Rhetoric at Work
Rhetoric: art of communicating ideas
Methods: Speech, Writing, Art, Music, Advertising, and basically any way ideas can be shared
Three Main Ways to Persuade:
• Logos (Logical Appeals)
• Pathos (Emotional Appeals)
• Ethos (Ethical Appeals)
Purpose
Logos(Logic)
Ethos(Credibility) Pathos
(Emotion)
Rhetorical Situation
Invention
Style
SpeakerAudience
Subject
Arrangement
LOGOS (Logical Appeals)• convince audience using rational
arguments supported with objective evidence or reasonable assumptions
Example:Slavery should be abolished because “all men are created
equal” (reasonable assumption) and African people have the same brain capacity as European people (evidence).
PATHOS(Emotional Appeals)
• convince audience using specific examples of emotions such as happiness or suffering, or potential threats that cause fear– fear, pity, lust, happiness, worth,
belonging, patriotism
Example:Slavery should be abolished because no man should have
to feel the fear that he is ruled entirely by another man—whipped at a whim or seeing his children ripped from his eyes and sold like cattle. (pity/outrage/disgust)
ETHOS(Ethical Appeals)
• Convince the audience by the authority of a person or a group (credibility); relies on shared moral values and call forth the audience’s sense of right, justice, and virtue
Example:Slavery should be abolished because all of the great men
of our time (authority) realize the moral irresponsibility of attempting to justify that it is acceptable to treat another human being in a fashion different from how we would treat our brother (moral value).
Purpose
Logos(Logic)
Ethos(Credibility) Pathos
(Emotion)
Organization / Structure / Form
Rhetorical Situation
Diction(Word Choice)
Invention
Style
SpeakerAudience
Subject
Arrangement
DICTION(Word Choice)
• refers to the writer's or the speaker's distinctive vocabulary choices and style of expression
Purpose
Logos(Logic)
Ethos(Credibility) Pathos
(Emotion)
Organization / Structure / Form
Rhetorical Situation
Diction(Word Choice)
Invention
Style
SpeakerAudience
Subject
Arrangement
Syntax(Sentence Structure)
SYNTAX(Sentence Structure)
• Refers to the principles and rules for constructing sentences in natural languages (i.e. following grammatical rules! )
Purpose
Logos(Logic)
Ethos(Credibility) Pathos
(Emotion)
Organization / Structure / Form
Rhetorical Situation
Diction(Word Choice)
Imagery(Senses)
Invention
Style
SpeakerAudience
Subject
Arrangement
Syntax(Sentence Structure)
Imagery(Senses)
• Used in literature to refer to descriptive language that evokes sensory experiences
Purpose
Logos(Logic)
Ethos(Credibility) Pathos
(Emotion)
Organization / Structure / Form
Rhetorical Situation
Diction(Word Choice)
Imagery(Senses)
Invention
Style
SpeakerAudience
Subject
Arrangement
Syntax(Sentence Structure)
Figurative Language
(Englishy Terms)
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE(Englishy Terms)
• Language that communicates ideas beyond the literal meaning of words
"Mama said life was LIKE a box of chocolate,
you never know what you're gonna get!"
Jumping for joy!
(Think Beauty and the Beast!)
I’m so hungry, I could eat a horse!
Methods of Rhetoric
• Elevated Language—develop serious tone and help ethical appeals (credibility)
• Rhetorical Question—question where no answer is expected; posed to show arguments make the answer obvious