Academic Discourse and Rhetorical analysis

Discourse Conversation To communicate with the reader, the writer uses a particular method or combination of methods to make his ideas clear to the reader. Language used by members of a speech community Institutionalized way of thinking

Modes of Discourse Prose: 1) Exposition: illustrates a point 2) Narration: tells a story 3) Description: creates a sensory image 4) Argumentation: takes a position on an issue and defends it

Rhetoric How we use language What makes the writer’s/speaker’s language effective, interesting, persuasive, or pleasing? Umbrella term for all strategies, modes, and devices a writer can employ to help readers easily accept and understand his point of view

For the purpose of examining how the writer develops her subject Analysis Take apart a particular passage and divide it into its basic components For the purpose of examining how the writer develops her subject

Rhetorical Analysis Finding and analyzing the choices writers or speakers make so that their texts become meaningful, purposeful, and effective for readers or listeners Writers/speakers are aware of the role that readers/listeners play in constructing a meaningful, purposeful, effective text in a given setting

Rhetorical analysis How writers or speakers appeal to their audience How writers make these appeals Writer will employ one or more strategies to develop the purpose of the piece. You need to: Recognize and identify strategies used Determine how these strategies are utilized in the development of the author's purpose

1) How writers or speakers appeal to their audience Rhetorical analysis 1) How writers or speakers appeal to their audience

1) Appeals Writers understand that a reader is constructing meaning of their text and so they appeal to the writers in various ways.

Ethos appeal Attempts to persuade an audience by using the character of the speaker as a reason for the audience to assent to the argument Accidental ethos- Aristotle Look at the introduction Establishes credibility- knowledge of the subject, trustworthiness, good will

Emotional appeals in the broader sense Pathos appeal Emotional appeals in the broader sense Direct or indirect appeals to the audience’s emotions and personal interests

Logos appeal In addition to logic, can include facts, statistics, definitions, analogies, quotations from authorities, other evidence to support arguable claims

Hot word APPEALS TO… Specific audience Specific purpose Specific choices

2) How writers make these appeals Rhetorical strategies Example Contrast and comparison Definition Cause and effect Process Analysis/division Classification

How writers make these appeals

Stylistic choices A writer/speaker doesn't use everything available - only things that suit the writer's purpose with a specific audience, setting, occasion Choices are key to the effectiveness of the piece. What does the writer do in writing the piece and why?

Stylistic choice categories Diction worm vs. bug “The evening invaded the street.” Details Figurative language How do they contribute to the meaning, purpose, and effect of the text?

Stylistic choice categories Overall organization Chronological, Spatial Specific to general Least to most important, most important to least Flashback or fast forward Contrast/comparison Cause/effect Point of view: First person, third person objective, third person omniscient, stream of consciousness, interior monologue

Stylistic choice categories Syntax Grammatical structure of sentences Deliberate sentence structure the author chooses Punctuation, spelling, paragraphing Phrases, clauses, basic sentence types- declarative, interrogative, imperative, exclamatory, simple sentences, compound, complex

Stylistic choice categories “It struck eight. Bella waited, Nobody came. She sat down on a gilt chair at the end of the stairs, looked steadily before her with the blank, blue eyes. IN the hall, in the cloakroom, in the supper-room, the hired footmen looked at one another with knowing winks. "What does the old girl expect? No one'll have finished dinner before ten." - "Bella Gave a Party," Evelyn Waugh

Stylistic choice categories Determining tone/ attitude Talking down to the reader as an advisor Talking down to the reader as a satirist Talking eye to eye with the reader as an equal Talking up to the reader as a subordinate Formal or informal attitude Bitter, sarcastic, ironic, mocking, satiric, objective, naïve, inspiring, disdainful, compassionate, gothic, reflective, sentimental, detached How do they contribute to the meaning, purpose, and effect of the text?

How writers make these appeals Stylistic choices Figures of rhetoric

Figures of Rhetoric Scheme Any artful variation from the typical arrangement of words in a sentence

Schemes of Balance Parallelism Isocolon "They have suffered severely, but they have fought well." Antithesis “What if I am rich, and another is poor- strong, and he is weak?”

Schemes of word order Parenthesis (interruption) Apposition (appositives) “The mountain was the earth, her home.” Gives additional information Omission- ellipsis Other punctuation marks

Schemes of Repetition Alliteration Assonance Anaphora “Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering." —Yoda, Star Wars

Figures of Rhetoric Trope Any artful variation from the typical or expected way a word or idea is expressed

Comparisons Metaphor Simile Metonymy “The crown has been plagued by scandal.” Personification

Overstatement or understatement Hyperbole Litotes

Management of meaning Rhetorical question Irony Onomatopoeia Oxymoron “Still waking sleep, that is not what it is!” “The unheard sounds came through.” Paradox “Art is a form of lying in order to tell the truth.” Pun

Extra hot words to know Symbol Motif Allegory Denotation and connotation “Good night, sweet prince, and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.” Antagonist and protagonist Satire

Extra hot words to know Genre Foreshadow Paraphrase Tone Mood Atmosphere

"The most essential gift for a good writer is a built-in, shockproof shit detector. This is the writer's radar and all great writers have had it." - Hemingway

Summary Discourse Rhetorical analysis Appeals Stylistic analysis How writers or speakers appeal to their audience Appeals How writers make these appeals Stylistic analysis Schemes Figures of rhetoric/ tropes