The picture of Polly Toynbee in the article from the Guardian does not affect the argument and in my opinion serves no purpose because it has no relevance to the topic of the article. The picture on the front of the Animal Aid leaflet has the purpose of showing how animals suffer during and after they have been put through a series of test that harm them. I think it is a very powerful image and supports the leaflets objective. The other two images on the reverse side of the Animal Aid leaflet have the same affect as the main image on the front. They both portray the suffering of animals during and after harmful tests. Again I think they are very powerful and they support the objectives of the leaflet.
‘It’s a crying shame’ is the title for the Animal Aid. It links in with the picture on the front because the dog seems to be crying. The two combined are very powerful and create a sympathetic attitude for the reader so they are more likely to agree and donate. The words ‘shame’ does not represent anger towards the persons who carry out the medical tests, it is a calm word so it makes you sympathise towards the animals. It meets its purpose of making the reader pity the animals. The other two on the reverse of the leaflet serve the same purpose as the main image on the front.
The image from the Guardian article does not relate to medical testing on animals because images of them are cruel and would probably make the reader disagree with what Toynbee has to say. Instead there is an image of Polly Toynbee, the author. The expression on her face is a blank one. It shows how she does not care much about the animals. To persuade the reader more perhaps an image of a person in hospital dying could be used because it links in with the title, ‘Sorry, but I think dying people are more important than dumb animals.’
The two titles used are very different. The Animal Aid leaflet is entitled ‘It’s a crying shame.’ The word ‘shame’ does not represent anger towards the persons who carry out the medical tests, it is a calm word so it makes you sympathise towards the animals. As I have already explained above it links in with the images because the animals seem to be crying. The Guardian article is entitled ‘Sorry, but I think dying people are more important than dumb animals.’ The title seems to be a response to the Animal Aid leaflet because it is written in first-person as if Toynbee was saying it. The words ‘dumb animals’ shows how little Toynbee cares about the animals and suggest that human beings are smarter than animals therefore ‘dying people are more important than dumb animals.’
As you can assume from the title, Polly Toynbee’s attitude towards animal experimentation and to animal rights activists is disdainful. Throughout the article she is basically laughing at animal rights activists and their methods. She fails to see why ‘a mouse can’t die to save a child.’ The Animal Aid leaflet sympathises the animals and views animal experimentation as cruel and inhumane.
Facts are most likely to persuade readers as it is the truth. That is why the Animal Aid leaflet is mainly based on facts. Facts are used throughout the article to get the point across to the reader. However the article by Polly Toynbee she uses a lot of opinion which are then backed up with a few facts. By doing this the reader is easier to persuade as they have been given an opinion by Toynbee which is justifiable. However in the Animal Aid leaflet, the purpose is to inform you so readers will have to take on board all the facts and come to there own decision.
Although the Animal Aid leaflet is mainly factual, emotive language is used a lot to accompany the facts. For example ‘Every year around 3 million animals are tormented and killed in the name of scientific research,’ tormented is an emotive word to accompany the fact. It emphasizes the point. By using this it is informing and persuading the reader. Toynbee’s article’s purpose is to persuade readers therefore emotive language is used throughout the article in most of the opinions used. To describe the animal activists she has to use emotive words to emphasize the point. The use of quotations in the Animal Aid leaflet is effective because they are ironic. The use of irony powerfully emphasises the cruelty of science experiments on animals. What is ‘acceptable’ to scientists is unacceptable to animal rights activists. Quotations used in Toynbee’s article just show that someone else is speaking. Using quotations like the Animal Aid leaflet would have been more effective if used in Toynbee’s article.
By reading these articles it has slightly changed my views. The Animal Aid leaflet has made me more aware of what happens to animals during the experiments however it has not made me take action (e.g. donation.) The most persuasive texts is the Animal Aid leaflet because it informs and persuades using fact and opinion which is made more effective with emotive language, powerful images and ironic quotations.
