Rhetoric and Rhetorical Analysis - W1D2 Notes

To be persuasively effective, your argument MUST change based on your audience and what you are trying to convince them of. This is the basis of Rhetoric.

Text: Any piece of recorded communication.
Rhetorical Context: The situation surrounding a text, including:
- Who wrote it (Author)
- Who they wrote it for (Audience)
- What they have to say (Message)
- What they hoped to accomplish (Purpose)
- What made them want to write it (Wider Context/Culture)
- How and where they chose to publish it (Medium)
Rhetorical Appeals: The way they craft their message to best persuade the audience of their message (Persuasive Strategies)

Crafting communication through awareness of the rhetorical context and the use of rhetorical appeals so one’s message is most favorably received by the audience.
Using said strategies to be persuasive.

Rhetoric is seen and used in all forms of communication; highly valuable across fields.

Effective rhetoric is persuasive; not all rhetoric is.
Rhetoric can be effective, ineffective, or partially effective based on how well the strategy matches the audience.
To determine: identify the author’s goals (rhetorical context); identify persuasive strategies (rhetorical appeals); compare to see if they match.

Evaluate rhetoric used in a public document provided by the professor (Op-Ed) to determine whether the rhetoric used was effective in helping the author accomplish their purpose.
Three Objectives:
1. Identify the rhetorical context of the Op-Ed.
2. Identify quotes from the Op-Ed that illustrate the author’s attempts at using rhetorical appeals to achieve their purpose.
3. Analyze the quotes for effectiveness to develop a conclusion about whether or not the author accomplished their purpose.

Analyze the language the author uses
Analyze the words the author chose
Analyze the author’s voice
Analyze the research and stories the author included
Determine if these choices will successfully persuade the audience to act on or believe in the author’s message REGARDLESS OF WHETHER OR NOT YOU AGREE WITH THAT MESSAGE
Use the article as an example of what constitutes effective and ineffective rhetoric

The message of gender-neutral toys is ahead of its time
It is important to encourage girls to participate in STEAM toys and education from a young age
Using the word beautiful is inappropriate because it solidifies the false ideology that being beautiful is a girl’s highest ambition

Using the word "beautiful" would have helped justify purchasing for their girls a toy traditionally reserved for boys
The child’s happy face helps convince parents viewing the ad to purchase the toy
The detailed explanations of the available kits give prospective parents confidence to purchase a toy they were unfamiliar with