Rhetoric

  • Rhetoric refers to the art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing. It is very much present in any piece of English language material, be it prose, poetry, speeches, advert texts or media articles.

  • The three key elements of rhetoric are ethos, pathos and logos. Ethos refers to the speaker’s credibility or ethical appeal, pathos to the emotional appeal, and logos to the logical appeal.

  • Ethos: To establish ethos, a writer might demonstrate their knowledge of the subject, their fairness or moral character, or other attributes that suggest their trustworthiness and authority.

  • Pathos: This is about engaging with readers’ emotions. It could involve using sympathetic or vivid language, personal stories, or other techniques that create an emotional response.

  • Logos: This focuses on logical and rational arguments. It involves clarity in an argument, valid reasoning, good evidence, facts, statistics, logical explanations and strong supporting details.

  • Rhetorical questions are a common device used in rhetoric. A rhetorical question is one where the answer is so obvious there is no need for someone to reply. The point of a rhetorical question is to get the reader or listener thinking.

  • Repetition is another common rhetorical device. By repeating specific phrases or words, a writer can make a point more memorable or important.

  • In rhetoric, ‘tone’ refers to the attitude of the writer towards their subject. This could be serious, humorous, sarcastic, outraged, objective, personal etc.

  • Analogy, metaphor and simile are also rhetorical devices. These comparison techniques help to create a vivid image in the reader’s mind and make the text more engaging.

  • When analyzing a text for rhetoric, remember the acronym SOAP: Subject (what is the text about?), Occasion (what event or circumstance is the text responding to?), Audience (who is intended to read or listen to the text?), and Purpose (what does the author hope to achieve with the text?).

  • Understanding and recognizing these elements of rhetoric can help deepen comprehension of a text and can also aid in creating powerful writing.