Persuasive Writing and Rhetoric in the 21st Century.
Let’s face it. The art of persuasion and rhetoric has helped to build local communities, cities and empires. We can celebrate the great orators of ancient Greece and Rome for crafting the skill that has stood the test of time for over two thousand years. Many modern day politicians still look back to some of the classical greats for inspiration to stir up crowds and nations in times of both peace and war.
Let’s face it. The art of persuasion and rhetoric has helped to build local communities, cities and empires. We can celebrate the great orators of ancient Greece and Rome for crafting the skill that has stood the test of time for over two thousand years. Many modern day politicians still look back to some of the classical greats for inspiration to stir up crowds and nations in times of both peace and war.
Thankfully today, the art of rhetoric - most of the time - isn’t being used to conjure up our primal instincts to boldly go into battle with our adversaries and pillage unknown lands, yet it is always there on the sidelines. It has adapted with the times and can often be used to manipulate, influence and persuade us into doing things without much thought. It is a double edged sword which must be treated with caution.
How can we relate persuasion and rhetoric to education?
The four big educational C’s of the 21st century are: Critical Thinking, Communication, Collaboration, and Creativity. All of these skills are covered across the spectrum of the IB learner profile. Knowing when to spot a fake news article. Being critical of a dubious skin care or weight loss advertisement. Understanding when a politician is trying too hard to use anaphora in his address to the nation. Spotting the scheming strategies of the snake oil salesman. These are commonplace potholes that are becoming more and more frequent as we navigate down the road of 21st century life.
In the classroom
Knowing about some of the strategies is a good start to foster a critically minded student. That’s why we begin in Y7 by learning how to craft an argumentative essay. One of the core concepts of the IB is to engage the students in debatable questions. So with Y7, we have been learning about the history of corporal punishment in schools so that they can take a position and try to effectively convince their readers of why they are right. A great place to start looking for debatable questions is www.procon.org. We have been focussing on the issue corporal punishment in schools, but there are hundreds of more polemic topics which students love to debate, ranging from the death penalty and gun control, to free college education and school uniforms.
Building on the skills they learn in Y7, the Y8s are moving onto analysing some of the classical techniques used by politicians and propagandists as we read Animal Farm. The fact that this timeless book can still teach us lessons today is why it has also stood the test of time. Students are currently writing their own persuasive speeches by implementing the rhetorical techniques used by the slippery Squealer in his trademark style.
The journey doesn’t stop at KS3. As students progress through the BCB curriculum, there are plenty of opportunities to engage with rhetoric and persuasive writing. The whole point of introducing it at KS3 is to align with the ‘spiral’ aspect of the curriculum where students are exposed to it early so that they gradually build up a solid knowledge of the subject over time. As they go through the IGCSE and IB, they will be well on their way to both being able to persuade an audience and also being able to raise the alarm when there are manipulation tactics at hand.
