Word Choice

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The purpose of persuasive writing is to convince a reader to see the subject from the writer's point of view or to agree with the writer’s opinion. It is extremely important to consider the audience when writing then. It’s so important to think about who the reader will be because different arguments will convince different people.

When we give reasons for our arguments in persuasive writing, we need to think about the ideas, but we also need to think about the words we use. Our word choice (also known as diction) plays an important role. You can even say these words are loaded words, meaning they pack a punch for our readers emotionally or have the potential to generate emotions or feelings.

This means certain words can help to make readers feel positive or negative about an idea. For example, using words like healthy or safe cause a positive reaction from most people, but germs or caution might cause a negative reaction. (Remember connotation from Quarter 1 anyone?!)

Loaded words can come as verbs, adverbs, nouns, or adjectives. Take a look through the slides below and discover the different loaded words you can use. Take notes!

Word choice from Squalicum High School