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Rhetoric
- The faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion. A thoughtful, reflective activity leading to effective communication, including rational exchange of opposing viewpoints.
- Aristotle: father or rhetoric
- Rhetoric is in any form of writing.
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Audience
- The person or persons who are intended to read/hear the piece of writing. Those who understand and can use the available means to appeal to an audience of one or many find themselves in a position of strength. They have the tools to resolve conflicts without confrontation, to persuade readers or listeners to support their position, or to move others to take action.
- Lou Gerhig's audience was his fans, fellow athletes, fans in the stadium, and fans who will hear his speech from afar.
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Context
- The occasion or the time and place a piece of writing was written or spoken.
- Rhetoric is always situational.
- Lou Gehrig's speech was given between dubbleheader baseball games. He knew he should keep it light hearted.
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Purpose
- Goal that the speaker or writer wants to achieve.
- Lou Gehrig's purpose in his speech was to keep stay positive by looking on the bright side -his past luck and present optimism- and downplaying the bleak outlook.
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Bias
- When the audience is more likely to take one side over the other.
- Someone writing about freedom of speech in a community that has experienced hat graffiti must take that context into account and adjust the purpose of the piece so as no to offend the audience.
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Thesis
- The main idea of a piece of writing.
- Should be a crystal clear and focused statement.
- Lou Gehrig's thesis statement was that he's the "luckiest man on the face of the earth."
- Also called: Claim, Assertion.
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Subject
- What a piece of writing is mostly about.
- Lou Gehrig's was baseball in general, the New York Yankees in particular, not his sickness.
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Speaker
- The person telling the story or giving the speech.
- Lou Gehrig presents himself as a common man, modest and glad for the life he's lived.
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Rhetorical triangle
- Described as the interaction among subject, speaker, and audience, as well as how this interaction determines the structure and language of the argument - that is, a text or image that establishes a position.
- Also called the Aristotelian triangle.
- http://www.usna.edu/Users/english/mace/slide2.html
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Persona
The character the speaker creates when he or she writes or speaks- depending on the context, purpose, subject, and audience.
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Ethos
- Speakers and writers appeal to ethos, or character, to demonstrate that they are credible and trustworthy.
- In a speech discouraging children from using alcohol the speaker may stress that they are psychologists specializing in alcoholism or adolescent behavior.
- Appeals to ethos often emphasize shared values between the speaker and the audience.
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Tone
- The speaker's attitude toward the audience or subject.
- Sometimes the speaker establishes ethos throught the discourse itself, whether written or spoken, by making a good impression. That impression may result from a tone of reason and goodwill or from the type and thoroughness of information presented.
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Logos
Writers and speakers appeal to logos, or reason, by offering clear, rational ideas. Appealing to logos (Greek, "embodied thought") means having a clear thesis, with specific details, examples, facts, statistical data, or expert testimony as support.
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Assumption
- A belief or statement taken for granted without proof.
- In his speech Lou Gehrig assumes that like him his audience also believes that "bad breaks" are an inevitable part of life.
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Counterargument
- Another way to appeal to logos is to acknowledge a counterargument, to anticipate objection or opposing view.
- While you might worry that raising an opposing view will weaken your argument, you'll be vulnerable if you ignore ideas that run counter to your own
- Presenting a counterargument, shows you have completely thought out your subject.
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Concede
- An element of counterargument.
- You agree that the opposing argument may be true, or have strong points.
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Refute
- An element of counterargument.
- You deny the validity of all or part of the argument.
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Pathos
- A Greek term that refers to suffering but has come to be associated with broader appeals to emotion.
- Lou Gehrig's speech appeals largely to pathos. Although writing that relies exclusively on emotional appeals is rarely effective in the long ter choosing language such as figurativ or personal anecdotes that engage emotions of the audience can add an important dimension.
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Connotation
- What is implied by a word as opposed to its literal meaning.
- The feelings they evoke. *positive, negative, fearful, gloomy*
- Lou Gehrig chooses a sequence of words with strong positive connotations: greatest, wonderul, honored, grand, blessing.
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Propagandistic
- A negative term for writing designed to sway opinion rather than present information.
- This often occurs in writings relying mainly on pathos.
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Polemical
- An argument against an idea, usually regarding philosophy, politics, or religion.
- Writings that appeal only to pathos are usually more polemical than persuasive.
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Visual Rhetoric
- As in works that consist of words, spoken or written, rhetoric is also present in works of visual texts.
- Visual rhetoric is ever present in policital cartoons
- http://www.larsonsworld.com/images_blog/051026_toles051026.gif
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Satric
An ironic, sarcastic, or witty composition that claims to argue for something, but actually argues against it.
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Arrangment
Another element of rhetoric is the organization of a piece, what classical rhetoricaians called arrangement.
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The Classical Model
- Classical rhetorician outlined a five-part structur for an oratory, or speech, that writers still use today, although perhaps not always consciously.
- Five Parts: 1.Introduction (exordium) 2. the narration (narratio) 3.the confirmation (confirmatio) 4. the refutation (refutatio) 5. the conclusion (peroratio)
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Narration
- Narration refers to telling a story or recounting a series of events.
- Narration is not simply crafting an appealing story; it is crafting a story that supports your thesis.
- George Orwell's Shooting an Elephant is an example of this form.
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Patterns of Development
One way to consider arrangmen is according to purpose. Compare and contrast, narration of a event, or defining a term can suggest a method of organization, or arrangment. These patters of development include a range of logical ways to organize an entire text or, mor likely, individual paragraphs or sections.
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Description
- Description is closely allied with narration because both include many specific details. However, unlike narration, description emphasizes the senses by painting a picture of how something looks, sounds, smells, tastes, or feels. Description is often used to establish a mood or atmosphere.
- Makes writing clearer, more vived, and more persuasive.
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Process Analysis
- Process analysis explains how something works, how to do something, or how something is done.
- We use process analysis when explaining how to bake bread, or use the snap feature on Windows 7.
- The key to sucessful process analysis is clarity: explain the subject clearly, and give the sequences of major steps and/or phases.
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Exemplification
- Prodiving a series of examples- facts, specific cases, or instances- turns a general idea into a concrete one; this makes your argument both clearer and more persuasive to a reader.
- An example of this form is Jonathon Edwards sermon Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.
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Induction
- Aristotle taught that examples are a type of logical proof called induction. A series of specific examples leads to a general conclusion.
- You see a man with a lawn mower in the back of his truck, he probably has a lawn, and on that lawn is a house, and in that house is a family. This is probably a generally happy man.
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Comparison and contrast
- A common pattern of developmen is comarison and contast: Discussing two ting hightlighing their similarities and differences.
- Writers use comparison and contrast to analyze information carefully.
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Classification and division
- It is important for readers as well as writers to be able to sort material or ideas into major categories.
- By answering the question: What goes together and why? writers and readers can make connections in seemingly unrelated things
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Definition
- To ensure that writers and their audiences are speaking the same language definition may lay the foundation to establish common ground or identifying areas of conflict.
- Defining a term is often the first step in a debate or disagreement.
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Cause and Effect
- Analyzing the causes that lead to a certain effect, or conversely, the effects that result from a cause is a powerful foundaton for argument.
- Since casual analysis depends upon crystal clear logic, it is important to carefully trace a chain of cause and effect to reconize possible contributing causes.
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