Assessment

Here is some advice to help you assess whether Boris Johnson is successful in achieving the intention of his speech at the COP 26 Launch.

Overall, Johnson’s speech has both strengths and weaknesses. The speech successfully uses all three modes of persuasion to convince the audience, combining to make Johnson appear both credible and knowledgeable on the topic of climate change. Moreover, Johnson uses several linguistic and rhetorical devices which are shown to be impactful such as the engaging use of descriptive language direct address to his audience, or inclusion of humorous elements and references. Johnson’s humor is an element of his speech which is clearly shown to be successful at engaging the audience, as the public can be heard laughing along to Johnson’s jokes, signaling they are engaged and paying attentio...