A Multimodal Critical Discourse Study of Persuasive Strategies and Identity Construction in Admission Adverts of Select Private University Websites

Abstract

In advertisement, language is a cardinal tool for the dissemination of information to the public. It is a structured system of communication which in most cultures has a visual or graphical representation encoded into symbols. Crucial to print and media advertisements is persuasion. Schmidt and Kess define persuasion as “the process of inducing a voluntary change in someone's attitude, beliefs, or behavior through the transmission of a message.” Every form of discourse makes use of persuasion in one way or the other. For any advert to be effective and considered as persuasive discourse, it must be entertaining, catchy, and above all meet the needs of its target audience. Persuasive and informative content is also held in images. There are different strategies in advertising which include reduction, tunneling, self-monitoring, etc.; rhetorical triangles are important and are used in modern advertising to create compelling and persuasive campaigns that can move an audience. This triangle includes ethos, pathos, and logos.