Angle of Vision

Ethos The credibility and trustworthiness of the speaker/writer is shown. Ethos in a message can be increased through knowledge of the issue, proper citing of borrowed material, fairness, and respect to those who may disagree. It often plays on the inherent underlying assumptions. In this ad, people having clean water is good, and if you buy Ethos water, they give money to getting people clean water.

Pathos It appeals to the sympathies, values, beliefs, and emotions of the audience. Frequently used in visual media, websites, advertising. In written media, pathos is appealed to by vivid imagery and detailed examples, empathy with the audience’s values, and personal, heartrending accounts.

Logos This is the appeal to reason. Begs the question, why wouldn’t you do it? Points out the logic of the argument through consistency, sufficient, quality evidence and support for claims or thesis.

Writing Rhetorically Classical argument stresses the importance of truth seeking and persuasion when debating or presenting a point of view. Follow the 5 stages of growth when writing rhetoric. 1. personal opinion 2. claim supported by one or more reasons (CSET) 3. attention to truth seeking 4. articulate underlying assumptions 5. link to values and beliefs of intended audience An issue is defined as “a question that invites more than one reasonable answer and thus leads to perplexity or disagreement (p. 210). Once a side of an issue is taken, you must support your thesis with a reason(s) or a premise. These are subclaims that support your ideas. You may need to explicitly state your underlying assumptions when stating your premise or reasons.

Writing Rhetorically Cont. You then need to support your premise or reasons with research or evidence. – To use evidence effectively, you may include: Factual data Examples Summaries of research on the issue Statistics Testimony Subarguments

Evaluating Evidence STAR criteria Sufficiency Is there enough evidence out there to support your thesis? TypicalityIs the chosen data representative and typical? Not “cherry-picked.” AccuracyIs your data accurate, and current? RelevanceIs the data relevant to your premise?

A Case for Counterargument Anticipate objections-if there can be no reasonable “other side,” then your issue is weak. Once you look at the evidence someone might use against your argument, you want to assess that evidence using STAR as well. Consider where you still stand on your own argument. Be sure to include counterargument as “ways skeptics might object” to your side of the issue. When presenting counterargument in writing, always respond with a premise of your own that either rebuts or concedes the view. If conceding the other viewpoint, counter with a new, stronger premise. Conceding often appeals to ethos.

Informal Fallacies Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc (“After this, Therefore because of this) – Mistaking sequence for cause. The first event did not necessarily cause the second event. Hasty generalization – Claims based on insufficient or unrepresentative data False analogy – These comparisons are tricky to use because in this linking, there are often many differences as well as similarities. Either/Or reasoning – When you take a complex, multi-sided issue and reduce it to two positions without acknowledging existing alternatives. Ad Hominem – When you attack the person refuting your side of the issue, attacking the character of the other person rather than their argument and premise

Fallacies cont. Appeals to false authority and bandwagon appeals – The support for your issue is that everyone agrees, or that a celebrity supports it, but no one with expertise in the actual field the issue resides Non Sequitur – When there is no connection between a claim and its premise or reason. Circular Reasoning – Once you have stated your claim, you reword it, stating it again as your premise or reason supporting that claim. Red Herring – Raising an unrelated point or taking a tangent with the goal of distracting your reader to throw him/her off track Slippery Slope – Showing fear that a step in one direction we don’t like will inevitably lead to an equally undesirable second step, and it could continue without stopping (the direct tv commercials)

Rhetorical Analysis Watch the clip of Jon Stewart on “The Daily Show” called “The Hungry Games” Look at the questions for rhetorical analysis and then watch the clip again. Answer the following: – What issues are raised in this clip? What is Stewart’s angle of vision for each issue? – What techniques is he using to portray those angles of vision? – What rhetorical techniques does he use for persuasion? Are there any fallacies to his argument? How effective is his use of rhetoric?

Reference: All notes were taken and adapted from… The Allyn and Bacon Guide to Writing. Concise 6 th ed. John D. Rampage, John C. Bean, and June Johnson. New York: Pearson, Longman, Video clip borrowed from “The Daily Show with John Stewart”. Comedy Central.