Adjectives that sell, discourses that shape: A pedagogical proposal for teaching grammar based on the critical reading of advertising labels
adjective, advertising labels, argumentation, critical reading, critical literacy
This dissertation, developed within the Professional Master’s Program in Letters (PROFLETRAS/UFRRJ), investigates the persuasive power of adjectives in commercial product labels, understanding them as linguistic resources that play a decisive role in meaning-making and in shaping social practices of consumption. The study aims to analyze how adjectives, by qualifying and intensifying nouns, contribute to the argumentative structure of advertising discourse, influence readers’ perceptions and affect their choices, while also proposing pedagogical activities that foster critical reading of this textual genre in middle school classrooms. The research is grounded in authors of normative and descriptive grammar (Bechara, Rocha Lima, Faraco, Perini), textual linguistics and discourse analysis (Marcuschi, Koch, Bagno, Orlandi, Maingueneau, Ducrot), as well as in studies on critical reading and multiliteracies (Antunes, Kleiman, Leffa, Rojo, Fiorin), and is also aligned with official documents such as the PCN and the BNCC. Methodologically, it adopts a qualitative, interpretative, and pedagogical approach, supported by action research, involving label collection, collective analysis, and students’ production of materials. The results show that critical reading of adjectives in labels enhances linguistic and discursive awareness, promotes interpretative autonomy, and fosters critical literacy by encouraging reflection on persuasion strategies and on the effects of advertising language. It is concluded that adjectivation, beyond its descriptive role, is a resource of argumentation and symbolic power, which highlights the need to rethink grammar teaching in a contextualized manner, articulating norms, social uses of language, and students’ citizenship education.