Teaching Sequence

20 minutes	Part A: Credible and Trustworthy Voices?
20 minutes	Part B: Rhetoric and Rhetorical Devices
60 minutes	Part C: Rhetoric and Persuasion in News Media - Close Reading
20 minutes	Reflection

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

Step 1.

Explain to the class that this lesson is about the subtle yet powerful ways that audiences can be persuaded through language in audio-visual and written texts.

To orientate students to think about the effect of language, watch the following clips from Chasing Asylum as a class. Ask students to focus on the language and the way that certain individuals come across to viewers. Ask students to note their thoughts in the table on the Student Worksheet.

Chasing Asylum Clip 17 (https://vimeo.com/184264450)

Chasing Asylum Clip 11 (https://vimeo.com/184275993)

Chasing Asylum Clip 06 (https://vimeo.com/183257811) - You only need to watch the first 90 seconds

Step 2.

Give students a couple of minutes at the conclusion of each clip to make some brief notes about the tone, manner, impression and language of the following people in the clips:

Peter Dutton
Tony Abbott
Malcolm Fraser
David Manne
David Marr

Briefly discuss student responses as a class. Some points of discussion may include the stern appearance and sharp, definitive language of Peter Dutton compared with how Malcolm Fraser appears solemn. Students could also refer to the use of emotive language and repetition by David Marr and the use of logic and description by David Manne.

Step 3.

Facilitate a brief discussion about the impression students got from each person. You could prompt students by asking them to consider their own judgement about the credibility or sense of trust they felt when each person was talking. Explain that this is an important part of the lesson focus - the use of rhetorical devices to engage and persuade/position audiences.

Part B: Rhetoric and Rhetorical Devices

Step 1.

Explain to students that the language that people use (whether they are writers, presenters, interview subjects offering an option etc.) when communicating or sharing their perspectives is the result of both conscious and subconscious choices made to position audiences and generate a degree of trust or credibility.

By making these choices when communicating with persuasive goals, people can make specific choices in both language and content that will appeal to an audience’s emotions and sense of logic. While the context is important, too much of one and not enough of the other will often mean credibility or trust is weakened and the persuasive goal is not fulfilled.

Step 2.

Watch the following TED-Ed video (4:29) with the class and ask them to consider the explanation and animation about rhetoric and rhetorical appeals.

How to use rhetoric to get what you want - Camille A. Langston (https://youtu.be/3klMM9BkW5o)

Following the clip, give students a few minutes to write their own understanding or definition of rhetoric, where and when it is used and the three main appeals on the Student Worksheet. Encourage a few volunteers to share their responses with the class.

Step 3.

Distribute one copy of the Rhetoric Factsheet to each student (also linked on the Student Worksheet). Read through the introductory material and draw students’ attention to the list of techniques used by each of the three main appeals. Reiterate to students that it is the combination of these within the specific context that makes rhetoric most effective when persuading or positioning audiences.

If needed, you could give the class some different scenarios and ask them to identify the appeals from Ethos, Pathos and Logos that would best suit that context. For example:

A politician speaking to the Australian Press Club.
A politician speaking at a town hall/community BBQ meeting.
A teacher speaking to parents vs. speaking to students.
A refugee advocate speaking at a public meeting.

Step 4.

Explain to the class that before completing some detailed analysis of rhetoric in written news media opinion pieces, they will watch a short excerpt from Chasing Asylum about the mental health impact of offshore detention. This sets the context for the opinion pieces and offers a chance to identify and evaluate some spoken rhetoric as well.

Watch the following excerpt with the class and ask students to pay extra close attention to the interview subjects in terms of rhetorical devices - Ethos, Pathos and Logos. Ask students to also think about any documentary elements/footage that enhance these appeals.

Note: the content in this clip is sensitive, so please consider your students’ individual and collective needs before watching.

Chasing Asylum Clip 09 (https://vimeo.com/183258008)

Ask students to make a few points about the interview subjects in the relevant space on the Student Worksheet. Discuss student responses as a class and invite students to share what they identified. For example, reference might be made to the personal experience of the social worker, the use of ethos by Dr Peter Young, as well as logos and pathos when talking about the effects on mental health, and the use of emotive language from experience by Greg Lake.

Part C: Rhetoric and Persuasion in News Media - Close Reading

Step 1.

Explain to students that one of the most prominent uses of rhetoric in news media (when not considering audiovisual content) is the news opinion article and that columnists and commentators use rhetorical devices to persuade when writing about controversial, current or critical issues and events.

Ask students to open the following articles (also embedded on the Student Worksheet). Depending on student or school resources or ease of access, you could provide students with paper copies to annotate.

Contextualise the articles with reference to the footage and excerpts already watched from Chasing Asylum as well as how rhetoric has been examined in the lesson so far. The aim is for students to see contrasting perspectives about the same issue (offshore detention) and thus identify, analyse and evaluate the use of rhetorical appeals and appropriate language choices to position readers.

Introduce the task by explaining that students will be closely reading each article and analysing the author’s use of rhetorical appeals. Remind students that when considering the evidence or examples, they need to also consider the effects that these have on the position of the audience. Students can use the table on the Student Worksheet to complete the task.

Differentiation:

Depending on class or student needs, this activity could be completed in pairs or groups of three, with students working collaboratively to read, identify, discuss, analyse and evaluate the use of rhetorical appeals.

Give students time to complete this task, then reform as a class to share the analysis completed. While facilitating the discussion, ensure emphasis is placed on the analysis of the perspectives in the article and use of rhetoric, not a debate around the issue itself. Students might refer to the use of logic or reference to legal processes by Dennis Shanahan, or the use of collective language, repetition and varied sentence structure used by Michael Short. Similarly students could also refer to emotive/subjective language in the Michael Short article and the use of language to describe actions of politicians in the article by Dennis Shanahan.

Reflection

Following the completion of the close reading, analysis and evaluation of the articles, encourage students to reflect on their learning and how easy or difficult they found the task of identifying examples of rhetoric. The following questions can be used to prompt student reflection.

Broadly speaking, what did you find easy about this task?
What elements of the task or the concept of rhetoric did you find challenging?
If you were asked to do this task again with different news texts or opinion articles, what would you do differently?
Think about the parts of the task you found both easy and/or challenging. What could this reveal about how rhetoric can be used to persuade or position audiences?
How has your understanding of persuasion and the topic of offshore detention evolved or developed after examining the use of rhetorical devices more closely?

Extension - Manipulating rhetorical devices

Invite students to select a passage from either article and rewrite to either:

Emphasise one appeal over the other (for example, apply greater use of pathos)
Remove pathos and logos and assess how the meaning and effect of the article changes

Following the activity, discussion with students should focus on the impact or effect that changing language choices has on meaning. This can be broadened to discuss how language, especially the devices of rhetoric (ethos, pathos, logos), can be used powerfully to position audiences with respect to different perspectives.

This can be discussed in terms of the power of language and skill of rhetoric in positioning audiences with respect to perspectives.

Voices of Chasing Asylum - Rhetorical Voices

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