Rhetoric :: art of speaking/writing effectively, use of figures of speech and other compositional techniques, communicate message and evoke response from readers.

Message :: information, argument, reasons, evidence, data, structure

Audience :: beliefs, values, knowledge, experience

Communicator :: ethos, authority, correctness, appearance

all interconnected^^

be aware of interaction between purpose, expectation, conventions and resources of language

rhetorical analysis questions:

1. what is being said?

2. to whom?

3. how is it being said?

4. why is it being said?

How to Analyze rhetorically:

• the what

  • purpose

    • informative purpose :: casts primary emphasis on the message (textbook, manual)

    • persuasive purpose :: emphasizes the audience, because the desires end is the effect of the text on the audience (speeches, ads, sermons)

    • expressive purpose: :: emphasizes the speakers own thoughts (diary, rants)

    • literary purposes :: call for specific attention to language as an aesthetic medium (fiction, poem)

  • DON’T exist in isolation

• the how

  • strategies on how you achieve the purpose

    • devices

    • syntax

• It is NOT

  • restating the point

  • summarizing

  • stating your own opinion

  • listing rhetorical devises

• focus on what happens behind the scenes of arguments and comment of specific features

Space Cat

understanding what matters in text (SPACE)

specific features that enrich text (CAT)

S - speaker

• Who wrote this?

• what do we know about them

• does meaning change because of speaker

• do they seem knowledgeable

P - purpose

• what is the speaker trying to accomplish

• message ≠ purpose

• what are they doing for the audience

A - audience

• who is the audience

• what does the speaker assume about the audience

• how might the audience perceive the authors intentions

C - context

• what was going on in the world when this was published

• how would this be perceived in other time periods

• what social, political or economic issues are raised

E - exigence

• why is the message important

• what is the catalyst for the text

C - choices

• how are they enriching writing

• ask why

• syntax/imagery

A - appeals

• appeals to ethics/credibility (expertise)

• appeals to emotion (anecdotes)

• appeals to logic/reason (data)

T - tone

• speakers attitude

• how can we tell

• does the tone shift

• how does it affect the message

Rhetorical Choices vs devices

Choices :: verbs that express what a speaker/writer is doing

• ex. call to action, comparison, justifies

devices :: noun that expresses what a writer is using

• ex. the writer uses _____ to express ________

  (device) (choice)

• choice creates appeal/tone

• analyze choice to introduce

instead of writing:

the author uses tone. INSTEAD → the writer sarcastically criticizes..