An Introduction to Rhetoric

1. An Introduction to Rhetoric Adapted from Everyday Use, Hephziba Roskelly, 2005 and The Language of Composition, Renee H. Shea, 2008

2. What is rhetoric? According to Aristotle (384-322 BC), rhetoric is “the faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion.” It refers to two things: • The art of analyzing all the language choices that writer, speaker, reader, listener might make in a given situation so that the text becomes meaningful, purposeful, and effective. • The specific features of text, written or spoken, that cause them to be meaningful, purposeful, and effective for readers or listeners in a given situation.

3. What does being skilled at rhetoric mean? • Being able to make good speeches and write good papers, but also having the ability to read other people’s compositions and listen to their spoken words with a discerning eye and critical ear. • Reading not only to understand the main and supporting points of what someone else writes, but also to analyze the decisions the author makes as he/she works to accomplish a purpose for a specific audience.

4. 3. Being able to planand write compositions, not just write them. 4. Being able to examine a situation and determine what has already been said and written, what remains unresolved, and what you might say or write to continue the conversation or persuade readers to take action.

5. The Rhetorical Triangle Speaker (Persona) Subject Audience

6. Key #1: Understanding Persona If you understand persona, you are able to do two things: • Speak or write so the audience perceives you as a distinct character, usually one who is educated, trustworthy, and well-intentioned. • Make inferences or judgments about the character and personality of another speaker or writer, and analyze how that writer appeals to the audience, how he invites the audience to interact with material, and how he wants them to act afterwards.

7. Key #1: Understanding Persona • Writers usually want the persona they develop and the voice they use to be genuine and reflect who they really are. • Sometimes they use another voice for comic effect, or to underscore the seriousness of a situation. • Writers use their voices to affect a reader’s understanding and belief.

8. Key #2: Understanding Appeals to the Audience • Ethos (character): Demonstrates credibility of speaker; shows that he/she knows important and relevant information about the topic at hand, and is a good person with the audience’s best interests in mind. • Logos (reason): Offers clear, rational ideas and develops them with appropriate reasoning, examples, or details. • Pathos (emotion): Draws on the emotions and interests of the audience so they will be sympathetic to his/her central ideas and arguments.

9. Key #3: Understanding Subject Matter and its Treatment What you decide to include in a composition is innately connected to why you are writing, whom you are writing to, and what kind of text you are composing.

10. 4 essential concepts: • Any question or issue that might become the subject of a text must have at least two paths of interpretation, analysis, or argument. • Effective material is generated by capitalizing on what the audience already knows, making them curious to know more, and then satisfying that curiosity by building on what they already know. • The basic move of all rhetorical texts is “claim-plus-support.” • Central responsibility is to generate substantial material to support the points you are making.

11. Revised Rhetorical Triangle Speaker (Persona) Context Purpose Audience Subject

12. SOAPS: Another Rhetorical Framework S – Subject O – Occasion A – Audience P – Purpose S – Style

13. Classical Model of Arrangement A five-part structure for an essay or speech: • Introduction: Piques the reader’s interest, challenges them, or otherwise catches there attention; often where the writer establishes ethos. • Narration: Provides factual information and background material on the subject at hand; establishes why the subject is a problem that needs addressing; often appeals to pathos.

14. Classical Model, cont. • Confirmation: Usually the major part of the text; includes the proof needed to make the writer’s case; most specific and concrete detail; appeals to logos. • Refutation: Addresses the counterargument; a bridge between the writer’s proof and the conclusion; appeal is largely to logos. • Conclusion: Brings essay to a close; usually appeals to pathos, reminds audience of ethos established earlier; brings all the writer’s ideas together and answers the question “so what?”

15. Patterns of Development:Arrangement According to Purpose • Narration: Storytelling or recounting a series of events; chronological; story supports a thesis. • Description: Emphasizes the senses by painting a picture; used to establish mood or atmosphere. • Process Analysis: Explains how something works, how to do something, or how something was done; key is clarity.

16. Patterns of Development, cont. • Exemplification: Provides a series of examples to make argument clearer and more persuasive; induction: a series of specific examples leads to a general conclusion. • Comparison & Contrast: Juxtaposes two things to highlight similarities and differences; used to analyze information carefully, revealing insights into the nature of the information being analyzed.

17. Patterns of Development, cont. • Classification & Division: Sorts material or ideas into major categories by answering the question “What goes together and why?”; makes connections between things that may seem unrelated. • Definition: Lays the foundation to establish common ground or identifies areas of conflict; clarify terms. • Cause & Effect: Analyzes the causes that lead to a certain effect, or the effects that result from a cause; important to carefully trace the cause & effect, and to recognize all possible contributing causes.