Everything's An Argument

Pieces of the Rhetorical Triangle

Purpose, Audience, Topic, Writer, Context

Purpose

why was it written

Audience

who is the listener

Topic

What is it about

Writer

Who wrote it and how are they significant in relation to their piece

Context

The situation it was written in

Appeal to Ethos

establishes authority/credibility

Ethos Facets

Phronesis and Arete

Appeal to Logos

Appeal to logic or reasoning

Inartistic Proof

facts, statements that can be referenced, expert testimony

Artistic Proof

an argument created by the writer, Ethos, Pathos, Logos

Deductive Reasoning

making inferences from the general about the specific; All dogs have ears, golden retrievers are dogs, golden retrievers have ears

Inductive Reasoning

Going from specific to broad information; My orange cat purrs loudly, all orange cats I’ve met purr loudly, all cats purr loudly

Syllogism

A method of reasoning that draws a conclusion from two different premises; All mammals are animals; dogs are mammals, dogs are animals

Enthymeme

An argument where the premise is not explicitly stated; All insects have six legs, All wasps have six legs

Appeal to Pathos

Appeal to emotion, provoke emotion and add imaginary

Normality

the standard, usual, or expected

Argument By Example

A claim supported by examples

Argument by Analogy

An argument that asserts because two items are the same in one way, they are the same in another

Argument from Sign

Asserts that two or more things are so closely related that the presence or absence of one indicates the presence or absence of the other

Argument from Cause

establishes a cause and effect of two events to assert two instances were not coincidental and had an effect on one another in an important way

Support

evidence to back up a claim

Claim

what are you arguing

To Meditate

To think on something deeply

To Explore

To investigate, study, or analyze

To Inform

To give information

To Convince

to cause a person to believe their truth about something

To Persuade

To get someone to agree with you or do something

To Make Decisions

To pick a explicit option through comparison

Forensic Argument

Argument of the past, evidence, testimony

**Epideictic** Argument

Argument of the Present, values of society, sermons/speeches

Deliberative Argument

Argument of the future, policy/rules for the future, projects what will happen

Argument of Fact

did something happen

Argument of Definition

what is the nature

Argument of Evaluation/Casualty

what is the quality or cause