ENG/IMS 224: Digital Writing and Rhetoric / Blankenship
Prompts for Day 2 Readings: Introduction to Rhetorical Analysis
“Rhetoric,” wikipedia
How do the collaborative authors of this piece define rhetoric?
They define rhetoric as “the art of discourse,” meaning an art that aims to help
writers and speakers who are trying to inform, persuade, or motivate an audience in
for a specific reason or situation. There are three main parts to rhetoric, egos, pathos,
and logos, all of which help to inform, persuade, or motivate. Classifying rhetoric can
be done with the five canons of rhetoric, invention, arrangement, style, memory, and
delivery.
Who is considered the central figure in Western rhetoric and how did this person
define rhetoric?
Aristotle is one of the central figures in Western rhetoric and his views on the topic
greatly impacted it. He defines it as “the faculty of observing in any given case the
available means of persuasion,” meaning that he believed that the purpose of
rhetoric is persuasion and that it can is not limited to one specific area of learning.
Presenting the ideas of egos, pathos, and logos, extended rhetoric and gave more
meaning to the topic.
What are the central “five canons” of Western rhetoric? What do they mean and why
are they important?
The five canons of Western rhetoric are invention, arrangement, style, memory, and
delivery. Invention is the process of developing arguments, style is determining how
to present the arguments, arrangement is organizing the argument to create an
extreme effect, delivery is how the argument is giving, including gestures,
pronunciation, tone and pace, and finally memory is the processes used to learn and
ENG/IMS 224: Digital Writing and Rhetoric / Blankenship
memorize the speech. These five things are important because the act as a guide to
create a persuasive message and help to determine all aspects of the work.
Given Aristotle’s definition of rhetoric, why is rhetoric applicable to all fields of
learning, not just politics?
Aristotle claims that rhetoric is “the art of discovering all available means of
persuasion.” Persuasion is found in every aspect of learning, meaning that rhetoric
can be applied to far more than just politics.
Laura Bolin Carroll’s “Backpacks vs Briefcases: Steps toward Rhetorical Analysis”
How does Bolin Carroll define rhetoric?
Bolin Carroll defines rhetoric to be “the way we use language and images to
persuade.” She also talks about the many ways that it is used in our everyday lives.
Define Bitzer’s “rhetorical situation”. What are its three components and their
meaning(s)? Why is this concept important for digital composing?
The rhetorical situation is Bitzer’s argument that there are three parts that are
necessary to understand the context of a rhetorical moment. These three
components are exigence, audience and constraints. Exigence is the condition that
invites the response. It is the problem that the rhetoric is responding to. It can be
simple or complex, but is essential in helping to understand what the rhetoric is
trying to accomplish. Audience are those who are the receivers of the message,
intended or unintended. They are the ones that will actually help the situation and
can effect every aspect of the rhetoric, such as language, medium, formality, and
much more. The constraints of rhetoric are things that limit the way the rhetoric or
message is being shared. It can be things like beliefs, facts, interests, motives, etc.,
varying in complexity. This concept is important for digital composing because they
are all things that need to be kept in mind to produce effective rhetoric. Without
taking these three things into consideration, the chances of the rhetoric making the
point of the author drastically decreases.
ENG/IMS 224: Digital Writing and Rhetoric / Blankenship
List the components of Aristotle’s “rhetorical triangle” and give definitions of each.
The three components of the “rhetorical triangle” are reader, writer, and purpose. The
reader is acts as the audience; they are the ones “consuming” the rhetoric. The writer
is the one who produces the rhetoric. They are the ones who have knowledge of the
topic. The purpose is the motivation or reason behind the discourse.
Why is the rhetorical triangle concept important in this class and your future
endeavors?
It is important to understand this concept in the class and in the future endeavors
because understanding how rhetoric works allows insight to many meanings and
messages. It will help see the meaning and decisions behind the rhetoric that is used
and help to not be persuaded as easily.
Describe a situation recently where you found this concept important, maybe without
thinking consciously about using Aristotle’s principles.
A recent situation where I found the concept important was the commercial aired
during my favorite TV show. The commercials were mostly for home and kitchen
products. They all looked like “cool gadgets” that may make life easier, but as I was
watching the commercial, I felt no inclination to buy them. I understood that I did
not need them and the ad to not fully persuade me to spend the money on them. I
did not believe that they would work as well as they did on TV, and was not
convinced the offer was worth it.
Why is the rhetorical context of a rhetorical piece [ad/commercial/video/any
argument] important when you’re doing a rhetorical analysis?
Rhetorical context is important when doing a rhetorical analysis because the context
influences effectiveness. For example, putting a gym membership ad in a magazine
such as Self would be effective. It fits within the parameters of the magazine topic
and those reading it are most likely interested in something of the sort. However, if
the same ad were to be placed in a magazine such as Teen Vogue, the chances of
the reader being persuaded by it are far less likely. If the rhetoric does not match the
audience or is not within a specific context, it is not nearly as effective. It is important
to keep these things in mind when doing a rhetorical analysis because without
ENG/IMS 224: Digital Writing and Rhetoric / Blankenship
remembering the context and rhetorical situation it is far more difficult to judge the
persuasiveness of the rhetorical piece.