Emotive Language Persuasive Techniques

Identify three techniques (for each example) that you feel most effectively persuade the audience and justify why they do so.

In both the editorial from The Age, titled ‘Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull 's cowardly stance on Donald Trump shames us all’, and the letter to the editor in The Sydney Morning Herald written by David Whitcombe of Maroubra, New South Wales, the use of rhetorical questions was abundant, however, their use in each text had a different effect on the audience. The editorial uses short, blunt rhetorical questions such as ‘how?’, ‘why?’ and ‘is this right?’ in relation to Trump’s leadership, and decisions made by him. On the other hand, the letter to the editor uses longer rhetorical questions. An example of this is ‘is Turnbull

The emotive language used invokes an emotional response from the audience, and puts the audience in a position to agree with the authors contention without reason, and before considering opposing arguments. This emotive language is also very engaging, and ensures that the audience maintains focus on the article, and do not get bored while reading. Both authors assume that the audience know the context behind the issue, and do not require any background information, evident by the political jargon used in both pieces, and failure to describe the issue in significant detail. Despite this assumed context, the style of writing differs between the two pieces. The editorial is written in formal language, evident by the lack of conjunctions, and the sophisticated language used. On the other hand, the letter to the editor is written using semi-formal language, evident by the usage of idioms, as well as a lack of conjunctions. It is clear that the audience will potentially react more positively to the style of writing deployed in the editorial, as it gives the text an assumed level of credibility, and commands the respect of the reader, due to its authoritative and commanding