Rhetorical Situation & Rhetorical Appeals

Subject (Definition)

Definition: What the rhetor is creating topically; the primary topic

Message (Definition)

Definition: Whatever a speaker communicates to their direct audience; the vehicle to achieve their purpose; the method of focusing on the primary topic.

Inartistic appeals

Support for an argument (evidence) using facts, statistics, eyewitness testimony, or other evidence the writer researches rather than creates.

Purpose (Definition)

Definition: What the rhetor hopes to accomplish in delivering their communication to their direct audience. It is their call to action for their audience -- what do they hope their audience will DO during and after reading, seeing, or hearing their communication? Every rhetorical choice a rhetor makes is to attempt to achieve this goal.

Kairos

Definition: good timing. It is when a speaker appeals to the direct audience's sense of urgency, of the timing of the problem or issue at stake through a call to action and building a sense of urgency.

Rhetor (definition)

Definition: rhetor is the term used to include all individuals who create communication. Not all are writers. For example, visual rhetoric.

Exigence (Importance)

Importance: Exigence creates the rhetorical situation, the need for a communication to be created. Remember, rhetoric is communication. A situation arises that causes the rhetor to create a communication with a purpose; this is exigence. This component of the rhetorical situation starts the writing process and gives the writer their reason to write.

Context (Importance)

Importance: It is what surrounds everything in the rhetorical situation as the rhetor creates their text TO their direct audience -- that's the only part we analyze. The time that the text will be delivered to their direct audience is taken into consideration, and time can refer to timing, as well -- the day of the bombing versus the week later, for example. The setting & situation are where the direct audience will RECEIVE the communication and why. Where the audience IS matters to the message that is being created.

Rhetor (Importance)

Importance: Rhetor is the more accurate term unless you know you are analyzing a writer or a speaker. When you know the type of text (genre) that you are analyzing then choose the appropriate rhetor for that genre.

Speaker (Importance)

Importance: The speaker's knowledge, interest, tone, and style will impact the writing. They may or may not have the credibility or background on the topic, which influences the way they speak and how trusted they are. They may not have wanted to create and deliver the text in the first place, but the exigence required them to. The situation (rhetorical situation) will determine how the speaker constructs their communication.

Message (Importance)

Importance: What the rhetor wants the audience to understand so that they DO act and respond to their purpose. If you don't understand how the rhetor structurally composes this to achieve their purpose, you will not be able to rhetorically analyze a text.

Inartistic Appeal Example

Sixty-four percent of Americans only have $10,000 or less saved for retirement (cnbc).

Rhetorically Structured Speeches

Speaker uses ethos & pathos in their introduction; logos & pathos in the body of their speech (possibly kairos if the topic is urgent); and, ethos, logos, pathos & kairos in the conclusion, which will include a call to action (their purpose).

Artistic Appeals

Support for an argument (evidence) that a writer creates based on principles of reason and shared knowledge (cultural assumptions) rather than on facts and evidence.

Ethos

To better achieve their purpose, a speaker appeals directly to the audience's needs, values, and desires by establishing a shared ethos of morals and character that can be trusted; or, the speaker could be appealing to the audience's need for trust, so they establish their expertise in the subject matter.

Artistic Appeals Examples

We are a nation founded on hope. We have nothing to fear but fear itself. America is built on hard work.

Pathos

When a speaker uses this appeal, they are appealing to their direct audience's emotions to better achieve their purpose (anger, fear, sadness, desperation, excitement, happiness, etc.)

Rhetoric

Any form of communication that attempts to persuade or argue

Argument vs. Persuasion

Argument relies on evidence-based claims to attempt to achieve their purpose, their call to action.

Genre (Definition)

Definition: A category or type of text characterized by a particular form, style, or content (http://multigenre.colostate.edu/genrelist.html) .

Exigence (Definition)

Definition: The immediate need, situation, or incident which prompted the rhetor to create this communication or made the purpose of the text necessary

Audience (Definition)

Definition: The rhetor's intended recipient of the communication being created.

Speaker (Definition)

Definition: The speaker of the communication; or, the speaker/narrator in a written text

Context (Definition)

Definition: The time, setting, and situation surrounding the text's creation and delivery. We do NOT evaluate historical context because we are looking at all texts as contemporary, living pieces in communication with a live audience in that rhetor's time period, not ours.

Purpose (Importance)

Importance: Every rhetorical choice a rhetor makes is to attempt to achieve this goal. This gives the content a direction.

Audience (Importance)

Importance: The rhetor makes rhetorical decisions based on their direct audience's values, beliefs, and needs to better achieve their purpose.

Genre (Importance)

Importance: You need to understand the genre of text that you are analyzing to correctly & effectively analyze the rhetorical choices the rhetor is making. Each genre has its own form: travel brochure versus a poster, for example. Each genre has its own writing style: letter writing versus diary, for ex. And, each genre has its own type of expected content: an Op-Ed versus a news article, for ex.

Persuasion vs. Argument

Persuasion is not evidence-based but relies on appeals of reasoning and logical fallacies to manipulate an audience's thinking on a topic or idea.

Rhetorical Appeals

Rhetorical appeals are communication strategies used by a rhetor to better persuade their direct audience. Knowledge of audience guides which rhetorical appeals a rhetor will choose to use. Our main study of appeals includes those that appeal to an audience's emotions (pathos), an audience's values, needs, and beliefs (ethos), an audience's sense of logic and reason (logos), and an audience's need to be convince of the urgency of the matter (kairos).

Using Pathos

The speaker taps into a wide variety of emotions throughout their argument, to win over their audience so they more successfully achieve their purpose. The speaker will use anecdotal evidence. personal examples and stories to appeal to the audience's sense of pride, joy, pain, love, etc.

Using Logos

The speaker's reasoning is logical and the supporting evidence is mostly inartistic in nature (facts, data, statistics). The audience believes the speaker because they use facts, statistics, and logic to appeal to the audience's sense of reasoning.

Using Ethos

The writer or speaker is appealing to the audience's need to trust the person who is speaking, or to show the audience that they understand their values and needs. The speaker references a title or expertise on the topic. Shares personal anecdotes to demonstrated shared values; references the situation/setting to show they have knowledge of the audience's context.

Logos

To better achieve their purpose, the speaker appeals to their direct audience's sense of reason and logic, relying on inartistic appeals to form their argument.