Year 6 · English · Literacy
Analysing persuasive texts
Identifying the audience, purpose and persuasive devices in a text, and evaluating how convincing the argument is.
Awaiting educator review. This material was drafted by our content team with AI assistance and is waiting for review by a qualified educator. Please check it suits your child before using it. Created 10 October 2026.
Learning goals
Learners will
- Identify the purpose and intended audience of a persuasive text.
- Name and explain persuasive devices in a text.
- Evaluate how effectively a text persuades.
Success looks like
- I can say who a persuasive text is aimed at and what it wants them to do.
- I can find examples of at least four persuasive devices.
- I can explain whether the argument convinces me and why.
The big idea
Persuasive texts are written with a purpose (what the writer wants) and an audience (who they want to convince). Analysing them helps you notice how you are being influenced.
Read this letter to a local newspaper:
Dear Editor, Our town needs a skate park, and it needs one now. Every afternoon, young people are forced to skate in car parks and on footpaths, dodging cars and pedestrians. Is this really the best we can offer our kids? A survey at our local high school found that 7 out of 10 students would use a skate park at least once a week. Some people argue that a skate park would be noisy. However, the site proposed beside the sports oval is well away from houses. A skate park would give young people a safe, healthy place to be active and make friends. We owe it to the next generation. Write to the council today and ask them to say yes.
This letter uses several persuasive devices:
- Emotive language: 'forced', 'dodging cars'
- Rhetorical question: 'Is this really the best we can offer our kids?'
- Statistic: '7 out of 10 students'
- Counterargument and rebuttal: noise concerns are raised, then answered. Inclusive language ('our town', 'we') and a call to action ('Write to the council today') finish the letter.
Worked examples
Purpose and audience
Who is the audience of the skate park letter, and what is its purpose?
- Look at where it appears: a local newspaper, so local readers.
- Look at the call to action: 'Write to the council today'.
- Combine the two.
Answer: Audience: local residents who read the newspaper. Purpose: to convince them to support a skate park and contact the council.
Explaining a device
Explain the effect of 'young people are forced to skate in car parks'.
- Identify the device: emotive language ('forced').
- Ask how it makes the reader feel: sympathetic and worried about safety.
- Link to the purpose: readers who feel worried are more likely to support a skate park.
Answer: The emotive word 'forced' makes skaters seem to have no choice, encouraging readers to feel sympathy and support the proposal.
Evaluating the argument
How convincing is the statistic in the letter?
- Note what it shows: 7 out of 10 students would use the park weekly.
- Ask what is missing: how many students were surveyed, and who asked the questions?
- Make a judgement.
Answer: It is persuasive, but more convincing if we knew the size and fairness of the survey.
Practice check
Have a go, then check your answers. Each answer comes with an explanation.
Answer guide for parents
In the skate park letter, which sentence is a rhetorical question?
Is this really the best we can offer our kids? — It is a question asked for effect, not to get an answer.
Which part of the letter is a counterargument?
Some people argue that a skate park would be noisy. — It presents an opposing view, which the writer then rebuts.
Which persuasive device is 'Write to the council today'?
call to action — It directly tells the reader what to do.
Why does the writer use 'our town' and 'we'?
to make readers feel part of a shared community — Inclusive language makes readers feel the issue belongs to them too.
Which question would best help you judge whether the survey is reliable?
How many students were surveyed? — The size of the survey affects how much we can trust the result.
According to the letter, how many out of 10 students would use a skate park weekly? Type a number.
7 — '7 out of 10 students would use a skate park at least once a week.'
Which word in 'young people are forced to skate in car parks' is the strongest emotive word? Type it.
forced — 'Forced' suggests skaters have no choice, which stirs the reader's sympathy.
Where does the letter say the proposed skate park would be built? Beside the sports ____. Type one word.
oval — 'The site proposed beside the sports oval is well away from houses.'
Watch out for
- Thinking that naming a device is enough. Always explain its effect on the reader.
- Believing that statistics are automatically trustworthy. Ask who collected them and how.
- Assuming that a persuasive text must be wrong or dishonest. Analysing it helps you decide for yourself.
Tips for parents
- Look at a real advertisement together and name the devices used.
- Ask 'Who wants you to believe this, and why?' when reading opinion pieces.
- Encourage your child to argue the other side of a letter to practise counterarguments.
Go further
- Write a reply to the skate park letter arguing the opposite position, using at least four devices.
- Create a colour-coded key and annotate a persuasive text from a newsletter or magazine.
- Record a 60-second persuasive speech and listen back for devices.