College Composition

College Composition Study Guide

Chapter 3: Thinking Rhetorically Objectives 1. To analyze the rhetorical elements of difficult literary passages and speeches. 2. To examine complex writing prompts and learn how to write rhetorically. 3.1 What is Rhetoric? Rhetoric is the art of effective communication, whether it is spoken or written, and has been used in many forms for as long as people have communicated with each other. If you have ever seen a child convince a parent to buy ice cream, you have witnessed spoken rhetoric. If you have ever read a Facebook post urging you to vote a certain way or donate money to a charity, you have seen written rhetoric. Chances are good, that you experience -- and use -- rhetoric every day. Advertising companies understand and use rhetoric to persuade people to buy their products, but rhetoric is for more than just to persuade someone to accept an opinion or motivate a listener to take some action. Rhetoric can be used to inform, as a way of convincing the audience that the information is interesting and important. Rhetoric can be used to narrate, telling a story in a way that engages the audience and holds interest. Thinking rhetorically is more than just considering the message, but going beyond what is said. When we think rhetorically, we consider the writer or speaker. We think about the audience who is reading or listening to the message. Thinking rhetorically also involves thinking about how the argument is crafted by the writer and why he or she is writing. 3.2 Reading Actively with SQ3R To think rhetorically, a reader needs to read actively. This means not just simply reading from beginning to end to take in the information, but to read and think about the writing in ways that help you have a deeper understanding. One method you can use to help you read actively is called SQ3R: • S urvey: Read the title, as well as the first and last sentences of each paragraph. If there are pictures, look at the pictures and read the captions. If the writing has subheadings, text inserts, or even bold and italicized text, read those as well. As you read, think about what these mean, and how they fit together. • Q uestion: Write down some questions that come to mind in your survey. You will use these questions to help you guide your reading. For example, you may write questions about the author’s background and how much he knows about a subject. If you found technical terms you didn’t understand in your survey, you might ask yourself what the terms mean. • R ead: Read the text, looking for information that will help you answer your questions. If you find something that directly answers one of your questions, you can pause in your reading to write the answer or mark that place in the text. • R ecall: Try to remember as much of the text as you can, without looking at your notes. In addition to the information presented, try to remember how the text was organized and what the writer’s main points were. The more information you can recall, the better your

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