This document discusses concepts of society, power, and language. It defines society as a group sharing a culture and institutions that allow individuals to achieve needs together. Power is the ability to effect change or control things or people. The document provides discussion questions about powerful individuals, groups, societies, and cultures throughout history. It also discusses powerful orators, the techniques they use to engage audiences, and how language can inform, excite, or destroy. Persuasive language and techniques are analyzed, including the use of pronouns, sensory language, short sentences, and temporal language.

1. CONSTRUCTIONS OF
SOCIETY
YEAR 11 ENGLISH – SEMESTER 2

2. SOCIETY
• A group containing a single
species, defined by cultural
identity and social solidarity.
• Human societies:
• are characterised by patterns of
relationships between individuals that
share a distinctive culture or institutions
• allow individual members to achieve
individual needs or wishes that they could
not fulfil separately by themselves

3. POWER
• any ability to effect change or
exert control over either things or
people, subjects or objects

4. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
• What individuals are powerful?
• What groups are powerful?
• What societies are powerful?
• What cultures/figures etc were
powerful throughout history?
• For each example of power
(person, culture, group) who was
privileged and who was marginalised?

5. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
• How did they gain power?
• How did they maintain power?
• How did they lose power?
• Did they use power wisely or abuse it?
• What are/were the consequences of
their actions?

6. TERM 4
• Powerful orators
• Powerful language

7. POWERFUL ORATORS
• What makes a speaker ‘great’?
"If you observe nature at work, you will marvel at the
intelligence contained within it. Fish don't try and
swim, they just swim. Flowers don't try and bloom, they
just bloom. Birds don't try to fly, they just fly..." (Chopra)
•
•
•
•
•
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Fearlessness
Humour
Strong, but not forceful
Professional
Highlight and take advantage of unique qualities
Originality

8. DISCUSSION
• What qualities do these orators have?
• Explain the techniques they use to engage the
audience.
• How does this give them power?
• For what purpose have they made such speeches?

9. THE POWER OF LANGUAGE
• Words can
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•
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•
•
•
•
•
•
inform our mind
caress and comfort our feelings
excite and thrill our spirit
warm and kindle the flame of our hearts
slap our face
punch us in the stomach
rattle our nerves
kill our desire
destroy our self-confidence

10. PERSUASIVE LANGUAGE
• Brainstorm examples of persuasive language.
• In what contexts is it used?

11. PERSUASIVE LANGUAGE
• argumentative writing or opinionative writing
• Used in newspaper editorials, letters, feature articles
and advertisements, speeches and radio broadcasts
• When you analyse an issue you look at it critically:
•
•
•
•
•
•
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Compare
Contrast
Criticise
Evaluate
Explain
Interpret
Justify
Review

12. PERSUASIVE STRUCTURE
• State the point you wish to make in an introduction –
interesting examples and stories will enhance your ability to
hook the reader
• Use a separate paragraph for each idea supporting your
opinion
• Involve readers in the argument; direct your argument at
them
• Use words and phrases which show how you have analysed
the issue
• Connect the different parts of your argument with appropriate
language
• Make your last paragraph a clear conclusion, which reflects
the original point you made in your introduction

13. PERSUASIVE TECHNIQUES
• Final impact: Put the impact at the end of the
sentence.
• I am going to let you into a secret -- but not yet. First, I want
you to know that I have been listening to a lot of people like
you who have similar problems. And I also think you will be
pleased to know I have been able to help them get over
those problems. And the secret of solving their problems lay
in the effective use of a remarkable new support system.
• Hidden
commands:
sentences.
Burying
commands
in
• Please could you help me fold these sheets? Can you fold
sheets?... Great -- can you help me with these? After we've
folded the sheets, do you want a cup of coffee?

14. PERSUASIVE TECHNIQUES
• Intensifiers: increasing the emotional impact of a
statement.
• That is extremely interesting.
• Object focus: Focus on the object and let the
subject slip by.
• Tell me about book that is being written (omitted subject - who is
writing the book).
• Power words: Words that have special meaning.
• Guaranteed, easy, love, quick, strong, free, results, discover, you, p
roven.

15. PERSUASIVE TECHNIQUES
• Pronoun language: I, you and so on add power.
• We like apples, don't we? I like you.
• Sensory language: Language that evokes senses.
• The cool morning sun cast long fingers of shadow and light across
the green field as our visitors tramped across rough and the dewy
grass.
• Short sentences: Like this. That work. Of course.
• I want this. Not that. Right now.
• Temporal language: Changing time and hence meaning.
• What will happen if you keep on smoking?
• Trivializing words: Deflating what others say.
• Is this all you have? It is only a small matter.
• Using pauses: Adding power with very largely nothing.
• And here it is ... the birthday cake! And the winner is . . . Sydney!

16. PERSUASIVE LANGUAGE
• There are many words and phrases which you can use to link
ideas, sentences or paragraphs.
• Also
although
as a consequence
as a result
because
but
clearly
compared to
different from
finally
for example
for instance
however
in conclusion
in contrast
in fact
instead
it is clear that
meanwhile
moreover
nevertheless
obviously
of course
on the one hand
overall
similar to
specifically
similarly
therefore