Argumentation

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Argumentation

• EVERYTHING IS AN ARGUMENT

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EVERYTHING!!!!!
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Letters to the Editor

• Example letter concerning the re-naming of
  Highway 290 as Ronald Reagan Highway You are
  basically arguing whether this is a good idea.

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Personal Narrative

• role of childhood friends
• most important relative
• connection to your name
• biggest embarrassment
• greatest loss
• greatest learning experience

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Applications

• Jobs- High School through Adulthood
• Honor Society
• College Acceptance

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Expository Essay

• Explain the merits (or ills) of Columbus
• Explain the causes of the Civil War
• Explain the efficacy of dropping the bomb on
  Hiroshima
• Explain the racial subtexts of The Adventures of
  Huckleberry Finn

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The Rhetorical Triangle
by Aristotle
Speaker
Text
Audience
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What is rhetoric?

• The art or study of using language effectively
  and persuasively. American Heritage College
  Dictionary
• Rhetoric may be defined as the faculty of
  discerning in any given case the available means
  of persuasion. Aristotle

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• Aristotle said that when a rhetor (speaker)
  begins to consider how to compose a speech,
  he/she must take into account 3 elements the
  text, the audience, and the speaker.

Speaker
Audience
Text
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Audience

• The writer/speaker
• speculates about audience expectations and
  knowledge of subject, and
• uses own experience and observation to help
  decide on how to communicate with audience.

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Text

• The writer/speaker
• evaluates what the audience knows already and
  needs to know,
• investigates perspectives (researches), and
• determines kinds of evidence, format, style, etc
  that seem most useful (supports assertions with
  appropriate evidence).

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Speaker

• The writer/speaker uses
• who they are,
• what they know and feel, and
• what theyve seen and done
• to find their attitudes toward a text and their
  understanding of audience.

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Appeals

• The writer/speaker uses different approaches to
  influence the audiences attitude toward the
  subject. These are
• Logos
• Ethos
• Pathos

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Logos

• The writer/speaker
• offers clear, reasonable premises and proofs,
• develops ideas with appropriate details, and
• makes sure readers can follow the progression of
  ideas.

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Ethos

• The writer/speaker uses it when
• he/she demonstrates that they are credible,
  good-willed, knowledgeable and
• he/she connects their thinking to the readers
  own ethical or moral beliefs.
• Audiences and speakers should assume the best
  intentions and most thoughtful search for truths.

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Pathos

• The writer/speaker
• draws on emotions and interests of readers and
• highlights those emotions using
• 1) personal stories and observations
• to provoke audiences sympathetic
• reaction and
• 2) figurative language to heighten
• emotional connections.

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Ask not what your country can do for you - ask
what you can do for your country. John F.
Kennedy

• calls attention to ethical qualities of the
  speaker and listener (ethos)
• proposes a solution to the countrys problems by
  enlisting the citizens help (logos)
• calls forth emotional patriotism (pathos)

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Context and Purpose (intended effect on
audience)

• Context the situation in which the text
• occurs
• Purpose the emerging aim that
• underlies many of the writers
• decisions

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Rhetorical Triangle Plus
Speaker
Context/Purpose (intended effect on audience)
Text
Audience
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• The context (the situation in which the text
  occurs) is especially important.
• Context may reflect important socioeconomic,
  cultural elements, or more mundane things, such
  as where and when the text occurs.
• Some like to think of context as setting.
• Man with painting on sidewalk/ or in museum.
• Martin Luther King Jr.s I Have a Dream speech.

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• Context tends to be more important when you are
  reading a text. You need to be aware of the
  situation in which the text was created.
• When you are composing, the context is usually
  less important because you are composing here and
  now, and you are aware of the context.
• There are always exceptions if you are writing
  about moves toward democracy in the Middle East,
  but you live in the US, you may need to be aware
  of how your context differs from those who live
  in the Middle East and that may affect your
  argument.

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• Purpose (aka intent) is a tricky thing.
• I tell a joke you dont laugh. Is it more
  important that I want you to laugh or that you
  dont laugh? Perhaps my intent to make you laugh
  and the fact that you dont laugh are equally
  interesting to note, but neither is more
  important.
• It is my not-so-humble opinion that one of the
  problems with education has been a focus on the
  importance of what the author meant (intent),
  when audience reaction is as important.
• So I prefer to refer to purpose as intended
  effect on audience.

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There is purpose!

• This is not to say there is no such thing as
  intent or purpose. When you are writing, you must
  know your purpose.
• In an academic paper the purpose may be presented
  in your thesis statement.
• And Purpose can be clear when you are reading as
  well all ads want you to buy the product.

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Final thoughts

• Remember that the rhetorical triangle is not a
  recipe or a guideline for writing it is a way of
  looking at a situation.
• Rhetorical situation is a specific (given)
  moment in which you ca use the rhetorical
  triangle 1 to observe what is happening.
• In any situation - by definition, really - all
  parts of the triangle are present.