1. Analysing argument
YHSC | year 9 | 2018

2. Overview of focus Language analysis is easy.
It just means explaining in detail how a piece of opinionated writing works.
Language analysis gives attention to:
what is said (the points a writer makes to convince others to take their position on an issue)
for whom (the specific audience being targeted)
how (the language choices the writer makes), and
why (the effect on readers the writer intends to have).

3. Looking closely at language
Words are important. Choosing the right ones will not only cause people to understand you well, but can also strongly influence the views of others. As we interact in daily life, we know and see that our language choices can have a range of effects on other people, and we routinely express ourselves in ways that we hope will either elicit or avoid certain responses. Media texts also use language in considered and purposeful ways, but we tend to be less aware of how they are acting upon us as readers; we take for granted the truth of what they say and forget that they are someone else’s constructed view of things. Journalists, columnists and other media writers routinely make use of a range of language choices and persuasive techniques in order to cause audiences to form particular understandings about their subjects – they position readers to see things a certain way.

4. Find all the words across the two letters that refer to graffiti or graffiti artists. Make two columns, one for positive references and one for negative.
What is the main idea put forward by each letter?
What reasons do the letters give for their opposing views on graffiti artists?

6. Background context
On 28 May 2016 a three-year-old boy, Isiah Gregg, crawled through a barrier fence and past some bushes while on a family trip to the Cincinnati Zoo. He then fell into the moat that surrounds the gorilla enclosure, becoming directly accessible to the animals in the exhibit. The little boy seemed almost, at times, to be protected by the zoo’s 450lb, 17-year-old silverback, Harambe, but he was also seen in footage captured of the event to be dragged by Harambe roughly through the water in the moat so that zoo officials considered the gorilla a serious threat to the safety of the boy.
Seeking to ensure that the child would not be grievously harmed by the gorilla, and perceiving no
other option, zoo officials shot and killed Harambe: a critically endangered Western lowland gorilla. 
Despite the fortunate outcome for the boy, who emerged without serious injury, there was widespread public outcry about Harambe’s death, and the opinionated media response was swift and scathing, variously condemning the mother, the zoo (both the security of its facilities and the decision it took to shoot Harambe), as well as animal captivity more generally. 
See the amateur footage taken of Harambe’s handling of the boy.

7. Some key terms (know these!)
Issue – the broad subject area/s of focus; a neutral idea on which people are likely to have different views and on which sides can be taken. (e.g. in relation to Harambe: parenting, racism, the value of human vs animal life, animal conservation, the legitimacy of zoos, the role of media opinions, etc.) Contention – the main point about an issue that a persuasive writer or speaker is making. (e.g. that the mother of the child that fell into the gorilla enclosure is a bad parent) Arguments – the array of supporting sub-points a persuasive writer or speaker uses to convince others of the validity and truth of their contention Persuasive language techniques (PLTs) – the wide range of language devices that are used purposefully in a persuasive text to subtly cause readers to position themselves in agreement with the writer’s contention. (e.g. rhetorical questions, inclusive language, appeals, etc.)

8. Finding contentions
It is the first thing you do upon reading a piece of persuasive writing: find the contention. This means identifying the writer’s main point, the idea or position that all the other things in the piece support. You state the writer’s contention in the introduction of your analysis, and refer back to it throughout your discussion of the writer’s language choices in your body paragaphs. It is important to get this right! Read the statements on the following slide and write a contention statement for each one.

9. Contentions (cont.)
I am sickened and put off by those who say the authorities should not have shot this gorilla. I could not be more sympathetic to the gorilla. But just step back and use your head. If this was your child being dragged around in the water by a 450-pound silverback gorilla, would you really feel comfortable hoping that the gorilla would not hurt the child? This gorilla could have killed him in an instant. How can anyone seriously suggest that this was a risk worth taking. It is a tragic day for the gorilla and the zoo, and it certainly wasn’t the gorilla’s fault, but a little boy’s life was very much at stake.
For example, in relation to the point made above, you might say something like: ‘Although sympathetic towards the gorilla and his fate, the writer contends that it was necessary for the zoo officials to kill him as he posed too great a risk to the life of a vulnerable child.’
You could choose different ways of expressing it – it is the idea that is important. But be sure to stick to what the writer has said – do not judge the validity of the writer’s points or perspective, or give your own views. Note also the phrase, ‘the writer contends that …’ – this is a structure that you can use in your language analyses.

10. Practise stating contentions
Now write a contention statement of your own for each of the views given about the death of Harambe below.
This is absolutely sickening. A beautiful and endangered animal was shot and killed as a result of neglectful parents who couldn't control a 4 year-old. I've been to that exhibit, and it's not easy to accidentally fall in.
It’s terrible that this animal lost its life due to the irresponsible behaviour of humans. Perhaps there was no other way to save the child, but the circumstances that led to this tragedy must be addressed.
There are more than 7 billion humans on Earth, and very few of these rare and intelligent animals. At some point we will have to consider that sometimes it's more valuable to save the animal.
As a parent, I know how quickly a child can get away from you. However, I also notice that parents do not watch their children too often. As parents we need to do a better job of watching our children and making them understand appropriate behaviour.

11. Interpreting headlines
Sometimes contentions are obscure and hard to find, other times they can be quite obvious and stated directly - they may even appear in a headline. Headlines are a good place to start looking for the issue being addressed, and for determining the position being taken on it (the perspective being expressed). The other good places to look for clues about the contention are the first and last sentences.
Read the headlines on the following slide and for each one:
Identify what issue the article is likely to be addressing (i.e. what aspect of the Harambe event it focuses on), and
Write your own contention statement that agrees with the position on the issue that the headline seems to take

12. Interpreting headlines
‘Fury at “neglectful” parents’
‘Harambe's rights were violated long before his tragic death’
‘Jokes about Harambe need to stop’
‘Stop blaming “bad parenting” for the death of Harambe’
‘When child’s death draws less outrage than Harambe’
‘It is tragic, but Harambe the gorilla had to die’
For example, the first one mentions the parents directly, so it’s likely to be focused on parenting, and specifically, the extent to which the boy’s parents are implicated in the events that unfolded at the zoo that day.
A contention might be, that widespread outrage at the failure of the child’s parents to supervise him adequately is well justified.
Or, if the inverted commas around ‘neglectful’ suggest that the view is held by others, not the writer, the contention might be, that vilification of the child’s parents based on accusations of neglect is unreasonable given that losing sight of a child is a parenting incident experienced by many people.

13. Introductions
An introduction to a language analysis needs to contain a number of key elements. There is an anagram that can help you to remember all those different elements: ICATS. (Not necessarily in order since it is often the ‘S’ for source that comes first.) I = issue (orientate the reader on the broad subject area of the writer’s focus) C = contention (state clearly in your own words the main point the writer wants readers to understand or believe) A = audience (who was the piece written for; the target or intended readers – be as specific as you can about demographic characteristics based on the subject of the piece and the writer’s position on it) T = tone (what is the emotion behind the writer’s voice?) S = source (the name of the piece, its writer, and the publication it appeared in (if known), along with the date it was published)

14. Sample introduction for ‘Hear the screams’
The issue of the inhumane treatment of animals involved in the food processing industry is addressed by Dr Mirko Bagaric in the persuasive piece titled ‘Hear the screams’, published in the Herald Sun on 30 December The writer contends in a galvanising tone that the treatment of factory farmed animals is just as horrific and unjust as harpoon whaling by the Japanese for sushi, and that Australia is performing an act of “whale-sized hypocrisy”. Dr Mirko Bagaric states that animals suffer pain just as humans do, more so in the case of whales, and that people should be cutting any meat that is not organic or free-range out of their diets for the sake of the animals and their consciences. He uses a range of persuasive techniques to position a target audience of meat-eaters to agree with his point of view, including emotive language, rhetorical questions, statistics, facts and anecdotes.

15. NEGATIVE TONES
Apathetic Bored Cold Dejected Depressed Despaired Disappointed Discontented Disinterested Dispirited Gloomy Hopeless Hurt Melancholy Miserable Regretful Sad Upset Apologetic Critical Doubtful Envious Foreboding Frustrated Gloomy Guilty Judgmental Pessimistic Regretful Remorseful Shameful Solemn Sombre Suspicious Agitated Alarmed Anxious Apprehensive Defenceless Distressed Disturbed Embarrassed Fearful Helpless Humiliated Mortified Nervous Powerless Shocked Stressed Tensed Troubled Uneasy Vulnerable Worried

16. Admonitory Allusive Authoritative Balance Blunt Candid Colloquial Contemplative Controlled Conversational Discursive Distinct Emotive Evocative Expectant Factual Formal Frank Honest Informal Informative Knowledgeable Learned Lyrical Naïve Noble Nostalgic Patriotic Personal Picturesque Questioning Reflective Reminiscent Resigned Scholarly Serious Sublime Virile
NEUTRAL TONES

17. Amazed Astonished Attentive Curious Eager Interested Keen Polite Startled Stunned Surprised Calm Casual Collected Composed Content Peaceful Pleasant Relaxed Relieved Serene Appreciative Approving Assuring Confident Determined Encouraging Grateful Hopeful Inspiring Optimistic Pleased Promising Proud Respectful Reverent Sanguine Satisfied Thankful Affectionate Benevolent Compassionate Concerned Considerate Consoling Empathetic Friendly Loving Merciful Passionate Romantic Soothing Supportive Sympathetic Thoughtful Amiable Amused Cheerful Delighted Ecstatic Elated Energetic Enthusiastic Excited Exuberant Happy Humourous Jovial Joyful Jubilant Playful Vibrant Vivacious
POSITIVE TONES

18. Annotating
It is always useful to read an opinion piece more than once if time allows. It makes no sense to attempt the writing of any part of a language analysis essay (which is a close- reading exercise) without having closely read the text.
Annotating is the name given to the act of marking up a text as you read; the process of highlighting important bits for you to go back to.
What to mark:
key points and arguments made by the writer
structure (what the writer has focused on at different points throughout the piece).
Remember, you need also to come up with the writer’s contention, so be looking for it as you go. Note as well that your ideas about the contention may change as you read: sometimes headlines can be misleading, or the writer’s real focus may not be revealed until later in the piece, etc.
Also, you may be tempted to look for the persuasive language techniques (PLTs) that you can recognise, but resist at this stage – they will tend distract you from the more important big ideas of the writer. Referencing PLTs is vital to your essay, but not until you are building body paragraphs. Before then, you should know the contention and have identified several key arguments you can use to create an essay outline that includes body paragraph topics.

19. Body paragraphs
Just as with introductions, body paragraphs in a language analysis have specific elements to include and purposes to achieve. A language analysis body paragraph identifies an aspect of the writer’s argument and analyses (explains in detail) how it is supposed to impact upon the reader’s understanding of the issue – i.e. it looks at a given argument in terms of the reasons a writer has chosen specific words to present it and how the writer expects readers to react. An anagram that can help you to structure your body paragraphs effectively is ADEER. A = argument (the broad point made by the writer on which the paragraph will focus) D = device (a PLT used in the presentation of the argument) E = example (a quote from the article showing the PLT) E = effect (the intended effect on the reader of the writer’s use of this PLT for the argument) R = result (future behaviour/opinions of the reader on the writer’s contention; as a result of the writer’s use of this argument, the reader now thinks / feels / believes / etc.)

20. What to look for
The tell-tale signs amount to persuasive language techniques (PLTs), such as:
Technique
Purpose
Use of experts
Adds greater weight or authority to an argument by using the views of someone with specialist knowledge
Statistics
Make an argument seem more scientifically or factually based; difficult to dispute as numbers seem true
Rhetorical questions
Invite the reader to consider how they would answer and often lead them to an obvious response in agreement with the writer’s view
Emotive language
Makes a strong impact on the reader and positions them to see something in either a positive or a negative light by playing on how they feel
Inclusive language
Encourages the reader to feel that they are on the same side as the writer, and the majority of public opinion

21. Technique
Purpose
Anecdotes
Personalise an issue in a way with which readers can identify; tend to suggest that the writer has some special insight into the issue through experience
Repetition
To emphasise or to reinforce a point
Alliteration
To make an expression more memorable and so draw reader attention to an idea
Appeals
Addresses the broad values and concerns of readers (such as their sense of justice, fear about something, costs associated with something, etc.)