1. Aristotle’s Five Pillars of Rhetoric

2.  Older than most other disciplines  Most of your other “classes” cover material since the Enlightenment  Rhetoric exists from Golden Age of Greece, fundamentally unchanged  Ancient Greeks sent to Aristotle, Cicero, Socrates to study, this is what they would study

3.  The art of finding and developing materials  Having something to say, rather than having to say something  This is a must for improving student writing  Having a “mind at work.”  Produce ideas

4.  AKA Organization: how do I put my ideas together?  How did the author put his/her ideas together?  Selecting evidence and ordering it WITH PURPOSE: do I lead with my best example? Worst example?  Argument basics: ▪ Assertion (Here’s what I think) ▪ Concession (Here’s what others think) ▪ Evidence/Rebuttal (However, here’s the proof I’m right) ▪ Conclusion (Therefore, agree with me)

5.  Excordium: introduction  Narration: background information/context  Partition: outlines and defines the scope of the argument  Confirmation: offers evidence, “body” of the argument  Refutation: considers other points of view and counters them  Peroration: Conclusion

6.  Tricks of the trade, a writer’s tool box  Figurative language, diction, syntax, formality, humor, allusion, etc  Students know more about this canon than the others

7.  Aristotle’s time, literally memorizing  In our time, culture places an emphasis on “getting it in writing,” “signing on,” “getting it on paper.”  Contemporary memory refers to what a student knows, can access, and use  “Mature Academic Perspective” handout  Cultural Literacy: Train the memory past “Google it.” Go learn STUFF  It’s fun to know stuff; it’s fun to be smarter than other people  Benoit College list

8.  In Aristotle’s time, the art of public speaking, enunciation, gestures, eye-contact  In our time, how text looks on the page  M. L. A. format for multi-draft writing  Delivery requirements for On-Demand Writing: one side of the paper only, one inch margins on all sides, ink, medium sized penmanship, standard use of letter height