London Bridge Attack By Anna Sergi: Article Analysis

Anna Sergi wrote an opinion piece regarding the London Bridge attack; recalling her encounter and how she survived the attack. Other than being a survivor and witness, her article - ‘I survived London Bridge and feel lucky. And angry. I cannot unsee what I saw’, was also from the perspective of a victim. Even though Sergi felt lucky to have been unscathed from the attack, she was affected and considered herself a victim as well.
The article was well-structured and relatable for readers. Its content was simple and direct. Sergi was personal and honest in her writing, similar to how one would write in a diary therefore having its appeal. The whole article was written in a conversational, informal style which included contractions and short sentences. Furthermore, her choice of language allowed the article to be easily comprehended and engaging for readers. The article eventually proved to be a successful piece to explain to readers about her experience and emotions.
This essay aims to analyse and demonstrate how Sergi’s article effectively persuaded readers through its narrative content. It would focus on her use of second person narrative, present tense, short sentences, contractions and emotive language.

There was evidence of emotive language in Sergi’s article to arouse reactions from readers and eventually contributed to the credibility of her experience. Certain words are more persuasive because of their emotive content (Macagno & Walton 2010). Positive emotive language was used at the beginning of the article; including ‘It’s so pretty that you stop for a photo’ and ‘a cute place with tables outdoors just underneath the bridge’, to generate a sense of peacefulness. If Sergi wrote ‘you stop for a photo’ and ‘a place with tables outside’, the narrative would be regarded as generic and systematic