English 101

Submitted by Mike Graves

From class 10/1/97

Persuasion: Communication is intended to persuade.

When reading something for the first time you need to ask yourself "What is the authors purpose?" Strategy for rhetorical analysis:

Show, not tell. Showing appeals to the reader's emotions more than telling them. Showing is more vivid and it helps to personalize what the author is trying to get across. Appeals to pathos.

Facts/Figures. Sometimes a little hard evidence can strengthen an argument. The numbers and figures part appeal to logos.

Medium. The medium used is also a strategy. We used a personal narrative as ours. Other examples are songs, television, news, etc.

Example. CNN vs. Tabloid T.V. vs. local news.

General.

CNN. Audience: The serious, professional person. Someone who wants just the facts. Purpose: Worldwide news with up to the minute information.

Hard Copy. Audience: Wide and generic. Tabloid readers. Purpose: Gossip and entertainment.

Local News. Audience: General community. Looking for amount, not type. Purpose: Inform people in particular area.

Specific. Princess Diana.

CNN. Continuos coverage. Live dramatic dialogs. They replayed scenes. Very serious.

Hard Copy. Were very negative on Charles and the Queen. They showed Diana's childhood. Talked a lot about the children. Exploited her relationship with Dodi.

Local News. Took a very safe side as to appeal to all viewers. Showed flowers/mourners. A little gossip, but stressed the positive side, whereas Hard Copy stressed a lot of negatives.

Submitted by Courtney Kappes 10/4/97

Retorical Strategies

Text-What we are analizing or reviewing
Purpose-What your saying Audience-Who you intend to reach -the reader -keep in mind the intended audience and the purpose of the material
Message-What your saying

example:"A Modest ProposaL"-satirical piece
What retorical straegies would you use to get your purpose, message, and reach the audience?
example: A letter hove for more money -kiss up (pathos) -make them feel...(pathos) -threaten (pathos) -beg/cry (pathos) -fact/figures (logos) -responsibility (ethos) > I am > I will > I have

To Analyze You Need:
Purpose How was it appealing?

Audience Pathos, Ethos, and Logos

Message Does it meet it's purpose, appeal to the audience, and get the message across?

If you have comments or would like to add anything to Dolores' summary, please e-mail your instructor!