Rhetoric Styles

In his article “If Technology Is Making Us Stupid, It’s Not Technology’s Fault,” David Theo Goldberg effectively informs the reader about the effects that computers in the home and school environment could have on the future education of the coming generations. Goldberg achieves this by executing defined organization and adding unique comparisons about the potentially crippling effects technology can have on a society when put into the wrong hands.

Rhetorical strategies are techniques writers use for a particular effect. In previous classes, you might have been introduced to them as “literary devices” – others will be completely new to you. When thinking of language choices that we make when writing or speaking, think of it like this -- everyone draws from a “toolbox” of rhetorical strategies as they express ideas and evoke responses in their readers. The more “tricks” of language that you know, the more effectively you can say what you want in the most effective way.

The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is an autobiography in which Mr. Douglass tells his life story. He was born into slavery and experienced many harsh realities that shaped his life. Frederick Douglass was a free black man at the time in which he told this story. He is writing to his audience to inform them about slavery. His claim is that slavery is bad and must be stopped. His experiences help form his rhetoric as a credible speaker; His use of pathos truly develops the negative emotional and physical aspects of slavery on slaves.

Wild is the story of Cheryl Strayed and her solo hike on the Pacific Crest Trail. During this 1,100 mile journey from the Mojave Desert to the Bridge of the Gods in Washington, she comes to terms with her mother’s death, and becomes her own person. Much of the book is devoted to instances that occurred before she began to hike the trail, including the disintegration of her family, her affairs and eventual divorce, and her heroin addiction. She decides to hike the Pacific Crest Trail almost immediately after her husband discovers her infidelity and divorces her, despite the fact that they still love each other. She discovers early on that she is unprepared to hike the trail and almost quits, but she meets many people along the way who are willing to teach her and inspire her to keep going. She suffers many injuries, but she continues on, and along the way she makes her peace with her mother’s death and lets go of her anger and grief. Strayed relies heavily on several rhetorical strategies, but most specifically she focuses on chronology,

Throughout my project I used multiple different rhetorical strategies to argue my claims. My audience is my peers in AP language and composition, and my purpose is to convince them that the name that was given by our parents influences our life. One rhetorical choice I made was to include a lot of different evidence to back up my claim. I included various experiments that were done and analyzed the results. This is an effective strategy because my audience would know that I have proof to show that names influence how people act toward you and how it determines our futures. Including a lot of evidence and proof boosts my credibility high so my audience will believe me and my argument more easily. Another rhetorical strategy that I made to develop

In my Rhetoric and Genre essay on, Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn I honestly tried my best to explain how the use of genre was ideal to explain Dunn’s rhetoric in the book. I started of by bringing out what I believe were the main points that Dunn wanted to get to his readers. This points being the importance of critical thinking, communication and language and what would happen if we lacked on each of them. When it came to writing on why I believed these points were best told in an epistolary genre was without a doubt a challenge for me. Not because I did not believe that this points were best brought up through this genre but because it was became very difficult for me to explain myself.

Rhetorical techniques can make or break a paper. The proper use of rhetorical ‘tools’ such as metaphors or the overall structure of the paper allows for the writer to channel the reader’s attention to the argument(s) they’re trying to make/prove. However, when used improperly, the reader interprets the writer to be a non-credible source because the rhetorical techniques he/she is uses are either too obvious or they do not create an easy and focused experience for the reader. Some of the most significant rhetorical techniques are overall structure of the paper, the use of data and statistic in the paper, and the appeal to credibility. In the papers, ‘Why companies fail to respond to climate change’, by Tobias Finke, and ‘How to Unleash Climate

In “Why Rhetoric Is Important in My Writing” by Elizabeth Jimenez, she describes how rhetoric is powerful in writing and how to use rhetoric effectively. According to Jimenez, “…rhetoric generally means the study and use of persuasive communication (or argument) …” (Jimenez 44), persuading an audience to influence “action” is powerful writing. Using rhetoric effectively means using academic arguments in writing which is a method used to compare views on controversial topics and allows students to persuade the audience of their view by using supporting evidence. Group activities is another method that increases the effectiveness of rhetoric by letting the students collaborate on paper topics and exchange views through academic conversation.

In my rhetorical modes essay, I selected compare and contrast for the prompt, and the three other rhetorical modes I included were narration, definition as well as description. I first used narration establish a closer connection to the topic, and relate my personal experiences that seem like an antithesis to the topic of Trump’s xenophobic and anti immigrant attitude. To mark the transition into this mode I employed the first person perspective, describing a brief anecdote of my parents who immigrated from their country of origin, to illustrate the point that the image of the thieving and malicious immigrant that Donald Trump propagates through his rhetoric is completely false. I used this mode to base myself off a degree of credibility,

I find the four standards in which rhetorical articles can be evaluated the most interesting rhetorical concept we have discussed this semester. I find these standards intriguing because how a rhetorical piece is perceived is dependent on which approach one takes. When using an artistic standard, content is analyzed by the aesthetic elements and overall appeal of the rhetorical article. This type of standard is about sense perception and may be viewed as poetic. The means of which the rhetor created a virtual experience and invited participation controls how a message is received by the audience. From a response standard, the focus is to achieve desired effects. For a piece to be effective from a response standard, the rhetorical article must

Many authors have found that persuading an audience is sometimes the easiest way to grasp the attention of many and do so by using logos, pathos and ethos techniques. Sometimes misleading and based around personal opinions, understanding the initial reasons for using these strategies can explain why they are used. Based on my research these rhetorical strategies can be found throughout all three videos provided. The first two videos titled “Drunk History - Claudette Colvin and Rosa Parks” and “Drunk History - John Adams vs. Thomas Jefferson” showed the least amount of these strategies, while the last video “Breaking News: Some Bullshit Happening Somewhere” provides the best demonstration of the use of rhetoric.

Letters are an example of communication methods that people use to get their messages across. They usually include the purpose that the writer wants to accomplish, how it can be accomplished, and the reason of accomplishing it. This way, a letter fulfills its purpose with high effectiveness. If a letter is considered effective, then it is because of its collection of different information from different angles. It at least has to answer the questions what, how, and why in thoughtful answers. Other questions, such as where and when, are preferably to be answered too, but not necessarily. My letter effectively uses rhetorical strategies such as word choice and showing statistics to convince the University of Arizona Police Department Chief to ban texting while driving on campus.

We can only do as much, or as well, as we know to do; and if that does not work, then one must ask: What am I to do? That is an excellent question, for it holds value for those who are willing and able to reveal its answer. The value of a well-formed question is found in the answer that it holds; that is, if by raising that question, we are able to behold the answer within it. Although I consider philosophical, theological, and rhetorical questions to be valuable when seeking insight and understanding, these are questions that are not meant to illicit a response, and therefore, they have no practical value. The only value of such questions is that they leave us open to other questions which may hold the answer. For example, when wondering

In this paper I am going to be explaining what I learned in Rhetoric this term such as I was never a very good speaker or presenter and now I feel like I am a natural at this and very comfortable giving speeches now. Also we were given a book to read this term called Fresh Fruit Broken Bodies a book about migrant workers that I will be writing a review of that book and stating a certain controversy that ties into this book that we read and help to give my audience a better understanding of what I covered from reading this book. Another thing I have to do is give my stance on a controversial issue that coincides with the book.

As we read this passage it is full of different rhetorical strategies and the reason they were put in there. The writer’s style is the way he uses his language and the rhetorical strategies that he might use to enhance his writing. As I read the passage I came across syntax which is the war he puts his words to send the reader a message, and ad hominem arguing his point against the person instead of the argument. The rhetorical used in the reading is used cleverly enough to prove a point.