This document provides guidance on using persuasive writing techniques for exams. It outlines several persuasive writing strategies including using guilt, rhetorical questions, imagery, personal pronouns, emotive language, repetition, stressing a point, the rule of three, provocative language, and statistics. It also discusses the GRIPPERS3PS mnemonic device and A FOREST framework for structuring persuasive writing with an opening, series of points with evidence, and summary.

1. Teaching Persuasive
Writing
Aim of this session:
To learn how to use persuasive
writing techniques in your exam

2. Guilt: persuade a group
of teenagers to give
money to charity
‘10 children in Africa will
die this month if you don’t
contribute £1 to Oxfam.’

3. Rhetorical Question:
persuade a group of
students not to drop litter
How would you feel if you knew
your grandchildren might be
brought up in an society that is
polluted because of your
ignorance?

4. Imagery: persuading the
local council to help ease
congestion in the city.
Picture the calm streets and the clean
smell in the air. The roads are no
longer cluttered with cars and
motorbikes; you are free to walk and
enjoy the natural environment.

5. Personal Pronouns:
persuade year 11 to eat
more healthily at
lunchtimes
Together WE can all motivate
each other to prevent heart
disease.

6. Emotive Language: persuade
a member of your
family/someone you know to
quit smoking
76 year old Betty’s health has
deteriorated rapidly. Years of smoking
and ignoring friends’ advice has left her
gasping for breath, unable to walk up
the stairs. Her grandchildren cry
because they can do nothing to help her.

7. Repeat your point
persuade your
constituency to vote for
you as PM
The most crucial thing that could
change our world is “education,
education, education.”

8. Stress that point!
• When writing to persuade you need to
really STRESS your point. You can do
this by underlining words, using capital
letters or by using bold writing. For
example, Stop smoking NOW!

9. Use the rule of 3: persuade
Year 11 to take AS level
History
Use three hard-hitting words to emphasise
your point.
For example: ‘In AS level History you will
learn how to be analytical, evaluative and
critical. These are all skills that can be
applied across the curriculum, and that
many universities will be looking for.’

10. Provocative Language: create a poster
which would persuade young men to
sign up to join the armed forces on the
outbreak of WWII
It is your duty to serve your country
and ensure victory for all!

11. Statistics : Persuade
someone to stay on at
school and complete
a.levels
You can make these up!!
82% of teenagers that leave school at 16, earn
the minimum wage for the next 20 years of
their lives.

12. GRIPPERS3PS
Guilt
Rhetorical Questions
Imagery
Personal
Pronouns
Emotive Language
Repetition
Stress
3 (rule of)
Provocative language
Statistics

13. Remember to ‘Go through A FOREST’ – Each
letter should remind you of a different convention.
• Alliteration and appeal to reader directly
• F acts, first person
• O pinions, opposition needs to be criticised
• R hetorical question, repetition, reasons,
reader’s guilt/sympathy
• E motive language
• S tatistics, strong voice, shock, sarcasm,
short sentences
• T hree, threaten action

14. Persuasive
• opening
statement
• series of
points +
elaboration/e
vidence
• summary and
restatement
of opinion
• present tense
• first person
• logical connectives
(therefore, because)
• addresses the reader
• emotive language (adjectives)
• rhetorical questions
• repetition
• short, dramatic sentences
for impact
• similes and metaphors
Writing
Style
Structure Language Features