Rhetoric Rhetorical Situation Rhetorical Situation Rhetorical Situations consists

Rhetoric

Rhetorical Situation

Rhetorical Situation • Rhetorical Situations consists of the context of the argument • Consists of: • Exigence (Issue) • Audience • Purpose

Rhetorical Situation: Exigence • Problem, incident, or situation causing the writer to write the piece • What made the author write this?

Rhetorical Situation: Audience • Who is the author writing for? • An audience has either an: • Immediate response • Intermediate response (think about later) • So, which type of response does the author want from the audience?

Rhetorical Situation: Purpose • The author has purpose of the writing based on what he wants the audience to feel. • Why did the author write this piece of work?

Rhetorical Appeals • Author persuades or convinces his audience by making appeals: • Logos = Logic • Ethos = Ethics, Image • Pathos = Emotions (Passion)

Rhetorical Appeals: Logos • Logos is an appeal to logic. Logos is an argument based on facts, evidence and reason. • The central appeal of anything is that it must be logical. • Without logic, nothing that follows is reasonable.

Logos

Ethos • Ethos is an argument based on character. The writer or speaker appeals to the audience’s sense of ethical behavior. • The writer or speaker presents him or herself to the audience as credible, trustworthy, honest and ethical. • Ethos can also be thought of as the role of the writer in the argument, and how credible his/her argument is. • “I am an ethical expert, so believe what I say. ”

Ethos

Pathos • Pathos is an argument based on feelings • An attempt to persuade the reader by causing them to respond to the way an issue/topic makes them feel • Can invoke bias or prejudice • Uses non-logical appeals • Informal language • Pathos can also be thought of as the role of the audience in the argument.

Pathos

Tone • You must understand Logos, Ethos, and Pathos to understand the Tone • Logos, Ethos, and Pathos all contribute to determining the Tone • If you don’t recognize the Tone of the piece, you miss everything that follows

What is Tone? • The writer’s or speaker’s attitude toward a subject, character, or audience • Conveyed through the author’s: • Choice of words (diction) • Word order (syntax) • Detail, imagery, and language (figurative language)

Rhetorical Devices

Rhetorical Devices • Rhetorical devices are techniques writers use to enhance their arguments and make their writing effective.

Rhetorical Devices • Rhetorical Devices are techniques the author uses to persuade or convince the reader and get his point across • Repetition • Parallelism • Rhetorical Question • Argument by Analogy • Loaded Words • Irony

Repetition • Repetition is the repeated use of a word, phrase, or clause more than once for emphasis. • Example: • The curfew law should be repealed—repealed immediately in fairness to the community, the police and the students.

Parallelism • Parallelism is the repetition of the same grammatical form to express equal, or parallel ideas. A noun is paired with a noun, a phrase with a phrase, a clause with a clause, and so on. • Example: • This week, the Riverdale High School student council had to cancel its annual charity Bowl-a. Thon—not because of a lack of interest, not because of a shortage of funds, and not because of a failure to sign up enough enthusiastic volunteers.

Rhetorical Question • Rhetorical questions are questions that are not meant to be answered but are asked for effect. • Example: • Should students who are out late because of such events be jailed or fined? • Should such school activities be dropped?

Argument by Analogy • Argument by analogy draws a parallel between basically dissimilar events or situations. • Example: • If the curfew law aims to reduce youth crime, it mistakenly targets the wrong hours. It is much like shutting the corral gate after the horses have escaped.

Loaded Words (Diction) • Loaded words carry strong emotional associations. • Examples: • Our baseball team won the tournament, pulverizing the Brantley County Herons in the final.

Irony • Irony: expression of something which is contrary to the intended meaning; the words say one thing but mean another. *Yet Brutus says he was ambitious; And Brutus is an honourable man. -- Shakespeare's Mark Antony in "Julius Caesar"