Introducing Rhetoric

M. Turner, ELA
What do you
know?
Rhetoric

Aristotle (384–322 b.c.e.) defined

rhetoric as “the faculty of observing in
any given case the available means of
persuasion.”
The Rhetorical Situation

Exigency
Oc a n a C n t

There is a time and place for everything.

You must cognizant of the circumstances,
atmosphere, attitudes, and events.
The Rhetorical Situation

Audience
the listener, viewer, or reader of a text
or performance.
--------------------------------------------

Unintended vs.
Intended
The Rhetorical Situation

Purpose
the goal the speaker wants to achieve
 The Rhetorical Triangle
The speaker is the person or group
who creates a text. Be aware of their
Persona.

The audience is the listener, viewer,

or reader of a text or performance.

The subject is the topic.

All three of these work together in

creating the rhetorical situation.
 There are several ways to appeal to an
audience.

Among them are appeals to ethos, pathos

and logos.
 Ethos
Ethos is a person’s credibility with a given audience.

It can mean having sincerity, authority, expertise, faithful, or any adjective that
describes someone you can trust to do the right thing.
 Pathos
Pathos appeals rely on emotions and feelings to persuade the audience

They are often direct, simple, and very powerful

They may be any emotions: love, fear, patriotism, guilt, hate or joy.
 Logos
Logos appeals rely on the audience’s intelligence to persuade them.

Education causes audiences to be more skeptical of emotional arguments and

more receptive to logos
Authors make rhetorical
choices when writing to
help get their points
across.
 S - Subject: What is the author
writing about?

O - Occasion: What prompted this

the
author to write in the first place?

A - Audience: Who was this written

SOAPS for?

method
P - Purpose: What is the author’s
goal?

S - Strategies: How is the author

trying to convince the audience?