50 Ways to persuade your reader

‘ DIP HEARTS’

Device / Example / Effect / Other Example
Discourse marker
1 / “On the other hand.” / Introduces what you are trying to say. / “In the first place, to start out.”
Direct speech
2 / “It is wrong to judge”, said the Head Teacher / Gives a personal viewpoint word for word. / The police describe the robber as “Dangerous”
Direct address
3 / “As year ten you know revision is vital” / Personal and hard to ignore direct advice.(in second person) / “You should think about your choices carefully.”
Imperatives
4 / “Buy now and save”. / A command to do something. / “Don’t forget to read the instructions.”
Imagery
5 / “Enjoy the silver ribbon of the moonlit road.” / Creates an atmosphere and sense of place by using mental pictures. / “Enjoy the dying embers of the sunset”.
Interrogative
6 / We will answer the question:”Why change my car now?” / Asks a direct question. / “Is this the right time to buy? Yes!”
Irony
7 / The charity boss arrived in his own Rolls Royce / Invites a judgement by showing the difference between what is and what is expected. / “If you can feign sincerity the rest is easy!”
Interactive
8 / You can reach us on’ / Away of inviting the customer to get in touch and communicate. / Fill in the coupon and send to this address.
Presentational Devices
9 / Caption; “The two boys before the trial”. / Away of presenting the text on the page. / “Our reporter gives her view on the plight of the fishing industry.”
Device / Example / Effect / Other Example
Personal pronouns
10 / ‘We would like you to enjoy our product.’ / More intimate and personal. / “Let us take care of you.”
Parenthesis
11 / “There is a new spare tyre (free with every car).” / Gives added information. / “The flat is checked (twice nightly at weekends).”
Punctuation
12 / Now, more than ever, it is time to paint. / Control of sentences. / “Listen, very carefully, I will say this only once.”
Pun
13 / The British diet: are we on the right course? / Play on words / The window cleaner shouted down “I love it when people look up to me.”
Headlines
14 / “Fire in Cardiff: Many made homeless.” / Catches the attention, explains the storyline. / “Prime minister resigns: New election called.”
Hyperbole
15 / “There were thousands of people in our queue.” / Exaggerates for effect. / “I had to walk for miles.”
Emotive Language
16 / “Animals have been butchered and tortured to death.” / Puts across feeling. / “I hate the vicious words of twisted jealousy.”
Endorsements
17 / The tramp said: “Since I used your soap last year I have used no other.” / A personal recommendation. / “This is the family car I would choose”, said the Formula One champion.
Elaboration/Qualification
18 / Cardiff, the capital of Wales, is a centre of Arts and administration. / Adding more information about a subject to make things clearer. / “The product, sold as one package, can be paid for in instalments over a period of weeks.”
Device / Example / Effect / Other Example
Extended Metaphor
19 / The teacher said, “I’m the Captain, you’re the crew, we’re going on a long voyage of discovery.” / Explains ideas by stating them in different contexts. / The Prime minister said, “The clouds are gathering, the skies are dark. We are in for a storm.”
Emphasis
20 / “Now, at this moment, we are ready to begin.” / Stresses the importance of particular ideas. / “You, and only you, are the focus of all our hopes.”
EG’s
21 / A victim could be someone knocked down by a car. / Particular detail explained. / Of all the countries, Britain has the highest mortality rate.
Explanation
22 / The car, which was old and noisy, could hardly start. / Gives more details about the subject. / Tim, the latecomer to the class, a boy of supreme confidence, answered all the questions.
Experts
23 / We asked John Davies of the AA about the car. / Making reference to someone’s expertise. / ‘Which’ magazine called the vacuum cleaner “The best on the market.”
Appeal
24 / “This product is kind to the environment and does no harm to the atmosphere.” / Range of different selling points. / “Pop this in the oven and it will be cooked in 30 seconds, giving you more time to do interesting things.”
Adjectives(Positive)
25 / A good player. / Positive describing word. / A rich landowner.
Adjectives(Comparatives)
26 / He was better than his brother at chess. / A comparison between two things. / He was taller than his cousin.
Adverbs
27 / Words are cleverly used in the passage. / Words that tell you more about how, why or when something happened. / He bowled the ball wildly at the batsman.
Device / Example / Effect / Other Example
Alliteration
28 / “Dan’s dangerous damage.” / Repetition of sounds at the beginning of words for effect. / Clever Charlie causes chaos.
Assonance
29 / “I see tired eyelids.” / Repetition of vowel sounds in words for effect. / “Cool moon-tide pools.”
Rhetorical Question
30 / “What is wrong with the country today?” / Asking a question for effect that doesn’t need an answer. / “Do you follow me?”
Repetition
31 / This is not the end, nor the beginning of the end, but perhaps the end of the beginning. / Repeating things for effect. / “Think not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.”
Register
32 / “I would like a loan for three months please, sir.” / Changing the way you speak to suit a person’s status. / “Hiya mate, how are you?”
Tag Line
33 / Maltesers: The chocolate that melts in your mouth, not in your hand. / Accompanying slogan that explains the appeal. / John Grisham’s new novel, a dark thriller, typical of the best-selling author.
Theme
34 / At Tesco this Christmas we have many potential presents for the people that you love. / Using an event or particular idea to sell a product or idea. / Get ready for the big match, stock up with beer and treats for half-time.
Tripling
35 / The system is efficient, effective and economic. / Three words used in a sentence to stress an opinion. / The dog was barking, running and yelping.
Technical Language
36 / This laptop has progams and aps way ahead of its rivals. / Use of jargon and technical language associated with a particular product. / “We won the line-out and dominated the scrum.”
Device / Example / Effect / Other Example
Tone
37 / “How dare you speak to me like that, get out!” / Indication of feeling words. / “I feel devastated and bereft of the chance of all future happiness.”
Topic Sentence
38 / The problems facing Wales in the 21st century are complex. / Indication of what the rest of the paragraph will deal with in its range of subject. / The first castle of this type was built in Caerphilly and dominates the town.
Target Audience
39 / There are bowling greens, lovely walks and interesting places to visit, such as the museum. / Looking at a particular group to sell an idea or product. / Looking for adventure and willing to take some risks at high speed?
Some Key Words
40 / The efficiency and reliability of the car are not in question. / Looking at words which have a particular impact. / The novel is a fast paced thriller full of drama and action.
Resonance
41 / Only one word to describe the events of the last few days, “Catastrophic”. / A word that stands out because of its particular impact and power. / The wife describes her ex-husband as “Insignificant.”
Symbolism
42 / He needed to protect the crown. / Images or signs that represent other things. / We returned to the land of castles and mountains.
Simile
43 / He was as slow as a slug. / A direct comparison of two different things using “as” or “like”. / She was as pretty as a rose.
Statistics
44 / Seven out of ten owners want a new design. / Use of numbers to impress or make a point. / 50% of pupils wish to cancel.
Structural Devices
45 / Use sub-headings, columns, bullet points and captions. / The way a piece of text is organised. / Remember to use two addresses in a business letter.
Device / Example / Effect / Other Example
Syntax
46 / Chocolate, I love it! / Change the order of words in a sentence for effect. / Red Indians, we’re all scared of them!
Sentence Length
47 / The door creaked open lazily and showed a bright light shining from the kitchen inviting us to move towards it. I was scared. / Variety of sentence causes different effects. / I hated him. I loathed him. He had to die.
Slogan
48 / Have a break, have a Kit Kat. / Catchy phrase to sell a product. / It does what it says on the tin.
Sibilance
49 / Slimy sea snails on the shore. / Repetition of ‘s’ sounds for effect. / Slippery stones slightly covered in stone.
Superlatives
50 / He was the fastest and most sensible. / An adjective describing the most or least able. / She was the most beautiful woman I ever saw.