Rhetoric.
Observing in any given situation the available means of persuasion.
Rhetorical Situation.
The occasion of the text: where, when, and for whom it was published.
- Parts of a situation:
- Subject. The topic of the text, the issue at hand. Should account for the entirety of the text.
- Author. The person or group who creates the text. Are they credentialed to talk on this subject? Every author brings their own identity and experiences to their text.
- Genre. The form of the text. Authors select appropriate genres given the specific demands of the occasion. For example, a TikTok wouldn't be better than a eulogy at a funeral.
- Context. The broader factors of where and when it was created — the historical, cultural, and social conditions of its time.
- Exigence (need). The urgency or motivation that gives rise to the text, that compels the author to create the text now. An event, a need, requirement, etc. Consider my PAUSD MVC article — it had a need after the PAUSD cancelled MVC.
- Audience. The reader/listener/viewer of the text.Effective authors imagine a most specific, target audience. Factors about the audience contribute to how the author conveys their message.
- Purpose. The goal the author wants to achieve with the audience. The author hopes to make the audience do/feel/think/believe something. Layered purpose: for complex texts, the purpose is often a layered sequence of sub-purposes — the author wants the audience to do/feel/think one thing, then another, and so on.
There are three types of rhetorical appeal:
- Ethos: how you convince an audience that you are credible
- Logos: the use of logic and reason. Analogies, examples, and research.
- Pathos: irrational (appeal to emotion).
Rhetorical Triangle (Aristotelian Triangle)
How a speaker perceives the relationships between these three elements will influence how they come across.
Persona
A persona is the face that a speaker or author shows to their audience.