1. The Rhetorical Triangle
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The Rhetorical Triangle
Dr. G
AP English Language & Composition

2. What is Rhetoric? What is said Who is saying it Who is listening
Where / when it is being said
Why it is being said
How it is being said

3. What is the Rhetorical Triangle?
Shows the relationship between speaker, audience, message, style, purpose, tone
Understanding these rhetorical elements makes both writing and analysis much clearer

4. The Rhetorical Triangle
Message
Tone
Style
Speaker
Purpose
Audience

5. The Author / Speaker
Gender / racial / geographical orientation of author
Author Bias / hidden agenda
Other important biographical information may affect text

6. The Audience Are they friend or foe? (hostile or sympathetic)
How will they receive the message?
How will they affect tone / style?
Who is the intentional audience?
Who is the unintentional audience?

7. The Message
What is the main point being made? In other words, what is the writer’s / speaker’s thesis?
Look at the message as an argument / position being sold to the audience. What is the author trying to convince the audience of?

8. The Tone
What is the author’s attitude about his / her subject / message?
What words in the message let you know the tone?
How does the selection of the tone affect the audience’s reception of the message?

9. The Style
What strategies does the author employ in order to get his / her message across?
These strategies may include: ethos, logos, pathos; organization; diction; syntax; figurative language; grammatical structure; selection of details; imagery

10. The Rhetorical Purpose
When and where is the author addressing his/her audience?
In other words, what is going on in the world at the time this text was composed, and how do those events affect the text?

11. Summary
Remember – the relationships between these rhetorical elements compose the meaning we get from a text!
True analysis is not only the what, but also the why and the how!