Analytical essay on 3 persuasive texts

How is language used in texts to persuade readers?

By Naomi Willmott

In texts, language is used in different ways to persuade the reader in the subject that they are delivering. A number of different devices and structures are used to encourage the reader into believing the opinion and fact of what the writer believes and using these features enables the opinion to be perceived better.

In the speech, “Justice Will Be Done,” a transcript of President Bush’s speech to America after the 911 attacks in the World Trade Centre and Pentagon Bombings, the use of persuasive language is used to show the aftermath of the bombings and highlight what is going on for America. In the article, “Why my father loved Britain” by Ed Miliband, it responds to a previous article from the Daily Mail explaining how his Father had hated Britain and this responds with an article with persuasive techniques saying how his father loved Britain and his opinion on what they have said about his father. In the article, “God swapped for gobbledygook” by Victoria Coren, it expresses her own opinion about changing the Brownies Promise and taking God out of the Promise. It highlights her negative response to this using humour and language devices to encourage the reader into the opinion.   

Firstly, in the speech by President Bush, it uses pragmatics to add layers and making the sentence have a literal and implied meaning of what President George Bush is trying to say, “…would you please help me welcome his wife Lisa Beamer here tonight?” This is shown as being an interrogative as it is question although this literally an imperative asked in a kind way. This is effective as he is friendly using a command in questioning way rather than saying a command so that the audience are ordered to complete the demand. It means that is encouraging the audience in a more approachable way and so therefore mean that they are more likely to complete the action. This is used unlike the other two articles as it is addressing an audience so is written to be spoken aloud to someone rather than to be read alone and so a command has to be delivered in an appropriate polite way rather than a command in an article that be produced in that sort of way as it is not an expression that has to be completed.

Also, in the speech by President George Bush, it uses anaphora, which is the repetition of a single phrase at the beginning of a paragraph or sentence in a number of places once after another. Examples of this are “We have seen…,” “…our freedom…,” “We will come…” and “I will not.” This is effective as it empathises to the audience on what President Bush is trying to say. The repetition of the phrases highlights to the audience the importance especially with the phrase “…our freedom of religion, our freedom of speech, our freedom to vote…” and encourages the things that were good for America when this horrible event had occurred. This encourages the audience to also believe in what he is saying and remember the speech. Similarly, in the article by Ed Miliband it uses anaphora to describe him. The use of “When he…” empathises a different aspect to President George Bush’s speech. It is instead trying to encourage the reader how much emotion that his father had for Britain and empathise how much he did feel for it and did for Britain going to war and travelling to Britain to help him have a better life. Equally, the article by Victoria Coren uses anaphora within sentences and at the beginning of the sentences of “Every time…” to address her own life within an opinion she feels. This is in opposite to the speech and article to describe how often that you can be “true to yourself” to prove a point to what she saying. This links in some ways with the speech and article as they all are empathising upon the events and opinions that they feel and to make the audience/reader remember the important information that has been offered and encourage to believe in what is being said by the empathise of the word/phrase.

In the speech by President Bush, it uses pronouns which are personal nouns to describe the speech in the first person with use of them such as “We,” “You,” and “I.” This is effective as the pronouns such as we and you especially seen in the phrase “…you did more than sing. You acted…” mean that the audience feel directly addressed and so therefore feel involved in the speech. Use of you and we allows the audience to seem as though it is directed at them. The use of these pronouns persuade the audience into thinking that the speakers opinion is true as they make them feel involved in the situation and are addressed in the opinion and with this use feel as though they should believe in what they are saying. Likewise, the article by Victoria Coren uses pronouns but instead of addressing with “you” and “we”, Victoria Coren uses “I” to express her own opinion about the language changed. This is seen with phrases such as “I think…” which enables the reader to see the opinion of the writer and this does not matter on what the reader feels but is her own comment towards the subject of changing the Brownies Promise. This is effective towards the reader as it highlights the understanding that she has on her own comment on the article and encourages therefore to go towards the writers opinion due to the article being a one sided opinion. On the other hand, the article by Ed Miliband uses third person pronouns of “he” and “his” to tell the story about his father life and what he did and he uses first person to describe his own opinion on the other article and its views and suggest Ed’s opinion on the matter. This is effective for the audience as the articles allow to be told about what has brought on the reaction from Ed’s father’s life to have got the reaction from the Daily Mail but also the truth, in Ed’s opinion, of what he believes was his father’s life. Also, the first person is effective as it highlights to the reader his opinion on his father so that they can choose whether to believe in what has been said.

In the speech by President Bush, the use of triadic structure is used to list the three things that have relevance with each other “…stop it, eliminate it and destroy it where it grows.” This is effective for the reader as it has emphasis for the list and the number of positives and so persuades the audience due to the number of reasons that the speaker is correct. Similarly, in the article by Ed Miliband, it uses triadic structure “So my Dad loved Britain, he served Britain, and he taught both David and me to do the same.” This has meant that the reader is encouraged to feel that Ed knows what he is talking about and therefore persuades the reader into believing the opinion of Ed Miliband. Also, it gives it a sort of rhythm which enables the reader to remember what has been said. Differently, the article by Victoria Coren uses short sentences restrictedly and does not use the triadic structure like the other two pieces. It uses this one simple sentence to enhance her opinion on the subject. “It’s just shorter.” This enables a variance to the article and means that you can see the writer’s opinion within one line which means that it engages the reader into the opinion of the writer and a short sentence within the complicated text allows the reader to remember this phrase and has more of an emphasis than the rest of the article. It also uses a interrogative sentence of “Which words and phrases would make your top five list of the worst linguistic horrors in modern English?” This is effective as it questions the reader allowing them to relate to the article in the first sentence, which means that the writer has sided with them already.

In the speech by President Bush, it uses alliteration of “trained in the tactics of terror” which is the repeating of the same consonant within a phrase. This is effective as enables the audience to remember the negatives that have been said to avoid the situation and to make the audience remember the phrase. This phrase is also emotive for the audience and enables the audience to feel empathetic for what the people in Afghanistan have to go through and persuade the audience into helping what is going on to deal with the evil in the world. Similarly, emotive language is used within the article by Victoria Coren but in a different way. With the use of the list of words “…resentment, impatience, temper, boredom or sadness…” to highlight the change of the Brownies Promise can be taken in a number of different ways and not just the way that they believe. The emotive language, in this situation, enables the reader to be persuaded that these emotions are concepts that can be taken within a number of situations and persuade the reader that she knows what she is talking about. In contrast, emotive language is not seen in the article by Ed Miliband as this article although it is trying to show his own opinion does not need the emotion similar to the other two texts. This article instead is to the point with what he believes in. This is effective as it enables the reader to understand straight away what Ed is feeling and although it is not produced in an emotive way with abstract nouns, you can still understand strongly what he believes that the previous article written is incorrect and moreover the article therefore shows it to not be opinion but fact and in this style makes the reader believe the article more.

In the speech by President Bush, the uses of rhetorical questions are used to question the reader as these are questions that cannot be answered. “And you know what?” This makes the audience question themselves, which is effective, as it encourages the reader into agreeing with the argument and persuades them in a subtle way that the argument is correct. The use of the word “you” in the sentence also directly addresses the audience as though they feel that it is being delivered directly at them. This is effective as it allows them to believe that they are involved in the speech rather than being on the outside of the action; it enables them to be gripped with the speech. The same is technique of rhetorical questions is used within the article by Victoria Coren “Or maybe you like beer?” This use of the question is effective as it allows the reader to be gripped with the subject that they are reading because they are questioned with their own life within an article that is opinionated with the writer’s own views but still is able to grip the reader.

In contrast to the other two texts, the speech by President Bush is the only text that uses Diacope. This is where it has the repetition of a word within a phrase that has one word between it. “Every nation in every region…” This is effective as it word “every” to the audience and is important and reiterates the amount of people that it would have affected and enables the world to feel included in the event that has occurred. As well as this, the speech uses oxymora within the ending of the speech “Freedom and fear, justice and cruelty.” This is effective as it shows how opposites attract within language. It is effective to the reader as it enables them to be centralised and get all aspects of the phrase.

To conclude, in the speech by President Bush, it uses many language techniques to grip the audience’s attention and for them to believe what he is saying is true and that these events will happen. This is similarly used in the article by Ed Miliband with language devices used in a few places to persuade the reader that he knows that his father is not the way that the Press have shown him in the previous article. The article, in contrast to the speech, highlights in a factual way and does not address the reader with “you” like the article but describes as though it is written in a way that shows that it is true and not a comment. On the other hand, the article written by Victoria Coren shows her own opinion using the first person to suggest how it is her comment on the subject and using personal language techniques such as rhetorical questions and paragraphs to persuade the reader that her opinion is the correct one.