Analysis of Persuasive Texts
Looking at Mary Fisher’s speech about discrimination regarding HIV/AIDS, and also the Sydney Morning Herald article titled “Abbott cares for mums, but why so little support?’ it is clear to see that these speeches are both highly persuasive texts. A persuasive text must convince the audience of a point or argument. To be effective it must include a variety of textual techniques to create an emotional response from the audience, and the textual form must be selected to best convey the writer’s idea, in this case, a speech.
For a text to be effective it must be made relatable, even if the subject matter is not something in the audiences’ lives. In the early 1990s, an AIDS activist made a speech to the Republican National Convention regarding discrimination due to STIs, specifically the HIV/AIDS virus. This is a highly contentious subject, and as a lot of people are emotionally invested in it, therefore it automatically grabs the audience’s attention, ready to persuade them.
Fisher uses persuasive techniques such as personal anecdotes to get an emotional response from the audience. An emotional response is important for an audience to connect to the text, as the stories are either relatable or have elements of topics close to the audience’s heart. Fisher often mentions young people, and towards the end of the speech she addresses her own 2 children directly: “I draw my courage from you. Your silly giggle gives me hope.” She uses such anecdotes to show the audience that the topic being spoken about is not that far from them – their own children are at risk, yet society still ignores it.
Fisher also uses many facts and figures in her speech to enhance her argument and give it authority. For example, she quotes “AIDS is the third leading killer of young-adult Americans today”. This shocks the audience as facts like these, when they regard such a controversial topic, are not often released or made very public.
A similarly persuasive text is the Opinion article titled
For a text to be effective it must be made relatable, even if the subject matter is not something in the audiences’ lives. In the early 1990s, an AIDS activist made a speech to the Republican National Convention regarding discrimination due to STIs, specifically the HIV/AIDS virus. This is a highly contentious subject, and as a lot of people are emotionally invested in it, therefore it automatically grabs the audience’s attention, ready to persuade them.
Fisher uses persuasive techniques such as personal anecdotes to get an emotional response from the audience. An emotional response is important for an audience to connect to the text, as the stories are either relatable or have elements of topics close to the audience’s heart. Fisher often mentions young people, and towards the end of the speech she addresses her own 2 children directly: “I draw my courage from you. Your silly giggle gives me hope.” She uses such anecdotes to show the audience that the topic being spoken about is not that far from them – their own children are at risk, yet society still ignores it.
Fisher also uses many facts and figures in her speech to enhance her argument and give it authority. For example, she quotes “AIDS is the third leading killer of young-adult Americans today”. This shocks the audience as facts like these, when they regard such a controversial topic, are not often released or made very public.
A similarly persuasive text is the Opinion article titled