English: Argument and Persuasion

An issue is an important topic causing disagreement and debate. Daily newspapers are full of issues that face our society, including climate change, drug addiction, sexism, health care, crime, asylum seekers, gambling and racism. There is often disagreement over how we should address important issues. Possible solutions to these issues are discussed and debated in the news media. This debate and discussion also informs how politicians respond to the issue and, ultimately, the types of policies they create to deal with such issues

PersuasiveLanguage_2019.pdf (nothingbeatstherealthing.org.au)

A contention is a writer's viewpoint on an issue e.g Driving licenses should be lowered to the age of 16 in Victoria.

See the link below to examples of persuasive language and how they affect argument.

PersuasiveLanguage_2019.pdf (nothingbeatstherealthing.org.au)

Click on the image above to go to the Newsbank database. Type in a word or topic to bring up newspaper articles from a range of Australian newspapers. Save the articles for your research.

E-cigarettes are battery-operated devices that are used to heat a liquid to produce a vapour, which is then inhaled – mimicking the act of smoking. This is commonly referred to as ‘vaping’.

Vaping (e-cigarettes) - Alcohol and Drug Foundation (adf.org.au)

Click on the image above to find information about vaping and e-cigarettes from Brittanica.

Further links below.

Australian government announcement on vaping

Taking action on smoking and vaping | Health Portfolio Ministers and Aged Care

Vaping (e-cigarettes) - Alcohol and Drug Foundation (adf.org.au)

Teens’ vaping health horror, Herald Sun/Sunday Herald Sun/Home Magazine (Melbourne, Australia), September 23, 2020, p5 (newsbank.com)

Also, go to the Newsbank site to read a range of articles on Vaping. Just type vaping into the search bar.

Take notes using Cornell notes and cite your sources using the Online Reference Generator.

Click on the above image to go to a document that lists and explains a range of persuasive techniques you might use to change someone's beliefs or behaviours.

Visual texts

Visual texts also explore topical issues using colour, line drawings and a range of visual techniques. Cartoons for analysis are political cartoons.

• Identify the issue for the cartoon and the author of the cartoon.
• The contention for the cartoon will be shown by how the author is depicting a person or thing related to the issue.
• Some visual techniques that are commonly used include: caricature (exaggerated drawing of a person’s face, ears, mouth etc.)
• Use of colour or shadowing to show opposites in an issue.
• Look closely at what is large and what is small in a cartoon.
• Use of exaggeration to mock, criticise, question or poke fun at a person involved in an issue.
• Cartoons often refer to other issues within one cartoon by the use of drawing or combining two different images.
• Cartoons are often linked to an article or the larger context of an issue. Does the cartoon support or oppose the issue?

Click on the image above to learn about how to write a good oral presentation of your argument.

Below is a list of helpful websites for further exploration.

PersuasiveLanguage_2019.pdf (nothingbeatstherealthing.org.au)

FactCheck – News, Research and Analysis – The Conversation – page 1

The following debate topics from The Debaters Association of Victoria might be helpful for your discussion and analysis of issues.

Debaters Association of Victoria - Topics archive

Referencing or citing your sources is an important part of academic writing and research. It lets you acknowledge the ideas or words of others and helps avoid plagiarism.

Click on the Online Reference Generator to create citations for your Bibliography.