The Rhetorical Square An Introduction

What is Rhetoric? Rhetoric is the art and study of effective speaking and writing. How can we judge effectiveness? What is our criteria?

The Rhetorical Square The Rhetorical Square is a graphic organizer that helps students analyze and evaluate a piece of writing. Purpose Persona Audience Content

The Rhetorical Square Effectiveness is the result of a writer achieving his purpose. Everything a writer does should help him accomplish his purpose.

Purpose/Message The KEY Question: What does the writer hope to accomplish through his writing? Purpose is expressed through an infinitive verb. Some examples include: To persuade…. readers that the law is unfair. To inform…. readers that the zoo is an attraction worth attending. To critique…. the judge for his involvement with the law. To entertain….. readers through humor and irony. To illustrate….the stresses of college. To recreate….. the experience of a positive first date.

Purpose Often, a writer may have multiple purposes, but there is usually a main purpose. Some helpful questions to ask yourself: What does the writer want me to do? What does the writer want me to believe? What does the writer want me to know? How does the writer want me to feel? Why?

Audience Audience—Who the writer is addressing/targeting . If a writer wants to achieve his purpose, he must understand his intended audience. Some good things to know about your audience: Age Background Education Experiences Interests Values

Persona Persona—the voice, the mask or personality that a writer presents to his audience. A writer should adopt a mask to help him connect with this audience and ultimately achieve his purpose. There must be a connection, a trust, before the audience will believe or listen. This trust/connection may come from Shared values Credibility Citing Authorities Using humor Word Choice And More!

Persona Some helpful questions to ask about persona: How would I describe the writer? What values does the writer seem to hold? What makes me believe or trust this writer? When you analyze persona, consider values: Freedom Education Fairness Equality The list goes on and on… and personality descriptions: Educated Experienced Professional Compassionate Humble Authoritative The list goes on and on….

Content Content is what the writer includes in his writing. This is a HUGE category and can include: Figurative Language Examples Diction Method of organization (compare and contrast, narrative, expository) Genre (editorial, speech, letter, essay, etc.) Point of view And much more!!

It All Adds Up! If a writer wants to achieve his purpose, he must: Understand his audience Adopt a persona that gains the respect and trust of the audience Include content that will portray this type of persona Include content that contributes to his purpose