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: the art or skill of speaking or
writing formally and effectively
especially as a way to persuade or
influence people
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Rhetorical triangle
Rhetoric
Argument
Rhetorical context
Purpose
Writer/Speaker (Ethos)
Audience (Pathos)
Message (Logos)
Persuasion and argument are often used
interchangeably
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Persuasion is a broad term, which includes
many tactics designed to move people to a
position, a belief, or a course of action.
Persuasion relies much less on facts (logos)
and more on emotions (pathos).
Argument is a specific kind of persuasion
based on the principles of logic and
reasoning (logos).
 In everyday life…
Appealing a grade, asking for a raise, applying for a job,
negotiating the price of a new car, arguing in traffic court
 In academic life…
Defending your ideas, engaging intellectual debate
 On the job…
Getting people to listen to your ideas, winning buy-in, getting
your boss to notice, getting cooperation, moving people to action
In writing…
Irrefutably making your point, writing to be read
In reading and listening…
Critically evaluating other’s arguments,
protecting yourself from unethical persuasive
tactics, recognizing faulty reasoning when you see
it.
TO CREATE CHANGE/AWARENESS
In an argument essay, the writer selects
evidence, and uses logical appeal to structure
an argument to prove a position on the topic.
The single purpose is to argue a position and
defend it with evidence in any discipline.
When you evaluate an argument or set of
claims, you determine its
value or persuasiveness.
Audience (Pathos)
Rhetorical
Context
Purpose
Writer/Speaker
(Ethos)
Message
(Logos)
Identify the claim –
main idea, thesis, or the point
the author is making – it may be
directly stated or implied.
Further, it may come early in the
writing or near the end. What is
the point of the argument?
While reading or writing an
argument, identify, the purpose of
the communication – this is the
rhetorical goal.
In other words, what is the author
trying to achieve in his or her
message?
is the political, historical, social, cultural, and
economic setting for a particular idea or event.
In order to better understand the rhetoric,
readers must look at its context--those things
which surround it in time and place and give it
its meaning.
While reading, identify who the intended or
target audience is. Consider the rhetorical
context when identifying this.
As a writer, you must ask, “What values and
belief do I appeal to in the audience? How
can I engage both the audience’s heart and
mind?”
To have your message accepted by an
audience, the writer should try to appeal to
their emotions, which is why the audience is
often linked with pathos in the rhetorical
triangle.
While reading, identify what the
writer is using to build credibility
and trust with their audience.
Consider their inherent background.
They can build their ethos
through the choices they
make in terms of tone,
style and addressing
counter arguments.
In the rhetorical triangle, the message is often
linked with logos, the content of the
communication.
Logos is the logical use of evidence the author
uses to support their message (or claim).
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a reader, you must ask yourself, “What
assumptions support the reasoning? What is
the evidence?”
 Evidence
can be any fact,
statistic, or quote from
provable sources. Evidence, to
be useful, must be relevant
and verifiable.
1.
Cause and effect (logos) -
2.
Analogy (logos) -
3.
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These claims argue that
one person, thing, or event caused another thing or event
to occur.
This is an argument in which a
conclusion is drawn about a situation based on similarities
of this situation (analogies) to previous situations. It is
considered the weakest of all of the techniques.
Stylistic Devices:
repetition, figurative language, sarcasm,
symbolism, anecdote, and many more…
Some authors word their
argument so subtly that the
reader may confuse what is
actually evidence vs. opinion.
It takes a careful analysis to
determine the difference.
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3 paragraphs in length (intro p + analysis+
conclusion)
Include the following elements in your
intro:
◦ Hook
◦ Author/Speaker and Title Information
◦ 1 sentence summary of text
◦ Audience/Persona/Tone
◦ Author’s claim and strategy
◦ Topic Sentence (refers to strategy
chosen)
◦ Introduction of Evidence
◦ Evidence of Strategy (cite)
◦ Analysis of Evidence (How does this
strengthen the argument?)
◦ Concluding Sentence
 Reword
your claim (highlighting
the strategy used)
 Final thought…
◦ What was the author/speaker’s goal?
◦ What was the “call to action”?
◦ What was the author/speaker trying
to accomplish?
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Avoid outwardly stating “the author used
pathos…ethos…logos”— be SPECIFIC!
The author uses a personal anecdote to establish his
credibility…
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ALWAYS analyze these pieces using the…
present tense
INSTEAD of saying “pathos”… identify a SPECIFIC
emotion that an author appeals to
Discuss the STRONGEST strategies used (and
provide proof)
 Introduction
 Author’s
Claim
 Background Information
(narration)
 Reasons and Evidence
(confirmation)
 The Opposing View and the
Refutation
 Conclusions