Transcript More Rhetoric

Introduction to Rhetoric
Putting a name to something we use
every day!
Thanks to Ms. McCorkle and Language of
Composition
In the words of Aristotle…
“Rhetoric may be defined as the faculty of
observing in any given case the available means
of persuasion.”
How does this relate to the work you are about
to begin on your personal essay?
The Rhetorical Triangle
Speaker
Context
Purpose/
Aim/
Intent
Audience
Subject
Subject
The writer/speaker:
• evaluates what he/she knows already and needs to
know,
• investigates perspectives (researches), and
• determines kinds of evidence or proofs seem most
useful (supports assertions with appropriate
evidence).
Audience
The writer/speaker:
• speculates about audience expectations and
knowledge of subject, and
• uses own experience and observation to help decide
on how to communicate with audience.
Speaker (persona)
The writer/speaker uses:
1. who they are,
2. what they know and feel, and
3. what they have seen and done
to find their attitudes toward a subject and their
understanding of audience.
Appeals
The writer/speaker uses different
approaches to influence the audience’s
attitude toward the subject. These are
1. Logos
2. Ethos
3. Pathos
Logos
• From the Greek for “embodied thought”
• An appeal to LOGIC through evidence and reasoning
• The presentation of facts, statistics, credible testimony,
cogent examples
• Includes counterarguments through concessions and
refutations
The writer/speaker:
• offers clear, reasonable premises and proofs,
• develops ideas with appropriate details, and
• makes sure readers can follow the progression of ideas.
Ethos
• An appeal that shows an author’s or speaker’s character,
thus establishing his/her credibility with the audience
• Appeals to ethos show a rapport and shared common value
system between speaker and audience
The writer/speaker uses it when:
•
he/she demonstrates that they are credible, good-willed,
& knowledgeable and
•
he/she connects their thinking to the reader’s own
ethical or moral beliefs.
Audiences and speakers should assume the best intentions
and most thoughtful search for truths.
Pathos
• An appeal to the audience’s emotions
• Pathos begins with the connotation of the words
and images the speaker or writer presents
• The writer/speaker:
• draws on emotions and interests of readers and
• highlights those emotions using
1) personal stories and observations to provoke
audience’s
sympathetic reaction and
2) figurative language to heighten emotional
connections.
When Pathos goes too far…
• Propaganda: A negative term for writing designed to sway
opinion rather than to present information.
– Plays on the emotions of people rather than their logic
• Polemic: An argument against an idea, usually regarding
philosophy, politics, or religion
– Purpose is to prove to have the superior opinion by
refuting the other side—no concessions here
– Often falls into personal attacks
– Does whatever it takes to get the reader to accept its
opinion—exerts power over the reader.
Propaganda Posters
Schemes and Tropes – Tools for
expression
• Scheme – A pattern of words or sentence
construction used for rhetorical effect.
– Examples: Parallel structure, alliteration, other
schemes of repetition
• Trope – Artful diction; the use of language in a
nonliteral way; also called a figure of speech
– Examples: Metaphor, simile, personification,
hyperbole, etc.
These are the stylistic tools that writers and
speakers use to make their ideas more persuasive.
PRACTICE!
• Watch this clip from the movie Dead Poets Society
• As you watch, consider how rhetorically effective you
find Mr. Keating’s speech to his students. Explain
your answer in terms of subject, speaker, audience;
context and purpose; and appeals to logos, ethos,
and pathos.
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fd_WHS695ew&
feature=related