Rhetorical Patterns

1. Rhetorical Patterns A PPT prepared by Luis Salazar For the course LM-1030

2. .What are they? • They are mechanisms that help to build the larger system of a text. • They are just like typographical clues and other linguistic elements, but they use those elements in a more intricate way • They are several, including:

3. Process description • This is a description of Parts and their Functions: • keyboard. The key board is a device that is used to input information, and it can be compared to a typewriter, because it has letter keys and symbols. Also, these keys transmit electrical signals, which register inside the keyboard’s circuitry.   • Mouse. The Mouse is a plastic device that is used to point objects and to detect two dimensional motion. The mouse translates the motion of a person’s hand into the computer by using mechanical sensors.

4. Process Description • This would be the operating description of a device or procedure: • A person operating a laptop can accomplish many different tasks, because its main function is to respond to commands that allow it to produce documents, retrieve information or communicate with others. Commands are typed into the keyboard, and are executed by the computer processor, these signals are then transmitted on the computer monitor. In addition, a person can operate a mouse, and command the laptop to do certain tasks. For example, an individual can open and close files, or may also choose to design documents with the use of a mouse.

5. Classification • This is the textual division into types, kinds, or categories according to a single basis of division • This tends to happen following a logical division such as: from least to most outrageous, least to most expensive, and so on

6. For example: • Cabinet shops can be categorized by both the shop that is used and the type(s) of machinery that they might have in them. There are a few different types of cabinet shops and they are; the home hobbyist’s shop, mom and pop shops, residential shops, and commercial shops. The home hobbyist normal works out their home or possibly their garage, and they might not have very much space to work with. The home hobbyist normally doesn’t do a lot of production items, but their main focus is to do things around their homes or small furniture items. The tools that they are able to use within their limited space are mainly just hand operated hand tools. Those tools might include palm sanders, jig saws, handheld circular saws, and anything else that they might be able to fit into a tight space. The second type is the Mom and Pop shops which usually run out of something a bit bigger than a garage, like a barn or it is possible they have a small shop away from their house to work in. There are still a lot of handheld power tools like the ones listed for the home hobbyist, but there is now the need to have more tools in the shop. In this kind of shop along with their handheld tools you might find machines like; wide belt sanders, sliding table saws, and planners. This way they are able to produce more than the home hobbyist could.

7. Definition • These are the strategies that help identify the meaning or belonging of a thing or concept. Some strategies for it are: • Synonym is explaining the term by using the words that mean the same thing. • EXAMPLE: To procrastinate is to slack. • Class is when you put your topic in a larger category to explain your term. • EXAMPLE: A pineapple is a tropical fruit that has an acidic and sweet taste. • Negation means that the write first says something is not, and then says what it is. • EXAMPLE: A snowcone is not an ice creamcone, but rather a shredded ice and syrup treat.

8. Example: Tracks • An amtrack is not a boat; however, it is a military vehicle that moves on the ocean as well as on land. It’s an armored vehicle that weighs twenty-six tons. An amtrack’s job is to carry troops from ships off shore onto the beach in an amphibious assault. It’s made out of aluminum, with steel suspension. It has a tracked suspension, much like a bulldozer. Its front end slopes upward toward the headlights in an effort to give it greater ground clearance. It’s propelled on land by its tracked suspension; however, in the water it uses two water jets. It has a turret that holds a fifty caliber machine gun, and a forty millimeter, fully automatic, grenade launcher. It has a ramp on the back that can be raised or lowered for the easy loading and unloading of troops. There is a door built into this ramp so that when the ramp is up, people can still get in and out through the back. It has three hatches behind the turret that can be opened to allow the dropping of supplies into the vehicle, or to allow embarked infantry a means of looking out. The driver looks out of a hatch on the front left side of the vehicle, while the troop commander sits just behind him. The vehicle commander, sits in the turret of the vehicle, and mans the machine guns. The amtrack is fully amphibious.

9. Comparison and contrast • This pattern points out the similarities between two elements, or the differences among them • This tends to be done through the use of conjunctions and organization strategies

10. Comparison example: • My hometown and my college town have several things in common. First, both are small rural communities. For example, my hometown, Gridlock, has a population of only about 10,000 people. Similarly, my college town, Subnormal, consists of about 11,000 local residents. This population swells to 15,000 people when the college students are attending classes. A second way in which these two towns are similar is that they are both located in rural areas. Gridlock is surrounded by many acres of farmland which is devoted mainly to growing corn and soybeans. In the same way, Subnormal lies in the center of farmland which is used to raise hogs and cattle.

11. Contrast example: • Even though Arizona and Rhode Island are both states of the U.S., they are strikingly different in many ways. For example, the physical size of each state is different. Arizona is large, having an area of 114,000 square miles, whereas Rhode Island is only about a tenth the size, having an area of only 1,214 square miles. Another difference is in the size of the population of each state. Arizona has about four million people living in it, but Rhode Island has less than one million.

12. Problem Solution • Problem solution paragraphs present a problem and describes two or more possible solutions to that problem. They: State and define the problem Suggest the possible solutions:  Evaluate the solutions Make a recommendation

13. Sample: • On most part, energy is created by burning fossil fuels -- coal, natural gas and oil. The problem with this is that these resources are finite. At the current rate of use, it is expected that the world will run out of fossil fuels in thirty to forty years to come. As a result, it will no longer be possible to generate power to operate factories and vehicles or to light and heat houses. This world-wide problem can be resolved through the implementation of two possible solutions. The first solution is to improve conservation efforts. In order to do this, governments can try to raise public awareness, discourage over-consumption and encourage recycling. For example, they can encourage the installation of high-efficiency light bulbs in homes and offices. They can inform the public of the amount of energy saved by simply turning off lights that are not being used or by using public transport more and cars less. They can also pass laws mandating the recycling of whatever possible. Improvements in conservation will surely extend the life of current fuels but they are not complete answers to what will happen when fossil fuels eventually run out.

14. The second and better solution, therefore, is to use alternative sources of energy to meet future needs. The current leading alternatives to fossil fuels are solar energy and fusion, which is the union of atomic nuclei to form heavier nuclei. Solar energy is directly obtained from the sun so it is easily accessible and pollution-free. It can be used both to heat water and buildings and to generate electricity but mostly in countries that have ample sunlight. Fusion, on the other hand, will make it possible for nuclear power plants to generate enormous amounts of energy in order to meet the energy needs of the planet indefinitely. In addition, despite public concern about safety and risk of contamination, fusion is a safe and clean source of energy as modern power plants take strict safety measures to prevent potential nuclear disasters and leaks. In conclusion, in order to have sufficient energy for the next century, it will be necessary to develop and encourage the use of alternative energy sources worldwide.

15. Cause and Effect • Cause/effect paragraphs generally follow basic paragraph format. That is, they begin with a topic sentence and this sentence is followed by specific supporting details.

16. For example: •   In recent decades, cities have grown so large that now about 50% of the Earth's population lives in urban areas. There are several reasons for this occurrence. First, the increasing industrialization of the nineteenth century resulted in the creation of many factory jobs, which tended to be located in cities. These jobs, with their promise of a better material life, attracted many people from rural areas. Second, there were many schools established to educate the children of the new factory laborers. The promise of a better education persuaded many families to leave farming communities and move to the cities. Finally, as the cities grew, people established places of leisure, entertainment, and culture, such as sports stadiums, theaters, and museums. For many people, these facilities made city life appear more interesting than life on the farm, and therefore drew them away from rural communities.

17. Hypothesis • This pattern presents suppositions or assumptions under certain circumstances, but they can be refuted • Hypothesis: All forks have three tines.Disproven if you find any fork with a different number of tines. • Hypothesis: There is no relationship between smoking and lung cancer.While it is difficult to establish cause and effect in health issues, you can apply statistics to data to discredit this hypothesis or to support it, if the rates of lung cancer are the same between smokers and non-smokers. • Hypothesis: Plants require liquid water to survive.Disproven if you find a plant that doesn't need it.

18. Arguments • This pattern works by presenting a position which can be supported through evidence or opinions. • The fact that a text presents arguments does not turn the whole text into an argumentative one

19. For example: • It is a melancholy object to those who walk through this great town or travel in the country, when they see the streets, the roads, and cabin doors, crowded with beggars of the female sex, followed by three, four, or six children, all in rags and importuning every passenger for an alms. These mothers, instead of being able to work for their honest livelihood, are forced to employ all their time in strolling to beg sustenance for their helpless infants: who as they grow up either turn thieves for want of work, or leave their dear native country to fight for the Pretender in Spain, or sell themselves to the Barbadoes. •  I think it is agreed by all parties that this prodigious number of children in the arms, or on the backs, or at the heels of their mothers, and frequently of their fathers, is in the present deplorable state of the kingdom a very great additional grievance; and, therefore, whoever could find out a fair, cheap, and easy method of making these children sound, useful members of the commonwealth, would deserve so well of the public as to have his statue set up for a preserver of the nation. From Jonathan Swift’s A Modest Proposal

20. References • Description: http://communicationamerica.blogspot.com/p/sample-technical-writing-mechanism.html • Classification: http://english120.pbworks.com/w/page/19006816/classification%20paragraphs • Definition: http://english120.pbworks.com/w/page/19006850/definition%20paragraphs • Comparison and contrast:http://lrs.ed.uiuc.edu/students/fwalters/compcont.html • Problem/Solution:http://e-writing.wikispaces.com/Problem+and+Solution+Paragraph • Cause and Effect: http://lrs.ed.uiuc.edu/students/fwalters/cause.html • Hypothesis: http://chemistry.about.com/b/2012/03/01/hypothesis-examples.htm • Argument: http://grammar.about.com/od/60essays/a/modpropoessay.htm