1. An Introduction to Rhetoric
New Mission High School
AP Language
and
Composition
An Introduction to Rhetoric

2. What is Rhetoric? Rhetoric is the Art of Persuasive/Effective Language
Writers and speakers use Rhetoric to convince readers and listeners to do something or to think something.
Think of every time you want to get your way. You are using rhetoric without knowing it!

3. Using the “Available Means”
What does the word rhetoric imply?
Trickery?
Deception?
An advertiser manipulating a consumer?
A politician obscuring a point?
Spinning the truth?

4. Aristotle ( B.C.)
Aristotle defined rhetoric as “the faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion.”
At its best, rhetoric is a thoughtful and reflective activity leading to effective communication, including rational exchange of opposing viewpoints.

5. Various Meanings of “Rhetoric":
You are probably also familiar with the idea of a rhetorical question—a question that is meant to make a point and not meant to be answered.
The meaning of the word "rhetoric" seems to differ depending on how the word is used and who's using it.
You've probably heard politicians some time or another dismiss the positions of their opponents as "mere rhetoric."
Rhetorical Question:
Is there anyone smarter than me?
Do you want to be a success in this world?
What’s the matter with kids today?
Do you think money grows on trees?

6. When the president gives a speech, he is using rhetoric.
When a politician tries to get you to vote for him…
When a lawyer tries to move a jury…
When a government produces propaganda, it is using rhetoric.
When an advertisement tries to get you to buy something, it is using rhetoric.
For our purposes -- "Rhetoric" is simply the ways in which we try to persuade a given audience, for a given purpose.
Here are some classic (and some would say less-than-reputable) examples of rhetoric:

7. Key Elements of Rhetoric
Lou Gehrig’s speech on Appreciation Day July 4, 1939
Had recently learned he was suffering from a neurological disorder with no cure
Fans chanted, “We want Lou!”
One of the all-time most powerful, heartfelt, and brief speeches of all time

8. Why was this an effective speech?
He understood that rhetoric is ALWAYS situational
Maintains his focus: celebrate the occasion and get back to playing ball
Context: the occasion, time, and/or place it was written/spoken
Between games of a doubleheader
The poignant contrast between celebrating his athletic career and the life-threatening diagnosis
Purpose: what the speaker/writer wants to achieve
Remain positive by looking at the bright side
Downplaying the bleak outlook

9. Context and Purpose
Both are essential to analyzing effective rhetoric.
Sometimes CONTEXT arises from current events or cultural BIAS.
Ex: someone writing about freedom of speech to a community that has experienced hate graffiti must take that context into account and adjust the purpose so as not to offend the audience
When reading any text, ask about the context in which it was written and then consider its purpose.
What are some various PURPOSES of a speaker/writer?
Win agreement
Persuade audience to take action
Evoke sympathy
Make someone laugh
Inform, provoke, celebrate, repudiate, propose
Secure support

10. Other Reasons It Is Effective
It has a crystal clear MAIN IDEA: he’s the “luckiest man on earth.”
Main Idea A.K.A THESIS, CLAIM, ASSERTION
Gehrig knew his SUBJECT
Baseball in general
New York Yankees in particular
As a SPEAKER he presented himself as a common man
Not polished or sophisticated
Modest and glad for the life he’s lived
He considered his AUDIENCE.
His teammates and coach
His fans (in the stands and listening on the radio)

11. The Rhetorical/Aristotelian Triangle
what's involved in any
communication/persuasion scenario.
The 3 elements of The Rhetorical Triangle are:
a speaker or writer (who performs the rhetoric),
an audience (the people addressed),
a purpose (the message communicated with the audience)

12. The Rhetorical/Aristotelian Triangle
Writer/Speaker
Purpose
Audience

13. The Rhetorical/ Persuasive Appeals:
Aristotle (an ancient Greek philosopher) identified three major tactics that we use when we go about persuading people.
We call these tactics rhetorical/persuasive appeals
Aristotle taught that a speaker’s ability to persuade an audience is based on how well the speaker appeals to that audience in three different areas:
Ethos
Pathos
Logos

14. Appeal to Ethos
refers to the character or authority of the speaker/writer. As an audience, our perception of the speaker/writer's ethos is what leads us to trust them.
It involves the trustworthiness and credibility of the speaker/writer
Is the speaker/writer dependable? Is he
knowledgeable? Can we trust him?

15. Examples of Appeals to Ethos:
In many cases ethos is pretty transparent: if Rachel Ray wanted to tell us how to make Chicken Masala, we would probably just implicitly assume that she knew what she was talking about. After all, she has built her ethos in the sense of authority by demonstrating her cooking abilities every day on nationwide television, in her cookbooks, and through other media. She has also built her ethos in the sense of her character by appearing to be a friendly, savvy, and admirable person.
However, if a random person on the street wanted to tell us how to make Chicken Marsala, we would probably first want to know what gave him the authority to do so: did he cook a lot? Does he make chicken masala often? Why was he qualified to show us? In addition, such a person would probably lack the character component of ethos—being a stranger we would have no connection to him and we would have no sense of who he was as a person. In fact, we'd probably be creeped out by his unsolicited cooking lesson. Ultimately, we would have no reason to trust him.

16. Appeal to Pathos An Emotional Appeal
Appeal to human emotions (such as desire, passion, or patriotism) within the audience/reader
Includes considerations of the values and beliefs in the audience that will ultimately move them to action.

17. Examples of Appeals to Pathos:
Home security companies appeal to our fears of violent crime, carbon monoxide, fire, etc. in order to convince us to buy their home monitoring systems.
Personal hygiene products appeal to our fears of social rejection and to our desire to fit in with others.
Charities appeal to our emotions by showing us images of people that we will empathize with.
Casinos appeal to our sense of greed when they try to get us to gamble.
And of course, countless advertisements use sex to convince us to buy their products (this is technically eros, but we'll file it under pathos for the sake of simplicity).

18. Appeal to Logos logical argument appeal to reason or logic
frequently includes the use of data, statistics, math, research, order, and "objectivity."

19. Examples of Appeal to Logos:
When advertisements claim that their products are “37% more effective than the competition,” they are making an appeal to logos.
When a lawyer claims that her client is innocent because he had an alibi, that too is an appeal to logos because it is logically inconsistent for her client to have been in two places at once.

20. The best arguments contain more than one type of appeal!
It's important to recognize that ethos, pathos, and logos appeals are rarely found independently of each other, and that complex and effective persuasion usually involves all of them in some combination.

21. Example of Combination of Appeals:
For instance, appeals to logos by themselves are rare and seldom effective—they invariably rely on appeals to pathos and ethos as well.
If I wrote an essay that included the statement "five people die of AIDS every minute," it doesn't just convey an appeal to logos in the form of a statistic.
It also includes an implicit appeal to pathos: a sense of the emotional tragedy that is AIDS and a sense of the ferocity and terribleness of the disease.
It also includes an implicit appeal to ethos: it establishes my belief in the moral unacceptability of the disease and it may establish admiration in the eyes of my audience for holding such a stance.

22. A More Complete Rhetorical Triangle
Writer/Speaker
Appeal to Ethos (Credibility of Writer)
Purpose
Appeal to Logos
(Facts, Research, Data)
Audience
Appeal to Pathos
(Emotions, Beliefs,
and Values)

23. Arrangement Classical Model – 6-Part Oration
Introduction: introduces reader to subject
Narration: provides facts & background info
Partition: Why does the topic matter
Confirmation: development of the proof or outcomes to make the case
Refutation: addresses possible counterarguments
Conclusion: brings the essay to a close

24. Patterns of Development
Narration: tells a story or recounting of events
Description: recounts a story WITH loads of imagery
Process Analysis: explains a process
Exemplification: using a series of examples to prove a point
Comparison/Contrast: juxtaposing two ideas to highlight similarities & differences
Definition: defines a concept or idea
Cause & Effect: analyzing a cause that leads to an effect
Classification & Division: breaking down a larger idea into parts