The study of effective, persuasive language use Rhetorical Analysis: The ability to find all the available means of persuasion in a particular case Available means: Everything a writer or speaker might do with language Persuasion: writer and speakers aim to shape people’s thoughts and actions Particular Case: rhetoric capitalizes on specific situations

Writers ought to be able to determine Exigence (motivation to write; why) All the things a writer/speaker has done or might do to shape people’s thoughts and actions Audience(s) People, either immediate or future, capable of responding to this writing or speech Intention/purpose What the writer or speaker hopes the audience will do with the material presented

Authors tend to use three kinds of proofs to persuade you: Logos Ethos Pathos

Reasoning (logos): appealing to readers’ common sense, beliefs, or values Credibility (ethos): using the reputation, experience, and values of the author or an expert to support claims Emotion (pathos): using feelings, desires, or fears to influence readers

Appeals to common sense and uses examples to demonstrate a point Build Logos by: Using facts, data, reasoning, and perspectives about the issue from experts X is more ______ than Y X is better/worse than Y Using a generalization or a point about the issue Acknowledging a counterargument; conceding a point but still refuting the argument as a whole

Author uses their own or someone else’s credibility to support an argument Shows how a text can emphasize the good sense, good will, and good character of the writer and thereby becoming more credible Appeals to ethos often emphasize shared values between the writer/speaker and the audience

Author uses emotions to influence readers Use of figurative language, personal anecdotes, and/or vivid description Visual images often carry strong emotional appeal 8 basic emotions: joy, acceptance, fear, surprise, sadness, disgust, anger, and anticipation Promise of gain Promise of enjoyment Fear ofnloss

Fear of pain Expressions of anger or disgust “You should be angry or disgusted because X is unfair to you, me, or someone else.” Emotions often are not stated directly Writers will inject feelings by using emotional stories or by incorporating images that illustrate the feelings they are trying to invoke

The writer/speaker’s apparent attitude toward the subject matter and issue at hand Established somewhere between logos and ethos and logos and pathos

Use lots of details to describe the text You want readers to experience the text Minimize any jargon or difficult words Improve the flow of your sentences You want your writing to flow easily from one sentence to the next Pay attention to sentence length If you are writing a lively or witty document, you will want to use shorter sentences to make your argument feel more active and fast-paced. If you are writing for an academic audience, longer sentences will make your analysis sound more formal and proper.

Recheck definitions of the rhetorical concepts Expand your analysis Did you cover all the angles? Could you say more? Copyedit for clarity Read your work out loud Mark any places where something sounds odd or makes you stumble

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