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Lesson · Grade 6 · English Language Arts

Persuasion: Appealing to Feelings and to Reason

  • Grade 6
  • English Language Arts
  • 58 s
  • British Columbia
  • BC6-EN-12

A made-up animal shelter ad starts as a plain line, "Adopt a pet from Maple Shelter.", which tells readers what to do but not why. It is then written again with a feelings sentence about lonely Milo and a reason sentence giving a number and a fact (30 pets, all checked by a vet), each lit in its own colour to show that feelings make you care, facts help you decide, and persuasive writers often use both.

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In one sentence

The question this lesson answers

How does an ad try to change your mind?

Here is a plain ad for an animal shelter.

Transcript

What the lesson says

How does an ad try to change your mind?

Here is a plain ad for an animal shelter.

It tells you what to do, but not why you should.

Two common ways to persuade are to appeal to feelings and to appeal to reason.

An appeal to feelings uses words that stir up your feelings.

An appeal to reason uses facts, numbers and reasons.

Here is the same ad, written again to use both.

Words like lonely and love appeal to your feelings, so you feel sorry for Milo.

The number 30 and the vet check are facts, and they appeal to your reason.

Feelings make you care, and facts help you decide.

To persuade, appeal to your reader's feelings and to their reason.

Curriculum

Where this fits

British Columbia, Grade 6

English Language Arts, Story/text: techniques of persuasionBC6-EN-12

Previous: Sound Devices: Alliteration and Onomatopoeia

The outcomes and strands follow the British Columbia curriculum.

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