Lesson video

Hello, everyone, and welcome to your lesson on using rhetorical devices in newspaper articles.

I'm Miss Sutherland and I'll be teaching you today.

Our learning outcome for today is to be able to use a range of rhetorical devices appropriately.

So we'll be learning about the type of rhetorical devices that you might want to include in a newspaper article, but also how to make them effective.

We have three key words for today and they are: rhetorical device, vigilant, and credible.

I'll give you a second now.

I'll give you a second now to pause the video, read the definitions, and make a note of any that you want to.

So in today's lesson, we'll first be learning about rhetorical devices.

We'll be learning about what rhetorical devices are, which ones are likely to be used in newspaper articles, and we'll be looking at examples of them being used.

In the second learning cycle, we'll be learning how to create our very own rhetorical devices to use in our own articles.

So let's begin learning about rhetorical devices.

Newspaper articles use a range of rhetorical devices to convey ideas and opinions to readers.

A rhetorical device aims to have a particular effect on the reader, usually to persuade the reader of something to evoke certain emotions in them.

I want you to think about what rhetorical devices have you seen being used in articles that you've read.

Pause the video and have a think.

You may have said rhetorical question, direct address, triplet, facts, and more.

So let's start by learning a little bit about these rhetorical devices on the screen and looking at some examples.

So a rhetorical question, it's a question designed to make a point.

It's not designed for anyone to answer it.

So for example, don't you want your grandchildren to see the beauty of the world? It's designed to make a point about our selfishness when we do actions that facilitate climate change.

Next, direct address.

Direct address is addressing the reader or audience directly.

For example, our planet needs you.

So for direct address, you are usually looking at using words such as you, your, or even we and our to make the reader feel like the writer is talking to them.

Next, we have triplet.

A triplet uses three words or phrases in a row.

For example, humans are ignorant, selfish, and shortsighted.

The triplet is used to hammer down a point about how we treat the planet there, and it makes it more memorable if those adjectives come in three.

The next rhetorical device is facts.

A fact is a thing proved to be true.

For example, climate change could be irreversible by 2030.

That's something that scientists have found out.

Therefore, we can call it a fact.

Now we'll be looking at alliteration, anecdote, opinion, and emotive language, some more rhetorical devices that you may have mentioned.

So, alliteration.

What is alliteration? Alliteration is using words close together that start with similar sounds.

For example, poor polluted planet.

This sentence or title repeats the P sound, therefore it uses alliteration.

Next, we have anecdote.

An anecdote is a short, interesting or amusing story about a real incident or person.

For example, an article about climate change might tell the anecdote of a farmer in Dorset who struggled to keep his business afloat, experiencing reduced crop growth.

That's just a short interesting story to help give the reader an insight into how climate change is affecting local communities.

Next, we have opinion.

An opinion is a view or judgement about something.

For example, I think cars are the worst thing to happen to our planet.

Now that's not necessarily a fact, it's just what someone thinks is the worst thing to happen to our planet, therefore it's an opinion.

Lastly, we have emotive language.

Emotive language is words or phrases that evoke strong feelings in the reader.

Now that could be a range of feelings such as guilt, such as anger, such as sadness.

Let's take a look at an example.

Our planet is in agony due to your self-absorbed ways.

Now that sentence uses emotive language such as agony to maybe help the reader feel guilty about their actions.

Let's check your understanding of those rhetorical devices.

In the sentence "Where is your humanity?", which two rhetorical devices are used? Pause the video and have a think.

Well done if you said, in the sentence "Where is your humanity?", both rhetorical question and direct address are used.

This is because the sentence uses a rhetorical question.

We know that because there's a question mark.

And secondly, it uses direct address because of the word your is addressing the reader directly via that word.

It doesn't use a fact because there's no proven information in that sentence and it doesn't use alliteration because there is no repetition of the same sound across multiple words.

Well done if you got that right.

In the sentence "A devastating effect of driving cars is pollution," which two rhetorical devices are used? Pause the video and have a think.

Well done if you said, in the sentence "A devastating effect of driving cars is pollution," a fact and emotive language has been used.

The reason for this is because it is a fact that cars contribute to pollution, and also the word devastating is an emotive word, helping us feel regret about the effect of our cars.

The sentence does not use a triplet because there are not three adjectives or nouns in a row, and it also does not use alliteration because again, there is no immediate or obvious repetition of the same sound across multiple words that are close together.

Well done if you got that right.

Here's a newspaper article for us to read.

We're going to read it, and I want you to find and highlight the rhetorical devices used.

So let's start.

"Python Panic".

"Pupils at Rainbow Secondary School were horrified to be greeted by a 10-foot python in one of their music classrooms on Thursday morning.

The python had reportedly escaped from the cage of its owner who lived nearby and had been on the loose for three days.

Its slithery scales were first spotted by a pupil aged 12 as she entered the classroom first for her music lesson.

'I had never seen a snake before in real life,' said 12-year-old Lizzie.

'It was terrifying because they're so different to other animals I'm used to, and I worried if they could do harm.

' The pupil immediately called for her teacher who had no awareness of the snake.

Her teacher, Mr. Baker, stated, 'I'm glad we found it sooner rather than later, as I did not want more pupils to panic.

' The RSPCA were contacted and they were able to lure the animal back into a cage and locate the owner.

In 2021, there were over a thousand incidences of pet snakes escaping, and the RSPCA urges owners to be vigilant, especially in hot weather.

Pet snakes seem to be growing in popularity across the UK, and whilst they offer company, stress relief, and the added benefit of peace and quiet that pets such as dogs may not boast, they still require careful consideration of factors such as regulated temperature and special diets.

Some people, working for the ethics of animals, suggest that keeping exotic animals as pets is not fair on these animals as they are not used to domestic conditions.

Whatever your opinion on exotic pets, the escapee snake, named Rex, is much loved by his owners.

They were reportedly worried sick over the last three days and are delighted at his return.

The owners have moved his cage to a more secure area of the home and will be keeping a close eye on him." So your job is to read that article, maybe skim it over again and find and highlight any of the rhetorical devices that we've learned today.

Pause the video and have a go at that task.

Let's go through what you may have found.

Python panic, that headline immediately uses alliteration with the repetition of the P sound.

We then see emotive language being used in the word horrified and another example of alliteration in slithery scales.

We also see facts.

We see the fact that there were over a thousand incidences of pet snakes escaping in 2021.

We also see a triplet that snakes offer company, stress relief, and peace and quiet.

Here when we have the idea that keeping pet snakes is not fair, we have an opinion.

And we have more emotive language in that last paragraph there with worried sick and delighted.

Well done if you found any of those examples of rhetorical devices.

We are now going to move on to using rhetorical devices in our own newspaper articles.

We're going to be learning how we can create the most effective rhetorical devices as we write our own article.

So let's begin.

In order to create our own effective rhetorical devices for articles, we have have to be sure of the effect we wish to have on the reader.

We are not just including rhetorical devices for no reason.

We're including them to make the reader interested or feel a certain way towards the event that we're reporting on.

So I want you to think about what the effect of the emotive language is in the sentence below.

Pupils at Rainbow Secondary School were horrified to be greeted by a 10-foot python.

Pause the video and have a think, what is the effect of the emotive language? What does that aim to do to the reader? Well done if you said the emotive language with the word horrified may evoke fear and shock in the reader.

I now want you to think about what's the effect of the alliteration used in the sentence below.

Its slithery scales were first spotted by a pupil aged 12.

Why did the writer repeat that S sound? Pause the video and have a think.

Well done if you said the alliteration of the S sound evokes discomfort in most readers as an image of a snake appears in their minds.

Let's continue to annotate the effect of the rhetorical devices used below.

What's the point of a fact in that first sentence and what's the point of the triplet in the second sentence? Pause the video and have a think.

You may have said the fact expresses the extent of the problem to the reader and it gives credibility to the article.

It helps the reader trust the article.

And you may have said that the triplet is used in the second sentence to convey the benefits of having snakes.

It helps to give the article an unbiased representation of snakes.

Well done if you said any of that.

Answer this question.

"They were reportedly worried sick over the last three days." What is the effect of the use of emotive language? Pause the video and have a think.

Well done if you said, the sentence "They were reportedly worried sick over the last three days" evokes pity in the reader.

The emotive language in that sentence is worried sick.

And if someone is worried about something, really worried about something, you are likely to feel sorry for them.

You're likely to feel pity for them.

Well done if you got that right.

I now want you to rewrite the article "A Roaring Mistake" to include at least three of the rhetorical devices you have learnt today.

So you are aiming to improve that article by putting more interesting rhetorical devices in it.

Pause the video and rewrite the article to include some rhetorical devices.

Great job, everyone, on your writing there.

We are now going to reread our work and highlight where we've used a rhetorical device.

I then want you to annotate the effect that you intended to have with each of the rhetorical devices you used.

Because remember, we are not just trying to include rhetorical devices for the sake of it.

We are trying to include rhetorical devices to have an effect on the reader.

So pause the video and reread your work, highlight where you've used rhetorical devices, and annotate the effect of each one.

Off you go.

Great job, everyone.

Here's what we've learned today.

Rhetorical devices are used to evoke an emotion in the reader or to persuade them of something.

Newspaper articles typically use a range of rhetorical devices.

Each rhetorical device will serve a different purpose depending on the context, and you should create your own rhetorical devices with an intended purpose in mind.

I really enjoyed learning with you today and I really hope to see you next time.