Grouping Texts

Texts A, C and E all have the purpose to persuade, however they do it for different reasons; A and C are all trying to make the audience do a task whilst E is trying to get the audience to buy the product.  Text A is a missing’s poster for a lost cat and is asking the audience- any person that may have the cat- to call the owner. A does this through the use of emotive language, when describing the cat, the writer states ‘’ he loves food and will definitely respond to the words ‘dinner time’, ‘’ the use of anthropomorphism makes the cat seem more human and so creates an image of importance which might make people more willing to look for the cat. It also adds light hearted humour in a relatively serious text which allows the writer to persuade the audience to help him/her more as it might make them more likable and so the audience feels more willing to help out.  Text A also uses emotive language to persuade the reader similarly with Text E. However Text E’s use of emotive language isn’t as strong as that of A’s, this could be attributed to the fact that in order to read the back of the bottle the audience would already have interest in the product, which means they don’t require as much persuading as the audience of A’s. Text’s E is the back of a shampoo bottle and therefore contains information about the brand, under the heading ‘’Our Philosophy’’ the bottle reads ‘’ we believe that every woman deserves to look fabulous without spending a fortune.’’  By using the first person plural of ‘’we’’ it makes the company seem like one big group of friends which might make the audience trust them more. The verb ‘’deserves’’ is a form of flattery which in turn is a form persuasion but also it raises the status of the brand as well as the audience. It makes it seem like women should only get the best and the best is this brand of shampoo. The noun ‘fortune’ is informal and in this case is an example of colloquial language, this gives us an idea of who the audience for this shampoo bottle is; average working woman who want the best products but for a reasonable price. ‘’Fortune’’ in this case could be an example of accommodation which is a persuasive technique as subconsciously l it makes us trust the brand because they are similar to us.  Text C could be categorised as a weak inclusion as it doesn’t use emotive language to persuade the audience to quit smoking but uses graphology, facts and imperatives. The main fact that the poster is centred around is ‘’ you are four times more likely to quit with our help than on your own,’’ the use of a different colour on the first half of the sentence highlights the importance of the fact and therefore makes it stay in people’s heads more. Fact is a form of persuasive technique as people are more likely to trust it rather than an opinion, and by putting the NHS logo on the poster it further heightens the importance and reliability of it. Another word highlighted in the text is ‘’free, ’’ ‘’patches,’’ ‘’gum’’ this could be used to convey to people how it can be to quit smoking. It might make more people willing to quit smoking. The main focal point of the poster is ‘’take the next step,’’ this is in bold and in a bigger font than the rest of the other words. The imperative implies that it is up to the person to quit smoking, it also has positive connotations because ‘‘take the next step’’ implies moving forward onto a better and healthier life away from smoking. This is supported by the image of a woman’s shoe stepping on a packet of cigarettes.