Writing Notes #3
What Is Rhetoric? Part One
How to develop an argument and
explain your ideas and evidence to
the reader.
The definition
Rhetoric: Our textbook defines rhetoric as "the
study and the art of using language effectively."
Rhetoric encompasses the art of analyzing the
language choices authors and speakers use to
create meaningful and persuasive texts, texts
worth reading or hearing.
Quotes on Rhetoric
Definition Con’t.
Furthermore, rhetoric encompasses using
techniques to create meaningful texts. Simply
stated, rhetoric makes persuasion possible.
Ex: A simple persuasive statement using no
rhetorical strategies- “I like dogs, and you should
like dogs.”
Now with rhetorical strategies- “Dogs are great,
and compared to alligators, they are the most
faithful to their human owners.”
The Rhetorical Transaction/Triangle
According to Aristotle, the rhetorical transaction
consists of three basic components:
logos - the author's ability to use logic and
reason in the text.
ethos - the author’s credibility regarding the
ability to trust them with information.
pathos - the author's ability to appeal to a
specified audience through the text.
Rhetorical Transaction/Triangle Con’t.
These components are suggested by the
rhetorical triangle or Aristotelian triad:
Ethos/Author
This part of the Rhetorical Triangle deals with how well
an audience is willing to trust the author before even
entering discourse.
How can an audience pre-judge an author’s work, or
persuasive argument presented in a work?
Past work, education, and noted achievements are some
examples of how a writer’s fact-based reputation can
influence an audience.
People may be willing to read an article on flu prevention
if the author is a documented doctor. But an author
without the same credentials may be shunned by readers.
Ethos/Author
So how, as a student, can I apply this to my writing?
You have probably experienced writing prompts where you were asked to write about
a topic that you had just learned about from an accompanying article. What level of
background knowledge do teachers actually expect students to have?
Most teachers have this expectation, for students to know little about some random
writing prompts. What they are looking for, future audiences in further education or
some careers included, is a respect for general facts and humility towards the
audience’s own knowledge.
This includes calling the sky red or stating, “Everyone knows unicorns smell funny.” Or
addressing the audience disrespectfully.
So remember to:
-Know your audience (who are you writing to? Why are you writing to this
particular audience?)
-Respect your audience (this includes the audience’s ability to have an
opposing opinion, and to uphold the truth and not pursue false or
unsupportable information)
Logos/Word
Logos refers to how an author uses reasoning skills to construct
an argument. Simply stated, authors should develop an
argument that makes logical sense.
So remember to:
-Have a clearly stated purpose that informs the reader (thesis
statement, which can be stated directly, or implied indirectly).
-Follow through on that clearly stated purpose with a response
that fulfills the goals of the purpose.
-Put together the different parts of the argument in a logical
order (paragraphs use transitions, do not disrupt the ability of
the reader to read and understand the argument).
Pathos/Audience
Aristotle’s last main point regarding rhetoric is
pathos, or the ability of the writer to engage the
reader on an emotional level in order to sway the
reader’s opinion.
This item can refer to the creative language or
imagery that the writer uses to engage the reader.
The writer could also make emotional pleas or calls
for action that ask the reader to consider
emotional aspects of the writer’s theme.
Putting the three together…
While there is much more to discuss with rhetoric, we must address the final question
of how to use knowledge of the rhetorical triangle’s three points in unity.
Certain tasks will allow the reader to show qualities each triangle point at the same
point. If a writer uses researched information from credible sources, then the
audience will be more willing to consider writer’s ideas while presenting logical data.
If a writer uses a paragraph structure that orders the presentation of sub-topics and
support in a creative and readable format, then the reader will be more engaged with
the writing while addressing the logical structure of the argument.
If you want to persuade your audience (or at least convince
your teacher that you deserve a passing grade):
-Use factual information and standard grammar
-Make sense (unless your point is to not make sense)
-Respect your audience