The story of Marie is used as another example of the situation with refugees. This time, the article tries to get the reader’s attention by using linguistic and language devices. In bold, the title of the section is “The story of Marie, an ordinary woman”. The phrase “an ordinary woman” is used as we can relate to it in our ordinary lives. Western people know what it is like to be ordinary, so the article uses something that we can relate to.
It is also used to show what “an ordinary woman” has been reduced to. This may make the reader think about how it would affect them if something similar happened to them. Graphic details are also given to persuade the reader: “Assaulted…shot dead…” This shows the horrificness of the violence used towards Marie. The violence and the details convey the violence used in the attack. I think the actions of the Home Office are negative and show that they don’t have any sympathy for a woman who has suffered so much. The article says it would be a “death sentence” for her to go back to Zaire, but the Home Office still rejected her. In the end she was allowed to stay but only for “a” further year.
The third section is not about another individual, but about the refugee situation as a whole. It moves away from the individual refugees and their personal problems, to examine the wider picture. This is effective as the first two sections have already used graphic language to get the reader more interested in the article, and now it is slowly implicating us to get us to take action at the end of article. Now, instead of graphic language, it uses emotive language. “It’s really tragic.” This shows that the situation is terrible but then the rest of the sentence “but it’s nothing to do with us” leaves it be. This is the view of normally “caring people”, who dismiss the situation.
The article responds bluntly, saying “So sorry, but it is.” After this, the article tries to use a paragraph of facts such as “People like Marie have a guaranteed right under the 1951 UN Convention,” to highlight the evidence to show there is a problem. To end the section, the article uses rhetorical questions outline the situation. “Was Marie’s fear well-founded.” To persuade the reader, the article uses syntactic repetition of the words “You decide.” This is used to show the reader that they have control of the situation and they can do something to help.
The last section has a very blunt heading saying that “Every refugee is created by our failure.” This section needs to leave us with a strong message making a powerful impact in the persuasion. Actually, it needs to persuade the reader to make a donation to the charity. The section does this very effectively firstly by blaming the government. The article then uses a paragraph to compare the reader to the refugee. This is a very personal and effective paragraph as it uses pronouns to compare “People don’t want to be homeless any more than you do”. Points are reinforced by syntactic repetition. Another effective way of persuasion is the use of the imperative.
This prompts the reader to act. For example “For heaven’s sake wake up and help them”. This is a very strong and angry sentence forcing the reader to “wake up” and realize what is going on in the world. However, this last section isn’t only angry and forceful; it also uses emotive language “terrifying danger”. The very last sentence is the final appeal in persuading the reader to become involved. “Please join us here and now.” This is like a last desperate plea for help and the use of the word ‘please’ show the desperation and reminds us again of the lives of the refugees.
The article ends with a subscription note. The reason why it is located at the end of the article is because; the article hopes to have broken the reader down to someone who wants to help and take an active interest. It hopes that the persuasion of the article so far is enough to finally get the reader to take action. Instead of being a large form that needs to be filled in, most of the coupon is ticking boxes and filling in light details. This makes the reader feel more comfortable as the ease and speed of access makes it easy for the reader to be active.
I think that the whole article is very persuasive on the whole. It does persuade the reader to take an active interest in Amnesty International and the people it helps. It does this well by structuring the article in a way that segregates the text into blocks. This makes the article easy for the reader to read. The organization and layout of the material is very appropriate for this article. The horrifying picture is at the beginning of the article to let the reader know what the article is about.
The coupon is at the end so if the reader is interested, they can make a contribution easily after reading the whole article. The content of the article has many aspects to it. There are some facts that inform the reader. Also, there is emotive and angry language to persuade the reader. How Does Amnesty International Persuade the Reader to take on an Active Interest in its Organisation & the People it Helps? Consider the Structure, Organisation, Layout of the Material, the Context of the Article, and the Use of Language & Linguistic Devices
