What is Rhetoric?

AP LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITIONMs. Kennedy2012-2013

Which is an example of rhetoric?

“Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.”

A bad rep…

Rhetoric, defined: “The art of finding and analyzing all the choices involving language that a writer, speaker, reader, or listener might make in a situation so that the text becomes meaningful, purposeful, and effective for readers or listeners.”“The art of using the available means of persuasion” –Aristotle

Aristotle’s Triangle

The Rhetoric of AssignmentsO “Write five to seven pages of error-

free analytical prose. State your thesis clearly and early. Use two outside sources for support. Have fun.”

O What can you glean about audience and speaker?

The Five Canons of Rhetoric

O Invention: how do writers generate their ideas so that they are most effective for the audience?

O Arrangement: What principles of order, structure, or organization do writers use that will lead to an effective text for the audience?

O Style: What choices do writers make with sentences and words so the text will be most effective for the audience?

O Memory: In earlier eras, how might writers commit their text to memory; now, how might writers tap into the “cultural memory” of the audience?

O Delivery: How do writers get their texts to the audience—in a traditional paper, on the Internet, with graphics and links? In speeches, when do speaker choose to gesture or pause?

The Rhetorical Situation

O Speaker/Writer

O PurposeO AudienceO Subject/TopicO Context

Purpose: Why You Write

O to ___________O to informO To reflectO to persuadeO to educateO to call to actionO to entertainO to shock

O What is the purpose of this WWII propaganda poster?

Audience: To Whom Are You Writing?

O AgeO Social classO Education levelO Political viewsO GenderO ReligionO Values

GenreO category of

writingO examples: fiction,

autobiographical story, news article, review, editorial, analysis, satire

O genres hinge upon purpose and the needs of the projected audience

Genre and AudienceOWhat genre is most often

used to reach young adults? (18-24)

OHow do you account for that? OCan you think of another

audience and frequently used to reach it?

TopicO whatever it is

that you have selected to write about

O may be broadened or narrowed, depending upon the length of the article and your level of interest

ContextO the “situation”

which generates the need for writing

O affected by time period

O locationO current eventsO cultural

significance

ContextO How did 9/11 create a special kind of

context?

Rhetorical SituationO

Speaker/WriterO PurposeO AudienceO Subject/TopicO Context

What This MeansO You need to be aware that a

rhetorical situation exists EVERY TIME you write.

O You need to adapt your writing depending upon your purpose and your audience.

Key PointsODe-stigmatizing RhetoricOAristotle’s TriangleOFive Canons of RhetoricORhetorical Situation

Let’s Apply It:

O Romney in Chillicothe, OH O The dam letterO Student handbook video

O What is the rhetorical situation? How do the different elements combine to create an effective text?