Persuasion - Written Task Assessment
Do you have a cause? Is there a current controversial even or issue that interests
you? Why? Does it link to law, politics, religion, human rights, or your personal
or school life? Which ‘side’ have you taken? How can you convince others to join
you?
Over the course of the term we have studied various persuasive techniques, including
structure, appeals, fallacies, and the use of literary devices. Choose a format or text type
in which you feel most comfortable displaying your understanding of persuasive
techniques. (More detailed descriptions of each text type are on the back.)
Consider the following text types:
Editorial
Op-ed
Opinion Column
Blog
Letter
Manifesto
Speech
Then choose a part on which you would like to focus. This will depend on the content
and purpose of your persuasive piece, as well as where it is published. It might also
depend on if you are counter-arguing a specific person, organization, or government, or
anything they have published. Consider: Does the content reflect a specific audience, or
a specific way in which we communicate? Does your topic reflect issues in the media?
No matter what the topic or text type, your work should employ various techniques we
have studied. Use the chart at the beginning of the persuasive packet for help, as well as
the stylistic device boxes. The three samples will remain on the website, too, for you to
peruse.
Part 1: Language in Cultural Context
How do audience and purpose affect the structure and content of texts?
How and why does language change? What impact does it have?
How are language and meaning are shaped by culture and context?
Part 2: Language and Mass Communication
What potential does the media have for educational, political or ideological influence?
How does mass media use language to inform, persuade, or entertain?
Steps and Due Dates:
Step in Process
1
Proposal
2
Draft - Peer and
Teacher Feedback
5
FINAL DUE WITH
RATIONALE
General Information
200 words –
addresses questions in
Written Task packet
Classmates and
teacher will
contribute to feedback
session based on your
draft.
Due at the beginning
of class on due date.
Submit as:
Due Date
Hard copy or
shared Google
doc
Bring a
PRINTED/HARD
COPY to class.
Hard copy with
rubric AND
uploaded to
turnitin.com
Persuasive Text Types
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Editorial - At times, the reader of a magazine or newspaper gets to hear the editor’s
voice directly. This is usually takes the form of a brief explanation or justification on
how they have decided to cover of a topic in their newspaper or magazine. Remember,
editors are the gatekeepers at a publishing house who decide what goes in to the final
publication. In an editorial they may comment on their journalists’ fieldwork, their
columnists’ reputation, or their newspapers’ status in society. Here are some questions
that you may want to consider when writing an editorial: Which publication are you the
editor of? Who are your readers? What kinds of decisions have you had to make
regarding your publications and how do you justify them to your readers?
Op-ed - Sometimes famous people also like their opinions to be printed in newspapers
or magazines. ‘Op-ed’ stands for ‘opposite the editorial’, as this is where these opinion
pieces used to appear in traditional media. The general of an army may write an op-ed
about the status of war. A famous rock star may write an op-ed in Rolling Stone
magazine. The president of a country may write a letter to a political opponent, which he
or she wishes to be published as an op-ed. Here are some questions that you may want
to consider when writing an op-ed: Whom are you pretending to write as, and what
have you done that gives you important cultural status? Why are you publishing your
opinions through a certain newspaper?
Opinion Column – An opinion columnist writes op-ed pieces as a regular contributor to
a news source. The writer may be published on a weekly, or even daily, basis, and
usually addresses current and newsworthy events/issues. This creates a more longterm relationship with the audience. The writer may tend to take more liberal or
conservative views on any given topic. This may impact which news outlet regularly
publishes his/her work. Opinion columnists take the following into consideration:
voice, newsworthiness, call to action, humour, hard facts, logos, etc.
Blog - With the arrival of the Internet, we see that everyone may be a self-professed
columnist. Starting a blog is free and easy. Blogs are focused around a person or a topic,
and thus well-visited blogs have a specific audience in mind. Keep in mind that the word
‘blog’ comes from ‘web-log’ and is meant to be time sensitive. You can usually look
through the archives of a blog, and they may, like columns, be newsworthy. It helps to
define blog in a very broad sense. Just as a 'book' is only really defined by two covers
and some pages in between, so too is blog nothing more than a means of disseminating
information online. The nature of blogs, just like the nature of books, can vary from
genre to genre.
Letter – A persuasive letter may be for one specific person or a group; thus, it has a very
specific and often narrow purpose. A letter can be openly published in a newspaper;
this is called an ‘open letter’. Usually an open letter is a rebuttal or counter-argument
for something which previously happened, or for something in which the writer is
directly involved. It should follow the constructs of a formal letter and of a persuasive
argument.
Manifesto – A manifesto usually accepts a previously published opinion (ad populum)
and promotes a new idea. Hitler’s Mein Kampf (My Struggle) was a published
declaration of his political ideologies, and his plans for the future of Germany. It was
published in 2 volumes, each with over 10 chapters. We read only one chapter of his
manifesto, but it is still fairly clear what his intentions were and that he intended on
propagating them.
Speech - Speeches are delivered to a specific audience for a specific purpose. The
speaker is usually promoting his/her cause or defending a decision. The historical,
social, or cultural context is usually of great significance. It can follow the classic
elements of discourse. Some speeches are also successful due to their personal
connections with the audience, or the poetic language he/she uses.