Rhetorical Strategies For A.P.

1. Rhetorical Strategies For A.P.

2. Ethos (Credibility) • Convincing by the character of the author. • We tend to believe people whom we respect. One of the central problems of argumentation is to project an impression to the reader that you are someone worth listening to, in other words making yourself as author into an authority on the subject of the paper, as well as someone who is likable and worthy of respect.

3. Pathos (Emotion) • Persuading by appealing to the reader's emotions. • We can look at texts ranging from classic essays to contemporary advertisements to see how pathos, emotional appeals, are used to persuade. Language choice affects the audience's emotional response, and emotional appeal can effectively be used to enhance an argument.

4. Logos (Logic) • Persuading by the use of reasoning. • This will be the most important technique we will study, and Aristotle's favorite. We'll look at deductive and inductive reasoning, and discuss what makes an effective, persuasive reason to back up your claims. Giving reasons is the heart of argumentation, and cannot be emphasized enough.

5. Anaphora • Repetition of the same word or group of words at the beginning of successive clauses, sentences, or lines. • Example: “This royal throne of kings, this sceptred isle, This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars, This other Eden, demi-paradise,This fortress built by Nature for herselfAgainst infection and the hand of war,This happy breed of men, this little world,This precious stone set in the silver sea…” -John of Gaunt in Shakespeare's Richard II (2.1.40-51; 57-60)

6. Anastrophe • Inversion: Anastrophe occurs whenever normal syntactical arrangement is violated for emphasis: • :The verb before the subject-noun (normal syntax follows the order subject-noun, verb):Glistens the dew upon the morning grass. (Normally: The dew glistens upon the morning grass) • Adjective following the noun it modifies (normal syntax is adjective, noun):She looked at the sky dark and menacing. (Normally: She looked at the dark and menacing sky) • The object preceding its verb (normal syntax is verb followed by its object):Troubles, everybody's got. (Normally: Everybody's got troubles)

7. Antithesis • Juxtaposition of contrasting words or ideas (often, although not always, in parallel structure). • "It has been my experience that folks who have no vices have very few virtues." -Abraham Lincoln” • It can't be wrong if it feels so right” -Debbie Boone

8. Chiasmus 1.Repetition of ideas in inverted order 2.Repetition of grammatical structures in inverted order When the going gets tough, the tough get going. Woe unto them that call evilgood, and goodevil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! -Isaiah 5:20

9. Conceit • An extended metaphor. Popular during the Renaissance and typical of John Donne or John Milton. • Marke but this flea, and marke in this, How little that which thou deny'st me is; Me it suck'd first, and now sucks thee, And in this flea our two bloods mingled bee; Confesse it, this cannot be said A sinne, or shame, or losse of maidenhead, Yet this enjoyes before it wooe, And pamper'd swells with one blood made of two, And this, alas, is more than wee would doe. -- “The Flea” John Donne

10. Enthymeme • The informal method of reasoning typical of rhetorical discourse. The enthymeme is sometimes defined as a "truncated syllogism" since either the major or minor premise found in that more formal method of reasoning is left implied. • We cannot trust this man, for he has perjured himself in the past.
In this enthymeme, the major premise of the complete syllogism is missing: Those who perjure themselves cannot be trusted. This man has perjured himself in the past. This man is not to be trusted.

11. Idiom • A use of words, a grammatic construction peculiar to a given language that can not be construction. “To carry out…”

12. Litotes Deliberate understatement, especially when expressing a thought by denying its opposite. “She was not unmindful”

13. Polysyndenton • Employing many conjunctions between clauses, often slowing the tempo or rhythm. • I said, "Who killed him?" and he said, "I don't know who killed him but he's dead all right," and it was dark and there was water standing in the street and no lights and windows broke and boats all up in the town and trees blown down and everything all blown and I got a skiff and went out and found my boat where I had her inside Mango Key and she was all right only she was full of water.” --Ernest Hemingway, "After the Storm."

14. Parallelism • Similarity of structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases, or clauses. parallelism of words:She tried to make her pastry fluffy, sweet, and delicate. parallelism of phrases:Singing a song or writing a poem is joyous. parallelism of clauses:Perch are inexpensive; cod are cheap; trout are abundant; but salmon are best.

15. Metonymy • Reference to something or someone by naming one of its attributes. Example The pen is mightier than the swordThe pen is an attribute of thoughts that are written with a pen; the sword is an attribute of military action We await word from the crown. I'm told he's gone so far as to give her a diamond ring. The IRS is auditing me? Great. All I need is a couple of suits arriving at my door.

16. Synechdoche • A whole is represented by naming one of its parts (genus named for species), or vice versa (species named for genus). Examples The rustler bragged he'd absconded with five hundred head of longhorns.Both "head" and "longhorns" are parts of cattle that represent them as wholes Listen, you've got to come take a look at my new set of wheels.
One refers to a vehicle in terms of some of its parts, "wheels"” He shall think differently," the musketeer threatened, "when he feels the point of my steel."A sword, the species, is represented by referring to its genus, "steel"