What is Persuasive Writing? | English Language for Grade 10 PDF Download

Introduction

Persuasive writing is a form of non-fiction writing that is written to persuade a reader of a belief, opinion or idea.

What is persuasive writing?

Simply put, persuasive language is a type of language that is written to persuade. This could be to persuade the reader to buy something, believe something, or think something. Persuasive writing is a written form of an oral debate and can be a fun and interesting style of writing for students to practice.
Persuasive texts feature different types of language. The different methods used in persuasive writing at this level usually are: Imperative verbs, alliteration, facts, opinions, rhetorical questions, and repetition.
For students, persuasive writing can be a great way of expressing their views and opinions on a subject. Practising persuasive writing using persuasive writing devices is a great way to find out what your students are passionate about and give them the opportunity to do research on subjects that they are interested in. This helps students be more involved in their classwork.

Examples of persuasive writing and texts

• Newspaper columns - Newspaper articles are a common way that writers can express their opinions and beliefs in a position of authority. However, journalism tends to stay neutral to many topics.
• Advertising campaigns - Think about your favourite TV adverts or an eye-catching billboard you saw recently.
• Reviews - A great way to express on opinion on a product or experience. Whether it is your favourite restaurant or the latest gadget, we all turn to reviews for a second opinion.
• Travel brochures - Before you jet off on your summer holidays, you might consult travel brochures. These are great examples of persuasive writing to sell holiday destinations, tourist spots, and hotels.
• Essays - Essays are examples of longer writing that set out an argument or opinion in the opening paragraph. In the following paragraphs, essays use factual information, statistics and research to provide evidence that backs up the original argument.
• Speeches - There have been many famous examples of persuasive speeches throughout history. Speeches can be on anything the writer is passionate about and often include hyperbolic speech and emotive language to hook the reader or audience.
  

Persuasive writing techniques

• Appeal to Authority - Important people, experts and research can make your argument seem more reliable and convincing.
• Appeal to Reason - Facts, numbers, information, and logic can be very convincing.
• Appeal to Emotion - Getting people to feel happy, sad, or angry can help your argument.
• Appeal to Trust - If people believe and trust in you, you’re more likely to persuade them.
• Normal People - Appeal to the average person by presenting yourself as an 'every-day Joe'
• Bandwagon - everyone is doing this (e.g. 9 out of 10 people believe...)
• Rhetorical Questions - they can't be answered, and seem to state the 'obvious'.
• Repetition - makes it memorable.

Persuasive writing language devices and features

Persuasive writing is something we encounter in our daily lives. The ability to understand persuasive writing is an incredibly important skill, as it allows us to be aware of what is influencing us in our surroundings. Persuasive writing has the goal of influencing the reader to adopt a certain opinion, ideas, or complete an action.
We encounter loads of this writing every day, and we will often come up with a fair few ourselves without even realising it. This fact file will help you to get to grips with the features of persuasive language, and you’ll find a few handy resources, too.
So, what are some of those all important features and devices? Read on to learn more!

• Repeated words: Repeated words and repetition are used in persuasive writing to help target and emphasise your point. Repetition works similarly to a list of three. By continually repeating the same idea or phrase, it draws attention to that particular phrase, and emphasises its importance.
• Alliteration: Alliteration occurs when 2 or more words that start with the same sound are used repeatedly in a phrase or a sentence. The repeated sound creates the alliteration, not the same letter. Persuasive writing is a great opportunity to practice alliteration, as this language feature gives student's writing a rhythm and musicality that is memorable to the writer.
• Emotive language: Emotive language are words that are deliberately designed to make a reader have strong feelings. These can be positive or negative.
• Rhetorical questions: Rhetorical questions are used to make a point rather than to find an answer. They can also be used to start a discussion when the question is too difficult to answer simply. This language feature is often used in persuasive texts to discuss well-known facts as they lead the reader to come to the same conclusion as the writer.
• Humour: Humour is a fantastic language tool for persuasive writing. The writer will try to make funny points and jokes. The reader will usually appreciate humour, so it will make them more likely to be on the side of the writer. Using humour in a text will also make your student's writing more memorable for the reader.
• Personal pronouns: This is where the writer will use pronouns such as, ’I,’ ’we,’ or ’you’ to talk directly to the reader. By using the pronoun ‘you’ and directly addressing the reader, the writer can appeal directly to every individual reading the text. This language feature of persuasive writing encourages the reader to relate to the subject as it is written directly for and to them.
  

Aesthetic features of persuasive writing

There are three aesthetic features of persuasive writing: logos, pathos and ethos. Each one covers a certain tone that has to be achieved should you want your persuasive writing to be successful.

Ethos

• Ethos comes from the Greek word for “character,” and it’s this idea of an author's character that it addresses. The feature of credibility is one that you’ll find across loads of different types of writing, but it’s essential for writing persuasively. This feature is all about how much authority the writer of a piece has over the subject.
• When you’re reading something that's attempting to persuade you to its way of thinking, there needs to be a sense that it has more knowledge than you do. For instance, many film reviews are written by people who have studied films, made films, or have some kind of knowledge of the film industry that regular people won’t. This gives credibility to their voice. If a film review were to be written by a maths teacher, the writing wouldn't be credible, and as such, it wouldn’t be as persuasive.
  

Logos

• This feature of persuasive writing is all about logic. The concept of logos is often used during speeches where a candidate, perhaps trying to win your vote in an election, is making a series of logical statements for why they deserve it most. This logic often outlines an argument. For example, "if I am elected, I will act in this way, which will result in this change." The logic of the argument will be successful if there is not a solid way to deny it.
• As most people make their judgments with some logic in mind, logos can be the most important feature of persuasive writing.
  

Pathos

• Pathos is the opposite of logos. Where logos will appeal to cold logic, pathos appeals to a reader's emotions.
• This feature of persuasive writing is reflected in word choice. Pathos is something you will find in charity advertisements or opinion pieces. The idea is to stir the emotions of the reader into some kind of empathy with the writer, so they agree on a thought or action. Take charities, for example, they will usually use cute animals, young children, or vulnerable adults in their visual imagery to get an emotional response. The language will rely less on arguments and outcomes and use more emotive words
  
• If you can use any three of these features correctly, then you have an excellent opportunity to create some really persuasive work. Here are some resources from Twinkl that can help you engage with persuasive writing.

What are the four elements of persuasion?

• Authority: You need to know how to walk the walk and talk the talk. In order to persuade someone to believe or agree with your point of view, you need to understand the topic you are discussing. This could include using facts and figures to back up the validity of your points.
• List the most important information first: To effectively persuade your reader or audience, you need to capture their attention with the most important information first. This could even begin with a catchy and attention-grabbing headline or title.
• Consistency: Before you begin writing, plan what you want to say and the conclusions you want your reader to make. It is important that you are consistent with your perspective and argument. Then you can consider the persuasive language devices that you will use to get your point across.
• Appeal: People want to agree with people that they like - simple as that. Therefore, writing persuasive texts require writers to use a friendly and approachable tone.

Teaching persuasive writing in the classroom

• Share examples of persuasive writing: If your students are new to persuasive writing as a form of non-fiction writing, they might benefit from seeing some examples.The resources included in this Persuasive Writing Examples Resource Pack are perfect examples of persuasive writing for kids to develop their knowledge of the material covering a range of topics.
• Learn the techniques: Before they can write their own, your students will have to learn more about the techniques that go into persuasive writing. Use ourPersuasive Language Techniquespack in the classroom. This isideal for Year 3-6 English classes to improve their writing and learn all about persuasive language techniques.
• Use writing aids: Once they are ready to put pen to paper, we have a number of resources that can help them ensure they make the most persuasive text possible. For example, check out thisFeatures of a Persuasion Text Checklist. This persuasive writing KS2 checklist is a brilliant way to support your child’s learning and development at home. If your child has a piece of homework where they need to write persuasively, they can use this checklist to self-assess their work before they hand it in!
• Write with a template: Our persuasive planning template breaks down the process of planning into different steps, to help build familiarity with the features of persuasive texts. With separate sections for the introduction, body, and conclusion of the text, this worksheet provides plenty of support for your class to structure their thoughts and ideas.