RHETORIC

WHAT IS RHETORIC??? Have you ever been watching a commercial and suddenly felt compelled to go buy/do something? Did they come right out and say “Hey you on the couch, yeah you, why don’t you come down and get this……”

What is rhetoric? Why would they choose to not just come right out and say whatever it is they want you to do? Why would they have secret messages/hide something from you?

What is rhetoric? ---it is PERSUASION Rhetoric can be defined as the study of how language is at work orally and in writing, but rhetoric is also the art of becoming proficient in applying the resources of language to speaking and writing. Rhetoric can also be defined as the art of framing an argument so that it can be appreciated by an audience. ---it is PERSUASION

In essence…. Rhetoric is when someone (through speech or writing) uses words to try to convince (persuade) you to do something.

What is rhetoric? So why might it be best for them not to be blunt in commercials? Or speeches (political campaigns)? Or articles?

Deconstructing an Argument When someone is using rhetoric you have to take the time to find the pieces in order to find their true motive. When you do this you will be finding all the pieces that they have woven together to make their persuasion effective

Main Claim/Assertion This is the point the person/company is trying to make This is the statement that everything else in the argument fits under (like an umbrella) The author WILL take a side, and the side that he takes is the heart of the assertion.

REASONS The next thing we will find are the reasons that back up the main claim/assertion This will tell us why the reader believes the claim that s/he makes This is the support for the argument

EVIDENCE This is the section that gives us the facts, examples, statistics, expert testimony, etc. These are the things that convince us to believe the reasons, convincing us to believe the main claim

Rhetorical Appeals

Rhetorical Appeals These are the means of effecting persuasion THIS IS HOW TO MAKE THE ARGUMENT EFFECTIVE ETHOS PATHOS LOGOS

ETHOS This is where the author establishes credibility. To do this the author/speaker must: “understand human character and goodness in their various forms” This is the ethical appeal How might a person establish credibility? Why?

PATHOS This is where the AUTHOR attempts to change the READER’S emotions To do this the reader/speaker must: “understand the emotions—that is, to name them and describe them, to know their causes and the way in which they are excited” This is the emotional appeal How might an author/speaker try to change someone’s emotions Why?

LOGOS This is where the author tries to reason with the reader To do this the reader/speaker must: “reason logically” data This is the rational appeal How might an author try to reason with a reader Why?

Rhetorical Devices

Loaded Language Uses words with strongly positive or negative connotations to stir people’s emotions For the safety or out innocent children, we must protect our community from rampant crime.

Repetition Uses the same word or words more than once for emphasis “Let there be justice for all. Let there be peace for all. Let there be work, bread, water and salt for all.” (this specific type of repetition is an anaphora) --Nelson Mandela

Parallelism Uses similar grammatical constructions to express ideas that are related or equal in importance – often creates a rhythm “We cannot, we must not, refuse to protect the right of every American to vote in every election….And we ought not and we cannot and we must not wait another eight months before we get a bill. --Lyndon Baines Johnson

Analogy Makes a comparison between two subjects that are alike in some ways Have you heard the canned, frozen and processed product being dished up to the world as American popular music today? Billy Joel

Fact vs. Opinion

Fact Statement that can be proven, or verified

Opinion Statement that cannot be proven because it expresses a person’s beliefs, feelings, or thoughts

BIAS Unfair preference for or against a particular topic or issue. To detect look for: an argument in which the evidence is unbalanced, giving one side stronger or more adequate support than the other the presence of loaded language the use of overgeneralizations – stereotyping and other faulty reasoning

Reasoning Deductive and inductive refer to two distinct logical processes. Deductive reasoning is a logical process in which a conclusion drawn from a set of premises contains no more information than the premises taken collectively. All dogs are animals; this is a dog; therefore, this is an animal: The truth of the conclusion is dependent only on the method. All men are apes; this is a man; therefore, this is an ape: The conclusion is logically true, although the premise is absurd.

Reasoning cont. Inductive reasoning is a logical process in which a conclusion is proposed that contains more information than the observations or experience on which it is based. Every crow ever seen was black; all crows are black: The truth of the conclusion is verifiable only in terms of future experience and certainty is attainable only if all possible instances have been examined. In the example, there is no certainty that a white crow will not be found tomorrow, although past experience would make such an occurrence seem unlikely.