Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA)

Active learning transforms Critical Discourse Analysis from abstract theory into tangible skills. Students need to see, touch, and dissect how language shapes power, not just hear about it. Pair work, station rotations, and debates turn passive observation into active discovery.

• Year 12
• English
• 4 activities
• 25 min–50 min

Learning Objectives

1. Analyze media texts to identify specific linguistic features that construct power relations.
2. Evaluate how presuppositions and implications in political speeches shape audience understanding of policy.
3. Explain the function of modality in advertisements to persuade consumers.
4. Critique the ideological underpinnings of a news report using CDA principles.
5. Compare the use of nominalization in two different newspaper articles on the same event.

Case Study Analysis

⏱ 30 min·Pairs

Pairs: Speech Deconstruction Partners

Pair students and provide a political speech excerpt. They highlight presuppositions and implications, then note how these build speaker authority. Pairs present one key finding to the class for whole-group feedback.

Prepare & details

Analyze how language choices in media texts reflect underlying power imbalances.

Facilitation Tip: During Speech Deconstruction Partners, provide a transcript with pre-highlighted transitivity structures so pairs focus on interpretation rather than initial identification.

Setup: Groups at tables with case materials

Materials: Case study packet (3-5 pages), Analysis framework worksheet, Presentation template

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Decision-Making
• Self-Management

Case Study Analysis

⏱ 45 min·Small Groups

Small Groups: Ad Analysis Stations

Set up four stations with advertisements from different media. Groups spend 8 minutes per station applying a CDA checklist for power markers like modality and evaluation. Rotate and compile group insights on a shared chart.

Prepare & details

Evaluate the role of presupposition and implication in shaping audience perception.

Facilitation Tip: In Ad Analysis Stations, assign each station a different lens (e.g., presupposition, modality, nominalization) so students build depth of understanding across examples.

Setup: Groups at tables with case materials

Materials: Case study packet (3-5 pages), Analysis framework worksheet, Presentation template

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Decision-Making
• Self-Management

Case Study Analysis

⏱ 50 min·Whole Class

Whole Class: Media Debate Arena

Divide the class into two teams with a biased news article. Each team uses CDA to argue dominance of one ideology. Vote on strongest evidence after structured presentations.

Prepare & details

Explain how CDA can be used to deconstruct political speeches or advertisements.

Facilitation Tip: For the Media Debate Arena, assign roles (e.g., journalist, politician, citizen) to ensure every student contributes a perspective grounded in their analysis.

Setup: Groups at tables with case materials

Materials: Case study packet (3-5 pages), Analysis framework worksheet, Presentation template

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Decision-Making
• Self-Management

Case Study Analysis

⏱ 25 min·Individual

Individual: Presupposition Hunt

Students receive a media text and independently list five presuppositions. They then pair to compare lists and refine with evidence. Share refined examples in a class gallery walk.

Prepare & details

Analyze how language choices in media texts reflect underlying power imbalances.

Facilitation Tip: In Presupposition Hunt, give students a short checklist of linguistic triggers to guide their search and avoid vague claims.

Setup: Groups at tables with case materials

Materials: Case study packet (3-5 pages), Analysis framework worksheet, Presentation template

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Decision-Making
• Self-Management

Teaching This Topic

Teach CDA by modeling the process first. Demonstrate aloud how you locate and analyze a single linguistic feature to reveal ideology, then gradually release responsibility to students. Avoid overloading them with too many frameworks at once; focus on transitivity and appraisal early, then introduce nominalization and implicature. Research shows students master CDA when they repeatedly apply one tool at a time before synthesizing multiple lenses.

What to Expect

Successful learning looks like students grounding their observations in linguistic evidence rather than opinion. They should confidently point to textual features like passive voice or lexical choices when explaining power structures. Peer discussion and shared checklists help them refine these observations into precise analysis.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

During Speech Deconstruction Partners, watch for students reducing analysis to 'I think this speech is biased' without pointing to language features.

What to Teach Instead

Redirect pairs to the transcript and ask them to locate specific passives, modal verbs, or nominalizations, then explain how each feature positions the audience.

Common Misconception

During Ad Analysis Stations, watch for students assuming all power structures are overt or deliberate.

What to Teach Instead

Have them compare ads with neutral and loaded language, using the station’s checklist to identify subtle implicatures that still shape perception.

Common Misconception

During Media Debate Arena, watch for students conflating power with direct commands or overt aggression.

What to Teach Instead

Challenge them to find examples of obscured agency or implied expectations in headlines or captions, then discuss why these are more insidious forms of control.

Assessment Ideas

Exit Ticket

After Ad Analysis Stations, provide students with a short advertisement. Ask them to identify one example of presupposition and one example of modality, explaining how each contributes to the ad's persuasive goal.

Discussion Prompt

After Media Debate Arena, present students with two contrasting news headlines about the same event. Ask: 'How do the word choices in these headlines reflect different underlying ideologies or power perspectives? Use specific examples from the headlines to support your analysis.'

Peer Assessment

During Presupposition Hunt, students exchange texts and identify one instance of nominalization or obscured agency. They then write one sentence suggesting how the sentence could be rewritten to be more direct and transparent.

Extensions & Scaffolding

• Challenge students who finish early to rewrite a political speech using only passive voice to obscure agency, then compare its persuasive effect to the original.
• Scaffolding for struggling students: Provide a partially completed analysis table with one feature identified and explained, so they can practice filling in the rest collaboratively.
• Deeper exploration: Invite students to track how a single news outlet’s language shifts across coverage of the same event over several days, noting patterns in presuppositions and modality.

Key Vocabulary

Ideology	A system of ideas and ideals, especially one which forms the basis of economic or political theory and policy. In CDA, it refers to the underlying beliefs and values embedded in language.
Power Structures	The ways in which power is distributed and exercised within a society or institution. CDA examines how language reinforces or challenges these structures.
Presupposition	An implicit assumption about the world or background belief relating to an utterance, whose truth is taken for granted in discourse. For example, 'Have you stopped beating your wife?' presupposes the person has beaten his wife.
Nominalization	The process of turning a verb or adjective into a noun. This can obscure agency and make events seem more abstract, often used in formal or political discourse.
Modality	The linguistic expression of certainty, obligation, or possibility, often conveyed through modal verbs (e.g., 'must', 'should', 'might') or adverbs. It signals the speaker's stance and authority.