Rhetor's Notebook Post #6: Pathetic Proof

After you read the chapter on “Pathetic Proof” in Ancient Rhetorics for Wednesday, I’d like you to identify an editorial or op-ed piece from the past week that draws heavily on or features a striking appeal to pathos. In your comment, I’d like you to summarize briefly the main argument of the piece. Then, describe the appeal to pathos and explain how it works. That is, what emotional response or psychological condition does it attempt to cultivate within its readers? How does this state of mind work to the advantage of the rhetor? How does the rhetor’s writing foster this state? As you respond to these questions, please draw on specific phrases or brief passages from the text to support your claims.

Please post your response as a comment to this post on our course blog before class on Wednesday, February 2. Aim for 250 words.

Highlighting your most effective paragraph thus far

To conclude class, I’d like you to review the draft you brought into today for our peer review workshop and select the paragraph that you think best reflects your ability to analyze rhetorically another persuasive text (or rhetorical event). Copy it into your comment and in a few sentences, explain why you chose this particular paragraph. I’ll ask for a few volunteers to share their paragraph with the rest of class for a brief discussion before we finish today’s workshop.

Developing your ethos as a student writer

In the second half of class, I’d like you to respond to any of the pieces you’ve read recently and develop an argument about the issue that reflects your own position on it. As you begin your response, make sure and give your reader a sense of the debate or a brief summary of what the writer you're responding to wrote. Then, as you develop your argument, emphasize appeals to ethos as your primary proof for this argument and draw upon your strengths and position as a student to help give you credibility on this issue. Try to use some of the strategies we’ve discussed in class today to strengthen your argument.

Rhetor’s Notebook Post #5: Ethical Proof

After you read the chapter on “Ethical Proof” in Ancient Rhetorics for Wednesday, I’d like you to pick one of the regular columnists from the Denver Post and read three or four pieces by this writer. (Note: You can do this instead of reading all of the op-ed pages.) Feel free to choose from any of the regular columnists from the opinion section, including Dan Haley, Vincent Carroll, David Harsanyi, Mike Littwin, Ed Quillen, Mike Rose, or the other writers listed. You can also choose to explore pieces by the local news columnists, too, like Tina Griego or Bill Johnson. You can find links to their columns through our Blackboard page if you look under “Course Documents.”

Once you’ve read their columns, write one paragraph in which you describe the writer’s invented ethos or the persona that this writer cultivates in his or her column. How does this writer establish his or her expertise and credibility? What kind of values does he or she stand for? How do they secure the goodwill of his or her readers?

In a second paragraph present three brief quotations—a sentence or so—that offer evidence for the discussion in your first paragraph. Explain how these quotes support your ideas.

Please post your response as a comment to this post on our course blog before class on Wednesday, January 26.

Developing an enthymeme, practicing logical proofs

Go back to the editorial or the op-ed piece that you blogged about this past weekend and generate an argument that somehow disagrees with or opposes the original argument. (Try to do this regardless of your own personal opinion just as an exercise in reasoning.) First, see if you can identify a commonplace or a major premise within the original argument that you think could be debated. Rewrite the commonplace in such a way that you can develop it to support your opposing argument. Then, construct a new enthymeme that you think could be the basis for it. Last, draft a 250 word letter to the editor that presents your argument in a persuasive way. Please emphasize the appeal to logos in your argument, but feel free to add other persuasive appeals if you think they will enhance your logical proof.

For example, if I wanted to argue against the initial enthymeme that I started our discussion with—that the perpetrators of 9/11 ought to be defeated—I might start with a commonplace that since evil cannot ever be defeated, it ought to be forgiven. My enthymeme might look something like this:

* Major premise: People who commit evil actions ought to be forgiven.
* Minor premise: The perpetrators of 9/11 committed evil actions.
* Conclusion: The perpetrators ought to be forgiven for their evil actions.

If I were to develop this argument, I think we all might agree that in this case, I would have to expend much persuasive energy in convincing my audience of my major premise and that the perpetrators of 9/11 committed the kind of evil action that can be forgiven.

Post your response here as a comment and be prepared to discuss it with the rest of class.

Rhetor's Notebook Post #4: Logical Proof

For this post, you’ll analyze how a writer from the Denver Post reasons through his or argument. First, pick an editorial or an op-ed piece from the Denver Post that interests you. Then, summarize this piece’s main claim or argument. Then, examine how the writer appeals to logos to support his or her main claim.

To do so, you should first examine its use of enthymemes. For example, you might try writing out the piece’s major premise, minor premise, and conclusion (or main claim) like our textbook does on pages 165-177. Or, you might explain what widely held community beliefs—or commonplaces—provide a foundation for the argument and explain how the writer uses these commonplaces to strengthen his or her reasoning. Then, consider the rhetor’s use of examples, analogies, maxims, or signs. How effectively are these proofs used and how do they lead the reader logically to the conclusions the writer affirms?

Please post your response as a comment to this post before class meets on Monday, January 24.

Reflecting on your writing process

Now that you’ve completed your first formal assignment for this class, I’d like you to reflect on your writing and revision process. How did your essay evolve from its initial draft to your final submission? What feedback from your peers did you find helpful and respond to? What writing exercises or class discussion helped you think about this assignment differently? As you revised, what specific changes did you make to this piece? Ultimately, what did you learn from this assignment about yourself, writing for a specific audience, or your attitudes about education?