Rhetoric and the Art of Persuasion

Rhetoric and the Art of PersuasionEnglish 10/10hReview: Persuasion TechniquesLogos: Using logic and facts to persuadeMom, I get $5 a week for an allowance. That is enough to buy the dog food for a puppy. Pathos: Using emotion ( passion) to persuadeMom, our lives are so empty. A puppy would make us happy. Ethos: Using morals ( ethics)or credibility to persuade. Its the right thing to doMom, psychologist say it is important for a child to have a pet.

Argument vs. PersuasionArgumentation: Using facts ( logos) to prove your point. Think Lawyer in a court room.Persuasion: This is using emotion ( pathos) and appeal to ethics ( ethos) to motivate the person to take your side or action. Argument is what youre saying, persuasion is how you are saying it. Combining the two is how you win. Rhetorical Devices: How you say itUsing language to influence the audienceRepetitionLists of 3DefinitionThree nouns, adjectives or verbs will be used in a list within a sentenceEffectsThe magic 3 fixes itself in the readers mindHighlights important ideasExampleSchool uniform, is uncomfortable, unattractive and unfashionable

RepetitionDefinitionThe technique of repeating the same word and phraseEffectsHighlights key messagesReinforces important pointsLinks different parts of the textExampleBoring, boring, boring. AnaphoraRepetition of the same words at the beginning of successive phrases.Effect:Connect ideasReinforce ideasFix the point in the readers mindExamples:Slowly they advanced, not knowing what lay ahead, not knowing what they would find at the top of the hill, not knowing that they were so near to Disneyland.In books I find the dead as if they were alive; in books I foresee things to come; in books warlike affairs are set forth.

AntithesisOpposition, or contrast of ideas or words in a balanced or parallel construction. Effect:Showing the opposite stresses the importance of the point being made. Example:"Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more". (Brutus in: " Julius Caesar" by William Shakespeare)

AlliterationDefinition: Within a sentence, a series of words will begin with the same soundEffectsDraws attention to the key wordsCan be used to reinforce ideas / conceptsMay be used for humorous effectExamplePolitics is probably pointless

MotifReoccurring device/element in the text Effect: helps to prove the main idea/theme of the text.Example:Suicide in AntigoneSight/Seeing in AntigoneParallel structure Repetition of the grammatical structure of the sentence Effect: to add balance, rhythm and clarity to the sentence. Fix the idea in the audiences mindExample:This wealthy car collector owns three pastel Cadillacs, two gold Rolls Royces, and ten assorted Mercedes. (adjective, adjective, noun)I have always sought but seldom obtained a parking space near the door. (adverb verb)ComparisonsMetaphorComparing two things by saying one thing is another.EffectsMakes the writing more interesting and imaginative for the read Explain the meaning or purpose of the itemsExample:The fountain of knowledge will dry up unless it is continuously replenished by streams of new learning.Comparing a fountain to knowledge and water to new informationI wonder when motor mouth is going to run out of gas.Comparing someone who talks a lot to a motor.

AnalogyComparing two idea that are similar in several waysEffect: for the purpose of using one idea to clarify the other idea. Examples:For answers successfully arrived at are solutions to difficulties previously discussed, and one cannot untie a knot if he is ignorant of it. Aristotle( if you dont know there is a knot, you cant untie it. If you dont know there is a problem, you cant fix it. )Knowledge always desires increase: it is like fire, which must first be kindled by some external agent, but which will afterwards propagate itself. --Samuel Johnson( fire needs help getting started, but then will grow on its own, knowledge will do the same thing).

Euphemismsubstitution of an agreeable or at least non-offensive expression for one whose plainer meaning might be harsh or unpleasant. Effect: Not to offend an audience

Examples: Euphemisms for " stupid"

A few fries short of a Happy Meal.

Not the sharpest pencil in the box

One Fruit Loop shy of a full bowl.

Doing it to replace graphic terms for sexual activityPassed on to say someone died

HyperboleExtreme exaggeration. EffectsShows the writers strong feelingsCan be used in humorous or ironic wayMust be used sparingly, of the effect is lost.There are a thousand reasons why more research is needed on solar energy. ( 1000 is A LOT!)This stuff is used motor oil compared to the coffee you make. ( thats really bad coffee if it looks and tastes like motor oil)

UnderstatementExpression of less strength than what would be expectedEffect: often used for humor.Vegas is a bit warm in the summer time.( Its a 115 in the summer, so to call it a bit warm is an understatement)Monty Python and the Holy Grail: the knight gets his arm cut off and says, Its only a flesh wound.Metonymything or concept is not called by its own name, but by the name of something intimately associated with that thing or conceptEffect: To show intimacy/ closeness, inside connection. Hollywood is used to describe the American Movie industry because many movies are made in Hollywood CA.Washington is trying to fix the economy. ( the government)

AllusionReference to something historical, biblical or literary (also pop culture), Effect: that helps to clarify the point being made. Shows higher level of intellect.Plan ahead: it wasn't raining when Noah built the ark. No matter how hard my mom tries, shes no June Cleaver. He draws well, but hes no Leonard Di Vinci.

OppositesOxymoron

Figure of speech that has two normally contradictory termsEffect: Draw attention to point being made and often to add humor.

Ground pilotLiving deadOriginal copyDirty soapJumbo shrimpSeriously funny

Paradox

A statement that appears to contradict itself. Effect: To cause the audience to think deeply about the point being made.

The more I learn the less I know. SocratesEpimenides was a Cretan who made one immortal statement: "All Cretans are liars." What a pity that youth must be wasted on the young." (George Bernard Shaw)

Verbal IronyVerbal irony: You say one thing, but you mean something else; sarcasm.EffectsCreates humourCan over-exaggerate a situationEngages the reader on a personal levelExampleWhat a lovely day when it is pouring with rain

Yelling Im not upsetA teenager saying yeah, I cant wait to spend 7 hrs in the car with grandma.TONE ( word choice and sentence structure)

Emotive language/ ConnotationWords that have an emotional charge to them. The purpose is to stir up emotion in the audience.EffectsCan create strong feelings such as anger, guilt, joy, concern, empathy, hope etcInvolves the reader in the textHundreds of people were slaughter during the riot.( killed or died doesnt stir up as much emotion as the word slaughtered)Real Estate prices plummet throughout thecountry.( home prices dropped, but plummet makes it sound like they dropped quickly, dangerously) imagery

Using sensory words to create a picture in the audiences mind to help create the authors argument.EffectsMakes the writing more interesting and imaginative for the read

If you dont donate money, 100s of poor hungry children, with bloated bellies and flies buzzing around their head, will die.

The smell of rotting bodies lingers in the air months after the hurricane. The clean up effort is far from over. AssonanceRepetition of the vowel sound in in the words to give the line rhythm.Effect: Create ToneAnd the moon rose over an open fieldAmerica Paul Simon

"Thy kingdom come, thy will be done.(The Lord's Prayer)

Consonancerepetition of the same consonant two or more times in a phrase/line/sentenceEffect:Create TonePitter Patter of little feet. And the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain. The Raven -PoeThe way that words are combined in the sentence, using phrases, clauses, and grammatical rules.Effect: add varitey, add description, add suspense, create a tone. Compound sentencesSimple sentencesActive voicePassive voice

Syntax (H)Rhetorical questionDefinitionThe writer will not expect you to answer this question they suggest the answer for youEffectsDraws the reader into the textIntroduces ideas / topicsMakes the reader thinkExample: The teacher asks the disobedient student, Are you done?She doesnt expect the student to answer, she says it to show she is unhappy with the students behavior?

Personal involvement / anecdoteDefinitionThe writer incorporates aspects of their personal experience into the text look for IEffectsAppeals to the reader makes the writer seem more human or involvedCan be used for humour / pathosExampleI was shocked to find that many children dont know the National Anthem!

Combining techniquesRemember that writers will often combine several rhetorical devices within a section of textEach part adds to the over all affect of the passage.Important adviceUse your reading time efficiently. If you know you have to write about the language in one of the texts, highlight key examples as you read itYou do not have to write about every device it is better to evaluate three or four good examples than to simply spot lots of themDont forget to include these devices in your own writing in Section B!A useful framework for Rhetorical analysisQuestion: How effective is the writers use of language in ______ ( what ever the point of the text)?Process: What is the over all message and purpose of the text?How does this device support that purpose?

Sentence stems:He uses_________ ( device) when he says ____ ( the quote. The effect of this is ( what is the author trying to say with this device) This supports the writers purpose because( how does this 1 device support the overall purpose of the text.ReviewAnaphoraWhat does it mean?What is the anaphora in this example? Will he read the book? Will he learn what it has to teach him? Will he live according to what he has learned?AlliterationWhat does it mean? What is the alliteration in the following example? Can we call in the Calvary?

Parallel structureWhat is it? What is the parallel structure in the example below? He liked to eat watermelon and to avoid grapefruit.Grammatical structure? MetaphorWhat is it?Explain this metaphor? You are my sunshine.AnalogyWhat is it?How is the following an analogy?An atom is like the solar system. The nucleus is the center of the atom and the electrons revolve around it, just as the center of the solar system is the sun and the planets revolve around it. HyperbolaWhat is it? What is the hyperbola below?I am so hot, it must be a million degrees in here. Would you please turn on the air conditioner? AllusionWhat is it? What are the allusion in the following example? "I was not born in a manger. I was actually born on Krypton and sent here by my father, Jor-el, to save the Planet Earth."-Senator Barack Obama, speech at a fund-raiser for Catholic charities, October 16, 2008Rhetorical questionWhat is it?What is the Rhetorical question in the following example? Is this the end to which we are reduced? Is the disaster film the highest form of art we can expect from our era? Perhaps we should examine the alternatives presented by independent film maker Joe Blow . . Emotive languageWhat is it?What language is emotive in the following example? Legacy crushed Mojave in last nights football game.