Rhetoric
SPACECAT
SPACECAT
S = SPEAKER
P = PURPOSE
A = AUDIENCE
C = CONTEXT
E = EXIGENCE
C = CHOICES
A = APPEALS
T = TONE
Rhetorical Situation: Speaker (Author)
Questions to ask:
Who is the speaker?
What is their relationship with the audience?
How does their background and perspective influence their message?
How does the speaker's reputation or public image impact their persuasiveness?
Are there any potential biases or limitations in the speaker's perspective?
Speaker = the person delivering the speech or writing the text
Rhetorical Situation: Purpose
Questions to ask:#
What specific action does the author want the audience to take?
What are the potential motivations behind the author's stated purpose?
Is the author trying to change the audience's opinion or reinforce existing
beliefs?
What are the potential consequences or effects of the author achieving their stated
purpose?
Purpose = the specific goal of the text
Rhetorical Situation: Audience
Questions to ask:
What is the audience's age range, gender, socioeconomic status, education level,
and geographic location?
How much does the audience already know about the topic?
Is the audience likely to be supportive, neutral, or opposed to the author's
perspective?
How does the audience perceive the author's credibility and authority?
How does the author tailor their language, examples, and evidence to specifically
resonate with the audience?
Audience = the people for whom the text is written
Rhetorical Situation: Context
Questions to ask:
Where and when is this text being delivered?
Are there any relevant current events or social issues influencing the text?
What are the cultural norms and values that may influence the text?
Are there any historical events or trends that are relevant to understanding the
text?
What underlying values or beliefs are evident in the text?
Context = where and when the text is delivered
Rhetorical Situation: Exigence
Questions to ask:
What event or situation prompted the author to create this text?
What urgent problem or issue is the text addressing?
How does the author construct a sense of urgency for the audience?
What social, political, or cultural factors contribute to this exigence?
Exigence = the reason the text was written
Rhetorical Situation: Choices
Choice of words (diction)
Word order (syntax)
Detail, imagery, and language (figurative language)
Choices = the specific language choices the writer makes
Choices: Diction
Diction is word choice intended to convey a certain effect:
To communicate ideas and impressions
To evoke emotions
To convey your views of truth to the reader
Choices: Syntax
The arrangement and order of words in a sentence:
#Short sentences
emphatic, passionate, or flippant
Longer sentences
suggest thoughtful response
Choices: Syntax
Arrangement of Ideas in a Sentence
Are they set out in a particular way for a purpose?
#Arrangement of Ideas in a Paragraph
Is there evidence of any pattern or structure?
Parallelism shows similarities
Antithesis shows difference
Choices: Imagery & Figurative Language
The use of poetic language to appeal to the senses. Examples:
Simile
Metaphor
Allusion
Alliteration
Figurative language is metaphorical; therefore, it makes abstract things concrete.
Rhetorical Situation: Appeals
Categorized as: #
ethos (appeal to credibility)
pathos (appeal to emotion)
logos (appeal to logic) #
All of these are methods to convince the audience to accept a particular viewpoint.
Together, they form the “Rhetorical Triangle.”
Appeals = the strategy used to influence the audience
Appeals: Logos - An appeal to logic
An attempt to persuade the reader by presenting a logical argument:#
“If, then” statements
Deductive reasoning (reaching a specific conclusion based on general facts)#
The central appeal of anything is that it must be logical.
Without logic, nothing that follows is reasonable.
Appeals: Ethos - The ethical appeal
An attempt to persuade based on authoritative or moral grounds:#
Right vs. Wrong
Good vs. Evil#
Authoritative grounds can include titles (Ph.D; Judge, M.D.) and well-known
celebrities or athletes.
Appeals: Pathos - An appeal to emotion
An attempt to persuade the reader by causing them to respond to the way an
issue/topic makes them feel:#
Can invoke bias or prejudice
Uses non-logical appeals
Informal language
Rhetorical Situation: Appeals
Questions to ask: #
How do the different appeals work together in the text?
Is there a balance between the appeals, or does the author rely too heavily on one
type?
How does the author's use of appeals align with the intended audience and purpose
of the text?
Are there any potential ethical concerns regarding the author's use of appeals?
Appeals = the strategy used to influence the audience
Rhetorical Situation: Tone
Questions to ask:#
How does the author's word choice contribute to the tone?
Are there any shifts in tone throughout the text?
How does the tone impact the author's credibility and the audience's reception of
the message?
What specific words or phrases indicate the author's tone?
How does the tone align with the author's intended purpose?
Tone = the attitude of the writer toward the subject