Rhetorical Terminology

Rhetorical Terms to Know Argument Evidence Rhetoric Rhetorical Appeal Ethos Logos Pathos Rhetorical Device Rhetorical Strategy

Argument A reason or set of reasons given with the aim of persuading others that an action or idea is right or wrong.

Evidence Facts or information indicating whether a belief or proposition is true or valid.

Rhetoric The art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing.

Rhetorical Devices A use of language that is intended to have an effect on an audience; examples include figurative language, repetition, parallelism, and alliteration.

Rhetorical Strategy A technique by which a speaker presents ideas and evidence to an audience; often focuses on organization, structure, and making connections between facts.

Anaphora The deliberate repetition of a part of the sentence in order to achieve an artistic effect, usually to emphasize a point. “O LORD, rebuke me not in thine anger, neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure. Have mercy upon me, O LORD; for I am weak: O LORD, heal me; for my bones are vexed. My soul is also sore vexed: but thou, O LORD, how long?”

Parallelism Parallelism is the use of components in a sentence that are grammatically the same; or similar in their construction, sound, meaning, or meter. Parallelism examples are found in literary works as well as in ordinary conversations. “Alice ran into the room, into the garden, and into our hearts.” “Five score years ago, a great American…” (MLK’s ‘I have a dream’ speech)

Repetition Repetition is a literary device that repeats the same words or phrases a few times to make an idea clearer. “If you think you can do it, you can do it.” “The politician declared, ‘We will fight come what may, we will fight on all fronts, we will fight for a thousand years.’”

Rhetorical Question A question that is asked that already has an implied answer – thus an answer is not needed. “Do you want to be a big failure for the rest of your life?” “Is rain wet?”

Rhetorical Appeals Elements to the art of persuasion as defined by Aristotle. Ethos Logos Pathos

Aristotle Who??? Greek philosopher Born in 384 BC and died in 322 BC  Ἀριστοτέλης (His name in Greek.) Famous quotations: “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” “It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.” “Happiness depends upon ourselves.”

What are ethos, logos, and pathos? Logos = Logic Ethos = Ethics, Trust Pathos = Emotions (Passion)

Ethos Ethos is an argument based on character. “I am a doctor, so trust me when I say you’ll be fine.”

Logos Logos is an argument based on facts, evidence and reason. “Nine out of ten doctors agree with my decision.”

Pathos Pathos = argument based on feelings “I care about you as a patient, so I think this is the right choice.”