What is Rhetoric?

1. What is Rhetoric?

2. Definition of Rhetoric • Rhetoric(n) - the art of speaking or writing effectively. Content = WHAT Rhetoric = HOW

3. Rhetoric is HOW we give the impressions we give. HOW we say what we say, do what we do, write what we write. • Rhetoric is all around us in conversation, in movies, in advertisements and books, in body language, and in art. We employ rhetoric whether we’re conscious of it or not. . .

4. The goal of persuasion is to change others’ point of view or to move others to take action.

5. . . .but becoming conscious of how rhetoric works can be transforming; this consciousness can alter our speaking, reading, and writing, making us more successful and able communicators and more discerning audiences.

6. Aristotle and The Art of Rhetoric: • Aristotle (384 - 322 BC: Greece) • More than any other thinker, Aristotle determined the orientation and content of Western intellectual history. • Author of systems of thought we still use today—both in philosophy and science.

7. Aristotle’s Rhetorical Triangle: • Aristotle believed that to make convincing arguments, writers needed to look at three elements: the speaker’s persona, the audience, and the subject matter. • Writers must take into account all three--they are connected and interdependent.

8. What is logos, ethos, and pathos? Logos = Logic, Reason, Facts Ethos = Ethics, Image, Credibility Pathos = Emotions (Passion)

9. Logos, Ethos, Pathos Using logos, ethos, and pathos will help you to master the art of persuasion. • Through language, you will be able to change the point of view of others! • Through language, you will be able to motivate others to take action!

10. Logos Logos is an argument based on facts, evidence and reason. Using logos means appealing to the readers’ sense of what is logical.

11. Logos Example Eighty percent of the writers interviewed said they write at least four rough drafts before they publish a piece of writing.

12. Ethos Ethos is an argument based on character. Using ethos means the writer or speaker appeals to the audience’s sense of ethical behavior. The writer or speaker presents him or herself to the audience as credible, trustworthy, honest and ethical.

13. Ethos Example “I have been teaching writing for twenty years . . .” Or “I am an ethical expert, so believe what I say.”

14. Pathos Pathos = argument based on feelings Using pathos means appealing to readers’ emotions and feelings.

15. Pathos Example She stood before the class preparing to present her speech. She regretted not rehearsing the night before. Her knees shook, her breath grew shallow, and colored spots danced before her eyes. She gripped the podium and hoped she would not pass out in front of her classmates.

16. Review Logos = logic Logos is an argument based on facts, evidence and reason. Using logos means appealing to the readers’ sense of what is logical.

17. Review Ethos = Ethics / Image Ethos is an argument based on character. The writer or speaker presents him or herself to the reader as credible, trustworthy, honest and ethical.

18. Review Pathos = argument based on feelings Using pathos means appealing to readers’ emotions and feelings.

19. Rhetorical Strategies • The strategies that follow are just some of the ways to make your writing/speaking more persuasive…

20. Parallel Structure • Parallel Structure-repetition of grammatically similar words, phrases, clauses, or sentences to emphasize a point or stir the emotions of a reader/listener. Used to create a sense of rhythm, balance, and order in writing or speech. • Chiasmus=“inverted parallelism” (i.e. eat to live, not live to eat)

21. Parallel Structure • The coach told the players: “You will get some sleep tonight, you will not eat too much right before the game, and you will do some warm-up exercises before the game.”

22. Allusion • Short, informal reference to famous person, event, story. Relies on reader/listener to be familiar with the reference and hidden meaning. Used to stimulate ideas, associations, add extra information. • If I want to persuade you to wash your hands, I may say “thou shalt wash thy hands”. I am trusting that you respect the commandments and, hence, my statement.

23. Analogy • Comparison between two things that are alike in certain respects. Used in persuasion to demonstrate the logic of one idea by showing how it is similar to an accepted idea. • (“Pupils are more like oysters than sausages. The job of teaching is not to stuff them and then seal them up, but to help them reveal the riches within.”-Sydney Harris)

24. Alliteration • Repetition of initial consonant sounds. Used to call attention to a phrase and fixes it in the reader’s/listener’s mind. • (i.e. “Let us go forth to lead the land we love.”- John F. Kennedy Inaugural speech)

25. Humor • Humor can be used to make you like the writer/speaker and “win you over” • Hyperbole-exaggeration for emphasis/effect (“at night she needs a paint scraper to take off her makeup”) • Sarcasm (“Obama doesn’t have the experience of being Miss Wasilla!”) • Irony (verbal, situational, dramatic) (“it is ironic that the window store had all of its windows broken by vandals”) • Understatement (From Monty Python: Army officer loses a leg, “Stings a bit.”)

26. Audience • When attempting to persuade, consider your audience. • For example, you would not use caustic satire to persuade a potential employer to hire you. • (“The food served here is great if you are a teenager with two dollars in your pocket.”)

27. Active Voice v. Passive Voice • Active Voice- The boyhit the ball. The subject of this sentence actively hits the ball. • Passive Voice- The ballwas hit by the boy. The subject sits passively, doing nothing while some outside agent performs the action.

28. Here’s why it is better rhetoric to use active voice… • Active voice sentences are shorter. • The fighter punched Ali and dodged the uppercut. (Active= 8 words) • Ali was punched by the fighter, and then an uppercut was dodged by him. (Passive= 14 words)

29. Active sentences are clear and to the point • When you use passive voice, you have to use boring phrases like “by so-and-so” or leave this out and let your sentence become unclear. • The airplane was flown to Bermuda (by the pilot). • My car has been driven to Dallas. (By whom? A car thief? The teletubbies?)

30. To Identify the Evil Passive Voice • Is there a form of the verb “to be” such as is/am/are/was/were/be/being/been? (Can’t create passive voice without this) • Could you insert “by so-and-so” after the verb? (the dog was fed (by the owner) • ID the subject and main verb. Is the subject “doing” the action? Or is it sitting passively?