Reading: Critical Reading & Analysis B2
Lesson 3: Identifying Author's Techniques to Persuade or Influence
Listen to the examples and reading passage.
Before You Read 🧠
Key Vocabulary (Click 🔊)
These words will help you understand the lesson.
The Author's Toolkit: How to Persuade 🛠️
When an author wants to influence you, they don't just state facts. They use specific language techniques to appeal to your emotions and build trust. Here are three of the most common:
Using words that have strong positive or negative emotions attached to them.
- Boring: "The plan is bad."
- Vivid: "The plan is disastrous and dangerous."
Asking a question where the answer is so obvious that it makes you agree with the author.
- "Can we really afford to ignore this problem any longer?" (Implied answer: "No, we can't.")
Using a well-known expert or institution to make an argument seem more credible.
- "As Dr. Chea, a leading urban planner, stated, 'This is a vital project for our city's future.'"
Reading Task: Spot the Techniques
Read this short opinion article from a local newspaper. Pay attention to how the author tries to persuade you. Click 🔊 to listen.
Don't Let a Concrete Jungle Replace Our Park!
To the Editor,
Are we truly so desperate for another clothing store that we must destroy our city's only green lung? This disastrous plan to build a shopping mall on the site of Central Park is a nightmare for local families and a senseless waste of public space.
We all want our city to grow, but at what cost? Even Dr. Ly Sokun, a respected professor of public health at RUPP, warned that removing parks leads to higher stress and health problems. Can we seriously ignore the advice of a leading expert?
It is time to stop this project before it's too late.
Practice What You Learned 🎯
Quiz 1: Identify the Technique
Read the sentences and identify the *main* persuasive technique being used. Click "Check Answers" when you're done.
1. "This new tax policy is a job-killing disaster that will strangle small businesses."
2. "As a recent study from Harvard University showed, daily exercise improves memory by 40%."
3. "How many more times must we see this problem before we finally demand a change?"
Key Vocabulary Reference (Click 🔊)
- Persuade To convince someone to do or believe something.
- Technique A special method or skill used to achieve something.
- Bias A strong, one-sided opinion that is not objective.
- Objective Based on facts, not personal feelings or opinions.
- Loaded Language Words that are used to create a strong emotional response.
- Rhetorical Question A question asked to make a point, not to get an answer.
- Appeal to Authority Using an expert or famous name to make an argument seem stronger.
Your Reading Mission ⭐
Become a Critical Reader
This week, find one advertisement (on Facebook, YouTube, or a website) or one opinion article (from the news).
- Read or watch it carefully.
- Ask yourself: "What does the author want me to do or believe?"
- Find one clear example of a technique they used: Loaded Language, a Rhetorical Question, or an Appeal to Authority.
- Write it down or explain it to a friend.