Over this course I have learned the true meaning of rhetoric and how to use it. When trying to persuade someone's ideas or beliefs you are using rhetoric. There are many situations where rhetoric comes into the picture. Writing involves taking rhetorical concepts and incorporating them into your work to have an effective piece. After learning about ethos, pathos and logos I noticed it a lot more when reading papers or pieces of writing. These three things do greatly impact the reader one of them, if not more, should always be included when writing.
RHETORIC
Ethos, pathos & Logos
If you click the button below, you will be taken to a section of my notes that shows a rhetorical situation drawn out as a triangle. One of the first things we learned about in this class is rhetoric. Ethos, pathos and logos are all concepts that I was taught a little about in high school, but the knowledge I had about rhetoric expanded as I was challenged to think in a more abstract way. This image shows the correlation between ethos, pathos and logos in a rhetorical situation. I found this display helpful when trying to grasp exactly how each of the concepts affected my writing and were connected to each other. I learned that without these three things, your writing will struggle. It is so crucial to establish each of these concepts because they work together to create a piece that has purpose and the necessities that will get your point across.
In class one day we discussed the different elements of a rhetorical situation. I included a picture of the section of my notes that helped me the most with rhetoric at the bottom of this page to have a visual representation of the rhetorical ideas we explored in class. When demonstrating rhetoric, you should be aware of all of the elements. Rhetoric does not always have to pertain to writing, it can be used in any sort of communication. It is often overlooked in every day life. Without realizing it, people are always trying to persuade someone of something. This is rhetoric in its simplest form. Analyzing a piece of rhetoric gets tricky, since it involves such complex thinking. However, if you know what ethos, pathos and logos are then you are at and advantage.
