Language and Persuasion — Media Literacy

MYP Unit Framework

Key Concept: COMMUNICATION Related Concepts: Audience Imperatives. Purpose. Style. Global Context: Scientific and Technical Innovation (How do media technologies shape the way we communicate and are communicated to?) Statement of Inquiry: Language shapes perception and can be wielded to inform, persuade, or manipulate in media contexts.

Inquiry Questions

1. The Rhetorical Triangle — Ethos, Pathos, Logos

Aristotle's Framework — Still Relevant After 2,300 Years

'Ethos, pathos, and logos are the three ARTISTIC proofs — the means of persuasion available to a speaker. Every persuasive text uses some COMBINATION of them.'

Ethos — The Character of the Speaker

'Who is speaking? Why should I TRUST them? Ethos is about CREDIBILITY.'

Building ethos: Expertise (credentials, experience). Trustworthiness (honesty, integrity). Goodwill (connection with the audience). 'A doctor promoting a medicine has ethos. A celebrity promoting the same medicine may NOT. Ethos is CONTEXTUAL.'

Detecting false ethos: 'Be wary of FALSE expertise — someone who sounds authoritative but is not qualified. Beware of ARTIFICIAL connection — the politician who pretends to be "just like you."'

Pathos — The Emotional Appeal

'The appeal to EMOTION. Pathos makes us FEEL — and feeling often moves us more than thinking.'

Techniques: Anecdotes (one story is more powerful than a thousand statistics). Vivid imagery (words that paint a picture). Loaded language (words with strong connotations — 'freedom', 'terror', 'family', 'betrayal'). 'Pathos is NOT inherently manipulative. A charity showing the face of a hungry child is using pathos to MOTIVATE action. But pathos can also be used to BYPASS rational thought.'

Logos — The Logical Appeal

'The appeal to REASON. Logos uses evidence, data, facts, and logic.'

Techniques: Statistics. Quoting authorities. Logical reasoning (if A then B). Cause and effect. 'Logos creates the APPEARANCE of objectivity. But statistics can be MISLEADING. "75% of patients improved" sounds impressive — but what if the sample size was 4? Logos is only as strong as the EVIDENCE behind it.'

2. Analysing Media Texts — Headlines, News, and Opinion

Headlines — The Most Important Words

'A headline's job is to get you to READ the article. In the age of the internet, it also has to get you to CLICK. This creates a TENSION between accuracy and attention.'

Clickbait techniques: Curiosity gaps ('You won't BELIEVE what happened next'). Emotional language. Vagueness ('Something SHOCKING was discovered'). Absolute claims ('This changes EVERYTHING').

'Clickbait is not just ANNOYING. It DISTORTS our understanding of what is important. A story about a celebrity's outfit gets more clicks than a story about a humanitarian crisis — and media organisations respond to INCENTIVES.'

News vs. Opinion

'News reports aim to INFORM. Opinion pieces aim to PERSUADE. The distinction is CRITICAL — but increasingly blurred.'

Questions for analysing a news text:

• Who is the SOURCE? (A news agency? A journalist? An anonymous tip?)
• What is the ANGLE? (How has the story been 'framed'? What is emphasised? What is downplayed?)
• Who is QUOTED? (Whose voices are included? Whose are absent?)
• What LANGUAGE is used? (Neutral or loaded? Factual or speculative? Active or passive voice?)

The Passive Voice — A Political Choice

'The passive voice is not just a grammatical construction. It is a tool for HIDING agency. "Mistakes were made" — by WHOM? "Civilians were killed" — by WHOSE bomb? Paying attention to the passive voice is a form of POLITICAL analysis.'

3. Advertising — The Art of Selling

The Underlying Message

'Advertising sells more than PRODUCTS. It sells VALUES, IDENTITIES, and DREAMS. A perfume ad does not sell a scent — it sells DESIRE, STATUS, and BELONGING.'

Common Advertising Techniques

Demographics and Psychographics

'Advertisers do not target "everyone." They target specific DEMOGRAPHICS (age, gender, income, location) and PSYCHOGRAPHICS (values, interests, lifestyle). Your DATA is the product. Social media platforms sell your attention to advertisers.'

4. The Attention Economy — Social Media and Algorithms

You Are the Product

'If a platform is FREE, YOU are the product. Social media platforms make money by keeping you on the platform as long as possible — so they can show you more ads. Every design choice — the infinite scroll, the notification, the autoplay — is engineered to MAXIMISE your attention.'

Filter Bubbles and Echo Chambers

'The algorithm learns what you ENGAGE with — and shows you MORE of it. If you engage with angry content, you see more angry content. If you engage with one political perspective, you see more of that perspective — and LESS of opposing views. Over time, you live in a FILTER BUBBLE — a personalised reality that may bear little resemblance to what is ACTUALLY happening in the world.'

Disinformation and Misinformation

• Misinformation: False information shared WITHOUT intent to harm. 'Someone sharing a rumour because they believe it is true.'
• Disinformation: False information shared WITH the intent to deceive. 'A state-sponsored campaign spreading fake news to influence an election.'

Strategies for Verification

1. Check the SOURCE. Is it a legitimate news organisation? A known satirical site? An anonymous account?
2. Check the DATE. Is this a current event — or an old story being recycled?
3. Check the EVIDENCE. Is there a primary source? Multiple sources? Or just a screenshot?
4. Check your BIAS. Do you WANT to believe this? Are you sharing because it confirms what you already think?
5. Use fact-checking tools. Snopes, FactCheck.org, Alt News (India).

5. Propaganda — Persuasion at Scale

What Makes Propaganda Different?

'Propaganda is NOT the same as persuasion or advertising. Propaganda is SYSTEMATIC, STATE-SPONSORED or INSTITUTION-SPONSORED communication designed to advance an AGENDA. It is persuasion in the service of POWER.'

Propaganda Techniques

• Demonisation of the enemy: Reducing a complex opponent to an EVIL caricature.
• Loaded language: Words that pre-judge an issue — 'freedom fighters' vs. 'terrorists'.
• Slogans: Simple, repetitive, emotionally resonant phrases.
• Bandwagon: 'The entire nation supports our leader.'
• Omission: Leaving out ALL information that contradicts the message.

Case Study — Historical Propaganda

'Nazi propaganda (1930s–40s): Joseph Goebbels, Hitler's propaganda minister, systematically controlled media, film, and public events. The message was SIMPLE, REPETITIVE, and EMOTIONAL: Jews were the cause of Germany's problems. The Aryan race was superior. Hitler was Germany's saviour. The propaganda did not CREATE anti-Semitism — it MOBILISED and INTENSIFIED existing prejudice.'

'Modern propaganda: Today, propaganda is MORE sophisticated and MORE difficult to detect. State-sponsored disinformation campaigns use BOTS, FAKE ACCOUNTS, and 'TROLL FARMS' to manipulate public opinion. The techniques are the SAME — but the technology is NEW.'

Your Summative Assessment — The Rhetorical Analysis

Task: Choose ONE media text (a political speech, a news article, an advertisement, or a social media campaign) and write a 1200–1500 word rhetorical analysis. Identify the text's PURPOSE and TARGET AUDIENCE. Analyse how it uses ETHOS, PATHOS, and LOGOS. Identify at least THREE specific persuasive techniques. Evaluate the text's EFFECTIVENESS and ETHICS. Discuss the role of MEDIA TECHNOLOGY in shaping the text's message and reach.

'This assessment asks you to be a CRITICAL consumer of media — to look behind the text and ask: Who created this? Why? For whom? And what TECHNIQUES did they use to shape my thinking? These are the skills of media literacy — and of informed citizenship.'

ATL Skills

Formative Assessments

Interdisciplinary Connections

• TOK: How does language shape knowledge? Can language ever be neutral? What is 'truth' in media?
• Individuals & Societies: Propaganda, political communication, media regulation.
• Psychology: Cognitive biases, confirmation bias, the psychology of persuasion.
• Computer Science: Algorithms, filter bubbles, the attention economy.

Service as Action

• Media literacy workshop: Design and deliver a workshop for younger students on identifying misinformation.
• School newspaper: Write articles with balanced, ethical journalism.
• Awareness campaign: Create a campaign to raise awareness about filter bubbles and verification strategies in your school community.

IB Learner Profile Attributes

Self-Test Questions

1. Define ethos, pathos, and logos. Give an original example of each.

2. Identify and explain THREE advertising techniques in a recent advertisement you have seen.

3. What is a 'filter bubble'? How does it affect what information you see online?

4. Analyse a news headline: identify its ANGLE, any LOADED LANGUAGE, and the PERSPECTIVE it promotes.

5. 'All persuasion is manipulation.' Do you agree? Write a short paragraph explaining your position.

6. List and explain the FIVE verification strategies for identifying disinformation.