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Language of Composition
Chapter 1: Rhetorical Analysis
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Definitions
style: a mix of elements: the word choices writers make, the syntactical patterns they create in their writing, and the conventions of grammar and mechanics that they use
diction: a writer’s word choice
denotation: dictionary definition
connotations: underlying associations of a word
modifiers: words, phrases, or clauses that add description or qualification
formal diction: sticks to grammatical rules and avoids colloquial or slang expressions
informal diction: more conversational and might include more casual expressions that your audience themselves use
figurative language: words or phrases that are not meant to be taken literally and usually involve comparisons; metaphor, simile, analogy, personification, allusion
syntax: how words are combined to form sentences
sentences: made up of clauses, at least one of which must be an independent clause
compound and complex sentences: longer sentences that use coordination and subordination
coordination: joining clauses with for, and, nor, but, or, yet, or so
subordination: joining clauses with when, because, until if
periodic sentence: begins with details, qualifications, or modifications, building toward the main clause
cumulative sentence: an independent clause is followed by details, qualifications, or modifications in subordinate clauses or phrases
parenthetical: interrupts a sentence to provide information that may not be essential to understanding the writer’s main point but still furthers the writer’s purpose or speaks to the audience’s needs
parallel structure: repeating the same word, phrase, or clause for emphasis
antithesis: to present contrary ideas using a similar grammatical structure
punctuation: show the audience the relationships among ideas in a given sentence and throughout a text; commas, colons, semicolons, dashes, hyphens, parentheses, quotation marks, end marks
tone: the writer’s attitude toward a subject
shifts: a point in a text that indicates a change; most often a change in the writer’s or speaker’s tone or perspective
irony: an incongruity between expectation and reality
verbal irony: there is a difference between what writers say and what they mean
situational irony: a discrepancy between what seems fitting and what actually happens
dramatic irony: contrast is between what a character or writer says or thinks and what the audience knows to be true
hyperbole: overstatement; exaggeration in the service of truth, suggests a deeper meaning to advance a writer’s purpose
understatement: presentation or framing of something as less important, urgent, awful, good, powerful, and so on, than it actually is
Case Studies
Rosa Parks Cartoon (2005)
occasion | death of Rosa Parks |
|---|---|
subject | her legacy |
writer | award-winning and respected political cartoonist, Tom Toles |
audience | readers of the Washington Post and other newspapers |
context | memorial as the loss of a public figure as well as a private woman |
purpose | remember Parks as an ordinary citizen whose courage and determination brought extraordinary results |
ethos | readers’ familiarity with Toles as a nationally known political cartoonist and his respect for his subject |
pathos | image in the cartoon; caption (acknowledgement that heaven would have been waiting for this good woman) |
logos | caption (Parks made her mark in history for refusing to sit at the back of the bus) |
Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln
diction | “Four score and seven years ago…” (more somber, which fits the occasion); slow cadence, reminder of funeral march; religious devotion and firm commitment |
|---|---|
allusions | reverence to founding documents of the nation |
modifiers | “the unfinished work”, “nobly advanced”, “the last full measure of devotion”, “highly resolve” |
verbs | greatest rhetorical impact--uses them to suggest birth to lay groundwork for cycle of birth, death, and rebirth that he develops; “we can not dedicate, we can not consecrate, we can not hallow this ground.” |
formal diction | what the audience expected--elevated speech for ceremony, solemnity of Civil War |
comparison | “our fathers” vs “founding fathers” to emphasize family, common purpose and unity; beginning, between natural life cycle and nation conceived and tested by war |
subordinate clauses | grand final as three, each one beginning with “that” to create hierarchy of ideas |
coordinating conjunctions | “The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.” (“but” signals contrast, two independent clauses = graceful equivalence) |
cumulative sentence | reflect content of argument and guide audience; “Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal” |
repetition | “we can not dedicate, we can not consecrate, we can not hallow this ground.” (increasingly lofty expression, asking to take on a sacred mission) |
antithesis | “The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.” (dramatizes what we owe the men who died in battle for the nation) |
parallel structure | 1) great task the nation must accomplish--”that from these honored dead…that we here highly resolve…that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom.”2) “government of the people, by the people, for the people” (to call for a return to the original commitment to a “new nation” where “all men are created equal.” |
punctuation | dates the “new nation” from the signing of the Declaration of Independence in a clause separated by a comma; uses commas for descriptive phrases--”conceived in Liberty” to further characterize the nation |
tone | serious, somber, solemn--measured language, does not refer to slavery or divisions between North and South |
shifts in tone | “But, in a larger sense” (dedicating this specific cemetery is not the subject); tone doesn’t shift from solemn, but there is a shift into a call to action |
“I Have a Dream” by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
parallel structure | “I have a dream that one day this national will rise up…I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia…I have a dream that my four little children…I have a dream that every valley shall be exalted…” (memorable litany to emphasize main points of his argument) |
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Definitions:
annotate: the act of noting observations directly on a text, especially anything striking or confusing, to record ideas and impressions for later analysis
background: the part of the image that is behind the objects depicted in the foreground
color: dependent on light; without light, there is none; properties include hue (name), value (its relative light or darkness), tint (one lighter than natural shade), shade (one darker than natural shade), intensity (relative purity)
composition: the physical arrangement of visual elements within the frame of a page
focus: the point in an image to which the viewer’s eye is immediately drawn; can also refer to the level of clarity in an image (elements in high are clear and distinct, while elements in low are blurred and indefinite)
foreground: the part of an image that is nearest to the viewer
framing: the presentation of visual elements in an image, especially the placement of the focal point of an image in relation other visual aspects of that image
line: a path traced by a moving point in an image, either real or implied; convey a sense of borders, direction, and motion to the viewer
shape: a two-dimensional form that occupies an area with identifiable boundaries; created by a line, a shift in texture, or a shift in color
thesis statement: the articulation of the main argument in an argumentative piece of writing; usually, a single sentence that often previews or sets the stage for the central claims the writer will make
topic sentences: a sentence that states the main point of a paragraph, usually the first sentence
Case Studies:
Magazine print advertisement for the Dodge Durango
audience | potential car buyers |
|---|---|
purpose | to convince a certain type of customer to buy the car |
subject | powerful SUV |
writer | Dodge and the advertising agency it hired to create the ad |
ethos | associations to Dodge vehicles (power, dependability, toughness) |
pathos | preconceptions about food (a cheeseburger is real food and tofu is fake; a big, powerful truck is what you want and a small, fuel-efficient car is what you are supposed to have) |
logos | affordable |
tone | aggressive: repetition of “Dodge Durango” (hard consonant sounds); prepositional phrase that tells us that it can tow four tons; logo and slogan “grab life by the horns” (connotations of horns: strength, masculinity, noise); humor of “Big fat juicy cheeseburger” to acknowledge our desire for unhealthy pleasures; antecedent of “It’s” implies understanding |
composition | Dodge logo and text are aggressive; photo is not--couple in the car, pulling an Airstream (pitch to female buyers, replacement for the minivan, family atmosphere, good taste); outsized hood to remind of power |
background | ocean and sky to soften aggression |
line | calming effect common to horizontal lines; diagonal suggest movement |
color | calming blue reflected on the Durango, tempering its strength; gold shimmers, adding magic |
focus | most is in high (easy to see different elements); exception is the couple (not just one type of couple that would love the product) |
shape | both Durango and Airstream have gentle, almost organic profiles (softens aggression of Dodge logo and text) |
framing | SUV is front and center; water in background wings to the right; Airstream to the left |
foreground | SUV |
message | ex. “The Dodge Durango ad balances aggressiveness with humor: it appeals to men and women with its reminder that life is too short not to enjoy its guilty pleasures” (pg. 35) |
“People and Peace, Not Profits and War” by Shirley Chisholm (1969)
summary | “Shirley Chisholm’s speech urges the U.S. Congress to use the money it is spending on war to fix domestic problems instead” (pg. 41) |
|---|---|
word choice | speaks as a patriotic American; doesn’t emphasize elected position but rather herself “as a teacher, and as a woman.” (pg. 41)--puts herself among the people; emergency to highlight crisis |
contrasts | weapons vs. children, past vs. present, defense vs. education; suggesting broad-scale inequalities |
evidence | quoting the president (she has put in the work, respects President Nixon) |
exigence | crisis in federal funding due to the Vietnam War |
patterns | uses contrasts to create urgency and tension |
ethos | even though she is an elected congresswoman, she represents herself as an ordinary citizen, teacher, and woman |
audience | fellow representatives but also voters that elected her; appeals through authoritative citations, respectful tone |
tone | respectful, idealistic, patriotic, fearful |
occasion | her first speech to Congress (speaks formally, respectfully) |
logos | rethink concept of “cost” to understand misspending of federal funds |
persuasion | rethink “war” as there are “enemies” and battles to fight on the home front |
proper thesis | “In her speech ‘People and Peace, Not Profits and War,’ Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm develops her ethos as a citizen, appeals to American values, and uses the language of battle to argue of ran immediate end to the Vietnam conflict” (pg. 45) |
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Vocabulary
argument: a persuasive discourse resulting in a coherent and considered movement from a claim to a conclusion
claim:
claims of fact:
claims of value:
claims of policy: