1. The Geometry of Rhetoric

2. What is “rhetoric”?  We will define “rhetoric” as “the art of persuasion.” That is, how one person (the author, who can be a speaker or a writer) gets another person (the audience) to believe, understand, learn about, or see a certain topic in a certain way. The author uses a text to achieve his goal.

3. Some background:  our understanding of rhetoric and rhetorical strategies is based on the writings of Aristotle, who wrote a text called Rhetoric hundreds of years ago in Greece.  Aristotle wrote about “the speech” rather than “the text,” because in his culture texts were transmitted orally rather than in written form. His observations, however, apply to written as well as spoken texts.  our understanding of rhetoric and rhetorical strategies is based on the writings of Aristotle, who wrote a text called Rhetoric hundreds of years ago in Greece.  Aristotle wrote about “the speech” rather than “the text,” because in his culture texts were transmitted orally rather than in written form. His observations, however, apply to written as well as spoken texts.

4. First, let’s look at the Rhetorical Situation:  Our first bit of geometry, a triangle, involves the Rhetorical Situation. At the top of the triangle there is the Author, who will create the Text. The triangle itself represents the Text. TEXT AUTHOR

5. Equally important!  The Author creates the Text within a certain Context. This Context surrounds and permeates the text; they are always linked. The Context affects the Text in ways that are subtle and in ways that are obvious. TEXT AUTHOR

6.  The Author creates the Text for a specific Audience.  If the Audience changes, so will the specifics of the Text. TEXT AUTHOR AUDIENCE

7.  Additionally, the Author creates this Text with a specific Purpose in mind: he wants to persuade his audience of a certain thing.  If his purpose changes, so will his Text. TEXT AUTHOR AUDIENCEPURPOSE

8. These are the elements of the Rhetorical Situation. Identifying these elements within a text is the first step to analysis. TEXT AUTHOR AUDIENCEPURPOSE

9. Here’s an example:  Text: Our syllabus  Who is the Author? ENGL 102 Syllabus AUTHOR

10.  Text: Our syllabus  Author: Marcie  Who is the intended Audience? ENGL 102 Syllabus Marcie

11.  Text: Our syllabus  Author: Marcie  Intended Audience: Marcie’s Students  What is the Purpose? ENGL 102 Syllabus Marcie Marcie’s Students

12.  Text: Our syllabus  Author: Marcie  Audience: Marcie’s Students  Purpose: to Inform and Persuade ENGL 102 Syllabus Marcie Marcie’s Students Inform & Persuade

13. What’s left? Context.  What is the Context of the Text?  Ask yourself things like:  Where are we?  What’s the date?  What’s happening in the world? In our lives?  What about our environment affects the way I write for you? ENGL 102 Syllabus Marcie Marcie’s Students Inform & Persuade

14. Context never goes away…  Even though I wrote this text in 2010, for you, this text could still be around in a thousand years. The answers to questions like we just looked at affected the way I wrote this particular syllabus. Even though most of the contextual elements will change in a thousand years, they still need to be considered when analyzing this particular syllabus.

15. And there’s more! Our second triangle looks at specific ways the author uses language to appeal to his audience. These are called “appeals.”

16. Rhetorical Appeals  The three types of rhetorical appeals roughly correspond to the three points of the Rhetorical Situation triangle. The first of these relates to the Author. It is called Ethos. Ethos

17.  When an Author uses Ethos, he is appealing to our character by presenting his own. He shows us that he is informed, credible,confident, human, etc. Ethos

18. The Ethical Appeal  The author’s goal is to make us believe him because we trust him.  Specific strategies include presentation of a certain kind of voice, characteristics, or persona.  The author’s goal is to make us believe him because we trust him.  Specific strategies include presentation of a certain kind of voice, characteristics, or persona. Trust me!

19. Pathos  The appeal that corresponds to the “Audience” point of the Rhetorical Situation is called Pathos. Pathos deals with the emotions of the Audience. Ethos Pathos

20. The Pathetic Appeal  Specific strategies include charged, vivid, evocative language that triggers empathy or sympathy, tone, awareness of the opposition, and awareness of audience concerns.

21. Logos  The third appeal is called Logos. This is an appeal to the Audience’s sense of logic or reason.  Specific strategies of the Logical Appeal include evidence, organization, if/then situations, and of course the use of logic.  The third appeal is called Logos. This is an appeal to the Audience’s sense of logic or reason.  Specific strategies of the Logical Appeal include evidence, organization, if/then situations, and of course the use of logic. Ethos PathosLogos

22. Remember these triangles!  When you look at any text that you want (or are required) to analyze rhetorically, first consider the elements of the Rhetorical Situation. Text AUTHOR PURPOSEAUDIENCE

23.  Then ask yourself which appeal(s) and what kinds of strategies the Author uses in order to achieve his Purpose. Ethos PathosLogos