¿Cómo se
llama el
texto?
es un documento formal que
presenta información objetiva
sobre un tema específico.
Incluye datos organizados en
secciones claras, como
introducción, desarrollo y
conclusiones, y puede
incorporar gráficos o tablas
para respaldar los análisis.
Es un texto dirigido a una persona o institución con
un propósito profesional o oficial, como solicitudes o
reclamaciones. Tiene un formato estructurado que
incluye saludo, cuerpo del mensaje, despedida y
firma,
explica cómo usar un
producto o realizar una
tarea. Está organizado
en pasos secuenciales y
puede incluir diagramas o
ilustraciones. Utiliza un
lenguaje claro y preciso
para facilitar la compra.
es un diálogo
estructurado entre dos o
más personas con el fin
de explorar ideas,
experiencias o
conocimientos. Suele
publicarse en formato de
preguntas y respuestas,
con citas directas que
resaltan los puntos clave.
Es un documento breve diseñado para
proporcionar información sobre un tema,
evento o producto. Está organizado en
secciones con subtítulos e imágenes, y utiliza
un lenguaje accesible para facilitar
es un relato periodístico
que narra eventos
reales en orden
cronológico, combinando
información objetiva con
un estilo descriptivo
combina imágenes,
gráficos y texto para
transmitir información de
forma visual y atractiva.
Es ideal para presentar
datos complejos de
manera accesible, usando
colores y jerarquía visual
para facilitar su
comprensión
es un artículo
periodístico que
expresa la posición
oficial de una
publicación sobre un
tema relevante. Su
tono es formal y
persuasivo, respaldado
por argumentos sólidos
que buscan influir en la
opinión.
comunicación digital breve .
Incluye un saludo formal, un
cuerpo claro y conciso, y una
despedida respetuosa,
cuidando la gramática y el
estilo por su naturaleza.
Texto escrito por un autor
que presenta su punto de
vista personal sobre un tema
específico. Usa argumentos
sólidos, lenguaje persuasivo
y evidencia para respaldar
las opiniones.
Learning Objectives
1 2 3 4
Understand how Identify an author’s Analyse and evaluate Understand how style,
different types of point of view, the effectiveness of structure and content
information texts are perspective, argument rhetorical devices in contribute to the power,
shaped according to or purpose for writing a achieving the author's persuasiveness or
their form, context, text. purpose. beauty of a text.
purpose and audience.
Literary Non-Fiction Persuasive Texts
A genre of writing that uses literary styles Texts whereby the author takes an
and techniques to create factually accurate argumentative position and tries to persuade
stories e.g. biography, autobiography, the reader through evidence e.g. opinion
memoirs, personal essay, narrative pieces, editorials, open letters,
journalism and narrative history. advertisements and political speeches.
Expository Writing Technical Writing
Types of texts that exist to provide facts in a This category includes academic, technical or
way that is educational and informative. procedural writing whereby a professional or
They usually aim to have a more neutral and expert conveys information about specialized
unbiased tone e.g. text books, newspaper or topics or provides instructions to explain
magazine articles, self-help books, history technical concepts e.g. scientific texts,
books, encyclopaedias etc. scholarly articles, instruction manuals etc.
Considering Tone & Bias
The word ‘bias’ is usually used to mean ‘one-sidedness’ as in when a writer seems to have a positive view
towards something or a negative view against something. Bias can be presented when a writer deliberately
tries to persuade the audience, is favourable towards something, is influenced by their own experiences or
has incomplete information on a topic.
It's important to remember that in some informational texts, the author directly states his or her argument on
the topic, uses a strong, assertive tone and gives plenty of evidence to back it up. We refer to these texts as
persuasive texts and they make it fairly easy to trace the development of the author's argument.
But sometimes, an author might present more of a balanced or neutral point of view on a topic, use a more
unbiased tone and provide evidence to support multiple perspectives. We can refer to these texts as
interpretive or expository texts and when analysing these text types, we might have to scour the text more
thoroughly to discern the author's point of view or purpose.
Fact vs. Opinion
Many informational texts will be made up of a mix between statements of fact and expressions of
opinion. It's important that we can discern the difference between them as we read and analyse.
Statements of Fact Expressions of Opinion
A statement of fact is a piece of information, An expression of opinion involves a value
usually about the nature of the physical world judgement (such as whether something is
(things we can see, hear, touch, taste, smell) good or bad or right or wrong). It might also
that can be proven correct or incorrect by include statements about how people should
observations or records. behave or the quality of something. These can
be supported or refuted but they cannot be
proven to be true or false like a fact can.
Activity
With the person next to you, read the following examples and determine
which are statements of fact and which are expressions of opinion.
1.The fastest land animal is the cheetah.
2.Australians are friendly, happy-go-lucky people.
3.Cheating on a test is wrong.
4.The tallest mountain in the world is Mount Everest.
5.Sharks are dangerous.
6.William Shakespeare was the greatest playwright who ever lived.
7.It is easier to be a boy than a girl.
8.Earth is the third planet from the Sun.
9.Education is the key to success.
10.The elderly should be treated with kindness and respect.
Content, Structure & Style
Context, Context
Purpose & Context refers to the environment in which a text is created and
responded to. This might include the authorial context (the author's
Audience background, style and other work), the situational context (the date,
place and style of publication) or the broader societal context (the
historical, social, cultural or political factors that have shaped the text).
The first thing we need to
consider when analysing the
Purpose
effectiveness of the author's
Purpose refers to the reason for which a text is created. A text might be
choices in content, structure
constructed to persuade, inform, entertain, advise, analyse, satirise,
and style is how they have
parody, reflect, protest etc.
been shaped to reflect a
particular context, purpose
and audience. Audience
Audience refers to the group of readers or viewers that the creator of a
text is addressing. Often this group has shared characteristics such as
age, gender, ethnicity, location, occupation, life experiences, education,
hobbies or interests.
Modes of Persuasion
The next thing we might consider is the type of rhetoric employed by the author to persuade their audience.
There are three main types of appeals and often an author will use all three although they might focus on
one more than others depending on their purpose. They are:
Logos Ethos Pathos
An argument based on facts, An argument based on An argument based on feelings.
evidence and reason. character.
Writers use techniques that
The writer uses techniques that Writers use techniques that enhance emotions such as
add credible proof to their reinforce their expertise and humour, shock, excitement or
argument. This makes the writer authority on a topic. This makes sympathy. This makes the writer
seem more methodical and the writer seem more credible, seem more relatable, likeable or
precise. trustworthy, honest and ethical. compassionate.
Content
The content of an information text will of course depend on the form and type of of
text. Many information texts will include features such as the following:
Title - Usually summarises or hints towards the topic. Can be straightforward or
creative.
Headings and sub-headings - Used to introduce the content of different sections
and help the reader navigate the text.
Paragraphs or chapters - The main bodies of text grouped by topic or argument.
Evidence - a range of different types (outlined on the next slide) to support the
author's argument/s.
Lists or bullet points - Ordering information in a clear and concise way
Photographs, graphics or illustrations - Visual guides to help the reader digest
the topic. These can include realistic photos, annotated diagrams, charts or graphs.
Captions - Used to describe the visual content.
Bold or italicised words - Sometimes linking to a glossary of terms
Evidence
Evidence is the information and examples provided to support the authors argument.
We can split evidence into hard and soft.
Hard evidence Soft evidence
Hard evidence might include things such as Soft evidence might include personal
facts and statistics, scientific data, carefully anecdotes, word-of-mouth information
controlled observations, measurements, (things heard from another person) and
surveys, case studies and information from appeals to false authority (quoting from
experts in a particular field. sources that are not experts on the topic).
Let's look at three of the most common types of evidence used in information texts.
Facts & Statistics Expert Opinion Anecdotes
Facts are pieces of information When a viewpoint or advice is Personal anecdotes are short
that are known to be true based given by someone who is stories about a personal
on evidence or experience. considered a specialist in a experience or event that
Statistics, on the other hand, particular field. It is sometimes happened to the writer or
involve the collection, analysis, referred to as appeal to another known individual . They
and interpretation of numerical authority and it can be direct are often used to illustrate a
data to draw conclusions about (quotes) or indirect point or to make a connection
a particular topic or (paraphrasing). with the audience.
phenomenon.
The fact that experts can draw Anecdotes are considered soft
Together, they can provide different conclusions from the evidence because they are open
valuable insights and support same information shows that to interpretation and present a
arguments in various fields. they may not be as reliable as subjective account that is not
facts and still contain bias but proven.
they are still a useful means of
supporting an argument.
Style
When we discuss the author's style we consider the overall types of language
and literary devices used. These contribute to our overall understanding of and
response towards the text and we can analyse them to compare the overall
power, persuasiveness or beauty of a work. When analysing style we might
might look at elements such as:
Diction - particular word choice and connotative language
Tone or register e.g. formal language, colloquial language, emotive language
etc.
Syntax used for effect e.g. parallel structure, sentence length and
arrangement
Descriptive language and sensory imagery including visual, aural, olfactory,
gustatory, tactile and kinaesthetic
Figurative language e.g. simile, metaphor, personification, metonymy, idiom
Rhetorical devices such as rhetorical question, hyperbole, repetition, inclusive
language, direct address, jargon, tricolon or tetracolon
Structure
Again, the structure of an information text will depend on the form and type of text it is. Some common
structures of information texts include the following:
Describes a person, place, event, issue or concept. It might use
Description sections to organise main ideas.
Links information, arguments or events usually in chronological
Sequence or Timeline order, steps of a process or in the form of a hierarchy.
Presents one or more problems (discussing the significance or
Problem & Solution implications of the problem) before exploring the possible solutions.
Traces the relationship between two things whereby one thing
Cause & Effect makes something else happen.
Highlights the similarities and differences between two topics,
Compare & Contrast people or events. The writer usually moves back and forth between
qualities that are similar and qualities that are different.
Your Turn
As we've seen, the range of texts considered to be information texts is broad and the form, content, style and
structure will depend on which category they fit into.
We be looking at a range of information texts across this unit and you will be required to:
Identify an author’s point of view, perspective, argument or purpose for writing a text.
Analyse and evaluate the effectiveness of rhetorical devices in achieving the author's purpose.
Explain how the style, structure and content contribute to the power, persuasiveness or beauty of a text.
Good luck and let's get reading!
Elements
