Lesson video

Hello, everyone.

My name is Ms. Voyle, and I am so excited to be teaching you your lesson today where we will be analysing the features of a persuasive advert.

Persuasion is such a fascinating linguistic technique and we are going to look at how it appears in adverts.

For this lesson, you need to be listening and looking carefully, and there will be some talking tasks where you'll need a partner and a written task where you'll need a piece of paper and pencil or pen.

I hope you're feeling excited and ready to learn.

The learning outcome for today's lesson is: I can analyse the features of a persuasive advert.

Here are the keywords for today's lesson.

Let's practise saying them, my turn, your turn.

Persuasion.

Advert.

Purpose.

Linguistic technique.

Well done, let's take a look at their definitions.

Persuasion is the action or process of trying to change someone's mind or behaviour.

An advert, which is short for advertisement is a notice or announcement that promotes something.

A purpose is the reason for something and the desired impact.

And a linguistic technique is a language device used to have a desired impact on the reader.

There are three parts to today's lesson.

First, we will look at the purpose of a persuasive advert.

Then we'll look at understanding persuasive features, and finally, we will be identifying persuasive features.

So let's begin with: Purpose of a persuasive advert.

What is persuasion? And where do we see it? Persuasion is the action or process of trying to change someone's mind or behaviour.

We see and hear persuasion all around us in adverts.

You might see these on transport or in public.

You'll see them on TV and on the internet, Persuasive adverts appear in newspapers, and you'll hear them on the radio on podcasts.

What is the purpose of a persuasive advert? Purpose means the reason for something and the desired impact.

The purpose of a persuasive advert varies, which means it changes, but they are all trying to change someone's mind or behaviour or convince them about something.

You might see persuasive adverts for the following: a product which is persuading you to buy and use it, an experience or a place, which is persuading you to attend or visit it, or a change of behaviour, which is persuading you to behave differently.

Let's check your understanding.

I would like you to take a look at these examples of persuasive adverts.

First, we can see one with the headline "Mercurial Open-Air Theatre." Then we can see one saying, "Buy the NEW and IMPROVED QUADCOPTER." And finally, we can see one that says, "Germ Busters, Win The War on Germs." Take a look at each of these adverts and match them to their purpose.

One is to sell an experience, one is to change behaviour, and one is to sell a product.

Pause the video, and match them now.

Let's take a look at the answers.

For the first poster saying, "Mercurial Open-Air Theatre." This is trying to sell an experience to you.

It wants you to attend the theatre and watch one of the shows.

For the next advert, this is trying to sell a product, it wants you to buy the quadcopter, and the purpose of the final poster is to change behaviour.

Germ Busters wants to teach you how to wash your hands and persuade you to do it.

Well done! It's time for your first task.

Discuss examples of adverts you have seen and how they were persuasive.

I'd like you to consider different types of adverts, posters, trailers, billboards, and consider different purposes.

Was the advert trying to sell you a product, an experience, or a choice? Some possible sentence starters are, "I saw an advert in the tube station for.

." "I saw an advert on television showing.

." And, "I saw a health poster encouraging people.

." Pause the video and discussed with your partner now.

Well done, for doing such great partner talk.

I loved hearing what you had to say.

Let's take a look at some example answers.

"I saw an advert in the tube station for a theatre production of "Harry Potter." It had a big image of a quidditch game, which caught my attention! That would catch my attention and make me want to visit.

"I saw an advert on television showing loads of delicious food and people eating it.

The food was from Iceland and it made me want to shop there!" Or, "I saw a health poster, encouraging people to wash their hands.

It gave me facts about germs which made me want to do it!" Those types of posters can be very persuasive.

Well done for your talk task.

It's time for the second part of our lesson, Understanding persuasive features.

Persuasive adverts contain a variety of features to catch the reader's attention and persuade them.

The visual appearance, which means what it looks like, and the layout of an advert is important for appealing to the reader.

This is what grabs the reader's attention and makes them want to find out more.

A range of linguistic techniques are used in order to persuade the reader.

This means different techniques are used in the writing of persuasive adverts to make it persuasive for the reader.

Let's take a look at an example of a persuasive advert, and consider how the appearance and layout makes it persuasive and grabs the reader's attention.

First, let's consider the headline, repeat after me, "Escape to Paradise." What makes this headline persuasive? It is big and bold, and it's short and catchy.

Now let's consider the images.

Take a look at these images.

What makes them appealing? There are a variety of visually eye-catching and appealing images for the reader.

They are colourful, and bright, and bold.

And finally, the information.

We can see there's lots of information on this advert.

How is it laid out in a way that appeals to the reader? It is chunked into sections, and you can see each of these sections of information is next to an image that corresponds, so the reader can search for the bit of information they would like to read first, or grabs their attention the most.

Let's check your understanding.

The appearance and layout of a persuasive advert is important, true or false? Pause the video and answer now.

That is true, well done! But can you justify your answer? A, what a persuasive advert looks like is the only important thing.

Or B, the appearance and layout of a persuasive advert is crucial for getting the reader's attention and persuading them.

Pause the video and answer now.

The answer is B, well done! The appearance and layout is not the only important thing, but it is crucial for grabbing the reader's attention so that they then want to read the rest of the advert.

Now let's take a look at some persuasive linguistic techniques within the advert.

There is lots of use of alliteration.

Alliteration is the repetition of initial consonant sounds appearing in neighbouring words.

For example, idyllic island.

Let's do my turn, our turn.

Idyllic island.

You can hear the "I" sound being repeated.

Or, beautiful beach.

The "B" sound is being repeated.

Crystal clear waters.

The "C" sound is being repeated.

The use of alliteration is catchy for the reader's ear and is often used as a form of persuasion in adverts.

Let's check your understanding.

Which of the following are examples of alliteration? I will read them to you and listen carefully for that repetition of the initial consonant sounds.

Wonderful Waves.

Build a sandcastle.

Surf the sea.

Pause the video and select your answers now.

The answers are A and C.

Both of these are examples of alliteration.

Repeat after me.

Wonderful waves.

We can hear the repetition of the "W" sounds.

Surf the sea.

We can hear the repetition of the "S" sound.

Now, some of you might not have thought that sea was an example of alliteration.

You might have said, "Well, I can hear the repetition of the "S" sound, but the word "S" and sea aren't next to each other.

That's a really good teaching point.

It's important to know that the words in alliteration don't have to be right next to each other.

As long as they are nearby, and have the effect on the reader of that catchiness due to the repetition, then it can still be considered as alliteration.

Let's consider another persuasive linguistic technique that is used in persuasive writing.

Exaggeration, which means overstating for dramatic effect.

Here are some examples of exaggeration within this advert.

The "largest" or "most creative" sandcastles.

These are examples of superlatives.

Superlatives are when you adapt adjectives to compare one noun to all others, by placing it at a higher degree, by saying it's, "The largest sandcastle," or "The most creative." This is a really good way of exaggerating to be persuasive.

Majestic waves, hmm.

Now the adjective "majestic" is a really exaggerated adjective.

It gives off this idea of the waves being magical and really unique, and "dive" into a world of fun.

This is an example of how writers use dramatic verbs to persuade the reader.

Instead of just saying, "Come and have some fun at the beach," they said, 'Dive into a world of fun." Let's check your understanding.

Which of the following are examples of exaggerated language? A, soft sand, B, coral reefs exploding with colour.

C, the most stunning beach you've ever seen, and D, a relaxing experience.

Pause the video and select your answer now.

The first example of exaggerated language is, B, coral reefs exploding with colour.

This is an example of a dramatic verb being used, "exploding," to personify the coral reef because we know the coral reef doesn't actually explode with colour, but we are giving it a human-like characteristic to really persuade the reader about how colourful the reefs are.

The second example of exaggerated language is, C, the most stunning beach you've ever seen.

This is an example of a superlative because the writer is saying that, "The beach is more stunning than any other beach the reader has seen.

Well done! Another linguistic technique that appears in this persuasive advert is rhetorical questions.

A rhetorical question is a question posed that is not intended to be answered.

Let's take a look at some examples from this advert.

"Do you dream about lying on a beautiful beach surrounded by nature? "Are you ready for the thrill of a lifetime? "Snorkelling not for you?" All of these are examples of great rhetorical questions they don't expect the reader to answer, but they evoke thought and feeling in the reader to make them want to find out more.

Let's check your understanding.

A rhetorical question is not intended to be answered, true or false? Pause the video and answer now.

That is true, well done, now it's time to justify your answer.

A, A rhetorical question is used for fun.

Or B, A rhetorical question is used to provoke thought from the reader and emphasise a point.

Pause the video and answer now.

The answer is B, well done! Rhetorical questions are used as persuasive linguistic techniques because they make the reader think and they emphasise a certain point so that the reader wants to find out more.

Another persuasive linguistic technique that appears is a catchy slogan.

A slogan is a short and striking or memorable phrase that is used in advertising.

Take a look at this advert.

Can you spot the slogan? The slogan in this advert is "Reach for the Beach! My turn, your turn, "Reach for the Beach." What makes this slogan catchy for the reader? It is short and sweet, there aren't too many words.

It uses rhyming words, "reach and beach," which makes it catchy and memorable.

Let's check your understanding.

Which of the following would be a good slogan for a persuasive advert about a beach holiday? A, Sea, Sun and Sand.

B, Come to the beach and enjoy the sea, sun and sand.

Or C, Beach.

Pause the video and select your answer now.

The answer is A, Sea, Sun and Sand would be a really good slogan for a persuasive advert about a beach holiday.

Why? Because it's short and sweet.

It uses a linguistic technique, alliteration, to make it catchy and memorable for the reader.

B would be far too long for a slogan, and C is just one word, which would not be an appropriate slogan.

Well done! It's time for a task.

Match the linguistic technique to the example, and I know you are going to do a great job at this, after all of the examples we just looked at.

The linguistic techniques are; Alliteration, rhetorical question, exaggeration, and catchy slogan.

The examples are; The most glorious views you've ever laid your eyes upon.

Fun in the Sun! Explore the exotic enclave, and do you dream about escaping to a secluded island? Pause the video and do the task now.

Let's take a look at the answers.

The example of alliteration is, explore the exotic enclave.

We can hear that the "E" sound has been repeated.

The example of a rhetorical question is, Do you dream about escaping to a secluded island? The use of exaggeration is, the most glorious views you've ever laid your eyes upon.

This is an example of a superlative being used to exaggerate, and the example of a catchy slogan is, Fun in the Sun.

It is short and sweet and it uses a linguistic technique, rhyme, to make it catchy for the reader.

Well done! It's time for the final part of our lesson, Identifying persuasive features.

You are going to create a persuasive advert about a healthy and delicious snack using lots of persuasive techniques.

The advert will be about chocolate energy balls, this is what they look like.

You will create an advert persuading people to eat this snack by using a variety of linguistic techniques to appeal to the reader.

Here is an example persuasive advert for the chocolate energy ball.

Let's look at the headline and beginning of this model now.

What persuasive features can you see? Hopefully, you've spotted the headline.

Let's practise saying it, my turn, your turn.

"Energy bouncing balls." Now, how did you know that was the headline? Well, it is big and bold, much bigger and bolder than the rest of the writing.

It's in a creative font, and it uses alliteration, "bouncing balls." Hopefully, you saw the image and thought, "Well, that's a really important feature of a persuasive advert because the reader will want to see what the product looks like." This image appeals to the reader, and hopefully, you spotted the text, which uses a rhetorical question to engage.

"Do you love chocolate and want to be healthy?" It then gives a follow-up statement to engage the reader more.

"These chocolate-covered nutritious balls will have your taste buds bouncing with joy and your body bouncing with energy." Let's check your understanding.

The headline and beginning of a persuasive advert should contain lots of information, true or false? Pause the video and answer now.

That is false, well done! Can you justify your answer? A, The headline should be short and bold to catch the reader's attention and the beginning of the advert should hook the reader.

Or B, the headline and beginning of the advert should contain no words and only images.

Pause the video and answer now.

The answer is A, well done! The beginning of the advert should contain words and images, but not too many words.

The headline should be short and bold and grab the reader's attention, and the beginning should hook the reader, and we saw on the example that a rhetorical question was used to hook the reader.

Let's now look at the persuasive writing within the main body of the advert.

We will read it and look at the linguistic features of persuasion on the next slide.

"Read the persuasive writing.

Which linguistic features of persuasion does it contain?" "These tantalising treats are packed full of nutrient-rich ingredients and coated in the creamiest milk chocolate so that you can enjoy the best of both worlds every day.

If you are looking for a delicious treat, that is healthy and sweet, the energy bouncing ball will be right up your street! Despite its indulgent and chocolatey taste, 80% of the nutritious nibble is made up of ingredients such as oats, nuts and dried fruits.

These ingredients contain healthy fats, protein and carbohydrates rich in fibre.

How does this benefit you? It gives you energy, builds your muscles and supports your digestive system, so that you can be the happiest and healthiest you!" Now take a look at this main body of text and have a little think.

Where can you spot the linguistic features being used? And which linguistic features are they? Hopefully, you spotted some examples of alliteration.

For example, "tantalising treats." You may have spotted the example of rhyme, the words "treat," "sweet," and "streets," being used in one sentence.

You might have also spotted the rhetorical question.

"How does this benefit you?" And I am sure you've spotted the use of exaggeration.

For example, the superlatives, "happiest and healthiest you!" Let's check your understanding.

How can you make the main body of your advert persuasive? A, use simple and factual language.

B, use a variety of persuasive linguistic techniques.

Or C, use mainly pictures and minimal words.

Pause the video and answer now.

The answer is B.

Using a variety of persuasive linguistic techniques like alliteration, rhyme, exaggeration is what makes the main body of the advert so persuasive.

Well done! Let's now take a look at the slogan and the logo on the advert.

What can you see? Well, I can see in the middle here the text saying, "Once eaten, never beaten." This is the slogan for the product.

On the right, we can see another image of the product, and on the left, we can see the logo for the product.

There are silhouettes of children playing with balls, but not just any balls, they're playing with the chocolate energy ball.

What do you think makes these catchy or memorable? The slogan is short and snappy, and it uses rhyming words.

Let's practise saying it, my turn, your turn.

"Once eaten, never beaten." Well done! And the energy bouncing ball has been linked to sport performance.

The silhouettes of the children playing with a ball, have been turned into the chocolate energy ball and the slogan says, "Once eaten, never beaten." That also links to sport performance.

Let's check your understanding.

Match the persuasive technique to its definition.

The persuasive techniques are; alliteration, rhetorical question, exaggeration, and catchy slogan.

The definitions are, a question posed that is not intended to be answered.

A short and striking or memorable phrase used in advertising.

The repetition of initial consonant sounds occurring in neighbouring words, and overstating for dramatic effect.

Pause the video and answer now.

Let's take a look at the answers.

Alliteration is the repetition of initial consonant sounds occurring in neighbouring words.

A rhetorical question is a question posed that is not intended to be answered.

Exaggeration is overstating for dramatic effect, and a catchy slogan is a short and striking or memorable phrase used in advertising.

Well done! Now that we have recapped that, I know that you are going to be ready for your final task.

I would like you to take a close look at the example advert for the chocolate energy balls, and I would like you to identify an example of the following features.

First, find an example of alliteration.

Second, find an example of a rhetorical question.

Third, an example of exaggeration.

And fourth, find the catchy slogan, and write these down now.

Pause the video, and do the task.

Let's take a look at the answers.

Now, there were lots of examples of alliteration within the advert, but maybe you spotted "bouncing balls" in the headline or "tantalising treats," or even "nutritious nibble." For rhetorical question, there was a rhetorical question right at the beginning.

"Do you love chocolate and want to be healthy?" Or you might have spotted the other rhetorical question in the main body of the text.

"How does this benefit you?" For exaggeration there are lots of examples, but maybe you spotted, "tastebuds bouncing with joy." This is an example of personification because our taste buds don't actually bounce, but it exaggerates the effect of the snack on our taste buds.

Or maybe you spotted examples of superlatives like "the creamiest," and for the catchy slogan, hopefully, you all wrote, "once eaten, never beaten," which rhymes, and is short and snappy to make it catchier, memorable for the reader.

Well done! We've now come to the end of our lesson, so let's go over a summary together.

Persuasion is the action or process of trying to change someone's mind or behaviour or convince them about something.

Persuasion can be found all around us and is used to achieve a variety of purposes.

The appearance and layout of a persuasive advert is crucial for capturing the reader's interest and engaging them, and a variety of linguistic techniques are used in persuasive adverts in order to engage the reader and persuade them.

Well done, for all of your hard work and learning, I have loved teaching you this lesson on persuasion.