Methods of Analyzing Copywriting Texts in the Classroom: Russian-speaking and English-speaking Experience

Shuiskaya Yuliya Viktorovna ORCID: 0000-0002-6752-3063 Doctor of Philology Professor, Department of Theory and Practice of Journalism and Modern Media Communications, Institute of International Law and Economics named after A. S. Griboyedov  111024, Russia, g. Moscow, ul. Shosse Entuziastov, 21, of. 322 shujskaya@yandex.ru Other publications by this author     Drozdova Ekaterina Aleksandrovna Senior Lecturer, Department of Social Pedagogy, Peoples' Friendship University of Russia 117198, Russia, g. Moscow, ul. Miklukho-Maklaya, 6 katrin104@yandex.ru Mul'tanovskaya Dar'ya Vladimirovna Senior Lecturer, Department of Theory and Practice of Journalism, Modern Media Communications, Griboyedov Moscow University 111024, Russia, g. Moscow, ul. Shosse Entuziastov, 21 dashkesh@mail.ru

Kokorina Mariya Vladislavovna Teacher, School No. 627 115054, Russia, g. Moscow, ul. Dubininskaya, 42 kokorina@co627.ru

A significant part of the texts that a modern person reads and uses in his life are texts on the Internet and in social networks, the process of writing which is called "copywriting". The concept of "copywriting" began to undergo scientific comprehension in the late 2010s - early 2020s (see ^[18]), – for example, A.N. Nazaykin, summarizing the opinions of various experts in the professional industry, notes that in the current conditions it is possible to talk "about a certain "drift" of the concept of copywriting from the preparation of advertising texts to the preparation of texts of any kind, which should be taken into account when preparing modern copywriters" ^{[16, p. 150]}. As of 2020, "in modern conditions, there is not a combination, but a combination of different types of copywriting. Often, the author of the text is forced to create messages of various types, including using SEO technologies. The process of universalization of the competencies of the creators of the text also indicates the need to expand the concept of copywriting. Perhaps in the near future, with the development of modern communication technologies, we will also witness the birth of new types of copywriting, which will eventually be interpreted precisely as "the creation of texts of any kind" ^{[16, p. 151]}. Other researchers also note the expansion and spread of various types of copywriting. At the same time, it should be borne in mind that copywriting cannot be equated with writing any texts at all: in order to limit the concept, it would be reasonable to designate a criterion for setting the text: as A.V. Zhilina points out, "copywriting includes all types of texts intended for external and internal audiences of the organization. From our point of view, the term "promoting text" best demonstrates the scope of copywriting ^[11]. Based on the criterion put forward by A.V. Zhilina, we will limit the concept of copywriting texts as texts that have a specific goal of promoting a brand / personality / product or service or sale.

It should be noted that until 2020, the books devoted to copywriting were mainly practical manuals – such as ^{[12],[13],[14],[15],[17]}. E.B. Shtukareva also draws attention to this: "it is difficult to call most of the literature devoted to copywriting scientific, textbooks and online publications are in the nature of practical recommendations for writing texts taking into account marketing techniques, and the terminology used in them continues to be unstable: these concepts are filled with non-identical content by different authors" ^{[20, c. 139]}. Current realities force us to turn to copywriting from the point of view of text consumption: a modern person spends more and more time on the Internet, often choosing various goods and services, which implies reading copywriting texts. The appeal to copywriting in the aspect of teaching native and foreign languages has been developed for the creator of texts – for example, in such studies as ^{[1],[2],[6],[7],[10],[19]} and others .

The analysis of copywriting from the point of view of perception was undertaken in a collective study by A.V. Glagoleva, Y.N. Zemskaya, I.Y. Kachesova and E.A. Kuznetsova. The co-authors analyze the discursive nature of copywriting and come to the conclusion that "copywriting becomes part of a management mechanism in which internal processes of folding and unfolding discursive content operate" ^{[8, p. 70]}. In our opinion, the use of copywriting texts as managers of human life activity forces us to teach not only to write, to generate such texts taking into account all the laws of perception, but also to teach them to read: to identify the author's strategies, to recognize manipulative techniques and learn to resist them. It seems useful and necessary to integrate elements of thoughtful reading of copywriting texts into native and foreign language courses at universities: students themselves make decisions about purchasing goods and services on the Internet, personally monitor the content of various bloggers and must have information security skills.

As an example, let's consider two texts in the genre of copywriting that are comparable in their intent in Russian and in English. Texts that may be of interest to young people and need careful understanding and elaboration are, for example, texts about getting an education. From the point of view of perception, we compare the text from the website of the Government of the United States of America, dedicated to education in the USA for foreigners ^[3], and the text from the website of the Russian state program "Global Education" ^[9]. Both texts may be potentially interesting to Russian high school students and undergraduate students studying English, and both represent the promotion of state programs, that is, being motivating, they are not related to a specific commercial offer.

The text in English is an instruction in which five consecutive steps are indicated:

«These five steps explain the process an international student can follow to study in a university or college in the U.S.:

1. Research Your Options. Postsecondary education includes six degree levels. These levels include associate, bachelor, first-professional, master, advanced intermediate, and research doctorate. The U.S. system does not offer a second or higher doctorate but does offer postdoctoral research programs ^[3].

(Here are five steps that explain the process a foreign student can follow to study at a university or college in the USA:

1. Explore your options. Higher education includes six levels of various degrees. These levels include Junior Specialist, Bachelor, First stage Professional, Master, Advanced intermediate level and obtaining a research doctorate. The US system does not offer a second or higher doctoral degree, but offers post-doctoral research programs) (our translation is E.D.).

Note that the authors of the text address the potential reader in the genre of imperative, implicitly accepting the fact that he is going to get an education in the USA. The text does not contain explicit arguments in favor of American education, its authors accept by default the fact that the person who has visited this page has already decided everything for himself and needs instruction. Each of the designated five steps is further disclosed by sub-paragraphs (from 2 to 7), provided with hyperlinks, for example:

«Find an Educational Advising Center in Your Country - Worldwide centers give international students advice on higher education. They can also help students find study opportunities in the United States.

College Navigator – Find and compare colleges by location, type of institution, programs, majors, and more.

Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP)-Certified School – Verify if the U.S. school that you are interested in is certified.

Stories by International Students – Learn about the experience of studying in the U.S. from other international students» ^[3].

("Find an educational counseling center in your country – centers around the world give international students advice on higher education. They can also help students find study opportunities in the United States.

College Navigator – find and compare colleges by location, type of educational institution, programs, specialties, etc.

Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) Certified School – check if the school you are interested in is certified in the USA.

Stories of foreign students – Learn about the experience of studying in the USA from other foreign students" (translated by our – E.D.).

Despite the instructional genre and the complete absence of explicit elements of "calling" a potential student, the text is promotional and relies on the laws of writing in accordance with the laws of copywriting. Based on the research of George Miller ^[4], many copywriters advise not to overload the reader ^[5], highlighting various options and sub-paragraphs in the texts in the amount of "7 plus minus 2". The analyzed text strictly follows this rule: five steps are disclosed: the first and second – in four sub–paragraphs, the third – in three, the fourth – in two, and the fifth - in seven. Neither the number of basic steps nor the number of second-level sub-items exceeds Miller's "magic number".

Next, an interesting grammatical technique is used, combined with syntactic parallelism: the first four points are formulated according to the formula "imperative + possessive pronoun + complement": "Research Your Options", "Finance Your Studies", "Complete your application", "Apply for your visa" ("Study your options", "Finance Your training", "Fill out your application", "Submit your visa application") (our translation is E.D.), and it is in the specified spelling: in paragraphs 1 and 2, the word "Your" is written with a capital letter, in paragraphs 3 and 4 – with a lowercase letter. If you enter these phrases into an electronic translator, for example, based on google (which is most likely done by a person who does not speak English well), the translation will ignore the pronoun "your" when writing with a lowercase letter and take into account when writing with a capital letter: "Explore your options", "Finance your education", "Fill out the application form", "Apply for a visa". With the help of such a technique, the idea is integrated into the text that the training is already "Yours" ("your own"), and the issues of documentation (fill out an application, apply for a visa) they no longer need the designation of possessiveness.

The text about higher education abroad in Russian is much more concise: on the main page of the site opens the information "Participants of the Global Education program are studying at the world's best universities" ^[9], visualized by infographics "32 countries, 288 educational organizations, 32 specialties" ^[9], as well as "The first stories appeared the success of the Program participants who have completed their studies and are employed in Russian organizations" ^[9]. Please note: we are not talking about the future (further actions of someone who would like to get an education abroad), but about the past: about what has already been done and achieved thanks to this program. Its addressee is not a potential student who has made a decision, but a person who needs information.

The section "About the program" opens with links to official documentation: Presidential Decree and Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation: "On December 28, 2013, Decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 967 "On measures to strengthen the personnel potential of the Russian Federation" was signed, which fixed the principles of implementing the Program of Social Support for citizens of the Russian Federation who independently enrolled in leading foreign educational organizations and students in them in specialties and areas of training, the quality of training in which meets the best international standards, and to ensure their employment in organizations registered in the territory of the Russian Federation, in accordance with the qualifications obtained. Subsequently, the Program was approved by the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 568 dated June 20, 2014" ^[9]. Further, the program is described in the same style, an official business style is used, and the proposals are non-systematic: "The results of the Program are focused on staffing highly qualified personnel of employer organizations, including those registered in the territories of advanced socio-economic development located in the Far East and Eastern Siberia, in order to accelerate modernization processes and implementation the latest technologies for the reform of the social sphere" ^[5]. This passage presents all those grammatical and syntactic features that a professional copywriter is not recommended to use – long sentences, with complication of the participial turnover, the use of non-isemic nouns ("staffing", "provision", "acceleration", "implementation"), etc.

The official information about the program is followed by feedback from its participants, also written in the style of "anti-copywriting", using non-isosemic words and constructions, for example, "The decision to participate in the Global Education program was spontaneous for me, but, as it turned out, absolutely necessary for my professional development. Studying in Australia, at the world's leading university, is like a breath of fresh air, literally and figuratively. Internationalization of education and innovative strategies to improve the quality of English language teaching in universities are my area of interest" ^[9].

The common place of all reviews is returning to Russia, continuing education in Russia, etc.: "Now I can imagine exactly what steps need to be taken to attract foreign students to Russian universities and how to ensure a proper level of English proficiency among students and teachers." "I know for sure that a lot of work was done on the employment of graduates of the state program, although I did not participate in it, because I knew in advance that I would continue my career at TSU." "Currently, I am a researcher at the Research Institute of Molecular Biology and Genetics of the Northwestern Federal Medical Research Center named after V.A. Almazov in St. Petersburg" ^[9]. Thus, it is implicitly indicated that "visiting is good, but at home is better", and studying in another country is just a way to continue and develop your career at home.

Thus, a hypothetical student with knowledge of English, who would like to continue his education abroad and use official sources of information, will face two opposite implications. The text on the website of the US government is formulated in such a way as to be as easy and convenient to read as possible, on the main page of the site for the query “to get an education in the USA” in the search engine immediately opens an instruction written in compliance with the laws of perception, designed for a person who has already made a decision, and focused on potential use automatic translation services. If you go to the Russian website dedicated to the state program of study abroad, the text implicitly orients the reader "to the past", indicating who has already passed the program and what results have been achieved. In the reviews of the participants, the theme of returning to Russia after productive studies prevails – the authors of the reviews, who graduated from different universities in different countries, focus on bringing benefits to their country.

The analysis indicates that copywriting needs "conscious reading". Students need to be introduced to the patterns of perception, the rules of writing copywriting texts in order to ensure an objective perception. We emphasize that the priority in this case is not "how to write a promotional text", but "how to read a promotional text".