According
to Gideon Burton, “Rhetoric is the study of effective speaking and writing. And
the art of persuasion. And many other things.” I have to agree with this
statement based on the fact that this is a rhetoric course, and we focus on the
art of persuasion and creating a good argument. The basis of literature or
general writing is to convince someone of a certain point. Since rhetoric is
writing, it can only be assumed that it is also being used for the purpose of
persuasion. Burton continues on to say that “because rhetoric examines so
attentively the how of
language, the methods and means of communication, it has
sometimes been discounted as something only concerned with style or
appearances, and not with the quality or content of
communication.” While I can understand how people would say that it is
ultimately what you are saying, and not how you are saying it that matters, I
have to disagree. The They Say, I Say
book definitely emphases the structure of an argument and how to better
communicate what it is that you are trying to say. They even go as far as to
provide examples and templates to better structure your agreement so it is more
convincing for the intended audience. For example, if a person argues with the
general side of idea that you are trying to convey, but they do not understand
the overall message, then they will have a hard time taking your side if they
do not think that there was enough explanation.
I
found this website incredibly helpful because it provided different elements
that should be involved in an argument, such as ethos, pathos, and logos. These
are three different ways that you can appeal to the reader or the audience and
help to align their thinking with yours. Ethos is used to appeal to the values
of the audience. By aligning your values with theirs, you can gain the audience’s
trust and further your own argument. Pathos is used to appeal to the emotions
of the audience. By playing with the emotions and feelings of the audience, you
can once again align their thinking with your own. Logos is used to show the
logic of argument. By presenting data and evidence you will gain credibility
and the audience will be more likely to believe you and your argument.
Something
about this website that I did not find very helpful was the fact that is was
very overwhelming. The symbolism of the tree made it more easy to understand
the comparisons that they author was making and then relate the material back
over to the overall message of rhetoric. However, on the right side of the
page, there are dozens and dozens of words and terms that go along with
rhetoric. While it is helpful to include these for more advanced writers, the
general audience for this website is novice or unexperienced writers, which
could make this more intimidating for them. I understand the point for including
them, but it could have been done in a different way so it does not seem as
daunting for writers who are new to rhetoric.
Burton, Gideon. “The Forest of Rhetoric.”
Silva Rhetoricae.
Brigham Young University, March 2001. Web. 22 Janurary 2016
Emily,
ReplyDeleteI also put in my post that I thought the site was overwhelming! It was hard for me to navigate, and I felt like every page I opened brought 10 new links to other pages. Over all though, I did feel it was helpful. Great post!
I think a lot of us used this website, at least so far! But it was so helpful. I will agree it was very resourceful. I felt it helped me better understand the meaning and use of rhetoric. I think the website was confusing and overwhelming at places, but overall it was very helpful!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post. Knowing that rhetoric is persuasive writing, it also made me understand more of what it is about. The website was also difficult for me to navigate through, but it helped me understand rhetoric more just like you.
ReplyDelete