Quarter 3-Lesson 2: Various Techniques in Writing Informative, Persuasive, and

Argumentative Texts

Writing Structure Language

Style
Informative clear opening, general information, more information, summarizing, conclusion,
interesting, easy to read, layout
Persuasive opening statement, series of points + elaboration/evidence summary, and
restatement of opinion
Argument opening statement, giving opinio, series of paragraphs – argument then counter
argument (2nd guessing), summary and conclusion – restating the opinion

The Informative Writing Style

The purpose of informative writing is to inform the audience about a certain topic. This type of writing
is also called explanatory or expository writing. It relies on the use of credible sources and factual
evidence that explains the topic and supports the author’s perspective.

The Structure and Purpose

The structure of an informative essay is no different from the traditional structure used in
argumentative writing. However, these two types of writing have different purposes. Argumentative
papers are aimed to persuade the audience to agree with the author’s position, while the only purpose
of an informative essay is to educate readers.

Planning

Proper planning will take your informative writing skills to the next level. If you just start writing
without having a clear understanding of what your paper should look like, the whole writing
process will be much more challenging than if you prepare and write an outline first.

The Thesis Statement

The thesis statement is the main part of your informative paper because it serves as the basis for all
your arguments. It must be one or two sentences long, directly focusing on the question in your
prompt. An effective thesis statement is clear and precise.

Informative language

When writing unbiased texts like reports of factual information, it is important to use a specific style
of language that means that the information is clear and precise to your reader.

Be factual

When writing to inform, you should avoid biased information wherever possible. This is to make
sure that you are not manipulating the reader’s ideas or viewpoint in any way. You are simply
providing them with the information to form their own viewpoint.

Be specific
Informative writing provides readers with key information linked to the topic, location, time period,
process and possible reasons why. A simple way to remember this is:

What, where, when, how and why

This helps the reader to understand the information and ensures that you are being precise. It
makes sure that you prioritize the content of the text for the reader. Start with what they need to
know, and then want they want or would like to know. It is essential to include relevant
information.

Clear, polite imperative language

The language that you choose to use when writing to inform should be precise, and where
required, imperative. This is language that instructs the reader and is often used in recipes,
directions and other texts used to inform.

Twenty (20) Techniques of Persuasive Language

Examples of persuasive language are all around us: in advertising, politics, editorials, and reviews
(just to name a few). It is important to understand techniques of persuasion so that you can identify
and analyze them in use, but also so that you can utilize them in your own writing and speech.

Adjectives are descriptive words used to add emphasis and to create an emotional response.

Alliteration is the repetition of initial consonant sounds in order to emphasize certain words and
make them more memorable.

‘bring an end to the barbaric, bloodthirsty sport of bear- baiting’

Anecdotes are short personal stories used to connect with the audience and add evidence or
credibility to an argument.

‘I’d like to tell you what happened to Cathy and her son James on Christmas Day…’ (advert for RSPCC)

Assertion is when an idea is presented as fact without full explanation or evidence; it is used to
assert authority and make claims sound factual.

‘Come to the most beautiful place in the world - Ireland’ ‘The most effective cleaner on the market’

Attacks are when a speaker/writer addresses an opposing view or speaker and attacks their
argument or character.

Bias is the presentation of only one side of an issue or viewpoint and is used to subjectively influence
an audience.

Connotation is the ideas or feelings that a certain word invokes and is used to create certain
emotional responses in an audience.

Credibility (Ethos) is the establishment of authority and reliability, and is used gain the
‘Richard Whitehouse, director of Zurich zoo, disagrees with the claim that zoos make unsuitable
habitats

Emotion (Pathos) is feelings accentuated by experiencing love hate, fear etc. An appeal to emotion is
used to engage with an audience and create an emotional response.

‘1 in 3 children suffer from life threatening diseases’

‘Rover was in a pitiful state when we found him & he would surely have died if our dedicated team
had not nursed him day and night.’

Exaggeration is the representation of something as greater than is actually the case and is used to
grab the attention of the audience and emphasize certain points.

‘’the best party hits album ever’ ‘Ireland-a land whose scenic splendor stirs every emotion from pure
exhilaration to peaceful calm’

Evidence is the facts or information that indicate whether a view is true or valid and is used to give
weight to an argument or belief.

Figurative Language is used to create imagery and express things non-literally; it can help to make
an idea more emotive, vivid and convincing.

Chocolate which is ‘as smooth as silk’ ‘You have the world in your hands’

Generalization is the inference that a claim is true for most people or a majority and is used to speak
to prevailing beliefs or prejudices of an audience.

Rule of Three is when groups of 3 adjectives or phrases are used to make ideas memorable.

‘Friends, Romans, countrymen…’ ‘all of which we design, manufacture and install ourselves’

Jargon is special words or expressions used by a profession or certain group; it is used to signal
expertise and establish credibility.

Loaded Words are words charged with an underlying meaning or implication and are used to produce
emotion in an audience.

‘The fox is hunted down until it is exhausted. In the worst cases, it is ripped apart by the chasing
pack of dogs and dies a horrible death.’

Pronouns are words that take the place of nouns and are used to create a sense of unity with an
audience or distance from a common enemy.

‘We can beat this disease together!’ ‘It is clear to us all that we should oppose this motion….’ ‘They
do not know the damage they are causing to our natural resources.’

Reason (Logos) is the power of the mind to think and form judgments logically; it is used to appeal
to the rationality of an audience.

Repetition is the reoccurrence of certain words or phrases and it is used to emphasize certain ideas,
and make them more memorable.

‘the best for furniture; the best for service; the best for your money’
Rhetorical Questions are statements which are voiced as questions but are not expected to be
answered; they are used to imply certain answers and draw audiences to certain conclusions.

‘‘Would you really wash your clothes in anything else?’ ‘Should we allow this behaviour to continue?’

Types of Arguments

There are three different types of arguments that you can use in your essay. Use them separately or
combine them together to form your argument.

Aristotelian Argument Strategy-is the most frequently used argument strategy. Here, you will
highlight the problem, provide its solution. And then try to persuade the reader that you have
proposed the correct solution.

Toulmin Argument Strategy- is an argument strategy uses logic and breaks down an argument
into different parts. There are six different components: claim, grounds, quantifier, warrant, rebuttal
and backing.

Rogerian Argument Strategy - is used for topics where it is difficult to find a common ground. The
entire idea is to find a point of agreement by showing to the reader that you are considering the
counter argument as well.

We have an entire article dedicated to argumentative essay topics. To find more interesting topics give
it a read!

REMEMBER:
The Informative Writing Style

The purpose of informative writing is to inform the audience about a certain topic. This type of writing
is also called explanatory or expository writing. It relies on the use of credible sources and factual
evidence that explains the topic and supports the author’s perspective.

Persuasive Text

Examples of persuasive language are all around us: in advertising, politics, editorials, and reviews
(just to name a few). It is important to understand techniques of persuasion so that you can identify
and analyze them in use, but also so that you can utilize them in your own writing and speech.

Argumentative Essay

Argumentative essay is one of the most common types of essays that students will come across in
their academic life. Although there are different variations of an argumentative essay, but they all
share the same foundation.