Rhetoric:
◻ Dates back to the _______, particularly _________ (384-322 B.C.E.)
◻ Addresses the _________among ________, ________, and ____________
Rhetorical _______
Interaction among subject, speaker, and audience determines the structure and language of the argument.
Sketch the triangle here
What Rhetoric is ______.
◻ Rhetoric gets a bad rap in _________
◻ It is____ necessarily something that blocks or hides an _______ truth; it is not a politician full of hot air.
What Rhetoric IS
1. The __________________ that cause them to be meaningful, purposeful, and effective for readers or listeners
Consisting of:
1. diction
2. syntax
3. figurative language
4. organization, structure, and style
Diction
Word Choice
• formal v._______
• ________ v. concrete
• archaic v. _______
• “______ v. “loaded”
• denotation v. ________
**Basically, the words you use to communicate
Syntax
• Sentence ________ and Patterns
✓ long v. short sentences
✓ periodic v. loose sentences
✓ active v. passive voice
✓ patterns of balance and repetition
Figurative Language
• metaphor/simile
oxymoron / paradox
• personification
• irony
• symbolism
• hyperbole
•
• Organization
• What about a writer’s organization (modes of discourse), _______, and ______ makes the text _______ ______ and
________?
What Rhetoric is 2
. The art of _______ and analyzing all the choice involving ________ that a writer, speaker, reader, or listener might make in a
situation so that the text becomes ________, purposeful, and effective for readers or listeners
Persona-
• The speaker/writer adopts a ______
• literally a “______”
• not a _______term
• the _______ he or she wants the audience to perceive
• the role he or she deems most effective for ______ and ______.
• Are you speaking as a_____, ______, or scholar?
• Are you speaking as an expert on ice skating, popular music, or a software program?
• Are you speaking as a ________ in your English class or as a concerned citizen in your local community?
Context-
• Writers always write in response to a _______situation (time, place, circumstances; _____) that affects their decisions about
what they say and how they say it.
Invention-
◼ How writers ________ their ideas so that they are most ______ for the audience
◼ _______, in fact, defines rhetoric primarily as _____, "discovering the best available means of persuasion."
Arrangement
❧ _________that will lead to an effective text
❧ Arrangement of a Classical Oration
o Introduction
o Statement of Facts
o Division
o Proof
o Refutation
o Conclusion
1. Introduction
○ ________
○ introduces reader to the subject under discussion
○ draws the reader in by piquing interest
○ often establishes a writer’s ethos
. Statement of Facts
○ __________
○ provides _____________ and background material on the subject
○ establishes why the_________ is a problem that needs _________
○ ______ & ______ appeals
. Division
○ ______
○ _____ what will follow
○ Some listings of______ arrangement leave this part out.
. Proof
○ ________
○ development needed to make the writer’s case
○ logos
Refutation
○ ______
○ addresses the counterargument
○ logos
Conclusion
○ ________
○ reminds reader of ethos
○ usually appeals to pathos
○ answers the question “so what?”
______
○ choices writers make with _______ and words
○ artful _________ of ideas
MEMORY
● in earlier eras, literally _________ the text to memory
● now, how a writer taps into the “____________” of their audience
● also, what devices will the writer use to help ___________ remember the text and its message.
Delivery
◼ how to get the text to the __________ (Internet, newspaper, graphics, etc)
◼ how something is ____________________
Appeals- Logos, Pathos and Ethos
❖ The writer uses appeals to support his/her meaning:
• Logos
• Pathos
• Ethos
_____
▪ names the appeal to _____
▪ Aristotle wished that all communication could be transacted only through this appeal, but given the weaknesses of
humanity, he laments, we must resort to the use of the other two appeals.
_____
▪ names the appeal to ______
▪ Cicero encouraged the use of pathos at the conclusion of an oration, but emotional appeals are of course more widely
viable.
_____
• names the persuasive _____________________ especially how this character is established by means of the speech or
discourse.
• Speakers appeal to ethos to _____________ that they are credible and trustworthy.
• Aristotle claimed that one needs to appear both _____________ about one's subject and benevolent.
• Cicero said that in classical oratory the initial portion of a speech (its exordium or introduction) was the place to establish
one's credibility with the audience.
• First impressions are important!
• A person’s reputation or background might provide them________. The writing itself might provide ethos by being
_______, ___________, sincere, knowledgeable, etc.
. Understanding_____________
The writer writes so that the audience ____________ him or her as a __________character (usually one who is educated,
considerate, trustworthy, and well-intentioned)
The reader makes ________and judgments about the ________ and _________ of the writer, analyzing how he or she
appeals to the audience
includes elements of______, diction, ______, creation of voice
2. Understanding appeals to an audience
▪ logos, ethos, pathos
Understanding_______
• treating the subject matter fairly, fully and effectively
• offering other paths of interpretation, analysis or argument
• claim plus support
4. understanding ________
• understanding the time, place, people, events, and motivating forces behind a piece and how they impact the piece
5. Understanding_______
• what is the writer’s aim or purpose
6. Understanding _______
* what type of writing is most appropriate for a ________ (formal letter or casual email; poetry or prose; scientific data or
personal anecdote)
