RHETORIC

IS

EVERYWHERE

Mrs. Oualline & Coach Svien

English III

RHETORIC

IS SERIOUSLY

EVERYWHERE

Whether you realize it or not, you are surrounded

by RHETORIC!
(Its really not as creepy as it sounds.)
Billboards, Commercials, Ads
Magazines
Movies, Music

Just
call me
Rhetoric.
Grrrr.

SO, IF THIS THING IS EVERYWHERE

WHY HAVENT I NOTICED IT BEFORE?

You are already a master of RHETORIC.

Persuade your mom to let you go to a concert
Persuade your teacher to give you an extension
Persuade your boyfriend to watch the latest Nicholas Sparks movie

(Its a survival skill!!)

The goal for this unit is to become masters of

RHETORICAL ANALYSIS and PERSUASION.

WELL,

WHAT EXACTLY IS

RHETORIC?!!

Rhetoric is:
The art of all specialized literary uses of language
in prose or verse, including the figures of speech.
The study of effective use of language.
The art of speaking or writing effectively.
The art of making persuasive arguments.
The art of influencing the thought and conduct of
an audience.

YIKES! Thats a lot of definition for one word!

BASICALLY
Rhetoric deals with the way we use language.
For the purposes of our class, RHETORIC is the art
of speaking or writing effectively.

THEREFORE:
Rhetorical ANALYSIS is ANALYZING the way
someone has used language. (Usually with a focus
on a persons effectiveness regarding persuasion or
argument.)

THE CLASSICAL APPEALS

Ethos

Pathos

The Emotional Appeal

Logos

The Ethical Appeal

The Logical Appeal

You can thank

the famous
Greek
philosopher
and teacher,
Aristotle, for
these terms.

NOTE: A good argument will generally use a

combination of all three appeals to make its case.

ETHOS THE ETHICAL APPEAL

Ethos (Credibility), or ethical appeal, involves

convincing by the character of the writer or speaker.
We tend to believe people whom we respect. One of
the central problems of argumentation is to project
an impression to the reader that you are someone
worth listening to, in other words making yourself
as author into an authority on the subject of the
paper, as well as someone who is likable and worthy
of respect.

PATHOS THE EMOTIONAL APPEAL

Pathos (Emotional) means persuading by

appealing to the reader's emotions. We can look at
texts ranging from classic essays to contemporary
advertisements to see how pathos, emotional
appeals, are used to persuade. Language choice
affects the audience's emotional response, and
emotional appeal can effectively be used to enhance
an argument.

JUST THE FACTS, MAAM.

LOGOS THE LOGICAL APPEAL

Logos (Logical) means persuading by the use of

reasoning. This will be the most important
technique we will study, and Aristotle's favorite.
We'll look at deductive and inductive reasoning,
and discuss what makes an effective, persuasive
reason to back up your claims. Giving reasons is the
heart of argumentation, and cannot be emphasized
enough. We'll study the types of support you can
use to substantiate your thesis, and look at some of
the common logical fallacies, in order to avoid them
in your writing.

LOGOS:
INDUCTIVE

DEDUCTIVE REASONING

Inductive Reasoning

Drawing a conclusion based on a fact or factual

information.
Gather the facts, draw the conclusion.

AND

Research; Scientific Method

Deductive Reasoning
Beginning with a general conclusion or idea and
applying it directly to a specific case.
Start with a proven conclusion or generalization, apply
it to a scenario.

Profilers (like Criminal Minds)

RHETORICAL STRATEGIES

When trying to get ones message across, one must have

a PLAN! This is where Rhetorical Strategies come in!

Analogy
Antithesis
Anticipate the Objection
Concession
Reduce to the Absurd
Rhetorical Question
Hyperbole

RHETORICAL STRATEGIES
ANALOGY
You should be pretty familiar with this one.
An Analogy is a comparison between two things.
(Simile and metaphor should come to mind.)

As a strategy, a writer or speaker can use an analogy

to clarify a concept by showing a similarity to
something more familiar.

Teachers do this all the time.

RHETORICAL STRATEGIES
ANAPHORA

Anaphora is the repetition of words or phrases at

the beginning of successive sentences or
paragraphs.

Meaningful repetition can be effective, but the key

word is meaningful. Repetition that is not
meaningful is just redundant.

Martin Luther King, Jr.s I Have a Dream speech uses

anaphora.

RHETORICAL STRATEGIES
ANTITHESIS

Antithesis is an opposition or a contrast of ideas or

words in a balanced or parallel construction.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times

Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more.

Brutus, Julius Caesar, Shakespeare

Love is an ideal thing, marriage a real thing.

A Tale of Two Cities, Dickens

Goethe

Everybody doesn't like something, but nobody doesn't

like Sara Lee.

Advertisement

RHETORICAL STRATEGIES
ANTICIPATE THE OBJECTION

Anticipating the Objection is addressing a

possible protest to your argument before your
opposition has a chance to raise the question.

Part of producing an effective argument is knowing

the arguments of the opposition. If a speaker
addresses the issues first, the opposition loses some
of its ability to argue against the stance.

RHETORICAL STRATEGIES
CONCESSION

Concession is an admission in an argument that

the opposing side has points; to grant, allow, or
yield to a point.

Why would a person acknowledge the arguments of

his opposition?
Avoid looking ignorant or obtuse.
Take the steam out of the opposing argument by
confronting it head-on.
Avoid alienating those who have not made up their
mind. (See: Glenn Beck)

RHETORICAL STRATEGIES
REDUCE TO THE ABSURD

Reduce to the Absurd is a statement to show the

utter absurdity of an opposing argument.
The Detroit Lions will win the Super Bowl when hell
freezes over.
I will go out with him when pigs fly.

RHETORICAL STRATEGIES
RHETORICAL QUESTION

A Rhetorical Question is a question that is posed

for the purpose of thought, not an actual answer.

Did you want us to respect your cause? You just damned your cause.
Did you want to make us fear? You just steeled our resolve.
Did you want to tear us apart? You just brought us together.
Leonard Pitts, September 12, 2001

RHETORICAL STRATEGIES
HYPERBOLE

Hyperbole, or overstatement, is an exaggeration for

the sake of effect.

Lets be honest. We use hyperbole all the time whether

we realize it or not.
This essay is literally killing me. Its so hard!

You, every time your English teacher asks you to write an essay.

If Ive told you once, Ive told you a million times. Clean your room!

Your mom

LOGICAL FALLACIES

Fallacies are inconsistencies within an argument.

In order to adequately analyze ones arguments (or

create your own), you must be aware of the various
types of fallacies!

A logical fallacy can seriously undermine ones

argument BEWARE!

BUTpoliticians use them ALL THE TIME, so pay

attention and you wont be fooled by fancy rhetoric.

LOGICAL FALLACIES
AD HOMINEM
Latin: To the Man
Ad Hominem: This is an attack on the character
of a person rather than their opinions or arguments.
Example:

Green Peace's strategies aren't effective because they

are all dirty, lazy hippies.

In this example the author doesn't even name

particular strategies Green Peace has suggested,
much less evaluate those strategies on their merits.
Instead, the author attacks the characters of the
individuals in the group.

LOGICAL FALLACIES
BANDWAGON APPEAL
Bandwagon Appeal: Everyone else is doing it, so
why shouldnt you?
This appeal uses a threat of rejection from ones
peers to replace the evidence in an argument.

If youre not with us, youre against us.

This is a favorite among politicians. Most recently, it has been

used to gain support for The War on Terror, but in the
1950s, Senator Joseph McCarthy and company used this
same argument to persecute Americans who were viewed as a
threat to democracy (SEE: McCarthyism, Red Scare,
Blacklisting, etc.).

LOGICAL FALLACIES
CIRCULAR ARGUMENT

Circular Argument: This restates the argument

rather than actually proving it.

George Bush is a good communicator because he

speaks effectively.

In this example the conclusion that Bush is a "good

communicator" and the evidence used to prove it
"he speaks effectively" are basically the same idea.
Specific evidence such as using everyday language,
breaking down complex problems, or illustrating
his points with humorous stories would be needed
to prove either half of the sentence.

LOGICAL FALLACIES
EITHER/OR FALLACY

Either/Or: This is a conclusion that oversimplifies

the argument by reducing it to only two sides or
choices.

We can either stop using cars or destroy the earth.

In this example where two choices are presented as

the only options, yet the author ignores a range of
choices in between such as developing cleaner
technology, car sharing systems for necessities and
emergencies, or better community planning to
discourage daily driving.

LOGICAL FALLACIES
FAULTY ANALOGY

Faulty Analogy: Making a comparison while

overlooking important dissimilarities between two
situations.

Whats happening in America today is exactly like Nazi

Germany in the 1930s. If we dont do something now,
we are going to end up just like the Germans!

This claim conveniently overlooks the fact that the

American government is not rounding up citizens
for mass slaughter.

LOGICAL FALLACIES
LOADED WORDS
*Pet Peeve Alert*
Loaded Words: Unjustifiably using highly
connotative (i.e., emotional) diction to describe
something favorably or not.

No Child Left Behind

The War on Terror
Weapons of Mass Destruction
Homeland Security
Taxpayer-Funded Bailout
Using gate for any scandal (e.g., deflate-gate)

LOGICAL FALLACIES
NON SEQUITUR

Latin: It does not follow.

Non Sequitur: an inference or conclusion that does
not follow established evidence or premises.

Tens of thousands of Americans have seen lights in the night

sky which they could not identify. The existence of life on
other planets is fast becoming certainty!

Our Church is responsible for helping many of those in need.

This surely proves that our God is alive.

The local church did not participate in my fundraiser. This

surely proves that God doesnt exist.

LOGICAL FALLACIES
POST HOC, ERGO PROPTER

Latin: After this, therefore because of this.

Post Hoc Fallacy: This is a conclusion that assumes that if
A occurred after B then B must have caused A.

HOC

I drank bottled water and now I am sick, so the water must

have made me sick.

In this example the author assumes that if one event

chronologically follows another the first event must have
caused the second. But the illness could have been caused
by the burrito the night before, a flu bug that had been
working on the body for days, or a chemical spill across
campus. There is no reason, without more evidence, to
assume the water caused the person to be sick.

LOGICAL FALLACIES
THE SLIPPERY SLOPE

Slippery Slope: This is a conclusion based on the

premise that if A happens, then eventually through
a series of small steps, B, C,..., X, Y, Z will happen,
too, basically equating A and Z. So, if we don't want
Z to occur A must not be allowed to occur either.

If we ban Hummers because they are bad for the

environment, eventually the government will ban all cars,
so we should not ban Hummers.

In this example the author is equating banning

Hummers with banning all cars, which is not the
same thing.

OTHER LOGICAL FALLACIES

There are many, many logical fallacies (more than

you want to know). Heres a few:

Ad Populum
Straw Man
Hasty Generalization
Appeal to Ignorance
Appeal to Pity
Red Herring
Genetic Fallacy

WITH

A PARTNER:

Pick ONE of the RHETORICAL STRATEGIES that we

discussed today and think of a new example.
Pick ONE of the LOGICAL FALLACIES that we
discussed today and think of an example.

Be prepared to share with the class.