Rhetoric is:
the art of finding ways to persuade an
audience.
Not just in speeches, but also in essays, political cartoons ,
photographs, and advertisements:
--all considered “texts”
RHETORICAL TRIANGLE
SPEAKER
TEXT
AUDIENCE
SUBJECT
SOAPS- identify these for each
piece of writing:
SUBJECT
OCCASION
AUDIENCE
PURPOSE
SPEAKER
Arguments to:
Convi
nce:
• Arguing to convince leads
audiences toward
conviction, toward arguing
Persua
• Arguing to persuade is to
de:
done to move other from
conviction to action.
that a claim is true or
reasonable orthat an action
is desirable.
A combination of both is often used in
academic arguments.
Other reasons for argument:
• To explore
• To inform
• To make decisions
• To meditate or pray
3 occasions for argument:
1. Forensic: arguments about the past
– What are its concerns?
• What happened in the past?
– What does it look like?
• Court decisions, legal briefs, legislative hearings,
investigative reports, academic studies
2. Deliberative: arguments about
the future
– What are its concerns?
• What should be done in the future?
– What does it look like?
• Proposals, bills, regulations
3.
Epideictic/Ceremonial:
arguments about the
present
– What are its concerns?
• Who or what deserves praise or blame?
– What does it look like?
• Eulogies, graduation speeches, inaugural addresses,
roasts
Assignment:
• In a recent magazine, newspaper, or blog, find three
editorials – one that makes a forensic argument, one a
deliberative argument, and one a ceremonial argument.
Analyze the arguments by asking these questions:
– Who is arguing?
– What purposes are the writers rying to achieve?
– To whom are they directing their arguments?
Then decide of whether the argument’s purposes have been
achieved and how you know.
Three major forms of
argument:
Ethos
• “character”
• Appeals to ethos demonstrate that the
speaker/writer is credible and trustworthy to
speak on a given topic. It is established by
who you are and what you say.
Pathos
• “emotion”
• Appeals to pathos generate emotions (fear,
pity, love, anger, jealousy) that the writer
hopes will lead the audience to accept a claim.
Logos
• “logic”
• Appeals to logos include the presentation of
facts, statistics, credible testimony, examples
or even a narrative or story that embodies a
sound reason in support of an argument.
Assignment:
• Find three advertisements. (You may clip ads
from a magazine, newspaper or online).
• On a separate piece of paper, list the title or brief
description of the ad and explain whether it is an
appeal to ethos, logos, or pathos .
• We will post the ads on a board in class according
to their categories.