What is Rhetoric?
Thinking Critically about the vehicle
for all thought- LANGUAGE
A Swift Survey of the History of Classical Rhetoric
What role does persuasive discourse play in public
life?
The Sophists
 The art of rhetoric was designed to help citizens plead their cases in
court. The key names were Gorgias and Isocrates. With Isocrates we
have the first attempt at teaching writing as a manipulative tool.
 Rhetoric was a response to social and economic change. The
democracy of Athens included only landholding aristocracy, a tiny
percentage of the populous. As a merchant/trade class began to
grow wealthy, they demanded the same political and social rights as
the aristocracy. This group, however, had been heretofore
disenfranchised from the political forum. The sophists rose to fill
the need of training this new group of citizens to participate in
open debate.
 Rhetoric was a tool for participation in the democracy.
Socrates
 Socrates modeled questioning and probing as tools
for pursuing depth of knowledge, and he had a
number of objections to the work of the sophists.
 Rhetoric does not pursue truth
 Rhetoric casts a spell over the audience
 Dialectic is the path to truth
 His most political objection to the work of the
sophists was that audiences were persuaded to act
through opinion and not truth.
Aristotle
 Aristotle examined rhetoric as a pragmatist (taking a practical
approach to problems), asking what the elements of oratory were
and how one might best use them. His Rhetoric stresses issues
regarding audience and how best to move an audience to action.
 In addition to audience concerns, Aristotle taught the emerging
rhetorician how to recall information and how to best organize that
material. This he called topoi (contemporary composition theory
refers to topoi as modes or patterns of organization).
 Aristotle also recognized the importance of Socrates’ work.
“Rhetoric,” Aristotle tells us, “is the counterpart to Dialectic.” Both
rhetoric and dialectic are the key elements of teaching academic
writing to young scholars. We help them discover and develop their
argument through dialectical classroom discussion, then we use the
elements of rhetoric to help them shape their writing.
So What?
 Is there a difference between argument and persuasion?
 Argument (discover a truth)  conviction
 Persuasion (know a truth)  action
 Purposes of Argument:
 Inform
 Convince
 Explore
 Make Decisions
 Meditate and Pray
Inform
 To inform members of an audience about
something that they did not know.
 Not always argumentative merely meant to convey
information to the audience.
 Examples:
 Headlines
 Street signs
 Campaign signs
 Advertisements
Convince
 Trying not to conquer opponents but to satisfy
readers that you have thoroughly examined those
causes and that they merit serious attention.
 To examine and accepted truth and/or the status
quo and bring to light an opposing view.
 What are some examples that you can think of?
Explore
 An argument aimed at addressing serious problems in
society and can, therefore, sometimes be deeply personal.
 An argument in which the writer asserts that a problem
exists and that with exploration the reader may be able to
solve the problem/present defend solutions.
 Example?
Make Decisions
 An argument that which aims at making good
sound decisions.
Meditate or Pray
 An argument in which the writer or speaker is most often
hoping to transform something in him/herself or to
reach a state of equilibrium or peace of mind.
 Usually uses a kind of meditative language that allows the
reader to reach an understanding of the speaker and to
evoke meditative thought in others.
 Examples:
 Stained glass windows in the chapel.
Occasions for Argument
 Arguments regarding the Past are forensic arguments.
 Examples include criminal and civil cases.
 Arguments regarding the Present are epideictic or
ceremonial arguments because they tend to be heard at
public occasions.
•
Examples include sermons, eulogies, inaugural address and civic
remarks.
 Arguments regarding/influence the Future are
deliberative arguments.
 Examples include legislative arguments (Congress,
Parliament, government),
Kinds of Argument
Cultural Context
 Considering arguments that consider status or stasis (the
kinds of issues the arguments address) = Stasis Theory
 Did something happen? = Argument of Fact
 What is the nature? = Argument of Definition
 What is the quality? = Argument of Evaluation
 What actions should be taken? = Proposal Arguments
Modes of Writing
•Narration
•Classification & Division
•Description
•Process Analysis
•Exemplification
•Cause & Effect
•Compare & Contrast
•Argument/Persuasion
Appealing to Audiences
 Emotional Appeals
 Ethical Appeals
 Logical Appeals
Arguments from the Heart - Pathos
Understanding Emotional Arguments:
 How does the speaker anticipate and manipulate the
audience’s emotional reaction?
 When writers and speakers can find the words and images
to evoke certain emotions in people they might also
move their audiences to sympathize with ideas they
connect to those feelings, and even to act on them.
 Arguments from the heart probably count more when
you’re persuading than when you’re arguing. Why?
Using Emotions to Build Bridges:
 Arguments sometimes use emotions to connect with
their audience, to assure them that you understand their
experiences or to “feel their pain”.
 If you strike the right emotional note, you will establish
an important connection/bridge.
Using Emotions to Sustain Arguments:
 You can use emotional appeals to make arguments
stronger and/or more memorable.
 Lay on too much emotion, however, and you may end
up offending the very audience you hoped to convince.
Using Humor:
 Humor is the sugar that makes the medicine go
down.
 Laughter may often be a sign that there is a kernel of
truth behind even the most ridiculous statement.
 Humor used to address sensitive issues.
 Humor used as an outlet to admit mistakes that
cannot be acknowledged in any other way – satire.
Using Arguments from the Heart
 Always remember that when dealing with emotional
arguments you are dealing with a double-edged sword.
 Some of the best arguments use pathos so subtly that the
audience is not aware of the manipulative effect.
 Questions to consider:
 How do arguments from the heart work in different media?
Books? Newspapers? Television? Radio? Films?
 Are newspapers an emotionally colder source of
information than TV news programs?
Arguments Based on Character - Ethos
 How does the speaker establish common values with the
audience? How does the speaker create a common
ground for speaker and audience?
 Writers and speakers usually establish their argument in
two ways:
 They shape themselves at the very moment they make an
argument using such things as language, the evidence they
offer, the respect they demonstrate to those with whom
they disagree, and the way they tender themselves to an
audience physically.
 They also bring their previous lives, work, and reputation to
the table – if they are well-known, liked, respected, etc. that
will add to their persuasive power.
Understanding How Ethos Works
 Audiences will give people/institutions that they know
and respect more credibility than an unknown source
(“The Car Guy” vs. Consumer Reports vs. People).
 Appeals or arguments about character often turn on
claims such as the following:
 A person/group does or does not have the authority to
speak to a particular issue;
 A person is or is not trustworthy/credible on a particular
issue;
 A person does or does not have good motives for
addressing a particular issue.
Claiming Authority
 You can always question a writer/speaker’s authority
and they can always question yours!
 You must, therefore, be able to anticipate pointed
questions with often times bold and personal
responses.
 Writers typically, however, establish their authority is
more subtle ways:
 attaching a title to their name;
 mentioning an employer/how much experience (in
years) that they have;
 attaching themselves to an agency/school;
 other examples . . .
Establishing Credibility
 Authority is a measure of how much command
someone has over a subject  Credibility speaks to a
writer’s honesty and respect for the audience.

Authority is, therefore, a good way to build credibility.
 You can establish credibility by:
 connecting your own beliefs and values to core principles
that are well established and widely respected;
 using language that shows your respect for readers,
addressing them neither above nor below their capabilities;
 admitting (sometimes) your limitations;
 acknowledging outright any expectations, qualifications or
even weaknesses in your argument.
Motives
 Two questions to remember when examining ethos:
 Whose interests are they serving?
 How will they profit from their proposal?
 Consider the ethos of each of the following public
figures; who would benefit or not benefit from their
endorsement?
 Oprah Winfrey
 Dick Cheney
 Al Sharpton
 Bill O’Reilly
Arguments Based on Facts, Evidence
and Reason - Logos
 How is the message presented? What figurative
language? What mode of discourse (compare/contrast,
cause/effect, classification/division, etc.) does the speaker
employ to convey the message?
 There are two types of facts:
 Hard evidence (inartistic appeals) = facts, clues, statistics,
testimonies
 Reason, Common Sense (artistic appeals) = what would a
reasonable person think?
Providing Hard and Factual Evidence
– Facts vs. Statistics
 Running a red and being on camera = hard evidence
 Factual evidence, however, depends of the kind of
argument you are making.
 Aristotle claims that all arguments can be reduced to only
two components:
 Statement + Proof
 Claim + Supporting Evidence
 What does this mean for us?
 “It’s possible to lie with numbers, even those that are
accurate, because numbers rarely speak for themselves. They
need to be interpreted by writers. And writers almost always
have agendas that shape the interpretations” (Lundsford 85).
Surveys and Polls
 Some of the most influential forms of statistics are
produced by surveys and polls.
 Surveys play off the democratic idea and provide
persuasive appeals because “whatever the majority of
people want is the best” is often a compelling
argument.
 Be careful . . . Surveys are affected by the way that
questions are asked. Wording by a pollster can
make a difference.
 Example: “How worried are you that you or
someone in your family may become a victim of
terrorism?”
Testimonies, Narratives and Interviews
 Personal experience, carefully reported, can
also support a claim convincingly, especially if
the writer has earned the trust of the audience.
 In the absence of hard facts, Use Reason and
Common Sense:
 Syllogism is a vehicle of deductive reasoning.
If A = B and B = C, then A = C.
Providing Logical Structure for
Argument
 Arguments based on:
 Degree – most audiences will readily accept that more of a
good thing or less of a bad thing is good.
 Analogies – explain one idea or concept by comparing it to
something else that people understand intuitively ~ “if is like
a box of chocolates . . . “
 Precedent – also involves comparisons; focuses on comparable
institutions.
 Are the following statements hard evidence or rational appeals:
 Honey attracts more flies than vinegar.
 The bigger they are, the harder they fall.
 DNA tests of skin found under the victim’s fingernails suggest
that the defendant was responsible for the assault.
Thinking Rhetorically
 SOAPSTone
 Understand Who Makes an Argument
 Identify and Appeal to the Audience
 Examine Pathos
 Examine Ethos
 Examine Logos
 Examine the Shape and Media (the Mode) of the
Argument:
 Argumentative/Persuasive, Definition,
Classification/Division, Cause/Effect, Narration,
Description, Process/Analysis, Compare/Contrast
The Rhetorical Square
The Elements of Any Rhetorical Situation are These:
The purpose for writing
The audience for whom the writing is
done
The persona or assumed role of the writer
The message or content of the writing
Four Questions for Rhetorical, Analytical Reading
Purpose
Ethos
Identify the physical and measurable
action. What action does the speaker
want the audience to take?
Ethos - How does the speaker establish an
common values with the audience? How
does the speaker create a common ground
for speaker and audience?
Audience
Argument
Pathos—how does the speaker anticipate
and manipulate the audience’s emotional
reaction?
Logos—how is the message presented?
What figurative language? What mode of
discourse (compare/contrast, cause/effect,
classification and division, et al.) does the
speaker employ to convey the message?
Examples of Ethos, Pathos & Logos
Today
 Obama's Victory Speech
 McCain's Concession Speech