A local council is launching a campaign called Safe Steps to reduce scooter and e-bike injuries around the shopping strip and train station. The council has drafted three advocacy texts that all promote the same message: wear a helmet, slow down near pedestrians, and use the marked bike lanes.
Draft Text 1: Webpage (council website)
- Header: “Safe Steps: Scooters and e-bikes in our town”
- Subheadings: “What’s changing”, “Why it matters”, “Rules and fines”, “Report a hazard”, “Resources for riders”
- Includes: a short embedded 25-second video, an FAQ dropdown, a link button “Report a hazard”, and a footer with contact details and privacy statement
Draft Text 2: Tri-fold brochure (printed, handed out at the station)
- Front panel: “Safe Steps” with a large photo of a rider and a QR code
- Inside panels: three short sections with dot points: “3 rider rules”, “Where to ride”, “What pedestrians need from you”
- Back panel: a small map of the shopping strip showing bike lanes, plus phone number and opening hours for the council service desk
Draft Text 3: Social media post (council Instagram)
- One square image with the text overlay: “SLOW DOWN. HELMET ON. STAY IN THE BIKE LANE.”
- Caption includes: “Be part of Safe Steps. Tag a mate who rides. #SafeSteps #RideRight” and a link in bio to the council webpage
- Comments are currently turned on
A councillor is concerned that the message could be misunderstood as blaming riders only, and wants the texts to be persuasive without escalating conflict between riders and pedestrians.
Apply your knowledge of advocacy text features to suggest two specific changes to the Instagram post (image text and/or caption and/or comment settings) that would keep it persuasive while reducing the risk it is interpreted as “blaming riders only”. For each change, explain the likely effect on the audience.
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Create Free Account Log inThis is a free VCE Units 3 & 4 VM Literacy practice question worth 6 marks, testing your understanding of Features of advocational texts. It falls under Understanding and engaging with literacy for advocacy in Unit 4: VM Literacy Unit 4. Submit your answer above to receive instant AI-powered marking and personalised feedback.
In Unit 4 of VM Literacy students work through the areas of study 'Understanding and engaging with literacy for advocacy' and 'Speaking to advise or to advocate'.
In this area of study students will investigate, analyse and create content for the advocacy of self, a product or a community group of the student's choice, in a vocational or recreational setting. Students will research the differences between texts used for more formal or traditional types of advocacy, influence or promotion, as well as some of the forms that are increasingly being used in the digital domain for publicity and exposure. Students will consider which elements are important for creating a ‘brand' (including personal branding) and how different texts, images, products and multimedia platforms work together to produce one, central message to influence an audience. Students will compare and contrast the ways in which same message can be presented through different platforms and participate in discussions that consider the effectiveness of these messages, considering their purpose and the social and workplace values associated with them.
the structures and features of different influential and advocational texts, including webpages, brochures and social media
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