The Rhetorical Act Chapter 2

What is a rhetorical critic? What is criticism?

Criticism is a thinking, speaking, and writing skill that occurs in three stages:

* Description * Interpretation * Evaluation

Criticism requires a desire to decipher the many ways rhetors try to persuade us.

In other words, how to avoid being a sucker. Do you enjoy it when someone tries to “play” you? Of course, not. You need to learn to be a rhetorical critic.

To be a rhetorical critic, you need to be able to hear someone’s message, interpret what they said, and then evaluate, or break down exactly what the speaker meant.

A critic needs to be able to: * know about the subject * communicate clearly about it * be passionate about the subject * tell us the nonobvious * educate listeners about it

You, as a rhetorical critic, can analyze a speech using the following seven categories:

1. Purpose: What does the speaker want of the audience? Some purposes are instrumental: the speaker wants direct action from the audience. Some purposes are consumatory: the speaker wants appreciation, contemplation, to confer blame or honor. The purpose is the conclusion argued(thesis).

2. Audience: Who is the intended audience of the speech?

3. Persona: what is the role of the speaker? teacher, reporter, politician? What is the speaker-audience relationship?

4. Tone: what is the speaker’s attitude toward the subject, toward the audience? 5. Evidence: what kinds of evidence does the speaker provide? Visuals, analogies, stories, experts, statistics?

6. Structure: how are the materials organized to gain attention? How does the material develop a case? How does the speaker create emphasis?

7. Strategies: How does the speaker use language and argument to overcome the obstacles to persuasion?

Bottom Line: The rhetor needs to know his/her exact purpose and determine just whom the audience members are for a particular speech.

A CriticA Reporter How was it said? Why? Motive Implicit Analysis Depth Detective Persuasive Moral What was said? Where, whom, when? Facts Explicit Paraphrase Surface Police Officer Informative Amoral

The Critical Equation Claim + Proof + Analysis= Criticism A claim is a conclusion reached by the rhetor.