Persuasive texts appear across a wide range of modes — print, digital, audio and audio-visual. Each mode has its own conventions and features that authors exploit to position intended audiences. VCAA requires students to analyse persuasive texts across all these modes and to understand how the features of each mode create specific positioning effects.
Print texts include newspaper editorials, opinion pieces, letters to the editor, pamphlets and feature articles.
| Feature | Positioning Function |
|---|---|
| Headline | First contact with the reader; frames the issue; uses provocative or emotive language |
| Byline | Author’s name and credentials establish ethos before the argument begins |
| Lead paragraph | Establishes contention and hooks the reader |
| Subheadings | Signal structure; can carry their own persuasive weight |
| Pull quotes | Highlight the most striking claims; draw skimming readers in |
| Images and captions | Visual support for argument; captions direct interpretation |
Digital texts include websites, blogs, social media posts and online commentary.
| Feature | Positioning Function |
|---|---|
| Immediacy | Digital texts respond in real time to events; urgency is built in |
| Brevity | Character limits and scrolling behaviour reward compression; rhetorical impact must be instant |
| Hyperlinks | Can direct readers to supporting evidence; can also create associative chains that shape interpretation |
| Comments / shares | Social proof — the number of shares or likes is itself a positioning device |
| Algorithmic context | The digital environment surrounding the text (related articles, ads, trending topics) frames its reception |
Key positioning strategies unique to digital:
- Direct address and accessible language (removing the distance of print formality)
- Visual content (images, memes, infographics) that can be shared without reading the text
- Call to action buttons — ‘Sign now’, ‘Share’, ‘Donate’ — that transform passive reading into active alignment
Audio texts include radio commentary, podcasts and audio essays.
| Feature | Positioning Function |
|---|---|
| Voice quality | Warmth, authority, urgency — conveyed through tone alone |
| Pace | Slow pace = gravity and weight; fast pace = urgency and excitement |
| Volume and stress | Emphasis on key words; emotional intensification |
| Pause | Creates space for reflection; can signal that what follows is significant |
| Music / sound design | Sets emotional register; can reinforce or undercut content |
Key positioning strategies:
- Intimate, first-person address creates a sense of one-to-one connection
- Repetition is more important in audio (listeners cannot re-read)
- Emotional tone is more immediately apparent — the speaker’s feelings are audible
Audio-visual texts include television commentary, documentary clips, news reports and video essays.
| Feature | Positioning Function |
|---|---|
| Editing | Juxtaposition of images constructs implicit arguments |
| Interview footage | The person on screen becomes the embodied argument |
| Narration over footage | Words frame how we interpret the images |
| Emotional music | Bypasses rational analysis; generates feeling directly |
| Text overlays | Key statistics or claims appear visually; reinforce the spoken argument |
| Camera angle and framing | Positions the viewer in specific relationship to subject (power, sympathy, distance) |
When a set argument text is audio-visual, ask:
- Which mode is doing the most persuasive work: the words, the images, or the sound?
- Are the modes working together or in tension?
- What is gained by this combination of modes that no single mode could achieve?
APPLICATION: When writing about a multi-modal text, you must address features from the specific mode(s) present. A written-only analysis of a TV commentary that ignores the speaker’s intonation, the background music and the footage would be incomplete. Always analyse the text as it actually exists in its mode.
