Persuasive language techniques: Definitions and examples

Cliché

Overused phrase quickly understood by a wide audience. Example: It's easy to envy the very wealthy but remember that the grass is always greener on the other side.

Alliteration

Repetition of a consonant, especially at the start of words. Example: The dehumanisation, degradation and demeaning of those who arrive on Australian shores by boat to seek refuge is perpetuated by politicians and mass media.

Pun

A play on a word that suggests a double meaning. Often plays on a word with a similar sound but different spelling (e.g whet/wet) Example: It's plane to see airport curfew is necessary (headline) appeal

Rhetorical question

A question with an implied but unstated answer. Example: How many people have to die before something is done about the black spot intersection

Graphs and diagrams

Evidence presented in a visual form

Exaggeration, overstatement and hyperbole

Exaggerates the true situation for dramatic impact. Hyperbole uses a figure of speech (simile or metaphor) to do this. Example: The list of things people are demanding to be added to the school curriculum is endless - ethics, civics, more maths, more phys ed, more languages, and now meditation. I guess kids are going to need it - they'll be at school 24 hours a day.

Metaphor and simile

Figures of speech that identify a similarity between two different things. A simile uses 'as if' or 'like'; a metaphor does not. Example: The workforce is like a giant sausage; push older workers into the workforce and younger, potential workers are pushed out

Emotive language

Language that has a strong emotional impact. uses the positive and negative connotations of words to influence the reader's response. Example: We need to understand that words are destructive weapons and that real people, not just two-dimensional names, images or cyberspace profiles, are vulnerable targets.

Inclusive Language

Uses 'we', 'our', 'us' etc. to include the readers in the same group as the writer. Example: The workforce is like a giant sausage; push older workers into the workforce and younger, potential workers are pushed out.

Repetition

Using a word or phrase several times Example: As long as criminals continue to profit from the misery of others, as long as addicts continue to sicken and die, as long as endless resources continue to be squandered without making any dint in the problem, then the war on drugs has been lost.