Rhetoric and Persuasion General Notes section of your composition notebook!

What is rhetoric?  Rhetoric uses rhetorical appeals to create a persuasive argument.  speeches, debates, persuasive essays, and articles all are examples of rhetoric  rhetoric is seen in conversations, advertisements, or any other medium in which the creator is trying to persuade or convince someone to do something or think in a specific way  You also can use rhetoric (rhetorical strategies) to write persuasively.  This six weeks, we will be analyzing the way rhetoric is used to persuade.

The Rhetorical Triangle  Aristotle taught that there were three types of rhetorical appeals (or strategies)  Ethos  Pathos  Logos  Various strategies are used to create these three appeals! We will look at some today! Logos (logic) Pathos (emotion) Aristotle’s Rhetorical Triangle Ethos (credibility)

Ethos  An appeal to the speaker’s credibility  Convinces you that the speaker is trustworthy, knowledgeable and dependable Example: The Surgeon General states that smoking causes serious health problems. Anyone smoking should quit.

Ethos can be created by…  Referring to experts or professionals, celebrities, or popular individuals  Including “the common citizen” testimonials or witnesses  Avoiding fallacies or attacking others in argument  Presenting an argument while being informed and aware of all sides  Use of counterarguments and concessions  A speaker’s use of details that create trust or credibility  Correct usage of mechanics and grammar

How is ethos created here?

Here?

Pathos  An appeal to the emotions of the audience  Plays on your emotions to convince you to believe something, or take a certain action Example: Please give me an extra day to this essay. You should feel bad for me as last night my dog got sick, my girlfriend broke up with me, and my cell phone died, so I didn’t get your Newsflash.

Pathos is VERY effective. It can be created in advertisements and in everyday conversation by…  Appealing to physical attraction  Using comedy and humor  Creating pity/sympathy  Appealing to man’s desire to be morally sound  Creating disgust/dislike

Pathos can be created in writing by using…  Imagery  Diction  Figurative Language  Details  Repetition  Sentence structure (syntax)  Fallacies… (ad hominem, bandwagon)

How is pathos created here?

Here?

Logos  An appeal to logic  Uses statistics, logic, and facts to appeal to you as a rational person. Example: Recycling is imperative. Over 60,000 pounds of recyclable material is put in dumps daily, which consumes and damages the land and air we need to survive.

Logos is created by using…  Statistics  Facts  Accounts and specific examples  Counterarguments and concessions  Organization of explanations  Reasoning  anything that forces the reader to think and reflect (even rhetorical questions)

How is logos created here?

Here?

Let’s look at some commercials…  Mmm, Meth   J’adore Dior (Diamonds are dead…)   Kids Smoking   Siri Parody   ASPCA   Old Spice Horse   OxiClean (Billy Mays)  