This document provides an introduction to rhetoric by defining it as the observation of means of persuasion and the power to appeal to an audience. It outlines the rhetorical situation including occasion, context and purpose. The rhetorical triangle includes persona, thesis, and bias. Effective rhetoric uses ethos by establishing credibility, logos through logical arguments, and pathos by appealing to emotions. The classical model of rhetoric includes an exordium, narration, confirmation, refutation, and peroration. Patterns of development in rhetoric include narration, description, process analysis, examples, comparison/contrast, classification, definition, and cause and effect.
This document provides an introduction to rhetoric by defining it as the observation of means of persuasion and the power to appeal to an audience. It outlines the rhetorical situation including occasion, context and purpose. The rhetorical triangle includes persona, thesis, and bias. Effective rhetoric uses ethos by establishing credibility, logos through logical arguments, and pathos by appealing to emotions. The classical model of rhetoric includes an exordium, narration, confirmation, refutation, and peroration. Patterns of development in rhetoric include narration, description, process analysis, examples, comparison/contrast, classification, definition, and cause and effect.
This document provides an introduction to rhetoric by defining it as the observation of means of persuasion and the power to appeal to an audience. It outlines the rhetorical situation including occasion, context and purpose. The rhetorical triangle includes persona, thesis, and bias. Effective rhetoric uses ethos by establishing credibility, logos through logical arguments, and pathos by appealing to emotions. The classical model of rhetoric includes an exordium, narration, confirmation, refutation, and peroration. Patterns of development in rhetoric include narration, description, process analysis, examples, comparison/contrast, classification, definition, and cause and effect.
• often used as a synonym for deceit, trickery or manipulation;
• Aristotle: “the faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion” • The power to appeal to an audience • The rhetorical situation: occasion = the time and place the speech was written or spoken; context = circumstances, atmosphere, attitudes; purpose = the goal the speaker wants to achieve; The Rhetorical Triangle (Aristotle) • Persona = the mask of the speaker; • Thesis = the main argument of the speech; • Bias = prejudiced points of view;
Ethos, Pathos, Logos
• Ethos = appeal to character to prove credibility and trustworthiness;
(often to emphasize shared values between speaker and audience) • Logos = appeal to reason (clear and logical thesis, details, examples, facts, statistical data, expert testimony, defining the terms and explaining connections, concession and refutation etc.) • Pathos = appeal to emotions (1st persona narration, figurative languages, personal anecdotes, humor) – propagandistic, polemical The Classical Model 1. Exordium (Introduction) 2. Narratio (narration) – factual information 3. Confirmatio – development of proof 4. Refutatio – addresses a counterargument 5. Peroratio – conclusion Patterns of Development • Narration – recounting a series of events • Description – specific details about how something looks, smells, tastes, feels and sounds • Process analysis – explains how something works • Example – specific cases in which the speaker’s claim is true • Comparison and contrast – highlighting similarities and differences • Classification – separating into categories • Definition - explaining the meaning of a term or a situation • Cause and effect – foregrounding a causality