Progress Report

I have been convinced thus far this semester that the best way to define rhetoric, the most effective way to foster understanding and encourage the initial grasping of the art, is by observation and analysis of examples. Rhetoric takes many forms; it can be written, spoken, or visual. Thus it is found not only in textbooks and speeches, but on billboards, on television advertisements, and in daily conversations. Rhetoric has also evolved throughout the course of history. Originally isolated for study by Greeks, men like Poulakos, Leff, Scott, Bitzer, Toulmin, Weaver, Burke, and Habermas have devoted great thought and effort into developing the definition and dissecting the amorphous discipline. These men relied on examples to form the foundation for their analysis; they asked questions about what worked or did not work in a speech, document, image, and why or why not. Then they gave names and classifications to their systems.

Rhetoric is unavoidable; everyone uses it multiple times each day, whether to convince ourselves to stop hitting the snooze and get out of bed or to persuade the country that it is in our best interests to go to war. We are wise to follow the models of those who have determined methods of recognizing rhetoric and to employ the schema practiced in class. We are inundated with rhetoric from our country’s leaders to our local clothing stores. We must decide what exactly is said and what is intended to be accomplished by the message, whether it is working, why it is or is not working, and how we should then respond.

I have learned that the success of rhetoric is dependent on the interpretation of the audience. Using basic principles of ethos, logos, and pathos oriented toward an obvious telos supported by sound kairos, a rhetor [and we are all rhetors] is able to elicit the desired response. I will employ these methods when writing papers for school, documents for businesses, giving presentations – even among friends and family. And I will be aware that these very same methods are always being used on me.