I wrote this for an English assignment (as I'm sure you can tell by the layout, style, statistics, etc,) and I know that although this "novel" or whatever you wanna call it is named A Collection Of Short Stories, I wanted to add more than just what are considered stories or oneshots in order to cater for lots of different genres and styles. I also figured I may as well put my assignments into good use. If you don't want ot read Part 1 (How Persuasive Language Words), than you can scroll down to Part 2 (a written persuasive article about how we should improve the culture of general inclusivity.) There is a description at the bottom of the update for those who might be confused or need extra context/explanation. I hope you enjoy!

Part 1 – How Persuasive Language Works

Inclusive language, including phrases such as “we”, “us”, and “our”, is effective at convincing audiences of an opinion or state of mind. This is because using language that represents everybody makes audiences feel included without singling them out or making them feel attacked, which will ultimately help them agree to an opinion due to an emotional connection with the idea.  Paul Keating once said “we cannot imagine that. We cannot imagine that we will fail.” Through this form if ethos and inclusive language, audiences are able to consider the topic without forcing the opinion upon them; it creates accountability for the issue while convincing the audience to do something about a problem by including them in the concept or conversation. Inclusive language builds trust within the audience and helps make the text seem more credible.

Another commonly used persuasive technique is a rhetorical question, which allows the audience to engage and think about the topic, without expecting a direct response. For example, in the HeForShe campaign, Emma Watson asks the question, “How can we affect change in the world when only half of it is invited or feel welcome to participate in the conversation?” The use of this rhetorical question helps emphasize the purpose of her topic – gender inequality – and provoke thought, which can make the reader second-guess their original opinions and encourage them to agree with a topic. Additionally, it creates a common sense of understanding about the key idea, helping audiences to connect emotionally and help them understand the importance of being involved in the discussion of gender inequality.

Finally, statistics are used in persuasive writing to collect and analyse data and present patterns to an audience to support a common idea. Statistics work well because they are true, scientific, and credible, making it difficult for someone to argue against or disagree with. When presented with a statistic, the audience is encouraged to re-think what they originally thought, especially if the statistics on the opposing topic aren’t as strong or persuasive, inevitably allowing the idea to seem more credible. In David Attenborough’s documentary A Life On Our Planet, he uses the statistic “Since 1950, wild animal populations have declined by 60%". This creates emotion in the audience, as they realise how much animal populations have already declined in such a short amount of time. The feeling of guilt for their human actions and sadness for the rapid decline of animal populations makes them want to change their actions.

Part 2 – An Argument For Change
Topic: We should improve the culture of general inclusivity.

As teenagers, we are both the perpetrators and victims of judgement, gossip, staring, and whispering, whether this is aimed at ourselves or others. We tend to make up our opinions on others based purely on a rumour we’ve heard, and push people away just because our friends or peers don’t like them. But do we ever really think about how harmful this can be to the mental health of those we are judging? Do we even consider how harmful it is to ourselves when people don’t include us in things, or do we just have to push it off as banter and laugh about it?

According to the most recent published data by Monash University in 2021, more than 30% of Australian school children said they felt as if they didn’t belong in school, with that number slowly increasing. That means, in a cohort of around 230 students, almost 70 students feel like they aren’t included or don’t belong, and there’s only one group of people who can change that: us.

Instead of pushing people away just because they don’t meet societal expectations, don’t have many friends, or don’t look, talk, or act like the majority of people in the grade, we can welcome people with all different types of personalities, hobbies, and opinions to expand our friendship circles with a more diverse range of people.

Furthermore, the Australian Council for Educational Research found that 73% of low socioeconomic students reported feeling awkward and out of place compared to high socioeconomic students. Despite this, our opportunities, wealth, and social status should not be a defining factor in whether or not we are included. We all deserve to feel happy and safe in our school environment, especially considering we still have many years until graduation.

This can be achieved if we all put a little bit more effort into making conversation with those who don’t have anyone to talk to, asking people how their day was, and even getting to know those we wouldn’t normally talk to. Wouldn’t supporting a culture of inclusivity in our cohort make the remainder of our high school experience that much better? Let’s include everyone, and not judge others based off non-defining factors. Let’s make 100% inclusivity a reality, to make our school a better place.

A/N: For those who may be confused, our task was to write a 400 word persuasive essay using the persuasive devices we wrote about in Part 1, using evidence based on things we watched and read throughout the term (for example, the David Attenbourough documentary, and Emma Watson's HeForShe campaign speech. We where allowed to write about any topic we where passionate about, and after lots of thinking, I ultimately chose general inclusivity. The audience we had to write for was our classmates (hense the not fully-formal language), and the statistics here are generalised about Australian schools. If you did end up reading this (because I know its a bit different than the others 'stories' I've included, and is not everyones cup of tea), then I hope you enjoyed! Let me know if you enjoy reading this sort of thing, and what you want me to write in the future xx