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Vernese Durolin

Professor Gardiakos

ENC1101

26 January 2021

Reading Response for Doug Downs

When one asks what does the word rhetoric means to you what do you say? Do you base

your response on what you’ve read off of Wikipedia? Or do you respond with a personal

meaning based on past experience? The word rhetoric holds many meanings behind it. To some,

it can mean one thing, while to others it can mean something divergent from it. Doug Downs,

one of the editors of ​Writing about Writing, ​creates a guide to the word rhetoric for readers who

have recently been exposed to the word and craves an in-depth meaning. “Rhetoric: Making

Sense of Human Interaction and Meaning-Making” written by Doug Downs, Downs compares

the word rhetoric to gravity. “Consider the comparison: The term rhetoric acts like the term

gravity...refers to a set of principles that explain and predict how people make meaning and

interact” (371). In other words, any time we are connecting with others and manufacturing

meanings to a specific word or phrase, also known as ‘being human’, we are making use of the

word rhetoric. In spite of this, throughout Downs’ article, he discusses different aspects of the

rhetorical theory that plays a major role in the overall meaning of rhetoric. Aspects such as

motivation, ecology, the five canons, and many more. He goes into depth to unfold how each

different concept partakes in how humans make decisions, how they make meaning of things,

and how people know what they know.

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Every work and interaction with others is followed by some sort of motivation behind it,

as Downs explains. He uses grant writers, Maria, Ian, and Jayla at Reading Rivers to demonstrate

how motivation works in the case of rhetoric. Down states, “Rhetoric is always motivated.

People in rhetorical interactions-writers and readers- are always having those interactions for

particular reasons that relate to what they want or need from the interaction” (377). The current

topic in the world that relates to this concept is the newly elected president of the United States

of America, Joe Biden. Before Biden was officially elected president in 2021, he made

appearances and address different types of speeches to the people and his followers, having

numerous interactions with others. For his final speech before Election Day, Biden goes out to

publicly thank everyone who has supported him since the beginning. On November 2, 2020, at a

rally in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, Biden states, “Tomorrow is the beginning of a new day,

tomorrow we can put an end to a presidency that has left hard-working Americans out in the

cold...Tomorrow we can put an end to a presidency that has failed to protect this nation.”Aside

from this, what was Bidens’ motivate for delivering this final speech before election day? What

did Biden want or need from this interaction with the people of Pennsylvania? It is obvious that

his main motive was to win the presidency, which he did, however, the motives in this rhetorical

interaction can be seen as complex, for many of Biden’s motives are yet to be revealed and

exposed. The motives of the listeners during this speech are yet to be known also. Nevertheless,

Bidens’ purpose and desire as well as the listeners’ purpose and desire all come into play to

understand all of the motives playing into these given interactions.

Identification is described to be when writers attempt to get their readers and/or listeners

to see, feel, believe, and think what the writers themselves do. Being able to identify with the

writer through the state of credibility, also known as ‘ethos’, helps the reader not only connect
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with the writer but is able to identify themselves within the writer, mirroring their own values in

a sense of character (Downs 387-388). As Downs continues to explain this concept, he again

uses grant writer, Jayla, and Maria to further demonstrate the meaning of this rhetorical aspect.

As both Jayla and Maria seek to use their grant application to build identification with their

reviewers. This concept can be applied to any commercial with a celebrity. For example, a sprite

commercial shows famous rapper Drake drinking sprite while in the booth but removes his

headphones and tells the producer he is “not feeling it”. After taking a sip from a sprite bottle it

is seen that Drakes becomes more energized and continues on with the song. In advertisement

ethos is often illustrated through celebrity endorsement because people admire celebrities, the

celebrities’ ethos is getting people to buy the products they are advertising.

When it comes to making any text or taking part in any type of communication, five

rhetorical arts, or canons have been identified in creating these. Invention, Arrangement, Style,

memory, and Delivery, have been discovered by Aristotle when describing writing on paper.

Applying this concept to another topic of discussion would be Martin Luter King Jr.​ I Have a

Dream​ speech. Kings’ composition can be seen to have gone through the five stages of writing.

He composes his speech in the first three stages, invention, arrangement, and style. King layers

out his speech in a very specific way that catches the audience’s attention. He then moves on to

inscribing his speech with memory, and delivery. Not only is he able to catch the audience’s

attention, but King is also able to sympathize and connect with the audience.
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Works Cited

Downs, Doug. “Rhetoric: Making Sense of Human Interaction and Meaning-Making.”

Writing About Writing​, edited by Elizabeth Wardle and Doug Downs, Bedford/St. Martin’s,

2014, pp.

369-392. Print.

King, Martin L., Jr. "I Have a Dream." Speech. Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D. C. 28 Aug.

1963.

“Joe Biden Makes Final Speech before Election Day 2020| FULL REMARKS.” YouTube, 2020,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nZHW4-tlug

“Drake’s Sprite ‘Spark’ Commercial- Hip Hop Endorsement .” YouTube, 2016

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nBxcMImubk
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