Week 4 Preparing for BA 3 Identifying Rhetorical

Week 4: Preparing for BA 3 Identifying Rhetorical Choices and Appeals

Goals for Today �Quiz 1 �Discussion of Reading and Participation Assignment �Understanding Rhetorical Choices v. Rhetorical Appeals �Finding rhetorical choices in a text �Distinguishing relevant choices v. irrelevant ones �Activities: Annotating a text & finding rhetorical choices and appeals in a text

Before we begin �Instructions for BA 3 will be posted tonight �Instructions for Reading 5/Participation Assignment will be posted by the weekend �BA 3 Study Sessions �This evening (Feb. 6) - 6: 00 PM-7: 30 PM in Room 352 �Tuesday, Feb. 11 - 6: 00 PM-7: 30 PM in Room 352 � Note: The study sessions are not at my office. �Reading Quiz �Quiz on Separate File �Discussion about Reading 4 and Participation Assignment

Preparing for BA 3 Identifying Rhetorical Choices and Appeals

What it says v. How it says �Summary and Paraphrase focus on what is said �Rhetorical Analysis focuses on how it is said �Rhetorical Analysis : Analysis of how an author persuades his audience(s) into a specific action through the use of rhetorical choices and their resulting rhetorical appeals. �To figure out how things say, you must fully understand the text, which can only be achieved through critical reading, which requires annotating text. (Activity 1)

Understanding the text �You must be able to distinguish the subject of the text from the point the author makes in the text. �Then, you must decide who will find his point insteresting/relevant. (Audience) �Once you have done that, you must decide what it is the author’s wants to persuade the audience to do by making his point. (Purpose) �Remember that the subject of the text is not the same as the author’s point and that an author’s point is not the same as the purpose.

Audience and Purpose �Authors can sometimes include choices that are not directly related. You must be able to distinguish them from the ones that are. �Audience: Who is the author speaking to? Who would be interested in reading the text? �Usually more than one group. Be neither vague nor overly- specific. �Purpose: What is the author trying to get the audience(s) to do as a result of reading the text? �Pay attention to authors’ use of imperative sentences (commands). They are usually clues of what the author wants from his audience. �Does the rhetorical choice identified help the author achieve his purpose or persuading the audience to take some form of action?

What Rhetorical Choices Are �Rhetorical choices: a use of language that creates a literary effect �Choices are tools. � The author’s strategies on how to use language in uncommon ways to persuade the audience to do something. �Choices disrupt the common ways of using language to make the reader slow down and pay attention � If you see a sentence that is not structured in a common way, you may have found a choice. �Keep your identifications simple and relevant � Do not choose a choice because it sounds “impressive”. It is better to be able to fully explain a simple choice than to struggle with a choice that may not be in the text or that you do not understand

What Rhetorical Choices are Not �Diction, Tone, Structure, Syntax, etc. are not Rhetorical Choices; they are features found in every text �However, you can use “diction” and “tone” as choices as long as you specify what kind of “diction” and “tone” � Ie. “Latinate diction” or “Aggressive Tone” �Ethos(Appeal to Authority, Credentials or Morals) �Pathos (Appeal to Emotions) �Logos (Appeal to Logic) �Rhetorical choices are not the same as appeals. But, what is the difference?

Difference between Choices and Appeals Choice Appeal Cause Effect �Appeals are caused by the use of rhetorical choices �Appeals are, essentially, the audiences’ response to choices. If the use of choice is effective, it will cause a reaction from the audience �In assignments, you must discuss choices first and appeals second �However, you can use appeals to find the rhetorical choices you will discuss.

How is this relevant to the Rhetorical Analysis Essay? �Rhetorical choices and their resulting rhetorical appeals are the focus of a rhetorical analysis. �In the essay’s body paragraphs, you will need to �discuss how the rhetorical choice(s) used by the author affect the audience (in other words, which rhetorical appeal results from using particular choices) �Discuss why those rhetorical choices are effective for a particular section of the audience �Discuss how the use of rhetorical choices and what they appeal to help the author convince the audience to do something �If you cannot identify a rhetorical choice or its rhetorical appeal, you will not be able to analyze how they’re working

Activities Practicing Critical Reading and Identification of Choices and Appeals as they relate to Audience and Purpose

Activity 1: “The Ethnobiologist’s Dilemma” �Class Activity –Understanding & Annotating Text �Distinguish Subject from Author’s Main Point �Identify Audience and Purpose �Who is the author “talking” to? �What does he want from them? �What are some rhetorical choices found in the text? �Are they related to the purpose? �What is their effect on the audience? �Are they effective for the audience? �Do they make the text as a whole effective or ineffective?

Activity 2: The text you have chosen �Individual: 15 minutes � Stephen Budiansky: “Lost in Translation” pp. 238 -244 � Scott Jaschik: “Winning Hearts and Minds on Plagiarism” pp. 261 -266 � Tina Rosenberg: “Everyone Speaks Text Message” pp. 267 -271 �Distinguish Subject from Author’s Main Point �Identify Audience and Purpose � Who is the author “talking” to? � What does he want from them? �What are some rhetorical choices found in the text? � Are they related to the purpose? � What is their effect on the audience? � Are they effective for the audience? � Do they make the text as a whole effective or ineffective?