The Art of RhetoricIntroduction to Rhetorical

Strategies

What is Rhetoric?Rhetoric is the study of writing or speaking

as a means of communication or persuasion.

• The ability to use language effectively• The ability to create appeal • The creation of a unique style of writing• Analysis of WHAT a text means and HOW it

means

Aristotle’s Three Appeals

• ETHOS: credible speaker– WHO gives the speech?– Does the audience find the

speaker believable or credible?

– Does the speaker have confidence and poise?

• PATHOS: emotion evoked in audience– HOW is it spoken and written – Does it make the audience

feel sympathy, empathy, concern, etc.?

• LOGOS: reasons and logic– WHAT is in it? – Does the content achieve its

purpose?

Text(Logos)

Audience

(Pathos)

Author(Ethos)

RHETORIC

A Breakdown of Judges’ Criteria

• Ethos: Confidence and Poise– Professional appearance and genial personality

• Pathos: Delivery and Presentation– Strong voice, volume, clear pronunciation, gestures,

eye contact, sincerity, emphasis– Use of poignant and emotional words

• Logos: Content of Speech– Subject Adherence, Theme, Logic, Content, Color

Rhetorical Devices and Techniques

for enhancing your speech

Emotional Language

Use references to the past– Allusions– Spark memories of the past/history (not personal), as

related to your speech, for the audience

Use poignant language, or words that arouse specific and strong feelings/emotions in the audience – America, patriotism, love, freedom, religion, etc.

Inclusive LanguageUse of pronouns such as we, our, us, etc. to

help audience relate to you.

“We Democrats — we think the country works better with a strong middle class…”

“My fellow Americans, if that is what you want, if that is what you believe, you must vote and you must re-elect President Barack Obama.”

-Former President Bill Clinton

AnaphoraThe repetition of a word or phrase at the

beginning of two or more successive phrases, clauses, or lines.

“I want to nominate a man who’s cool on the outside.”

“I want a man who believes with no doubt that we can build a new American Dream economy…”

“I want a man who had the good sense to marry Michelle Obama.”

“I want Barack Obama to be the next president of the United States.”

-Former President Bill Clinton

Repetition

A word or phrase used two or more times in close proximity.

“Indeed, one hour after Japanese air squadrons had commenced bombing in the American island of Oahu, the Japanese ambassador to the United States and his colleague delivered to our Secretary of State a formal reply to a recent American message. And while this reply stated that it seemed useless to continue the existing diplomatic negotiations, it contained no threat or hint of war or of armed attack.”

-FDR “Pearl Harbor Speech”

Parallelism Emphasizing equal value of two or more ideas by expressing

them in the same grammatical form. Arrangement of words, phrases, clauses placed side by side, making them similar in form.

“My fellow citizens: I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors.”

-President Barack Obama

“With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.”

– Martin Luther King, Jr.

Alliteration

The repetition of a sound in the first syllable of each phrase of group of words.

"This generation of soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen have volunteered in the time of certain danger. They are part of the finest fighting force that the world has ever known. They have served tour after tour of duty in distant, different, and difficult places...”

-President Barack Obama

Anadiplosis

The last word or phrase is repeated to begin the next.

“Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.” – Yoda

AnastropheInversion of normal word order.

“Ask not…” -JFK

“Ready are you?” Yoda

AssonanceRepetition of vowel sounds in non-

rhyming words.

“Hear the mellow wedding bells” -Edgar Allen Poe

“The crumbling thunder of seas” -Robert Louis Stevenson

Consonance

Repetition of consonant sounds within words or ending words.

Ralegh has backed the maid to a treeAs Ireland is back to England

And drives inlandTill all her strands are breathless.

- “Ocean’s Love to Ireland”- Seamus Heaney

Rhetorical Question

A question that doesn’t require an answer– often used to initiate a call to action

“Can we forge against these enemies a grand and global alliance, North and South, East and West, that can assure a more fruitful life for all mankind? Will you join in that historic effort?”

–JFK Inaugural Address

Other Devices

• allusion• metonymy• synecdoche • motif• figurative language

– metaphor, simile, hyperbole, idiom, personification

The Six Traits of WritingKeep these in mind: • Content and Ideas: does it stick to the topic and have

concrete examples?

• Organization: does it have a logical order?

• Syntax/Sentence Fluency: do the sentences flow well?

• Word Choice: is the word choice strong?

• Style and Voice: can we see your personality come through in your writing?

• • Grammar and Mechanics: is it written in a way which

conforms to the standards and rules of the English language?