Employability of Persuasive and Rhetorical Strategies: A Corpus-Assisted Critical Discourse Analysis of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Selected Address

Abstract

This study deals with the utilization of Persuasive and Rhetorical Strategies used by Prime Minister Imran Khan in his address to the nation on 17th March 2020. This address was made in the background of the Covid-19 pandemic. Aristotle’s concept of persuasive components namely ethos, pathos, and logos was followed to examine the utilization of these devices. Furthermore, rhetorical devices like rhetorical questions, inclusiveness, and exclusiveness were also analyzed. A Mixed-Method approach was used to analyze the data. Quantitative data were obtained by using Corpus software AntConc, 3.5.8 (windows) 2019. Concordances were taken through this software, related to different devices and techniques. These numerical data were elaborated qualitatively. On the basis of the findings of the study, it can be said that PM Imran Khan practiced these techniques effectively and extensively.