What is Rhetoric?Aristotle defined it as “The art of observing, in any

given case, the available means of persuasion.”

Speakers always want to communicate with their listeners; therefore, they take into account . . .• Their understanding of the listeners (audience)• Their understanding of the subject being explored • Their own reasons for wishing to communicate (intention)

The Rhetorical Triangle

Speaker or Writer

Audience Subject

Context

Intention

SOAPSTone tool for analysis

Speaker

Occasion

Audience

Purpose

Subject

Tone

Sample questions you might ask:

Who is the speaker? What makes him/her qualified?

What affect does the time period play?

Who is the intended audience?

What is the author’s purpose (intention)?

What is this piece about?

What diction, imagery, etc. is used to evince a particular feeling?

NarrativeIntention is to

present an event to the reader- what happened and how it happened.

May be...

Short or long

Factual or imagined

May instruct and inform, or simply divert and amuse

DescriptiveIntention is to make the reader as vividly aware as possible of what the writer has perceived through the

senses (or in his or her imagination), to give the

“feel” of things described, the quality of direct

experience.

Two Purposes Descriptive (cont.)

Objective Description:

~

To convey information without bias or emotion

Subjective Description:

~

To convey it with feeling

Expository

Intention is to explain or expose something.

~

Function is to inform, to instruct, or to set forth

ideas.

ExpositoryCan be broken into 5

categories

1. Comparison and Contrast

2. Classification and Division

3. Definition

4. Process

5. Cause and Effect

ArgumentativeIntention is to make the reader change his or her

mind, attitude, point of view, or feelings.

~

The terms “argument” and “persuasion” often used

interchangeably.

ArgumentativeArgument -

aims to win readers’ agreement with an assertion or claim by engaging their powers of reasoning.

ArgumentativePersuasion – aims to influence readers’ action, or their support for an action, by engaging their beliefs and feelings.

Bibliography“Mr. Henry’s Webpage.” August 2012.

http://www.ssdcougars.org/webpages/rhenry/news.cfm