Questionable Quality
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Found on the premises of Johnson-McFarlane and Centennial Halls are what
are supposed to be “convenience” stores. These convenience stores make
their busin...
16 years ago
Monday, February 15, 2010
Reflecting on your rhetorical analysis essay
Now that you’ve completed your rhetorical analysis essay, I would like to reflect on what you learned from writing it. That is, what was the most significant thing you learned about rhetoric by analyzing another writer’s persuasive strategies? More specifically, what did you do in your essay to demonstrate this knowledge? (Discuss a specific example.) Last, if you had to identify rhetorical strategy or term that you would like to learn more about or that still confuses you, what would it be?
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At the start of this assignment I didn't think i was going to be able to actually complete because i was confused in all sort of ways. but after a couple attempts that ended in failure i finally hit the nail on the head (or at least i think i did) and managed to crank out this rhetoric analysis essay. I learned much about writing effective arguments but i think the most important lesson or skill that i picked up was putting together an effective argument that has a smooth transition and flow between its rhetoric aspects being ethos, logos, and pathos. Friedman, the columnist from NYT that i based my paper on, did an amazing job on this to the point where sometimes it would be hard for me to pick up on a new theme that he was laying out for his audience. I also learned more about what each of these themes meant and got a deeper understanding of them. I was able to apply all of this into my essay and it helped me identify what method of rhetoric Friedman was using in order to persuade his readers. i feel pretty well rounded on rhetoric and its meaning but if i had to pick something out that i am still a little foggy on, i would say a better understanding of ethos and how to truly identify it and use it to my own advantage the next time i am writing or trying to build an effective argument.
ReplyDelete-Victor Valle
The most significant aspect of rhetoric that I discovered while writing was the ability of the different forms of argumentation: pathos, logos, ethos, to be interconnected. In my paper, I was able to define ethos and pathos in congruence with the evidence and style that the writer used and tie them together to use as analysis for the logos of the paper. The author’s invented ethos provided the major premise of the paper while the pathetic appeal created the minor premise that led to the greater overall argument of the piece. Previously I had always thought of each technique as a separate form or argumentation that can easily be tied in with the other forms, but I never really considered that they could be used to build one another. In my paper, the entire premise was based off of this connected as I first defined ethos then pathos and tied the two together to analyze the logos of the piece. I feel like this association within the text also provided me with the material necessary to develop a more in-depth and thoughtful paper.
ReplyDeleteNot too many of the terms are very difficult for me to grasp or understand. Maybe the ideas of common topics would be the most challenging to me, as they are just guidelines for a topic and thus much more difficult to analyze within a rhetorical piece. Common topics are also just abstract questions that spur ideas yet they also characterize the way the piece is written and why. This duality is what troubles my brain sometimes as I try to pin-point the exact purpose of the strategy. Beyond that however, nothing else generates confusion for me.
In my essay, I chose the third prompt, which informed incoming students about the rhetorical analysis terms. Obviously and foremost I really got a better grasp on the terms myself. By applying examples and thinking of my own, I could really dive into the information and ideas of the concepts. In my essay to demonstrate this knowledge, I was very blatant and straight forward with the definitions and information. I tried to explain in a student to student way, so that the reader could also grasp the information easily and understand the key concepts and ideas. If I had to identify a rhetorical strategy or term that I would like to learn more about or still confuses me, it would be Pathos. The emotional appeal to the reader, I feel like, comes moreso from illustrations (or atleast my personal appeal). In my essay I had a hard time finding a written example that would describe and persuade with a Pathos appeal.
ReplyDeleteAnalyzing an article by New York Times columnist David Brooks, I realized the power rhetoric had over presenting a persuasive argument. Reading over the article the first several times, I believed Brook’s theories. The more times I read his word and read closely with a critical eye, I began to see flaws hidden away in his argument. I had an epiphany that even if there is a hole or crack in an argument, you can still have a profoundly convincing argument if shored up by rhetoric. It is the white out in writing, letting the audience see only what the author intended. In my essay, I not only explained the flaws in Brooks’ argument, but I also tried to minimize and hide the weaker aspects of my analysis.
ReplyDeleteI really cannot identify a single rhetorical strategy, though I think exploring how the seeming different strategies interrelate would be very beneficial. For example, in my article, I identified a syllogism and therefore thought of it as an appeal to logos. Thinking more about it and discussing with my peers, I realized that although it is indeed an appeal to logos, it is really a syllogism used to identify possibility. Granted the common topics can be logical or based in reason, but I was really interested how separate techniques are combined to create an even stronger argument.
The most significant thing that i learned about rhetoric through this assignment was that it all seems to be built into the writing. I never really noticed how integrated and how well established rhetoric is in writing. Taking time to really search for it and analyze it definitely opened my eyes to what is possible when it comes to persuasion. I believe that ethos seems to be the most built in piece of rhetoric. Meaning it seems impossible to not have your ethos in your writing. It comes out no matter what when you write. I noticed this especially in David Brooks' articles. I tried to integrate this into my paper especially when it came to explaining evidence. All of the evidence given in my paper was based on Brooks' ethos. It seems that ethos is built into every aspect of someone's writing. Ethos is often the most easily recognized strategy in writing but also is one of the most important. David Brooks is a very good writer and I believe much of this can be credited to his ethos. The one rhetorical strategy that I am still a bit unclear about is kairos. I cannot fully grasp the meaning of kairos or identify it in writing consistently.
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ReplyDeleteThe most significant thing I've learned about rhetoric (through analyzing another writer's strategies) is how there can be so many different styles one can chose in order to persuade their reader. I have learned that I can chose between so many different stances (conservative, liberal, sarcastic, funny, emotional, etc.) and successfully create a powerful persuasion piece of writing. In my essay, the columnist I chose took an edgy, conservative, and sarcastic approach to establish that his opinion is the correct side of the issue. Since I enjoyed reading this rhetorical stance, I chose to emulate this style to prove that many types of rhetoric can be effective.
ReplyDeleteIf I had to pick a term that I feel we could have further discussed in class, it would be logos. I feel it is less clear as ethos, pathos, as far as the modes of persuasion go.
Well first of all, writing this essay was difficult in the sense that I was not sure of what I was looking for. But I after learning the rhetorical vocabulary from class and the book, I had a better grasp of what I should be on the look out for. The most significant thing I learned was how the different the appeals (ethos,pathos and logos)could enhance a persuasive essay. I demonstrated what I learned from recognizing that the author made references to the thoughts of those who were for and against the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell". By doing this he/she comes across invented ethos. This gives the editor's article and opinion some credibility. Lastly, I would like to learn more about logos.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the ideas of common topics would be helpful to review...I feel like they all apply to everything. I can't distinguish them very well with specified examples.
ReplyDeleteAfter completing my rhetorical analysis essay, the way that I read pieces of persuasive writing will never be the same. There are many various factors that play into an author's ability to persuade. When reading through three different articles written by The New York Times' columnist Maureen Dowd I was able to identify the situated and invented ethos of the author. In the rhetorical analysis that I wrote over these articles I was able to point out different methods that Dowd uses throughout her argumentative papers. I was able to determine who she was perceived to be by her audience and how credible she was. I was also able to determine what values and wisdom she had which made up her invented ethos. To show the ethos of Maureen Dowd's writing I brought up one of her methods to her writing. Repeatedly she writes the last line of her pieces specifically to leave the audience thinking more. In the three articles that I chose by this author, she used this tactic on all of them. If I had to chose a rhetorical strategy that I would like to learn more about 'logos'.
ReplyDeleteI believe that this assignment was very helpful, it helped me understand the rhetoric terms a lot more. In high school I understood what they meant but I never used them correctly and I was never able to correctly identify them in some one else’s writing. I liked the way that we had to use these terms inside of our paper. One significant thing that I learned in this assignment is the author’s creditability is very important. If they do not have credibility then they can’t be quoted directly or there writing should not be taken into consideration if they do not have prior knowledge or background in the topic. For example, my author Susan, worked for the government, so with the facts and the statistics that she was writing about, showed that she was very knowledgeable of the topic. Within my essay I use the main rhetoric vocabulary words to show my knowledge. I evaluated the way that the author wrote to have a better understanding of these words. Sometimes it was hard showing certain words because not all of the words pertained to my author.
ReplyDeleteIn writing this essay, I learned that ethos—establishing one’s credibility—is an important element in writing. In the past, I did not pay much attention to ethos within writing, I focused more on other rhetorical strategies such as logos and pathos, but through studying another writer’s prose, I learned that the appropriate ethos—whether situated or invented—can make or break a persuasive piece. A strong agent in Nicholas Kristof’s article on the American prison system is the fact that he has myriad experience with writing about prisons in other countries. Through establishing this in his article, Kristof gains attention and trust from his readers when he compares American prisons to unethical prisons overseas. When Kristof compares “abuses in [American] youth correctional facilities as to those [of] Guantanamo,” the reader can trust that he is making a reliable assertion because of his mentioned extensive research on prisons abroad.
ReplyDeleteThe term “rhetorical situation” still confuses me to an extent.
By analyzing other writers' persuasive strategies, I come to know what kind of methods/strategies I may use if I want to write something and convince my audience. Importantly, the pathos could be used directly to awake readers' feelings when narrativing a moving piece. In my essay, the pathos Roger creates is the reaction of Tang's family after Tang died because of protecting her house from demolish by government. Tang's family were very sad and helpless, they are the common people without any power so that they appears to be weak in front of the government officers. In this case, audience would stand by the weaker side,Tang's family, and feel sorry for them.I am still a little bit confused by Karios and rhetorical situation.
ReplyDeleteThis assignment was quite challenging because I understood the argument that Paul Krugman was making in his article “ Good and Boring” which talks about the economical crisis in the United States, but the hardest part was putting my understanding of his methods of persuasion in words for other people to persuade them that Paul Krugman is a great writer. From reading others writers papers I learned few essential methods that can help me to enforce my writing and make it more persuasive, some of the methods are logos which is the use of logical and rational thoughts, pathos the use of emotions to persuade the audience, and common topics which is the common thoughts on a certain topic but not necessarily a correct thought of the topic. I used some other methods that I learned in the class such as Kairos which is the use of choosing the right time to invoke a certain issues, and that method was very important for me because my topic- the united states economical crisis-was timey and important .
ReplyDeleteWhen trying to start this, I had a very difficult time because i didn't fully understand ethos and pathos. I understood what Charles Blow was writing about and he convinced me to feel the same way he did, but I couldn't understand how he got me to fell what he felt. By doing a little more research, i grasped the concepts of the terms a little better and it made it easier to start and complete the paper. I learned that a lot about writing has to do with the crowd that you are trying to direct it to, and that your audience has more of a say of the quality of your writing than you do. This assignment helped me be more focused on my audience and more focused on trying to lure them into and agree with my argument. All of this isn't perfectly clear but I have a greater awareness of it for sure.
ReplyDelete