ENG-3103-3 – English and Persuasion

English and Persuasion is a 75-hour course, the third of three Secondary III English Language Arts courses. To achieve the three competencies of the course, adult learners will analyze a variety of persuasive texts (ads, opinion texts, letters of complaints) and learn how to create their own persuasive texts by applying the communication conventions for these texts.

Accompanying video and audio resources are available online.

Duration: 75 hours (3 units)

Content:

• Learning situation 1: Analyzing advertising and its influence on the way people shop and use services. Covers target audience, principles of design, public service announcements, sexism.
• Learning situation 2: Creating a variety of ads to understand how language is used to persuade. Includes the use of body language, voice, images, colours.
• Learning situation 3: Analyzing how people write opinion texts, evaluating the strength of arguments. Includes a comparison of reviews, blogs and other opinion pieces.
• Learning situation 4: Producing a variety of opinion texts, providing support with persuasive details, and concluding convincingly.
• Learning situation 5: Analyzing letters of complaint and proper tone. Assesses the validity of complaints.
• Learning situation 6: Applying the steps needed to write a persuasive letter of complaint. Includes formal language.

Evaluation:

Passing grade: 60%