RHETORICAL KEYSTONE
RHETORICAL TRIANGLE
These choices revolve around the following:
Subject
Audience Speaker (point of view and tone)
INVENTION
(MEANS of persuasion)
Ethos
Logos
Pathos
Modes of Discourse
(METHOD a writer uses to have a conversation with a particular
reader/audience)
Narration,
Exposition,
Argument/Persuasion,
Description
NEAD
Rhetorical Devices
(PATTERN of development for achieving a specific purpose)
Example
Definition
Cause/Effect
Narration
Compare/Contrast
Argument
Division/Classification
Description
Process Analysis
STYLE
(FIGURES OF SPEECH, Tropes and Schemes, the writer employs to aid in
developing the strategy)
The most used and referred to figures of speech include:
Alliteration
Metonymy
Oxymoron
Hyperbole
Synecdoche
Understatement
Allusion
Rhetorical question
Litotes
Metaphor
Onomatopoeia
Epithet
Personification
Simile
Paradox
Analogy
Apostrophe
ARRANGEMENT
(How the essay and its individual paragraphs or sections are arranged)
Purpose
Effect
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Rhetorical Triangle
 Be able to identify the subject.
 Be able to identify the audience and their characteristics.
 Be able to recognize and discuss point of view (the vantage point from which the selection is presented.
 Be able to identify different points of view: first person, third person, objective, subjective, omniscient,
limited omniscient.
 Be able to analyze the effect of the point of view: How does it affect the presentation of the selection? How
does it affect the purpose?
 Identify tone (the author’s attitude toward the subject): melancholic, serious, somber, convincing, angry,
ironic, harsh, humorous, nostalgic, and so on.
 Expound on the relevance of tone for the author’s purpose and the effect of the tone.
Invention or Appeals
 Be aware of argumentative appeals (ethos, logs, pathos, and concession and refutation of opponent’s
positions), as well as any obvious logical fallacies, and the effect of how the author manipulates
information.
Strategies (Patterns of development)
 Recognize and identify the strategies.
 Understand that narration and description are modes whose primary purpose is stirring the reader's
emotions.
 Understand that process, cause/effect, comparison/contrast, exemplification, definition, and
classification/division aim at helping readers understand a subject, exploring its functions, causes,
consequences, relationships to other subjects, meaning, or nature.
 Understand that argumentative and persuasive essays seek to change readers' attitudes or actions with
regard to specific subjects.
 Describe the purpose and connect the effect to ethos logos and pathos.
Style
Tropes:
 Understanding figurative language (language that is not literal but is used to create images and make
connections) such as simile, metaphor, personification, hyperbole, and so on.
 Analyze the effect of the figurative language in achieving the author’s purpose. What point is
emphasized by the use of the figurative language and how effective is it? How does it advance the
author’s purpose or affect the main point?
 Identify the type of diction (word choice): e.g., formal, informal, colloquial, jargon, slang, dialect,
pretentious, archaic, concise, erudite, fluid, abstract, concrete, denotative, connotative.
 Describe the effect of diction: what effect is created by specific word choices and how this relates to
the author’s purpose and primary point.
Schemes:
 Identify syntactical patterns: sentence types such as periodic, cumulative, inverted order, simple,
compound, complex, compound-complex, balanced, varied, short, choppy, emphatic, long, parallel.
 Be aware of the syntax (sentence structure) and expound on the effect of syntactical patterns.
Arrangement (Organization)


Be able to recognize and discuss how the essay and its individual paragraphs or sections are arranged.
Be able to analyze how a writer structures the argument in relation to his or her intended purpose and
effect.
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ESSAY DEVELOPMENT
Traditional four modes of discourse: exposition, argument/persuasion, narration, and description
Exposition is the most commonly used of the traditional forms of discourse. Expository writing sets out to
present ideas in a clear, straightforward, objective manner. The six most commonly used rhetorical
strategies in expository writing are classification/division, example, definition, process analysis, cause
and effect, and comparison and contrast.
Argument. The attempt to distinguish between argument and persuasion is sometimes made by reference
to means (Argument makes appeals to reason: persuasion, to emotions); sometimes to ends (Argument
causes someone to change his mind; persuasion moves him to action). These distinctions, however, are
more academic than functional, for in practice argument and persuasion are not discrete entities. Yet the
proof in argument rests largely upon the objectivity of evidence; the proof in persuasion, upon the
heightened use of language.
Narration tells a story or presents a sequence of events which occurred over a period of time. If the story
is significant in itself, it is narration. If a story illustrates a point in exposition or argument, it may be
called illustrative narration. If a story outlines a process step-by-step, it is designated as expository
narration.
Description presents factual information about an object or experience (objective description) or reports
an impression or evaluation of an object or experience (subjective description). Sometimes descriptive
essays are seen in too simplistic terms as just essays which describe things. However, descriptive essays
are organized around a dominant impression, usually personal, about some subject. The essay develops
through the accumulation of concrete and specific details revealing the subject as it is seen (felt,
experienced) by the narrator. Descriptive essays often conclude by emphasizing the personal value and
importance of the subject to the narrator. If the subject is presented with sufficient detail and emotional
expression, readers are drawn into and empathize with the narrator's perception of the subject. A key
means of identifying whether an essay is narrative or descriptive is to determine if a significant change
has taken place between the beginning of the essay and the end as a result of a conflict. If so, the essay is
narrative. If there is no conflict and no change from the beginning of the essay until the end, then the
essay is descriptive.
These methods of development help the essayist shape ideas. The writer also often uses figurative
language (similes, metaphors, personification, etc.), literary and historical allusions, and other rhetorical
devices to add interest and richness to a selection.
CONVENTIONAL RHETORICAL STRATEGIES OF THE ESSAY
Cause and Effect: a seemingly simple method of development in which either the cause of a particular
effect or the effects of a particular cause are investigated. However, because of the philosophical
difficulties surrounding causality, the writer should be cautious in ascribing causes. For the explanation
of most processes, it is probably safer to proceed in a sequential order, using transitional words to indicate
the order of the process.
Classification/Division: the division of a whole into the classes that comprise it; or the placement of a
subject into the whole of which it is a part. Parts may be described technically and factually or
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impressionistically and selectively. In the latter method the parts are organized in relation to a single
governing idea so that the mutually supporting function of each of the components in the total structure
becomes clear to the reader. Parts may be explained in terms of their characteristic function. Analysis
may also be concerned with the connection of events; given this condition or series of conditions, what
effects will follow.
Comparison and Contrast: the presentation of a subject by indicating similarities between two or more
things (comparison); by indicating differences (contrast). The basic elements in a comparative process,
then, are (1) the terms of the comparison, or the various objects compared, and (2) the points of likeness
or difference between the objects compared. Often comparison and contrast are used in definition and
other methods of exposition.
Definition: in logic, the placing of the word to be defined in a general class and then showing how it
differs from other members of the class; in rhetoric, the meaningful extension (usually enriched by the use
of detail, concrete illustration, anecdote, metaphor) of a logical definition in order to answer fully, clearly,
and often implicitly the question, “What is ---?”
Example/illustration: The use of illustrations, examples, and specific instances adds to the concreteness
and vividness of writing. Expository essays explain the significance, importance, relevance, or value of
some topic. An illustration or example essay does this by providing examples in support of a thesis. The
thesis provides the reason for discussing the subject, its significance, importance, relevance, or value. The
examples illustrate that significance, importance, relevance, or value. Examples, therefore, provide the
evidence that "proves" the thesis.
In order for examples to be effective in an illustration or example essay, the examples chosen must be
representative and accurate; that is, they must illustrate what is generally true and not what may be true
in a particular situation. For instance, Josh and Trevor both normally wear caps to class. If at the end of
the semester, they were the only two students to receive A's, that would not be convincing examples to
prove that all students who wear caps make A's. Most people would presume that wearing caps was
merely coincidental to making A's. Examples are most effective when they represent the experiences of
readers.
Secondly, illustration/example essays are convincing when the examples given provide both breadth and
depth. A person who only has depth of understanding but who fails to see the broader implications is a
narrow-minded thinker. A person who only sees the broad perspective but who lacks a deeper
understanding is a shallow or superficial thinker. In the same way, an essay which does not include two or
three examples discussed in depth seems shallow, but an essay which doesn't also offer a variety of
examples may fail to convince the reader that the detailed examples are representative and not just special
cases. Qualitative examples provide depth, and quantitative examples provide breadth.
Qualitative Examples
Extended examples/anecdotes: An anecdote is a brief entertaining narrative or a tightly written, concise
account of a personal experience unconnected to any larger narrative (a short, separate personal
narrative). Often essays use long examples to provide depth to an essay and to make clear to the reader
what is being explained. Extended examples are usually developed in one or more paragraphs. Sometimes
an entire essay can center around a single anecdotal example.
Analogies: An analogy is an extended comparison, usually between two things which are very different
but share a common quality. The analogy uses this common characteristic which can easily be seen in the
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first item of the comparison to explain and illustrate the same characteristic or quality in the second item.
For instance, in an essay titled "Clipper Ship Mom," the ability of a clipper ship to weather difficult
storms is uses as an analogy for the way in which the mother (who is the focus of the essay) is able to
"weather the storms of her life." This particular analogy serves, then, as an extended metaphor.
Allusions: Allusions are references to things outside of the essay. Allusions can be references to historical
events or people, literary works or characters, Biblical stories or characters, or cultural situations or
features. Like analogies, these are used to illustrate some characteristic or quality or to expand the context
of some discussion by showing its similarities with the allusion.
Hypothetical Examples: Sometimes an actual example may not be readily available to illustrate a point. In
that case, writers may invent hypothetical examples as illustration. In other words, hypothetical examples
are examples constructed to illustrate a point. They are convincing and effective if and when they appear
reasonable. Oftentimes hypothetical examples are used in scientific writing as a way of generalizing the
qualities of a variety of specific cases.
When using qualitative examples, only include those details in the story which are relevant to the thesis.
However, do not skew the example to fit the thesis. Maintain intellectual integrity by only using examples
which are relevant to the thesis. Don't twist an example to "make it fit" the thesis.
Quantitative Examples
Descriptive examples: These examples usually begin with a brief statement of explanation followed by a
few lines of description. Descriptive examples are usually developed in several sentences or in a brief
paragraph.
Lists: Oftentimes example essays include short lists of examples. These lists are most effective when they
contain items which, although briefly mentioned, contain vivid details. Lists give an essay breadth by
citing large numbers of relevant examples.
Confusion with other modes
Just because an essay uses examples, that does not make it an illustration/example essay. To be an
illustration/example essay, the essay must develop a topic which is illuminated or illustrated by examples,
that is, the examples reveal the significance, importance, relevance, or value of the topic. Narrative,
descriptive, classification/division, cause/effect, definition, and argument essays all routinely use
examples to achieve their purposes. But in those cases, the examples are used as strategies within the
essay rather than as the principle organizing pattern of the essay.
From The Essay by Michael F. Shugrue; Macmillan Publishing Col., Inc. New York.1981.
Facilitator
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