Scribd
Upload
14 views

Rhetoric

Rhetoric is the persuasive use of words and phrases to influence others or communicate emotions. It is used everyday, such as asking people to donate to charity outside a shopping center through an emotional appeal about childhood leukemia. Rhetoric aids in all forms of discourse, from everyday speech to political debates, by helping people communicate effectively and get their point across through persuasive language.

Uploaded by

cassandrachristopher49
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
14 views

Rhetoric

Rhetoric is the persuasive use of words and phrases to influence others or communicate emotions. It is used everyday, such as asking people to donate to charity outside a shopping center through an emotional appeal about childhood leukemia. Rhetoric aids in all forms of discourse, from everyday speech to political debates, by helping people communicate effectively and get their point across through persuasive language.

Uploaded by

cassandrachristopher49
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 1

Rhetoric is the persuasive use of words and phrases to further the effectiveness of

discourse. I come to this definition by dissecting the OED definition of rhetoric,


combined with the discussion we had during class. Breaking it down, people use rhetoric
to aid in communicating an emotion or influence the response of others. In every day
speech, a person can find themselves using rhetoric (i.e. to gain sympathy or persuade
anothers opinion). Even being approached outside of a shopping center and asked to
donate to charity is a form of every day rhetoric. You, the shopper, engage in discourse.
What is discourse? Discourse, simply, is debate. Speeches, political atmospheres, and
even bargaining are forms of discourse. Lets say that in this shopping example, you are
asked Would you spare a dollar to help fight childhood leukemia? You are met with an
emotionally appeal. Mostly, this form of rhetoric works because of its effective emotional
appeal. In class we discussed the use of negative rhetoric in examples of trying to get the
best deal at a car dealership. Effectively, all forms of rhetoric work to aid in debate, no
matter how small or large scale it is.

You might also like