Rhetoric Defined

Rhetoric is the art of writing and speaking persuasively.  By choosing the correct tone, thesis, words, and organizational pattern, the writer can be more appealing, and thus more persuasive, to his/her audience. Eloquent speakers and writers are remembered for what they have said/written, not how they have done so.  Yet it is the method of presentation that will lend itself to the readers'/hearers'' ability to remember the point made.  Famous quotations have stood the test of time because not only was what they had to say relevant and memorable, but it was how they said it that allowed the former to get across to the reader/listener.  All speakers/writers who are well known used rhetoric to get their message across.

Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King are a few examples of good users of rhetoric.  Even Hitler, who spewed his bigotry in beer halls and auditoriums, actually appealed to his listeners because of the way he presented his doctrine.  People responded not to logical arguments he made, but they were persuaded by how he did use the language.  He manipulated language expertly to make a an entire nation endorse the killing of over 60 million Jews.  The recent situation in Kosovo is another example.  The ruling bureaucrats didn't call it "murder"; it was rephrased as "ethnic cleansing".

The key to effective rhetoric involves constant revision and a search for the exact word(s) to get a point across.  In the next several unit , we will be observing and utilizing a number of rhetorically effective techniques. These will each be discussed separately such as Voice.  Helpful as they will all be, constant revision must occur or as the famous writer George Orwell said, "You must not surrender to your words".  The writer must control the words and their meaning, not the other way around.  If you do not revise, you are not in control of your writing.

1.  Always know your audience

     In order to write persuasively, it is critical to know who your audience is:

• How much do they know?
• What is the average reading level of the audience?
• Are they likely to believe in logically presented evidence?
• What is the audiences' experience, if any, on the subject?
• Does the subject or audience demand that a certain tone be used?

3.  Read your work aloud

     This will permit you to "catch" a number of spelling, punctuation
      and grammatical errors as well as allow you to see how it reads
      and sounds.

4.  Pay strict attention to word choice and tone

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• Look for evidence the writer has carefully considered the audience?
• Observe if word choice and phrasing are designed to appeal to a readers?
• Is the organizational method appropriate to the topic?
• Have the most persuasive methods possible been utilized to appeal to a given audience?

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          Last Updated:  July, 2003
           Patricia A. Hutchins
          http://www.delta.edu/pahutchi/rhetoric.html