Persuasive Rhetoric Rhetoric is the art of communicating ideas.

Persuasive Rhetoric consists of reasoned arguments in favor of or against a particular action.

To be effectively persuasive, a work generally has to engage both the mind and the emotions of its audience, making them think that the problem the work deals with is important enough for them to care how it is resolved.

Purpose and Context• After you read or hear a persuasive piece of

literature, you need to understand the purpose of that writing. What is the speaker/writer trying to persuade you to believe?

• The context of the piece of literature is anything beyond the specific words of a literary work that may be relevant to understanding the meaning.– What is the situation or problem the literature

addresses?– Contexts may be economic, social, cultural, historical,

literary, biographical, etc

Audience• Primary audiences are those who receive the

communication directly. – The primary audience is the decision-maker and/or

decision-making body • Secondary audiences include anyone who may

indirectly receive a copy of the communication. These include anyone who will receive a copy, need to approve, will hear about, or be affected by the message. – The secondary audience is the group(s) of people that you

identify, educate and activate to influence the primary audience

Persuasive Rhetoric Techniques• Rhetorical questions: Think of these as questions

that do not require answers. Writers use this technique to show that their arguments make the answers obvious.

• Repetition: Repeating the point tells the audience that it is especially important; repeating a form of expression tells the audience that the ideas express in the same way are related.– Parallelism is a form of repetition. There are parallel

clauses at the beginning of sentences.– For example: “We have warned them…We have reminded them of

the circumstances…We have appealed to them…We have conjured them.” Patrick Henry’s Speech in the Virginia Convention

Persuasive Rhetoric Techniques• Allusion: an indirect reference to a person, place, event, or

literary work with which the author believes the reader will be familiar.

• Example 1: "Christy didn't like to spend money. She was no Scrooge, but she seldom purchased anything except the bare necessities".

Did you spot the allusion to Scrooge? That name should bring to mind an image of someone who 'pinches pennies' and hoards money with a passion. But the allusion only works if the reader is familiar with Charles Dickens' story 'A Christmas Carol'.

More Examples of Allusions• Example 2: "Like the prodigal son, he returned to his

home town and was welcomed by all who knew him".

In order to fully appreciate the allusion to the prodigal son, the reader must be familiar with that story in Luke 15: 11-32.

• Example 3: “Steven is a Benedict Arnold. I can’t believe he switched teams just so he would have a better chance of winning. Where is the loyalty?”

Benedict Arnold was an American traitor.

ETHOS• Ethos refers to the character and credibility of the

speaker/writer. Is this speaker/writer an authority of the subject?

• Convincing the reader by the character of the author:-Conveyed through tone and style of writer-Can be based on the writer’s reputation, experience, or expertise-Can be based on the writer’s integrity and honesty-Can be revealed through the writer’s respectability and likeability-Can appeal to patriotic or religious values

LOGOS• Logos literally means “word” also understood as “topic.”• These types of arguments are based on logical appeals

that provide rational arguments to support the writer’s claims.

• What are the facts?-Data-Expert testimony-Statistics-Eye Witness Accounts-Testimonials-Evidence-Logical Reasoning: Induction and Deduction

PATHOS• Pathos literally means “suffering” or emotion.• Emotional Appeals: Appeals to the emotions and

are often based on specific examples of suffering or potential threats.

• Affects the reader’s emotional response to the text:-Attempts to play on our needs, desires, fears, and insecurities-Appeals to our “imagination and sympathies”-Created through use of vivid examples and emotionally charged diction (word choice)-Uses narrative and personal anecdote