1. Round Table Discussion:
For 10 minutes, with your group members, discuss everything you already know about rhetorical analysis. List as many rhetorical appeals and devices as you can!
Turn in your “LETTER TO YOURSELF”
(if you don’t want me to read it, staple it closed and put your name on the outside )

2. Brainstorm: You have a “Letter to Yourself” assignment on your desk.
This is due tomorrow...you have 5 minutes to get started on it in class :)

3. INTRO TO RHETORIC

4. Rhetoric is used to
Persuade
Inform
Express

5. Rhetoric in persuasion
Persuasion is one of the oldest, and perhaps the most recognized, uses of rhetoric. By arousing an emotional response, evoking powerful imagery, or calling upon reputable authorities, rhetoric gives you a great deal of power with which to communicate your message.

6. It is no coincidence that the two groups who use rhetoric the most are the two groups most interested in persuading others: politicians and lawyers.
Listen to any closing argument that a lawyer presents and you will be sure to identify rhetoric.

7. What are some techniques a lawyer might use to get a defendant to admit guilt?
Let’s take a look at Lt. Daniel Kaffee’s cross-examination of Colonel Jessup in the movie A Few Good Men. Identify persuasive techniques he uses throughout this scene.

8. A Few Good Men - getting the confession

9. What techniques does Lt
What techniques does Lt. Kaffee use to trick Colonel Jessup into confessing that he ordered a Code Red?

10. Aristotle’s Rhetorical Triangle
Message
Purpose
Speaker
Audience

11. What are rhetorical appeals?
Rhetorical appeals are the three strategies to the art of persuasion as defined by Aristotle
Ethos
Pathos
Logos
They are directly connected to the three parts of the Rhetorical Triangle.
Let’s see how...

12. Aristotle’s Rhetorical Triangle
Message
Logos
Appeals to “common sense”/ audience’s sense of reason or logic
Main idea or thesis is supported with:
Facts
Statistics
Logical details
Data
Ethos
Pathos
Purpose
Appeal to audience’s emotions
Personal anecdotes
Diction (connotations)
Imagery
Usually include description and figurative language.
Demonstrate credibility & trustworthiness
Appeal to shared values
Reputation can establish ethos
Speaker
Audience

13. Political Speeches
Look at almost any political speech in the last few hundred years, and you’ll find many clever uses of rhetoric appeals.

14. How do politicians appeal to their audience?
Take a look at this example from American President.

15. American President

16. What rhetorical appeals does “the president” use?
Did you notice the use of any other devices or techniques?

17. Quickwrite: In your journals, write about a time where you had
to persuade someone and explain how you used one
or more of the following:
Ethos: established your trustworthiness or convinced someone you had the same goals/values
Pathos: played on someone’s emotions to get what you wanted
Logos: tried to use reasoning to convince your audience that your request was logical

18. What are rhetorical devices?
Rhetorical devices are techniques writers use to enhance their arguments and communicate more effectively.

19. Rhetorical Devices
You should be familiar with the following rhetorical devices. Keep in mind there are many rhetorical devices, but we will cover only some.
Allusion
Analogy
Antithesis
Concession
Metaphor
Parallelism
Anaphora
Epistrophe
Rhetorical Question
Simile

20. Allusion
An indirect reference to a person, place, event, or other literary work. It is up to the reader to make a connection to the subject being mentioned
EXAMPLE:
Taylor Swift alludes to Shakespeare’s tragedy Romeo and Juliet in her song “Love Story.” She never directly mentions the actual play or Shakespeare, but she does allude to plot elements such as disapproving families and the famous balcony scene from the play.

21. Analogy
Example: .
A comparison of two events or situations for the purpose of explanation or clarification (similar to a metaphor, but more complex)

22. Antithesis
EXAMPLE:
“hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all sins”
____________________________
Katy Perry’s song “Hot and Cold” also uses antithesis:
You’re HOT then you’re COLD; you’re YES then you’re NO; you’re IN then you’re OUT; you’re UP then you’re DOWN
A figure of speech in which an opposition or contrast of ideas is expressed in parallel structure..

23. Concession
Literary device used in argumentative writing where one acknowledges a point made by one’s opponent. It demonstrates that the writer is a mature thinker and has considered the issue from all angles.
EXAMPLE:
“An individual does have their own right to freedom, but medical evidence proves that second hand smoking is harmful. Nobody has the right to harm the health of another and smoking does just that.”
Using concession, the writer has noted that everybody has freedom rights, but argues about the fact that nobody has the right to harm another person’s health, no matter what the case is

24. Metaphor
An implied comparison between two unlike things that actually have something important in common.
EXAMPLE:
One Direction’s song “One Thing” makes a comparison between kryptonite and love.
At first glance, these things don’t have much in common, but kryptonite makes Superman weak, just like love makes men weak (according to the song).

25. Parallelism Also known as “Parallel Structure” -
EXAMPLE:
Also known as “Parallel Structure” -
the use of components in a sentence that are grammatically the same; This method gives ideas a smoother flow and thus persuasiveness, because of the repetition it employs.

26. Anaphora
EXAMPLE:
The repetition of “I’m gonna,” “No one sayin’” and “Free to” at the beginning of consecutive sentences or phrases is Anaphora.
A form of parallelism: the deliberate repetition of the first part of the sentence in order to achieve an artistic effect

27. Epistrophe
A form of parallelism and the opposite of anaphora: the deliberate repetition of the last part of clauses or sentences in order to achieve an artistic effect
EXAMPLE:
stop at 2:11

28. Rhetorical Question
Question asked just for effect or to lay emphasis on some point discussed when no real answer is expected.
EXAMPLE:

29. Simile
EXAMPLE:
You can break everything I am
Like I’m made of glass
Like I’m made of paper
Comparisons between two unrelated and dissimilar things using “like” or “as” (and sometimes “than”)