Wednesday 1/23/13

1. Wednesday 1/23/13 • Copy down HW • Drill: Based on this quote, what do you think rhetoric is? Make sure you explain what Plato means. • “Rhetoric is the art of enchanting the soul.” ~Plato

2. Rhetoric • Rhetoric: The art of speaking or writing effectively as a means of communication or persuasion • Plato:  “Rhetoric is the art of enchanting the soul.” • Aristotle: Rhetoric is "the faculty of discovering in any particular case all of the available means of persuasion."

3. Why Study Rhetoric? • Using rhetoric will make your arguments (written and verbal) stronger • You will be able to analyze any argument that is presented to you (advertisements, politicians, essays etc.) for rhetorical strategies used- see how their rhetorical strategies makes their argument stronger • Rhetoric is very powerful- people can sometimes gain power simply by how good of an orator (public speaker) they are. You need to be able to think for yourself- not be persuaded by strong rhetoric. You need to be able to look past rhetoric in some situations.

4. Rhetoric • Whenever you see an argument (written or verbal) or see an advertisement or commercial, you must ask yourself: • Is this persuasive? What are they trying to get me to do or think? • Commercials are probably the most common use of rhetoric and persuasion

5. Rhetorical Devices- techniques for persuasion • Allusion • Analogy • Anecdote • Negative Definition • Parallel Structure • Repetition • Rhetorical Question • Figurative Language • Bandwagon • Metonymy • Unusual Word Order • Conceit • Climatic Word Order

6. Allusion • Allusion: a reference to a person, place, or thing believed to be familiar to the audience • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcz_gVaEy-s • Why make an allusion to Greek gods and goddesses?

7. Analogy • Analogy: a comparison made between two things to show the similarities between them • Example: "Just as motor oil is important to the proper maintenance of your car's engine, XYZ vitamins are vital to your body's health." • Source: http://www.allbusiness.com/glossaries/analogy-advertising/4962054-1.html#ixzz2I0668hE0

8. Anecdote • Anecdote: a short story to help get your point across

9. Negative Definition • Negative Definition: when you explain what something is NOT instead of explaining what it IS • Mac computers are NOT for stodgy, old business men. • Why does that make you want to buy a Mac?

10. Parallel Structure • Listing items in a series in the same format or using the same sentence structure over and over • This creates a rhythm and highlights the items you are listing by repeating the format over and over • This list of grievances sounds like continuous hammering (against the king) because of the parallel structure • He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good. He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance…. He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, …. He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures. He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly…

11. Repetition • Repetition: Using the same word or phrase over and over again for emphasis • We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender. • Winston Churchill • Does the repetition of “we shall” make you want to join him and feel a part of the group?

12. Rhetorical Question • Rhetorical Question: A question you don’t actually want your audience to answer- you just want them to think about it • “And Ain’t I a Woman?”

13. Figurative Language • Figurative language is often used by writers to heighten the emotional connections readers make to the subject. • Emily Dickinson: “My life had stood—a loaded gun • Provokes readers’ reactions of fear or dread as they begin to read.

14. Bandwagon • an attempt to strengthen an argument by convincing the audience that accepting the writer’s or speaker’s view will put them on the popular or apparently winning side

15. Metonymy • using a part to name the whole, or using the name of one thing for that of another associated with it • Example: Calling the king, “the throne” or “the crown;” referring to the President as “The White House”

16. Unusual Word Order • Writer deliberately inverts word order for emphasis • Example: President Kennedy- “Ask not what the country can do for you.” • It helps the phrase to stick in your mind and be memorable

17. Climatic Word Order • Organizing events, ideas, or something else in an order that starts out with least important parts of the story and ends in a "climax" – blood, sweat, and tears

18. Rhetorical Appeals • In addition to using rhetorical devices, someone can use 3 different “appeals” to their audience • What does “appeal” mean?

19. Appeals • Appeal to: • Ethos • Logos • Pathos

20. Appeal to Logos • This is when you appeal to a reader’s sense of logic. • You offer clear, reasonable premises andproofs, and develop ideas with appropriate details • You rely on the audience’s intelligence to persuade them • Logos= Logic

22. Appeal to Ethos • You appeal to the audience’s ethos when you demonstrate that you are credible, good-willed, and knowledgeable about your subjects • Ethos relies on a speaker’s credibility with an audience- we want to listen to them because they are authoritative, popular, successful, smart etc. • Ethos= ethics or trustworthiness of the speaker

24. Appeal to Pathos • When you draw on the emotions and feelings of readers, you are appealing to pathos • Most powerful and immediate appeal • Very dominant in advertisements • Pathos= Emotion, sympathy, or empathy

26. Examples • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v76f6KPSJ2w • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHMH-R6g4vs • Which appeal (logos, ethos, or pathos) do these commercials use?