To persuade others of our point of view ethically, emotionally, and rationally, we employ various rhetorical strategies (example: someone would be more inclined to trust your argument if you presented them the evidence behind it). Rhetoric strategies aid in the organization of evidence, the linking of facts into a sequence, and the provision of information clusters required for the transmission of a goal or an assertion. It is possible for a writer to evaluate the cause of an issue, compare one thing to another, classify their data into categories, define a crucial phrase, explain or describe a person or location, explain how a method operates, or narrate a relevant event or experience (Norton & Company, 2022). I will employ rhetoric strategies in two ways: comparing and contrasting, classifying and dividing.
As you are aware, the word telos refers to a purpose or a goal. The goal of an email to a professor may be to obtain information (for example, information on a section of the class that you did not comprehend or information on a forthcoming test/assignment). However, the purpose of an academic piece may be to establish or disprove a hypothesis, among other things (for example, the purpose of writing a thesis or an essay on figurative language in Animal Farm is to tell the reader about what figurative language is and how it is employed in the novel). It might be comparable if you are trying to persuade someone (Norton & Company, 2022). Suppose you’ve failed a test and you would like to retake it. You would need to write an email to your professor to convince them to grant you a second chance or a new assignment to improve your marks. When writing an essay, project, or thesis for school, you must persuade your audience that your point of view is correct.
I will first employ rhetoric strategies in writing by comparing and contrasting. Contrasts focus on differences between items, whereas comparisons focus on similarities. Most of the time, if you are going to employ this rhetorical device, you will want to compare and contrast both similarities and differences. Comparing objects is easier when they share specific characteristics and substantial differences (Norton & Company, 2022). This approach can lead to finding more similarities than differences, or the other way around, so have an open mind when using it. Comparison and contrast are essential strategies to employ: writing a report, making a persuasive case in an Op-Ed, writing an email to a professor, or giving a speech intended to encourage your audience to take a specific action (Norton & Company, 2022). You can lay out the advantages and disadvantages of various programs, political policies, and courses of action, ultimately leading to the recommendation you believe is the most effective and most efficient.
The second way I will employ rhetoric strategies is by defining. Defining anything entails explaining to your reader what something means—and what it does not mean. To describe something, you must first state what it is and is not (Norton & Company, 2022). Define implies making sure that you and your readers understand what you mean by a crucial term as part of your overall approach. It may entail redefining a familiar term to have a more exact meaning or providing nuance to a term frequently used in an overly broad manner. When it comes to argumentative writing, defining and redefining are excellent tactics to employ since they allow the writer to change the audience’s thinking and see a subject in a new way.
References
Norton, W. W., & Company. (2022). The Norton Reader Toolbar. Rhetorical Strategies; wwnorton.com. Web.