The Rhetorical Triangle

The Rhetorical Triangle Quick Facts Author: Author:  Who is the author?  What do you know about the author?  Is he/she trustworthy? Why?  What else has he/she written on the subject? Audience: Audience:  Who is my audience? What do they mean to me?  What is their interest in the subject?  What do they know about the subject? Audience: Audience:  How do they feel about the subject?  How does the writer expect them to respond to their topic? Purpose: Purpose:  Does the writer propose something?  Does the writer convey specific information?  Does the writer convince you of something?  Does the writer try to sell something?

P ersona The voice that tells the story. The author and the speaker are NOT necessarily the same. An author may choose to tell the story from any number of different points of view (character or persona).  3 ComponentsTone, Diction, Logic  3 Components: Tone, Diction, Logic P P.I.G.S.A.C

attitude or style toneextends meaning beyond the literal TONE: The attitude or style of the author toward the subject matter. With the written work, it is tone that extends meaning beyond the literal.  Can be determined by examining the:  author’s diction  author’s diction (choice of words)  syntax  syntax (word order)  imagery  imagery (vivid descriptions - appeal to the senses). P P.I.G.S.A.C – Examples: Scared, anxious, excited, worried, sarcastic, foolish, smart, depressed

P P.I.G.S.A.C Author’s diction Author’s diction (choice of words) Level of Formality – High or Formal: Dignified, elevated, and often impersonal. Elaborate, or sophisticated vocabulary. grammar, or syntax, that has been manipulated for an artistic effect—that is, the grammar calls attention to itself.

P P.I.G.S.A.C Author’s diction Author’s diction (choice of words) Level of Formality – Middle or Neutral: Follows rules of grammar and uses common, unexceptional vocabulary. Grammar and vocabulary is meant to be transparent, easily understood.

P P.I.G.S.A.C Author’s diction Author’s diction (choice of words) Level of Formality – Low or Informal: Plain language of everyday use, including slang, jargon, vulgarity, and dialect.

P P.I.G.S.A.C Author’s diction Author’s diction (choice of words) Connotation – Denotative: Literal, Exact, Journalistic, Straightforward – Connotative – Connotative: Poetic, Lyrical, Figurative, Symbolic, Metaphoric, obscure, Sensuous, Grotesque

P P.I.G.S.A.C Imagery Imagery (vivid descriptions - appeal to the senses) Is the use of language to represent objects, actions, feelings, thoughts, ideas, states of mind, and any sensory or extrasensory experience Includes appeals to the visual, auditory, tactile, thermal (heat or cold), and kinesthetic senses Example: Example: Her eyelashes were like a the legs of a black widow spider and brushed against my cheek as soft as a baby's breath.

P P.I.G.S.A.C Syntax Syntax (order and relation of sentences) Long sentences: Long sentences: – Stressing a complex idea or concept? – Appealing to ethos? – Providing an explanation?

P P.I.G.S.A.C Syntax Syntax (order and relation of sentences) Short sentences Short sentences: – Stressing a key idea? – Sounding objective or factual? – convey anxiety or quicken the pace in contrast to longer, more complex ideas?

P P.I.G.S.A.C Syntax Syntax (order and relation of sentences) Parallelism Parallelism ("on the sea, in the air, over the land...") : – Stressing the sheer number of things? – Creating rhythm, force, power? – Stirring emotion?

P P.I.G.S.A.C Syntax Syntax (order and relation of sentences) Repetition Repetition – Stressing key idea? – Conveying an emotion?

I ntention The reason behind the text. The author/speaker’s GOAL in the communication.  Consider the purpose  Consider the purpose of the text in order to examine the argument and its logic. “What does the speaker want the audience to think or do as a result of reading this text?” I P.I.G.S.A.C

 Creative/Expressive  Descriptive  Expository/Informative  Narrative  Argumentative  Business  Comparison/Contrast  Literary Response  Technical G P.I.G.S.A.C G enre

The general topic, content, and ideas contained in the text; the main idea. S P.I.G.S.A.C S ubject

The audience may be one person, a small group, or a large group; it may be a certain person or a certain people. A udience P.I.G.S.A.C

C ontext C P.I.G.S.A.C – Contextoccasion, time, place – Context: the occasion, time, place it was written or spoken – Purposegoal – Purpose: goal that the speaker or writer wants to achieve.

How to Persuade Appeals: How to Persuade Ethos character, credibility, authority Appeals to a sense of character, credibility, authority  The writer makes a good impression, is believable,  Ethos = expertise, knowledge experience, training, sincerity

How to Persuade Appeals: How to Persuade Logos reason and sense of logic Appeals to reason and sense of logic  Solid facts  Sound argument counterargument  Acknowledge the counterargument  Makes a concession and refutation

How to Persuade Appeals: How to Persuade Pathos emotion : 5 Appeals to emotion : TRIGGERS THE 5 SENSES  Figurative language  Personal Anecdote  First Person  Strong  Connotations

Modern Patterns of Development  Narration: Telling a story or recounting a series of events  Description: emphasizes the senses by painting a picture (activates the 5 senses)  Process Analysis: Explains how something works or how to do something  Exemplification: Facts, specific cases or instances; turns a general idea into a more concrete one.  Comparison and Contrast: Highlighting similarities and differences  Classification and Division: Sorting of ideas  Definition: Defining a term as the basis of an argument

 Circle words you don’t know  [Identify main ideas]—thesis statements, topic sentences  Look for figures of speech or tropes  Look for imagery and details  Use the margins or post-it notes to ask questions or comment on what you have read Talking with the Text: Close Reading

Note taking on the left sections you think are important Note making on the right your notes NOTE TAKING PARA. NOTE MAKING 1 Dialectical Journaling

Dialectical Journal Dialectical Journal --- double entry notebook Quotation on the left sections you think are important Paraphrase on the right (in your own words) QUOTATIONPARA. PARAPHRASE SUMMARIZE 1 Graphic Organizer

Dialectical Journal Paraphrase the passage (summarize in your own words). Do this by paragraph, if the passage is organized into paragraphs. Be sure that your paraphrase includes all the important points in the passage. Dialectical Journal --- double entry notebook Quotation on the left sections you think are important Paraphrase on the right (in your own words) QUOTATIONPARA. PARAPHRASE SUMMARIZE 1 Red Sheet (for Multiple Choice)

 What is the author claiming?  There can be more than one  Can either be paraphrases or direct quotations from the text Explain the passage's central argument

Red Sheet (for Multiple Choice)  How is the author supporting or proving his/her point or central argument  There can be more than one  Can either be paraphrases or direct quotations from the text Write down and then explain two assertions that support the central argument.

Red Sheet (for Multiple Choice) Look up any words you don't know the definition of. Write these words and their definitions.

Red Sheet (for Multiple Choice) Write down two examples of rhetorical strategies (one of the 3 appeals, any example of diction (word choice) or syntax (sentence structure), identify what kind of strategy it is (label the example) and then explain the effect of the rhetorical strategy. P.I.G.S.A.C