Transcript Elements of Rhetoric PowerPoint

Using the “Available
means”
 “The
faculty of observing in any given case
the available means of persuasion.” Aristotle
 What is persuasion?
 Sometimes rhetoric has a negative
connotation and suggests deception; but
for our purposes of study we will not label
rhetoric as such.
 “At
its best, rhetoric is a thoughtful,
reflective activity leading to effective
communication, including rational
exchange of opposing viewpoints.”
 What does it mean to be thoughtful?
 What does it mean to be reflective?
 What is effective communication?
 What does it mean to be rational?
Those who understand and can effectively use
the means to appeal to an audience gain
power.
 Those who understand and can effectively use
the means to appeal to an audience can
resolve conflicts peacefully or without
confrontation.
 Those who understand and can effectively use
the means to appeal to an audience can
persuade readers and/or listeners to support
their position on an issue.
 Those who understand and can effectively use
the means to appeal to an audience can move
others to action.

1. It is always situational and has context.
 The occasion (what is happening at that
moment) or the time (think time period)
and place is always considered by the
writer or speaker.
2.











It always has a purpose or goal that the speaker or
writer wants to achieve.
Win an argument?
Persuade the audience to take action?
Evoke sympathy?
Make someone laugh?
Inform the audience of an important issue?
Provoke emotion?
Celebrate an important occasion?
Repudiate (reject as having no authority or binding
force) a claim?
Put forth a proposal?
Secure support for an initiative?
Bring about a favorable decision?
 Sometimes
the context arises from current
events or bias, a tendency that prevents
unprejudiced consideration of an issue.
 Ex: writing about freedom of speech in a
community where graffiti has run rampant
must be considered. That context forces
the writer to adjust the purpose of the
piece so as not to offend the audience.
 Aristotelian
Triangle
Speaker/ Writer
Audience/ Reader
Subject/ Subject
 There
is an interaction among the subject,
speaker, and audience that must be
considered for rhetoric to be effective.
 This interaction determines the structure
and language of the argument.
 Skilled writers consider the interaction
among speaker, subject, and audience as
they are developing whatever it is they are
writing.
1. Choose a subject and then evaluate what they
already know about it, what others have said about it,
and what kind of evidence will sufficiently develop their
position.
 2. Consider the audience.
 What does the audience know about the subject?
 What is the audience’s attitude about the subject?
 Is there common ground between my views (the writer)
and the audience’s views on the subject?
3. Are aware of the persona assumed when writing. That is
the character created when the writer writes.
 Poet?
 Expert?
 Comedian?
 Scholar?
 Critic?
4. Each audience requires use of different information to
craft the argument effectively.

 In
order to persuade the audience, writers
make strategic choices by appealing to
ethos, logos, pathos.
 Ethos: an appeal to character, credibility,
trustworthiness
 Logos: an appeal to logic or reason
 Pathos: an appeal to emotion
In order to demonstrate they are credible and
trustworthy, speakers and writers appeal to
ethos.
 The ethos of the speaker includes expertise,
knowledge, experience, training, sincerity.
 Appeals to ethos often emphasize shared values
between the speaker and the audience
 Sometimes, a speaker’s reputation immediately
establishes ethos.
 Sometimes, ethos is established through the
exchange between listener and speaker by
making a good impression.

 An
appeal to logos is an appeal to reason or
logic. That is offering clear, rational ideas.
 When you appeal to logos, you have a clear
main idea (thesis) with specific details,
examples, facts, statistical data, or expert
testimony as support.
 Another
way to appeal to logos is to
acknowledge a counterargument by
anticipating objections or opposing views.
 Don’t worry about weakening your argument
by discussing the opposing view; most likely,
you will create an even stronger logical
appeal by demonstrating your careful
consideration of the subject.
 Sometimes
in a logical appeal, you will
concede (agree) or make a concession.
 That is you agree that an opposing argument
may be true, but then you work to prove why
that argument is not valid.
 When you refute (deny), you provide
evidence that actually strengthens your
argument by disproving the opposing view.
(refutation)
Pathos is an emotional appeal.
 Writing that relies strictly on pathos is rarely
effective in the long term.
 It can become propagandistic in purpose; more
polemical than persuasive.
 However, using language (figurative,
anecdotal) that engages the emotions of the
audience can add an important dimension to
the argument.
 Choosing words with strong connotations
(positive or negative) evoke emotion.
 Imagery is another language technique that
evokes pathos.

Logos: logic
Ethos: credibility
Pathos: emotion
 Let’s
examine Lou Gehrig’s July 4, 1939,
farewell speech for its rhetorical qualities.
Context (occasion,
time, place)
Purpose (goal)
Thesis
Subject
Audience
Speaker
Persona
Ethos
Logos
Pathos

Read pages 6 – 8. Complete the graphic organizer by identifying where the specific
appeals have been used and were effective in Heyman’s article.
Ethos
Logos
Pathos
 Read
pages 9-10 and complete the graphic
organizer below.
This is the organization of the piece of writing.
 Why is it important to consider how the essay
and its individual paragraphs or sections are
arranged?
 We must ask ourselves “Is the text organized
in the best possible way in order to achieve its
purpose?”
 We know that an essay always has a beginning,
a middle, and an end: the introduction, the
body, and the conclusion.
 But how a writer structures the argument
within that framework depends upon his or her
intended purpose and intended effect.

 This
is a five part structure for an oratory,
or speech that writers use today, although
perhaps not always consciously.
 1. The introduction (exordium)
 2. The narration (narratio)
 3. The confirmation (confirmatio)
 4. The refutation (refutatio)
 5. The conclusion (peroratio)
 Introduces
the reader to the subject under
discussion
 In Latin, “exordium” means “beginning a
web”.
 Why so aptly named?
 Can be a single paragraph or several that
draws the readers into the text by piquing
their interest or challenging them
 Often it is in the introduction that the
writer establishes ethos.
 Why is this important?
 Provides
factual information and
background material on the subject.
 Establishes why the subject is a problem
that needs addressing.
 The level of detail included in this section
is largely dependent upon the audience’s
knowledge of the subject.
 It is in this section that the writer often
appeals to pathos, as an attempt to evoke
an emotional response about the
importance of the issue being discussed is
made.
 This
is usually the major part of the text.
 Includes the development or the proof
needed to make the writer’s case.
 Here the most specific and and concrete
detail is concluded.
 This section generally makes the strongest
appeal to logos.
 Why?
This section addresses the counterargument.
 This is seen in many ways as a bridge between
the writer’s proof and conclusion.
 This is often placed at the end of the text as a
way to anticipate objections to the proof given
in the confirmation section.
 However, that is not always the case, dependent
upon the audience being addressed.
 If opposing views are well known or valued by
the audience, then the writer may want to
address them before presenting his or her own
argument.
 This section is largely appealing to logos.

 Can
be one paragraph or several.
 Brings the essay to a satisfying close.
 There is usually an appeal to pathos and a
reminder of the ethos established earlier.
 Instead of just repeating what has been
said before, this section brings all the
writer’s ideas together and answers the
question, “So what?”
 Writers should remember that the last
words of a text are those the audience is
most likely to remember.
 Begin
thinking about a research paper topic
regarding a contemporary issue that is
worthy of debate. Next Friday, you will be
asked to submit a topic for approval along
with a brief description of the issue and
why it is worthy of research.
 Some ideas to begin sparking your research
ideas:
 Global warming
 The Afghanistan War
 The student loan debt crisis
 Changing weather patterns
 The
same elements of rhetoric are at work in
visual texts like political cartoons.
 Political cartoons are often satirical, using
wit to make a point, or critical, using
evaluative judgments to state a position.
 However, sometimes they are neither as
evidenced in the Rosa Parks cartoon by
famous Washington Post political cartoonist
Tom Toles.

http://www.larsonsworld.com/blog/archives/cat_1064569116.html
Ethos
Logos
Pathos

http://thecomicnews.com/images/edtoons/2012/0314/gop/01.jpg