Rhetoric - West Linn · Rhetoric in History • The Greeks (and, later, the Romans) practiced, perfected, and then codified the main concepts in Rhetoric • Greek architecture valued

Rhetoric …an introduction

Definitions:

• The art or strategy (science) of persuasion• Written or spoken language designed to have an

impressive/persuasive effect on its audience• Aristotle called it "the faculty of observing in any given case the

available means of persuasion.”• Three general categories of appeals:

• Logos• Pathos• Ethos

W2

Slide 2

W2 (mackenzie's comments): discuss how you can't say "use ethos," you use an"ethos-based strategy"WILDCAT, 9/14/2016

Logos

• a Greek concept variously translated as “word,” "ground," "plea,” "opinion," "expectation," "speech," "account," "reason," and "discourse"

• An appeal to the audience’s sense of logic and reason• If, then -style arguments • "Research compiled by analysts from NASA, as well as organizations from

five other nations with space programs, suggests that a moon colony is viable with international support.“

• Aristotle applied the term to refer to "reasoned discourse" or "the argument" in the field of rhetoric

W1

Slide 3

W1 Aristotle believed that employing logos based strategies was more effective than pathos or ethos based strategies..WILDCAT, 9/14/2016

Quick Partner Discussion:

• Explain how Thomas Jefferson builds a logic-based argument in “The Declaration of Independence.”

Pathos

• From Greek pathos—suffering, disease, feeling, passion• An appeal to the audience’s emotion, feeling

• SPCA Commercial • "Don’t be the last person on the block to have their lawn treated – you don’t

want to be the laughing stock of your community!"

Ethos

• From Greek ethos "habitual character and disposition; moral character; habit, custom; an accustomed place“

• An appeal based on the speaker’s/writer’s/character’s credibility• "As a doctor, I am qualified to tell you that this course of treatment will

likely generate the best results.”

Quick partner Discussions:

• Is “A Modest Proposal” more a logic-based argument, or more a emotion-based argument?

• What is the main rhetorical mode of Brent Staples’ essay “Just Walk on By: Black Men in Public Space”?

Rhetoric in History

• The Greeks (and, later, the Romans) practiced, perfected, and then codified the main concepts in Rhetoric

• Greek architecture valued clean lines, clear balance, symmetry, harmony, mathematical perfection, and maximum impact of perspective. These same values underlie the Classical practice of Rhetoric.

• Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle

• Rhetoric was one of 2-3 main subjects studied in Greek schools.

Other famous rhetoricians:

• Abraham Lincoln• Gettysburg Address is three minutes long, yet it’s regarded as one of the

cornerstone speeches in American history

• Martin Luther King Jr.• I Have a Dream speech is still used today; how could the exigence of the

piece still apply?

• Hitler• How could so many normal people be led so terribly astray? Rhetoric isn’t

always persuasive towards positive thinking

Where will you encounter rhetoric?

• Politics• Courtroom• Government• Advertising • Propaganda

• Opera• IKEA directions• Play-by-play sports

broadcasting• Nutritional information

}} What is the writer/speaker trying to convince its audience?

Strategic Thinking: the Key to Rhetoric

• The key to creating a rhetorical appeal begins with identifying the audience. What is likely to appeal to that group? What is not likely to appeal to that group?

• For example, what kinds of appeals would likely appeal to the TV audience for Monday Night Football?

• Once you’ve answer that, you can start strategically constructing your appeal(s).

The Rhetorical Equation

• Going forward—that is, when writing a rhetorical piece:

• Audience• +

• Purpose• (in the contexts of Exigence)• determine

• the rhetorical piece

The Rhetorical Equation, part 2

• Going backward—that is, when reading a rhetorical piece:

• from the rhetorical piece• From the rhetorical strategies and devices in the piece we can…• analyze the purpose• strategically guess at the contexts of exigence,• Make inferences about the likely audience,• And then evaluate the success of the strategic rhetorical choices that the

writer made

The Rhetorical Equation, part 3

• In other words,

• We move forward through the rhetorical equation when writing

• and

• We move backward through the rhetorical equation when we are analyzing someone else’s writing—usually, a good one

Quick Practice:

• Brainstorm an argument, aimed at today’s high school parents, that the college application process should be less competitive

Key Concepts

Audience – recipient of communication Purpose - seeks to manipulate the way that audience thinks about a

given subject Exigence - an issue, problem, or situation that causes or prompts

someone to write or speakContext, occasion, urgency

• Argument - course of reasoning aimed at demonstrating truth or falsehood

• Diction - choice of words and style of expression that an author makes• Reasoning – the various kinds of appeals the speaker / writer makes• Tone – attitude or approach the speaker takes toward the work’s central

theme or subject

Rhetorical Strategy or Rhetorical Device?

RHETORICAL STRATEGY• General approach a

speaker/writer uses in a piece• Used in arguments to support or

disprove a conclusion• Logos• Pathos• Ethos

RHETORICAL DEVICE• Specific type of rhetorical

tool, easily identifiable• Alliteration• Onomatopoeia• Simile• Metaphor

Testing note: think about WHY author has chosen to use a specific strategy or device (At this point, AP test-graders have gathered that Swift writes ironically in A Proposal, you need to explain why he decides to be so).

Some more practice:

• Argue that WLHS’s cafeteria should become a mall-like food court with different individual restaurants

• Argue that a parking garage should be constructed at WLHS• Argue that Winter Break is a religious holiday• Argue that Spring Break is no longer needed• Argue that WLHS sports teams should become gender-neutral• Argue that AP classes at WLHS should be required to balance

gender enrollment

Sources

• https://web.archive.org/web/20080916083515/http://www.public.iastate.edu/~honeyl/Rhetoric/rhet1-4.html

• http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=ethos• http://www.artofmanliness.com/2010/12/21/classical-rhetoric-101-

the-three-means-of-persuasion/• http://literarydevices.net/pathos/• http://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples-of-ethos-logos-and-

pathos.html#jpiArWCpXTOyCiWw.99• http://grammar.about.com/od/ab/g/argmterm.htm• http://www.csus.edu/owl/index/read/rhsqr.htm

The man: