Ch 4 Writing a Rhetorical Analysis

Unfair emotional appeals

emotionally charged or biased language such as: - ad hominem - attacking the people who hold a belief (Latin = "to the man") - transfer - associating a prestigious name with the writer's side - bandwagon appeal - claiming that an idea should be accepted because a large number of people (the majority of) are in favor of - red herring - is bringing in irrelevant issues

Rhetorical Analysis

systematically examine the strategies a writer employs to achieve his or her purpose

False Analogies (Faulty Logic or Perception)

- Making illogical analogies to support the validity of a particular claim. - analogy points out a similarity between two things that are otherwise different

citing expert opinion

- make sure when you rely on expert opinion that the source IS an expert in the field you are writing about. - You may need to provide credentials such as listing the person's position or title alongside his or her name. - When including expert testimony in your paper, you can summarize or paraphrase the expert's opinion or you can quote the expert's exact words. - You will need to document the source

Weighing options

- writers must weigh options especially when reasoning about problems and solutions - either or fallacy

Metaphor

A comparison in which two dissimilar things are compared without the word "like" or "as"

Logical Fallacies

- A flawed argument - Known as a number of unrealistic argumentative tactics - fallacy - An error in reasoning that undermins the logic of an argument Most common (misguided or dishonest uses of legitimate strategies): 1.) hasty generalizations 2.) false analogies 3.) post hoc - means cause and effect reasoning too complex and it was oversimplified. 4.) weighing options 5.) making assumptions 6.) deducing conclusions (deductive reasoning) 7.) unfair emotional appeals (called ad hominem) - attacking the people who hold a belief rather than refuting their argument 8.) straw man fallacy (a "straw man" is a character so weak that he is easily knocked down) - consists of oversimplification or outright distortion of opposing views 9.) quoting opposing views when it is out of context and misrepresent the source (sometimes the device of ellipsis dots are used... and the quote is out of context) - do not do!!

hasty generalizations (inductive reasoning)

- An error in reasoning that occurs when a conclusion is based on too little evidence or when the gap between the evidence and conclusion is too wide - stereotyping is a type of hasty generalization about a group - hasty generalizations contains words such as: 1.) all 2.) ever 3.) always 4.) never when qualifiers would be more accurate such as: 1.) most 2.) many 3.) usually 4.) seldom

straw man fallacy

- a "straw man" is a character so weak that he is easily knocked down - consists of oversimplification or outright distortion of opposing views

Academic English writing tone

- writing to be assertive and confident - To create an assertive tone: (1) by acknowledging different positions and (2) supporting your ideas with specific evidence

Support claims with specific evidence

1.) Facts 2.) Statistics 3.) examples 4.) illustrations 5.) visuals (charts, graphs, diagrams, photographs)

Testing Inductive Reasoning

1.) Is the evidence sufficient? 2.) Is the evidence Representative? 3.) Is the evidence relevant?

Analyzing the Rhetorical Situation

1.) Look at the essay's headnote - If the essay you are reading has a headnote, it can contain useful information about the writer, the issue being discussed, and the structure of the essay. For this reason, it is a good idea to read headnotes carefully. 2.) Look for clues within the essay - The writer's use of particular words and phrases can sometimes provide information about his or her preconceptions as well as about the cultural context of the argument. Historical or cultural references can indicate what ideas or information the writer expects the reader to have 3.) Search the Web. - Often, just a few minutes online can give you a lot of useful information - such as the background of a particular debate or the biography of the writer. By looking at the titles of the other books or essays the writer has written, you may be able to get an idea of his or her biases or point of view.

Preparing to Write a Rhetorical Analysis Checklist

1.) Who is the writer? - Is there anything in the writer's background that might influence what is (or is not) included in the argument? 2.) What is the writer's purpose? - What does the writer hope to achieve? 3.) What question has the writer decided to address? - How broad is the question? 4.) What situation created the need for the argument? 5.) At what points in the argument does the writer appeal to logic? - To the emotions? - How does the writer try to establish his or her credibility? 6.) What is the argument's thesis? - Where is it stated? - Why? 7.) How doe the writer organize the argument? - How effective is this arrangement of ideas? 8.) What evidence does the writer use to support the argument? - Does the writer use enough evidence? 9.) Does the writer use similes, metaphors, and allusions? 10.) Does the writer use parallelism, repetition, and rhetorical questions? 11.) Given your analysis, what is your overall assessment of the argument?

reading and writing arguments steps

1.) distinguish between reasonable and fallacious argumentative tactics 2.) distinguish between legitimate and unfair emotional appeals 3.) judge how fairly a writer handles opposing views 4.) when writing arguments, consider purpose and context 5.) view your audience as a panel of jurors 6.) in your introduction, establish credibility and state your position 7/.) back up your thesis with persuasive lines of argument support your claims with specific evidence 8.) anticipate objections; counter opposing arguments 9.) build common ground 10.) sample student writing: argument

Evidence/facts

A fact is something that is known with certainty because it has been objectivity verified

Simile

A figure of speech that compares two unlike things by using "like" or "as"

Allusion

A reference within a work to a person, literary or biblical text, or historical event. This shorthand device reminds the reader of something that enlarges the context of the situation being written about.

Analyzing the writer

1.) What is the writer's background (such as: education, experience, race, gender, political beliefs, religion, age, and experiences)? 2.) How does the writer's background affect the content of the argument? 3.) What preconceptions about the subject does the writer seem to have?

rhetorical situation

The combination of the: 1.) writer, 2.) the writer's purpose, 3.) the writer's audience, 4.) the topic, and 5.) the context.

Parallelism

The use of the same or similar structure in the repetition of words, phrases, or clauses

Analyzing the Question

What question is the writer trying to answer? 1.) What is the central question of the argument? 2.) Are there solid arguments on both sides of the issue? 3.) Has the writer answered the question fully enough?

Analyzing the Context

What situation creates the need for the argument? 1.) What situation (or situations) set the stage for the argument? 2.) What social, economic, political, and cultural events triggered the argument? 3.) What historical references situate this argument in a particular place or time?

stylistic technique

a stylistic technique to further an argument 1.) parallelism 2) repetition 3.) Rhetorical questions

Repetition

involves repeating a word or phrase for emphasis, clarity, or emotional impact

The writer's audience

Consider whether the writer seems to see the readers as friendly, hostile, or neutral 1.) Who is the writer's intended audience? 2.) Does the writer see the audience as informed or uninformed? 3.) Does the writer see the audience as hostile, friendly, or neutral? 4.) What values does he writer think the audience holds? 5.) What does the writer seem to assume about the audience's background? 6.) On what points do the writer and the audience agree? On what points do they disagree?

Evidence (statistics, graphs, diagrams)

Statistics are collections of numerical facts

Means of Persuasion

The appeals - logos, pathos, and ethos - that writers use to persuade their audience

rhetorical strategies

The ways in which argument writers present ideas and options, including but not limited to thesis, organization, evidence, and stylistic techniques (simile, metaphor, allusion, parallelism, repetition, and rhetorical questions).

post hoc fallacy

This fallacy of logic occurs when the writer assumes that an incident that precedes another is the cause of the second incident

Analyzing the Writer's purpose

What does the writer hope to achieve with his or her argument? 1.) Does the writer state his or her purpose directly, or is the purpose implied? 2.) Is the writer's purpose simply to convince or to encourage action? 3.) Does the writer rely primarily on logic or on emotion? 4.) Does the writer have a hidden agenda?

signal phrase

a phrase, clause, or sentence that introduces a quotation, paraphrase, or summary Examples: 1.) Critics of this view argue that... 2.) Some readers might point out that... 3.) Researchers challenge these claims by...

Figurative Devices

a stylistic technique to enhance an argument 1.) simile 2.) metaphor 3.) allusion

deducing conclusions (deductive reasoning)

deductive reasoning can be structured in a three-step argument called syllogism. the three steps are: 1.) major premise - is a generalization 2.) minor premise - is a specific case 3.) conclusion - follows from applying the generalization to the specific case **deductive reasoning will break down if one of the premises is NOT true or if the conclusion does not follow logically from the premises**

Making Assumptions

is a claim that is taken to be true - without the need of proof. **must prove a claim that is clearly controversial - for the assumption to be true** - when a writer has a missing claim that few would agree with the writer is guilty of a non sequitur (Latin = "does not follow")

stylistics techniques

to make their arguments more memorable and more convincing 1.) Metaphor 2.) Allusion 3.) Parallelism 4.) Repetition 5.) Rhetorical Questions