.
If I want to respond to a newspaper article, I should write to
________________________________________________________________.
If I want the government to make changes, I should write to
________________________________________________________________.
If I want a company to do something, I should write to
________________________________________________________________.
If I want the school to do something, I should write to
________________________________________________________________.
Complaining/ Commenting
Requesting/
Demanding
You want to get printed so can use strong criticisms,
exaggeration (hyperbole), strong emotive language,
negative connotations, and a critical, outraged, sarcastic
or frustrated tone (mood).
You want someone to do something for you so, avoid
exaggeration, use facts to support your reasons, show
cause and effect, you can use emotive language and
connotations in order to get the person to feel sympathy
for your cause – not to criticize the person or
organization. Using inclusive language would help create
a sense of you working together. Tone (mood) should be
reasonable, calm, polite, possibly urgent.
What do you think? Give the example a tick or a cross.
Persuasive Example
Dear Editor, It is simply outrageous that so many fools out there think that
the booing of Adam Goodes is racist.
Dear Mr Arney, It is ridiculously unfair that the fools we call teachers at this
school get to use their phones but we students don’t!
Dear Mr Mclachlan, It is of great concern to me that Adam Goodes is
continuing to be booed at AFL games. We all love the game and I think we
can agree that AFL is better than this
Dear Editor, it is urgent that footy fans make changes in the way that we
treat Aboriginal players. It is evident that many Aboriginal players, such as
Adam Goodes, are now being booed for speaking up about Aboriginal
rights. It is their right to do so and they should not be treated so badly in
their place of work.
Dear Mr Musk, you should be ashamed of yourself! Using tricky accounting
to avoid paying your taxes. You crook!
Choose two to rewrite so they are more appropriate for the audience and purpose:
1. ___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
2. ___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________