Unit 1-6: Rhetoric, Rhetorical Situations, and Rhetorical Analysis
Foundations and Evolution of Rhetoric
Rhetoric is defined as any communication used to modify the perspectives of others, representing a conscious awareness of language choices.
Historically, rhetoric originated in ancient Greece as a foundational discipline for public discourse, civic engagement, and formal argumentation.
Aristotle famously defined rhetoric as "an ability, in each particular case, to see the available means of persuasion" (Aristotle Rhetoric I.1.2, Kennedy 37).
Common public misconceptions frequently reduce rhetoric to mere persuasion, political posturing, manipulative trickery, or lying regardless of moral or ethical standards.
Contemporary rhetorical philosophy expands the definition beyond simple persuasion to focus on identification (Burke 25):
People naturally perceive and understand the world differently from one another.
Rhetoric provides the methods and tools through which individuals identify with each other and encourage mutual understanding across different perspectives.
Applications range from everyday interpersonal relationships to complex international peace treaties.
Educational and institutional resources on rhetoric highlight its universal utility:
Educational vidcasts such as Introduction to Rhetoric illustrate how an awareness of language choices leads to more compelling writing and analysis.
The video In Defense of Rhetoric: No Longer Just for Liars—a \text{-minute} work created by graduate students in the MA in Professional Communication program at Clemson University—emphasizes that a formal rhetorical education empowers communicators across every professional field to construct and evaluate messages effectively. The work is distributed under terms requiring proper attribution, non-commercial use, and preservation of the original content without derivative alterations.
Aristotelian Rhetorical Appeals
Aristotle established three core persuasive strategies over years ago: pathos, logos, and ethos.
Persuasive techniques appear across all media modes, including formal high school debates, embedded mobile application advertisements, and outdoor billboards.
While the overarching objective across media is to convince an audience of a specific political, informative, or commercial point of view, most advertisements employ at least two of these rhetorical appeals simultaneously.
Pathos (Emotional Appeal):
Pathos attempts to evoke an emotional response in the audience, such as joy, nostalgia, fear, guilt, or anxiety.
Persuasive Writing Example: An essay arguing against strict school cell phone policies highlights the fear of academic failure (failing a math test due to being banned from using a calculator app) and the anxiety of missing critical life events (being unable to receive news of a sister giving birth to a newborn nephew).
Commercial Advertising Examples:
Association with Happiness/Fun: McDonald's Happy Meal incorporates the emotion directly into the brand name; food campaigns use slogans such as "Have your next burger with a side of awesome" or market Miracle Whip as a "one of a kind creamy blend of sweet and tangy" with the tagline "Miracle Whip and proud of it."
Tugging at Heartstrings: Google commercials contrast mundane searches, such as looking up a meatloaf recipe, with deeply emotional human connections ("Hello? How touching").
Attractiveness and Social Status: Personal care ads, such as Axe body spray, imply that product usage enhances personal beauty and romantic appeal.
Health and Well-being: Snack ads appeal to health consciousness ("have your chips and eat well too").
Relief from Pain: Over-the-counter medication commercials promise fast relief, as seen in Advil campaigns ("It stops pain before it gets worse. Nothing works faster. New fast acting Advil") or depict scenarios encouraging viewers to prevent pain in others.
Logos (Logical Appeal):
Logos relies on logic, factual evidence, quantitative statistics, technical specifications, cost metrics, and straightforward reasoning.
Persuasive Writing Example: A student essay citing empirical research stating that student GPA increases by an average of points per semester when schools lift cell phone bans.
Commercial Advertising Examples:
Product Transparency: Kashi advertisements explicitly list whole ingredients and include fine-print verification.
Nutritional Data: The Dole official website publishes detailed nutrition facts for consumers.
Functional Performance: Arm & Hammer toothpaste campaigns explain the precise scientific mechanism of the product alongside website links for further research.
Statistical Proof: Lexus hybrid commercials list concrete data metrics, highlighting that vehicles achieve an estimated \text{ miles per gallon}, have saved nearly \text{ gallons} of gas, are up to recyclable, utilize plant-based materials, and represent their generation of hybrid technology.
Ethos (Credibility Appeal):
Ethos establishes the credibility, authority, character, and trustworthiness of the communicator or brand.
Persuasive Writing Example: An author building authority by stating, "This is my fourth year as a student at Madison High School. I've been the president of National Honor Society, captain of the technology committee, and very active in show choir."
Expert and Institutional Credibility:
Historical Pepto Bismol advertisements assert trustworthiness through medical endorsement: "stomach upset? It's time for Pepto Bismol, time for hospital tested Pepto Bismol. Yes, and actual hospital tests prove that Pepto Bismol works where soda and alkalizers fail."
Tylenol digital campaigns highlight that the medication is doctor-recommended.
Testimonials and "Real People":
Febreze AirFX features unscripted demonstrations with non-actors exposed to extreme odors: "That's real cat urine and we've gathered a group of cat owners to see what they smell… I don't smell this at all. Wow. I don't smell any urine at all… I'd say it was very pleasant. Flowers everywhere. Febreze did a really great job. Impressive. Febreze AirFX eliminates tough odors for good."
Celebrity Endorsements:
Advertisers leverage public trust or cultural prestige by associating celebrities with products, even outside their professional expertise:
Tim Tebow endorsing mobile phones.
Robin Williams appearing in Snickers bar commercials.
Taylor Swift promoting Diet Coke.
Aveeno skincare campaigns promising "radiant skin" and "a good night's sleep."
Michael Jordan promoting Hanes tagless underwear: "It's Friday. It's time to get this party started. MJ in the house… Tags are annoying, so we got rid of them. New Hanes tagless underwear. Go tagless."
The Rhetorical Situation: Framework and Components
A rhetorical situation consists of the specific set of circumstances surrounding any act of communication.
The primary elements that constitute a rhetorical situation include:
Writer / Author / Speaker: The individual creating the message. The creator's background deeply shapes the perspective, tone, and delivery. Influencing factors include:
Age
Personal experiences
Gender
Location
Political beliefs
Influence of parents and peers
Educational background
Purpose: The primary motivation or intent behind the communication.
Audience: The intended receiver(s) of the message. The audience's reception is shaped by demographic and cultural variables similar to those of the writer, including age, social class, educational attainment, past experiences, and cultural or subcultural affiliations.
Topic: The core subject matter or content of the communication. The topic must be appropriately narrowed or broadened according to length restrictions, audience expectations, and relevance to the specific situation.
Genre: The category, form, or structural type of text chosen to convey the message. Genre selection depends directly on the purpose and audience needs. Examples of genres include:
Fiction
Autobiographical stories
News articles
Reviews
Letters to the editor / Editorials
Rhetorical analyses
Criticisms
Persuasive essays
Context: The environmental, social, and situational background generating the need for writing. Context is driven by:
Time period and timing
Geographical location
Current events
Cultural significance
Culture: The overarching cultural norms, values, and global environments that encompass both the context and the participants.
Rhetorical Analysis and Thesis Development
Rhetorical analysis evaluates how an author constructs an argument rather than evaluating personal agreement with the underlying message.
In academic courses such as ENG 201, rhetorical analysis examines how language, structural organization, and concrete evidence interact to persuade a targeted audience.
Distinction Between Summary and Rhetorical Analysis:
Summary focuses strictly on content: what happens in the text, what the author says, and the narrative plot.
Rhetorical Analysis focuses strictly on strategy: how the text persuades, how the author conveys the message, and the specific mechanics employed.
Rhetorical Strategies to Analyze:
Logical appeals (logos): statistics, factual evidence, clinical examples, formal logic.
Credibility appeals (ethos): professional authority, lived experience, appropriate tone.
Emotional appeals (pathos): narrative anecdotes, vivid sensory imagery, feelings of urgency.
Language choices: specific diction, strategic repetition, metaphors, stylistic phrasing.
Structural arrangements: logical ordering of ideas, pacing, selective emphasis.
Constructing a Rhetorical Thesis Statement:
A well-formulated rhetorical thesis prioritizes analysis over simple summary and avoids personal opinion.
Required elements of a rhetorical thesis:
Identifies the author and the specific title of the text.
States the author's primary purpose.
Asserts a definitive claim regarding the specific strategies the author uses to persuade.
Identifies the intended audience and explains why those strategies are effective or ineffective for that group.
Model Rhetorical Thesis Statement: In "Mother Tongue," Amy Tan uses personal anecdotes and shifts in tone to challenge dominant ideas about intelligence and linguistic authority, making her argument persuasive to a mainstream academic audience.