Persuasive writing genres from two theoretical perspectives · I found the topic hard to write about and i wasn't that motivated... Save our schools: Tom, who is a really bright student

Persuasive writing genres from

two theoretical perspectives: Positioning students for success

on the NAPLAN test

By Damon Thomas

Michael: This morning we spent 2 hours writing in a huge room just writing away. Something really annoying that happened, is the topic for writing. In the second half of Naplan for the day we had to write about who you think deserves a hero award, it said it can be friends, family, someone in the community or someone well known. I can't speak for anyone else, but I was completely at a halt. I was not able to get any plan of any sort going.

Wise: Ok. So today i had to do the NAPLAN writing test and i didn't do very well. I found the topic hard to write about and i wasn't that motivated...

Save our schools: Tom, who is a really bright student and normally does great work, froze when it came to the hero writing, he wrote „my dad deserves an award because‟ and then spent the rest of the time with tears rolling down his face because he couldn‟t think of what to write.

70

75

80

85

90

95

100

Year 3 Year 5 Year 7 Year 9

Perc

enta

ge o

f st

ud

ents

Tasmanian students who met the NMS

2011

2012

2013

375

425

475

525

575

Year 3 Year 5 Year 7 Year 9

Mean s

core

Tasmanian students' mean scores

2011

2012

2013

Persuasive genres from two perspectives

Classical Rhetoric SFL

Judicial discourse

Epideictic discourse

Deliberative discourse

Analytical Exposition

Hortatory Exposition

Discussion

Three persuasive genres according to CR

A skilled rhetorician can “speak in court or in deliberative bodies so as to prove ( judicial), to please (epideictic), and to sway or persuade (deliberative)”

(Cicero, trans. 2011, p. 69)

Judicial (or Forensic) discourse

Concerned with the past.

Function: to prove or disprove.

Epideictic (or Ceremonial) discourse

Concerned with the present.

Function: to praise or criticise.

Deliberative (or Hortative) discourse

Concerned with the future.

Function: to persuade to take action.

Topics

Derived from the Greek word Topos,

meaning place, a rhetorical topic is a

finding-place for an argument.

(Kennedy, 1997)

Aristotle outlined a set of special topics for

the three persuasive genres.

(Aristotle, trans. 2004)

Three persuasive genres according to CR

Judicial (or Forensic) discourse









Special topics of Judicial discourse

A question of

fact

Focus: Evidence

A question of

definition

Focus: Definition

A question of

quality

Focus: Motives

Consider what the evidence

is; how, when, where, and by

whom the evidence was

gathered; and how reliable

the evidence is.

Consider what charge is

being made; what law is

supposedly violated; who

was harmed by the alleged

injustice; and what was the

extent of the harm?

Consider whether the

alleged injustice was

intentional or unintentional;

if unintentional what the

cause was; if intentional,

what the motive was; and

what sort of person the

wrongdoer was?

(Aristotle, trans. 2004; Corbett & Connors, 1999; Kennedy, 1997; Porter & Ulbricht, 1996)

Too much money is being spent on toys and games

A question of

fact

Focus: Evidence

A question of

definition

Focus: Definition

A question of

quality

Focus: Motives

I believe this statement is

completely incorrect! Recent

studies have shown that

children with sporting toys

will be 75% healthier than

those without. With all the

advantages in mind, there‟s

no clear evidence that too

much is being spent.

What is the definition of

„too much‟? How does this

spending compare to the

cost of other things, like

cars, or houses, or holidays?

At the end of the day, there

is no law against spending

your money on any of these

things.

Even if parents spend a lot of

money on toys and games

for their children, this is

because they want to give

them the best start to life.

There‟s nothing wrong with

providing for your children.

Three persuasive genres according to CR Judicial (or Forensic) discourse









Special topics of Epideictic discourse

Virtues and vices

Focus: Who a person is/was

Assets and achievements

Focus: What a person does/did

Discuss a person‟s natural or acquired attributes

– for instance their physical appearance, family

background, educational achievements,

economic status, and other achievements.

Discuss a person‟s: courage or cowardice;

restraint or indulgence; sense of justice or

injustice; tolerance or selfishness;

gentleness or brutality; and loyalty or

disloyalty.

(Aristotle, trans. 2004; Kennedy, 1997; Perelmen & Olbrechts-Tyteca, 1969)

Choose a hero you think deserves an award

Virtues and vices

Focus: Who a person is/was

Assets and achievements

Focus: What a person does/did

My dad deserves a hero award because

he‟s a really hard worker, who always does

his best for his family. Because of his

attitude, he recently got a big promotion

and now manages a whole team of

employees. Even though this is a hard job,

he always goes to work with a smile on his

face. That‟s why he should get a hero

award.

My dad deserves a hero award because

he‟s one of the most selfless people who

ever lived. He‟s gentle and kind, and

respectful to everyone. When I grow up,

I hope I can be as good a parent for my

children, as he has been for me.

Three persuasive genres according to CR Judicial (or Forensic) discourse









Special topics of Deliberative discourse

The worthy or the

unworthy

The advantageous or

the disadvantageous

Promotes something personally

beneficial.

Promotes something that is good

in itself and therefore worthy of

pursuit.

(Aristotle, trans. 2004; Kennedy, 1997; Markel, 2009; Porter & Ulbricht, 1996)

Every child should learn how to cook

The worthy or the

unworthy

The advantageous or

the disadvantageous

Everyone should learn how to cook

because it improves lives in many

ways. Cooking is a great way to

relieve stress, and to make sure you

know exactly what you‟re putting

into your body. You will benefit

greatly if you learn how to cook.

Everyone needs to eat, but not

everyone comes from a privileged

background. Imagine the good a

person could do if they cooked

great food for those who are less

fortunate. If everyone learns how

to cook, everyone will have

something essential to offer

others.

In Western society, a lot of hard-earned money is spent on buying toys

and games to entertain us. Some people believe too much is spent on

“petty” things such as these. There are arguments for both sides. Toys and

games are excellent stimulants for the brain; they get you thinking,

developing facets of knowledge and experience. While there are good

reasons for toys and games, money could be spent on “more important”

things. The excessive amount of money we spend on games could go to

poorer countries or even be allocated to things such as health and

education. So as shown here, there are two sides to this debate.

The worthy or the

unworthy

The advantageous or

the disadvantageous

Persuasive genres and special topics according to Classical Rhetoric


1. The worthy or the

unworthy

(consider: what‟s right)

2. The advantageous or the

disadvantageous

(consider: what‟s beneficial)


1. Virtues and vices

(consider: who they are)

2. Assets and

achievements

(consider: what they do)

Judicial discourse

1. A question of fact

(consider: evidence)

2. A question of definition

(consider: definition)

3. A question of quality

(consider: motives)

Concerned with the past

Function: to prove

Concerned with the present

Function: to praise

Concerned with the future

Function: to persuade

School-based persuasive genres according to SFL

Analytical

Exposition

Discussion Hortatory

Exposition

One sided arguments

Natural extension of report writing

(Martin, 1985)

Aim is to “argue a case for or against

a particular point of view”

(Humphrey, Droga, & Feez, 2012, p. 190)

Expositions

Hortatory Expositions aim to

persuade others to take action

(Coffin, 2004; Humphrey, 1996; Martin, 1985)

Hortatory and Analytical Expositions

Analytical Expositions aim to

persuade others to think in a certain

way

Two (or more) sided argument.

“Aim to persuade readers to agree with

one particular point of view on an issue”

(Humphrey, 1996, p. 141)

Must appear to “weigh up evidence in a

rational, balanced way before passing a

judgement”

(Coffin, 2004, p. 4)

Discussions

Thesis: I think dogs make good pets.

Argument 1: One reason dogs make good pets is

because they are very active and playful. They are cute

and you can teach them tricks.

Argument 2: Another reason dogs make good pets is

because you can take them for walks and they could

protect you.

Reinforcement of thesis: These are the main reasons

why dogs make good pets but you have to look after

them.

Structure:

(Background)

Thesis

Series of arguments

Reinforcement of

Thesis

Structure of an Analytical Exposition


Appeal for action: There is absolutely no way we can surrender to global warming. We can‟t give up.

Thesis: It‟s a huge problem and if we don‟t stop it, it‟s going to have severe consequences – rising sea levels, sure to put countries like the Netherlands and even Tonga under water; an increase in natural disasters – hurricanes, floods, droughts…

…

Reinforcement of Appeal: In a crisis time like this, when global warming is such a huge problem, there is no way we can simply surrender.

Structure:

(Background)

Thesis/Appeal for action

Series of arguments

Reinforcement of Thesis/

Appeal for action

Structure of a Hortatory Exposition


Year 8 Geography student

Issue: There has recently been a great deal of debate over whether rainforests should be logged. The logging industry thinks that logging is necessary for employment and the economy while conservationists believe that rainforests must 5 be protected as habitats for valuable plants and wildlife…

…

Judgement: After considering the arguments on both sides, it is clear that the issues are not simple. Employment is very important to rural Australia, however, our environment is priceless. One solution could be to phase out logging gradually and develop eco-tourism. This could be a way of creating sustainable development for these areas.

Structure:

Issue

Series of arguments

(two or more

perspectives)

Judgement

Structure of a Discussion


Genre Analytical Exposition Hortatory Exposition Discussion

Aim To put forward a

point of view or

argument

To put forward a point of

view and appeal for

action

To argue the case for two

or more points of view

about an issue and state

a position

Staging (Background)

Thesis

Series of arguments

Reinforcement of

Thesis

(Background)

Thesis/Appeal for action

Series of arguments

Reinforcement of Thesis/

Appeal for action

Issue

Series of arguments (two

or more perspectives)

Judgement

(adapted from Coffin, 2004, p. 9)

School-based persuasive genres according to SFL

Persuasive genres from two perspectives

Classical Rhetoric SFL

Judicial discourse



Analytical Exposition

Hortatory Exposition

Discussion

Key benefit: Topics

Helps students to work

out what to base their

arguments on

Key benefit: Clear structure

Helps students to organise

persuasive texts from start

to finish

Reference list Aristotle. (trans. 2004). The art of rhetoric. London: Penguin Books.

Coffin, C. (2004). Arguing about how the world is or how the world should be: The role of argument in IELTS Test. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 3(3), 229-246.

Corbett, E. P. J., & Connors, R. J. (1999). Classical Rhetoric for the modern student (4th ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.

Humphrey, S. (1996). Exploring literacy in school geography (Metropolitan East Disadvantaged Schools Program). Sydney: NSW

Department of School Education.

Humphrey, S., Droga, L., & Feez, S. (2012). Grammar and meaning (new ed.). Sydney: Primary English Teaching Association

Australia.

Iedema, R., Feez, S., & White, P. R. R. (1994). Media literacy (Metropolitan East Disadvantages Schools Program). Sydney: NSW

Department of Education.

Kennedy, G. A. (1999). Classical Rhetoric and its Christian and secular tradition from ancient to modern times (2nd ed.). North

Carolina, USA: University of North Carolina Press.

Markel, M. (2009). Time and exigence in temporal genres. Journal of Business and Technical Communication, 23(1), p. 3-27.

Martin, J. R. (1985). Factual writing: Exploring and challenging social reality. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Perelmen, C., & Olbrechts-Tyteca, L. (1969). The new rhetoric: A treatise on argumentation. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame

Press.

Porter, S. E., & Ulbricht, T. H. (1996). Rhetoric, scripture and theology. Sheffield, UK: Sheffield Academic Press.

Persuasive writing genres from two theoretical perspectives · I found the topic hard to write about and i wasn't that motivated... Save our schools: Tom, who is a really bright student

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