The Power of Persuasion

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infoWhy this? Persuasion establishes English as the study of purposeful language, showing how writers and speakers make deliberate choices to influence an audience. By combining rhetorical appeals, sentence craft, whole-speech structure, register, and redrafting, the unit develops confident communication alongside precise analysis of how language works.

scheduleWhy now? At the start of Year 7, the familiar act of convincing others provides an accessible but ambitious entry into KS3 English. It establishes shared vocabulary, analytical habits, and an expectation of deliberate crafting that underpin later study of rhetoric, literature, and spoken language.

Ethos means convincing an audience through credibility, trust, and authority.
Pathos means convincing an audience through emotion.
Logos means convincing an audience through reason, facts, and evidence.
Anecdotes and emotive language are common ways to create pathos.
Facts, statistics, and expert opinion are common ways to create logos.
Tone, stance, and vocabulary help to create ethos.
A fact can be proved; an opinion is a view or belief.
Anaphora is repetition at the start of clauses or sentences to build emphasis.
Tricolon is a pattern of three words, phrases, or clauses that sounds complete and memorable.
A rhetorical question is asked for effect rather than to gain an answer.
Fronted adverbials can be used to create emphasis at the start of a sentence.
Short sentences can create impact; longer sentences can develop an argument.
Sentence variety helps persuasive writing sound controlled and engaging.
A counter-argument is an opposing position or viewpoint.
A rebuttal is the writer's reasoned response to a counter-argument.
A persuasive speech usually includes a hook, context, argument, counter-argument, rebuttal, and call to action.
Register means choosing language that suits the audience and purpose.
A speech should sound as though it is written to be spoken to an audience, not as though it is an essay.

rocket_launchYou must be able to

Identify ethos, pathos, and logos in a model text.
Use ethos, pathos, and logos in a single persuasive paragraph.
Use an anecdote and emotive language to create pathos.
Use facts, statistics, or expert opinion to create logos.
Make deliberate vocabulary and tone choices to create ethos.
Use anaphora for emphasis.
Use tricolon to create rhythm and impact.
Use one rhetorical question deliberately and effectively.
Rewrite sentences using fronted adverbials for emphasis.
Vary sentence length to create impact and develop ideas.
Improve a flat paragraph through sentence craft.
Identify the hook, context, argument, counter-argument, rebuttal, and call to action in a speech.
Write a counter-argument that presents an opposing position and a rebuttal that gives a reasoned response to it.
Plan and structure a full persuasive speech.
Adapt register so that a speech suits a year-group audience.
Draft, review, and redraft a persuasive speech.
Write a complete persuasive speech under timed conditions.

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