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What is Rhetoric?

What is Rhetoric?. or W hy E verything’s an Argument. “How long must we suffer this injustice?” “Well, at least until…” “That was a rhetorical question.”. You’ve probably heard the term before, right?. “Who are you voting for?”

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What is Rhetoric?

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  1. What is Rhetoric? or Why Everything’s an Argument

  2. “How long must we suffer this injustice?” “Well, at least until…” “That was a rhetorical question.” You’ve probably heard the term before, right? “Who are you voting for?” “Oh, I don’t pay attention to politics, it’s all just rhetoric.” What does it mean, really?

  3. Some smart Greek people defined it. Rhetoric is… • “the art of winning the soul by discourse”(Plato) • “the faculty of discovering in any particular case all of the available means of persuasion”(Aristotle) • “speech designed to persuade”(Cicero)

  4. So, ok – persuasive speech, making an argument, convincing someone. Thanks, Greeks! But what about this? Not much actual “speech” involved, but its visual message is definitely an attempt to persuade. Is there such a thing as visual rhetoric?

  5. We might need to “hip up” this definition a bit. (And yeah, that is an actual phrase adults use when having board meetings about how to relate to you.) Rhetoric is kinda…everything. Whenever someone is trying to convey a message, to communicate/convince you of something—they’re working with rhetoric. • a magazine advertisement • a politician’s speech • a commercial • your friends arguing about what movie to see • a newspaper article • a t-shirt

  6. The Rhetorical Triangle Aristotle taught that a speaker's ability to persuade is based on how well the speaker appeals to his or her audience in three different areas: • ethos (ethical appeals) • pathos (emotional appeals) • logos (logical appeals) These areas form something that later rhetoricians have called the Rhetorical Triangle.

  7. The Triangle Writer / Character Reader/Emotions Text/Logic

  8. The Three Points of the Triangle • Ethos(Writer/Character) refers to the writer's "ethical appeal," that is, how well the writer creates a character for herself. • Pathos (Reader/Emotions) refers to the argument's "emotional appeals," that is, how well the writer taps into the reader's emotions. This is how a writer will make an argument "matter" to readers. • Logos (Text/Logic) corresponds with the argument's "logical appeals," that is, how well the reader uses the "text" of her own argument and evidence. Effective arguments will probably include facts and other supporting details to back up the author's claims.

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