Over the pass three weeks, we have been looking at persuasive texts, mostly articles and cartoons, and analysing them. All of the articles are somewhat related to the Australian Education System and some of them talks about the Gonski Review. We discussed which persuasive devices were used and the intended effects for them. We also looked at a couple of political cartoons and interpreted them to see the underlying messages. All of the articles use a wide range of persuasive devices, especially connotations and appeals.
I think the reason the authors decided to use lots of connotations is because the author is seeking to persuade the audience and he/she does this because making an implication. By reading the article, the reader is not forced to accept the implication, but is encouraged to at least agree with it.
In nearly all of the articles, an appeal was used. This is because all of the articles were discussing the issues about education and the audiences of these articles will be primarily parents. Every parents would want they child to succeed to by using these different types of appeals, the authors are able to trigger an emotional feeling of fear, happiness, satisfaction and shame. The authors are able to target the parents concerns for their child, manipulate their feelings and in turn, persuade them.
All articles and cartoons were taken from:
http://www.theage.com.au/
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/
Tuesday 13 March 2012
Third and Final Summary
Our first persuasive piece is a political cartoon. The cartoon is discussing about the Gonski review and how Julia Gillard doesn't need Gonski any more. This is evident in the cartoon with Gillard saying, "A big class farewell to the relief teacher, Mr Gonski". This statement suggests that Gonski isn't going to last very long, like how a relief teacher takes over the class only until the original teacher is back again.
In the cartoon, Gonski is portrayed as some sort of captain of a ship with a chest full of treasure. He is also riding a unicorn and they are seen as mythical creatures. The portrayal of Gonski indicates that he is doing a good thing by being a "hero" and trying to assist the children with his gold. He is also wielding a sword, something that is also "hero-like". Around Gonski is a bright aura and sparkly dust. This further supports the idea that Gonski is trying to help as bright colours are usually associated with the good.
The students in this cartoon seem to look up to Gonski. They are standing on tables which could be seen as a sign of respect and admiration. The cartoon is also titled "Oh Captain! My Captain." This is commonly used only when addressing a captain, so this could suggest that the children see Gonski as a leader and as someone who could help them.
The Cartoon overall is trying to say that David Gonski's actions are good and could aid the students. However, Julia Gillard sees it as a temporary solution with the comparison of David Gonski and a "relief teacher".
Monday 12 March 2012
Saturday 10 March 2012
Thursday 8 March 2012
Tuesday 6 March 2012
Second Week Summary
Our first article of the week was titled "Gillard's spin way off the mark." The argument behind this was it's not right to inadequately fund public schools.
In the article we saw a variety of persuasive devices being used. The first one was a rhetorical question, The intended effect for this was to encourage the reader to accept the author's answer. By asking a rhetorical question, the author implies that the answer is very obvious, and thus the reader will be more likely to side with the author.
The second persuasive device was an attack. The author quotes Julia Gillard and then proceeds to criticize her ideas. Through the author's criticism, Gillard's ideas seem to be very poor. The author then patronizes Julia Gillard by using negative connotative words such as "disgrace" and "disingenuous in the extreme". This further supports the idea that Gillard's ideas are wrong and have not been thought out very well.
In the article, there was only one appeal that was used, and that was an appeal to fairness. By saying that Gillard's concepts are "unfair" and "unjustifiable" triggers an emotional response from the reader. The author targets the reader's concern for fairness and this will aid the reader in siding with the author.
The final device was Patriotism. The author is saying that, all he wants is to help Australian return to a more fairer place. This statement can evoke patrioctic feelings in the reader as the article is published on an Australian news website, and will therefore have lots of Australian readers. The reader will feel as if their country is flawed, and will want to help it and thus, siding with the author.
In the article we saw a variety of persuasive devices being used. The first one was a rhetorical question, The intended effect for this was to encourage the reader to accept the author's answer. By asking a rhetorical question, the author implies that the answer is very obvious, and thus the reader will be more likely to side with the author.
The second persuasive device was an attack. The author quotes Julia Gillard and then proceeds to criticize her ideas. Through the author's criticism, Gillard's ideas seem to be very poor. The author then patronizes Julia Gillard by using negative connotative words such as "disgrace" and "disingenuous in the extreme". This further supports the idea that Gillard's ideas are wrong and have not been thought out very well.
In the article, there was only one appeal that was used, and that was an appeal to fairness. By saying that Gillard's concepts are "unfair" and "unjustifiable" triggers an emotional response from the reader. The author targets the reader's concern for fairness and this will aid the reader in siding with the author.
The final device was Patriotism. The author is saying that, all he wants is to help Australian return to a more fairer place. This statement can evoke patrioctic feelings in the reader as the article is published on an Australian news website, and will therefore have lots of Australian readers. The reader will feel as if their country is flawed, and will want to help it and thus, siding with the author.
Thursday 1 March 2012
Tuesday 28 February 2012
Sunday 26 February 2012
Weekly Summary
So for the first week we had one article and one cartoon, with both of them talking about the education system and it's funding. Here we'll discuss the persuasive devices which are being used.
In the first article we saw a lot of appeals being used. I think this is due to the fact that the article is aimed at the parents, and every parent wants their child to succeed. So by using these appeals such as, appeal to a good education, to a sense of equality, sense of success, and appeal to moral righteousness, the author triggers an emotional response of anger, manipulating their feelings. With the parent's feelings evoked, they are more likely to agree and side with the author of the article.
In the article, we can also see some inclusive language being used. By using inclusive language, the author creates a sense of belonging with the reader. Using words such as "we", "us", "our", the author can create the illusion that there are only two sides, and the reader and the author both belong to the same side. The inclusive language combined with authoritative language makes the author sound very persuasive. What the author wrote is of course, his own opinion, but by using these two devices, he comes off as if he is stating a fact. Compare the following two phrases. The first is obviously more persuasive.
"We NEED to..." "I personally believe that we should..."
Another persuasive device which was used was, negative connotation. By using words such as "artificially" and "unsustainable", the author implies that the opposing point of view is wrong and fake. Notice how the author doesn't directly say that they're wrong. He uses those words, to share his point of view with his audience.
The very last two devices that were in the article were, cliché and metaphor. The cliché is basically an overused saying or phrase. Even though the phrase is overused, it gives the audience something that they might of heard before and can convey ideas very succinctly . This is good because it makes the reader very confident with the author and will be more likely to agree with the author.
The final device is the metaphor. Here the author wrote, "filtering their intakes". When the author uses this metaphor, he paints a picture in the reader's minds of a big filter, sorting out all the students and only taking the students that they want.
In the first article we saw a lot of appeals being used. I think this is due to the fact that the article is aimed at the parents, and every parent wants their child to succeed. So by using these appeals such as, appeal to a good education, to a sense of equality, sense of success, and appeal to moral righteousness, the author triggers an emotional response of anger, manipulating their feelings. With the parent's feelings evoked, they are more likely to agree and side with the author of the article.
In the article, we can also see some inclusive language being used. By using inclusive language, the author creates a sense of belonging with the reader. Using words such as "we", "us", "our", the author can create the illusion that there are only two sides, and the reader and the author both belong to the same side. The inclusive language combined with authoritative language makes the author sound very persuasive. What the author wrote is of course, his own opinion, but by using these two devices, he comes off as if he is stating a fact. Compare the following two phrases. The first is obviously more persuasive.
"We NEED to..." "I personally believe that we should..."
Another persuasive device which was used was, negative connotation. By using words such as "artificially" and "unsustainable", the author implies that the opposing point of view is wrong and fake. Notice how the author doesn't directly say that they're wrong. He uses those words, to share his point of view with his audience.
The very last two devices that were in the article were, cliché and metaphor. The cliché is basically an overused saying or phrase. Even though the phrase is overused, it gives the audience something that they might of heard before and can convey ideas very succinctly . This is good because it makes the reader very confident with the author and will be more likely to agree with the author.
The final device is the metaphor. Here the author wrote, "filtering their intakes". When the author uses this metaphor, he paints a picture in the reader's minds of a big filter, sorting out all the students and only taking the students that they want.
The education revolution
Our first political cartoon which talks about the "education revolution". Drawn by Alan Moir.
Private Schools
So here is our first article, which talks about the funding of private schools. The article has been annotated with all the persuasive devices which are used.
Persuasive Devices
So over the next few weeks, we are going to be looking at a couple of articles and cartoons, all of which, talking about our education system. We'll be trying to identify persuasive devices and see how they're persuasive. Most of the articles and cartoons will be covering the Gonski Review. Don't know what the Gonski review is? Here's a little background information.
David Gonski is an Australian businessman known for having a lot of "connections". He has been described as "one of the country's best-connected businessman" and has been dubbed as "Mr Networks".
David Gonski has reported that the Australian schooling performance has slipped over the past decades, and he believes that this is due to the fact that there's a major gap between high performing students and low performing students, with private schools being funded more.
"The current school funding model looks at the average income and education status of the 200 households around our families so it's akin determining age pension by the average of the ages of the people of the street, so it is quite nonsensical."
As a solution, the Gonski Review recommends a $5 Billion investment in Australia's government schools and non-government school.
The Gonksi review allocates a base funding rate for each student, with additional loadings for areas of disadvantage. This means that schools, with a high proportion of low-income or disabled students would be funded at a higher rate and thus balancing the funding between government schools and non-government schools.
David Gonski is an Australian businessman known for having a lot of "connections". He has been described as "one of the country's best-connected businessman" and has been dubbed as "Mr Networks".
David Gonski has reported that the Australian schooling performance has slipped over the past decades, and he believes that this is due to the fact that there's a major gap between high performing students and low performing students, with private schools being funded more.
"The current school funding model looks at the average income and education status of the 200 households around our families so it's akin determining age pension by the average of the ages of the people of the street, so it is quite nonsensical."
As a solution, the Gonski Review recommends a $5 Billion investment in Australia's government schools and non-government school.
The Gonksi review allocates a base funding rate for each student, with additional loadings for areas of disadvantage. This means that schools, with a high proportion of low-income or disabled students would be funded at a higher rate and thus balancing the funding between government schools and non-government schools.
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