Annotated Bibliography on Persuasive Speech

Running Head: ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY ON PERSUASIVE SPEECH
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY ON PERSUASIVE SPEECH
Name of the Student
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Author Note

1ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY ON PERSUASIVE SPEECH
Altikriti, S. (2016). Persuasive speech acts in Barack Obama’s inaugural speeches (2009,
2013) and the last state of the union address (2016). International Journal of Linguistics,
8(2), 47-66.
Persuasive speeches are quite common on political grounds as it creates a significant
impact on the individuals of the society to persuade or drive them into a certain action. The
researcher attempts to illuminate the use of persuasive speeches during political addresses.
The speeches taken into consideration for this reading is those of Obama from the years 2009,
2013 and 2016. Data depicts that President Obama used sentences in his speeches that were
more diverted to perform constative acts of speech rather than other forms where assertive
illocution is a predominant factor for persuasive speech. Aristotle connected persuasion and
communication by three major ways, including, an appeal using reasons and rationale, an
appeal by using ethics and lastly, an appeal by using emotional or aesthetic values. This is a
popular differentiation based on the domains of Logos, Ethos and Pathos. The article studies
the usage of the word ‘persuasion’ in many different ways like influencing, manipulating or
tempting and convincing. The article analyses the persuasive speeches based on strategies,
political discourse, various models, pragmatic processes and data analysis.
In the 2009 speech that the African-American president Barack Obama delivered
rested on the theme of “A New Birth of Freedom” and comprised of a voluminous sixty
percent of the speech as the constative speech in the record of speeches. This speech was
inspired by Abraham Lincoln’s most memorable and famous speech. The speech had almost
sixty percent of assertive while depicting only a thirty-seven percent of informative account
besides greetings, gratitude and so on. Obama stressed on the creation of a new America,
laying an emphasis on the ancestors who have contributed in the achievement of success for
this nation. Use of language tactics to enable to audience to identify with his perspectives and
agree to them is a part of his speeches. In the 2013 speech, he focused on gender equality,

2ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY ON PERSUASIVE SPEECH
immigration, same sex marriages and the economy but did not forget to aim at these critical
issues as a collective situation where a ‘collective action’ is required to change the wider
picture. The use of this speech also laid an emphasis on the constative part at a sixty-two
percent. However, in the 2016 speech at the end of his term, he continues to deliver a speech
with a hopeful and better future for the country despite persisting problems on inequality at
home and terrorism across the globe. However, the use of constative instances rose to
seventy-nine point five percent this time. It was clear that his speeches were popular as he
aimed at speaking from a level where people could understand, connect and engage in the
political or government policy-making processes.
Liping, C. (2014). Experiential Metafunctional Analysis of Winston S. Churchill's"
Speech on Hitler's Invasion of the USSR". English Language Teaching, 7(9), 132-136.
According to this article, the author tries to look into the use of a certain form of
language in the delivery of an impression of an experience of things that are going on in daily
lives. It considers itself as an experiential meta-function that focusses to bring transitivity.
This is a political discourse in the view of an Experimental Function. Use of relational as well
as material processes are involved in the making of a more persuasive and powerful speech,
especially in the political domain. According to a popular linguist, Halliday, the meta-
functions are nothing but a relationship of a systematic format with the lexicogrammar
(interdependence of and continuity between vocabulary and syntax) of the language.
Achievement of this form of persuasion is through the three main tiers of the speech. It
firstly, considers the use of a language to talk about one’s own experiences of the world and
about events and entities that involves them. The second stage comprises of the interaction
with other people, establishment of relationships and their maintenance besides creation of an
influence on someone and speaking about one’s own viewpoint. Finally, use of the messages
in a synchronized fashion so that they link with one-another and develop a meaning in the

3ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY ON PERSUASIVE SPEECH
wider context. These three categories, discussed above, categorizes itself as the ideational,
interpersonal and textual meta-functions. Ideational functional again divides into the
experiential and logical functions. Winston Churchill’s speech against Hitler makes notice of
the experiential function of the political discourse.
Use of transitivity and employment of the various processes by Churchill to achieve
his own goal makes notice when his ideas, broadcasted through his speech on the television.
In order to destroy Hitler’s dictatorship he goes ahead to illuminate the wrongs done by him
before the people and clearly points out that “The Nazi regime is greedy, cruel, aggressive
and is indistinguishable from the worst features of Communism. It possesses the worst form
of human wickedness. Hitler’s massive slaughter onto Russia destroys the peaceful life and
deprives Russian people of the human joys. German’s invasion of the USSR is only a prelude,
and its next target will be Britain. It’s time for people all over the world, regardless of race,
creed and party to unite together to fight against Nazism and protect their own countries.”
Churchill uses the material process by a count of thirty-seven point five percent besides the
use of relational processes by twenty-six point one percent and mental processes by twenty-
two point seven percent. He not only brings out the flaws of the Nazi government but also
tells his people that the war against Germany was necessary and just, clearly drawing a line
between the foe and the friend. Churchill makes his people believe what he stated was true
and just, thereby making his speech more convincing.

4ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY ON PERSUASIVE SPEECH
References
Altikriti, S. (2016). Persuasive speech acts in Barack Obama’s inaugural speeches (2009,
2013) and the last state of the union address (2016). International Journal of
Linguistics, 8(2), 47-66.
Liping, C. (2014). Experiential Metafunctional Analysis of Winston S. Churchill's" Speech
on Hitler's Invasion of the USSR". English Language Teaching, 7(9), 132-136.