DIRECTED WRITING
WRITING TO PERSUADE!!
Three types of persuasion:
❖ Emotional (pathos) - arguments based on emotions & beliefs
- “Without your support, these pandas have little hope of survival. Would you
like to ensure these majestic creatures survive for your children and
grandchildren to see? If so, please give £50 today. It’s not too late to help
save pandas from extinction.”
→ See how the language is very emotive: “majestic creatures” implies
something special that needs to be looked after, which makes us feel
responsible. The use of second person makes this very personal –and forces
the reader to feel something.
❖ Authoritative - arguments based on trust and authority
- “The Royal Society of Panda Preservation urges you to act fast. The RSPP
has recorded a sharp decline in numbers and believes the species could die
out within a generation. The RSPP asks for just £50 to help fund its important
work.”
- The whole basis of this argument is that the PSPP knows what they’re talking
about; you can trust what they’re saying because they’re the experts and
should be believed. Notice there are no figures to back up their argument;
they don’t really need to as they’re the authority.
isabelle
❖ Logical - arguments based on facts & reason
- “Recent figures show the panda population has declined by 90% in the last 15
years. It is forecasted that there will be fewer than 100 pandas living in the
wild by 2025. A donation of £50 will pay for further research into ways of
conserving the panda population.”
- This is a very effective argument because facts don’t lie! The cold, hard
figures here speak for themselves. Obviously you will want to ask who
provided these figures, and whether they can be trusted.
→ Make sure you have a mix of all three modes of persuasion. A purely emotional argument
will seem overly sentimental, a purely logical argument can be quite boring (and therefore
lose its persuasive effect), and an authoritative argument can seem a bit arrogant and too
subjective.
→ Adjust the ratio for your audience. E.g. If you're told to write to a family member, you may
want to focus on more of the emotional argument.
STRUCTURE:
1. Coherent
2. Crisis
3. Have a central motif
- (injustice: use a prison motif - use words like locked, punishing, imprisoned)
- (uncertainty: use a sailing motif - use words like navigate, turbulent, being at
sea, in choppy waters)
, - *don't need to lay on too hard; just a few of these words in some sentences to
give a bigger picture*
4. Introduction: make THE ISSUES sound current and relevant
start with a bang! → give some context about the problem → a personal anecdote
(why I care)
5. Write with passion!
6. End on a powerful sentence - to show that you are confident in your writing
“Evaluate the ideas, attitudes, and opinions about…” = address FOR & AGAINST
“YOUR VIEWS”
Para 1: introduction
Para 2: issue - opinion
Para 3: issue - opinion
Para 4: issue - opinion
Para 5: summary of opinion
Para 6: conclusion
OR
Para 1: introduction
Para 2: advantages
Para 3: disadvantages
Para 4: claims of proposer - sceptical opinions
Para 5: conclusion
isabelle
OR
Para 1: introduction
Para 2: advantages & disadvantages
Para 3: concerns
Para 4: solutions
Para 5: conclusion
FORMATS
➢ Article - MAKE THEM THINK (intention: to educate the readers)
➢ Letter - MAKE THEM BELIEVE
➢ Speech - MAKE THEM FEEL
INTRODUCTION
(letter)
Dear __,
(informal) The topic has grabbed my attention so I am writing to you to share my views on it.
It is important that you view both sides of the argument before making a decision; thank you
for trusting me with this.
WRITING TO PERSUADE!!
Three types of persuasion:
❖ Emotional (pathos) - arguments based on emotions & beliefs
- “Without your support, these pandas have little hope of survival. Would you
like to ensure these majestic creatures survive for your children and
grandchildren to see? If so, please give £50 today. It’s not too late to help
save pandas from extinction.”
→ See how the language is very emotive: “majestic creatures” implies
something special that needs to be looked after, which makes us feel
responsible. The use of second person makes this very personal –and forces
the reader to feel something.
❖ Authoritative - arguments based on trust and authority
- “The Royal Society of Panda Preservation urges you to act fast. The RSPP
has recorded a sharp decline in numbers and believes the species could die
out within a generation. The RSPP asks for just £50 to help fund its important
work.”
- The whole basis of this argument is that the PSPP knows what they’re talking
about; you can trust what they’re saying because they’re the experts and
should be believed. Notice there are no figures to back up their argument;
they don’t really need to as they’re the authority.
isabelle
❖ Logical - arguments based on facts & reason
- “Recent figures show the panda population has declined by 90% in the last 15
years. It is forecasted that there will be fewer than 100 pandas living in the
wild by 2025. A donation of £50 will pay for further research into ways of
conserving the panda population.”
- This is a very effective argument because facts don’t lie! The cold, hard
figures here speak for themselves. Obviously you will want to ask who
provided these figures, and whether they can be trusted.
→ Make sure you have a mix of all three modes of persuasion. A purely emotional argument
will seem overly sentimental, a purely logical argument can be quite boring (and therefore
lose its persuasive effect), and an authoritative argument can seem a bit arrogant and too
subjective.
→ Adjust the ratio for your audience. E.g. If you're told to write to a family member, you may
want to focus on more of the emotional argument.
STRUCTURE:
1. Coherent
2. Crisis
3. Have a central motif
- (injustice: use a prison motif - use words like locked, punishing, imprisoned)
- (uncertainty: use a sailing motif - use words like navigate, turbulent, being at
sea, in choppy waters)
, - *don't need to lay on too hard; just a few of these words in some sentences to
give a bigger picture*
4. Introduction: make THE ISSUES sound current and relevant
start with a bang! → give some context about the problem → a personal anecdote
(why I care)
5. Write with passion!
6. End on a powerful sentence - to show that you are confident in your writing
“Evaluate the ideas, attitudes, and opinions about…” = address FOR & AGAINST
“YOUR VIEWS”
Para 1: introduction
Para 2: issue - opinion
Para 3: issue - opinion
Para 4: issue - opinion
Para 5: summary of opinion
Para 6: conclusion
OR
Para 1: introduction
Para 2: advantages
Para 3: disadvantages
Para 4: claims of proposer - sceptical opinions
Para 5: conclusion
isabelle
OR
Para 1: introduction
Para 2: advantages & disadvantages
Para 3: concerns
Para 4: solutions
Para 5: conclusion
FORMATS
➢ Article - MAKE THEM THINK (intention: to educate the readers)
➢ Letter - MAKE THEM BELIEVE
➢ Speech - MAKE THEM FEEL
INTRODUCTION
(letter)
Dear __,
(informal) The topic has grabbed my attention so I am writing to you to share my views on it.
It is important that you view both sides of the argument before making a decision; thank you
for trusting me with this.
