Rhetoric Definition

Rhetoric is persuasion. Rhetoric is communication. Rhetoric is eloquence. Rhetoric is it all. The definition of rhetoric encompasses many aspects of writing and speaking making it incredibly broad and open to interpretation. In fact, the website includes “And many other things” in their opening definition of rhetoric showing how there truly are numerous definitions of this single word. They say it is “the study of effective speaking and writing” and “the art of persuasion”. I do wholeheartedly agree with their definitions, but I think I can be simplified into a more concise sentence. I think the definition of rhetoric is simply represented by logos, pathos, and ethos. These persuasive appeals are the strategies used to create convincing arguments based upon your audience. Therefore, rhetoric is a compelling argument that includes persuasive appeals based upon the demographics of your audience. I believe this is a very straightforward definition that clearly communicates what rhetoric is. Previously, the definition was overwhelming and the website reinforced that with an abundance of information. Although the website did provide a lot of good information and examples, it did not provide it in a concise way. Rhetoric is not as complicated as society makes it out to be, in fact, we naturally encounter it on a daily basis while reading, writing, and speaking.

Since my definition of rhetoric focuses on logos, pathos and ethos, I think it would be important to define those as well. This is when the website became extremely helpful, the organization of the website made it easy to find the persuasive appeals and analyze them on a deeper level. I was able to gather that logos “appeals to reason”, pathos “appeals to emotion”, and ethos “names the persuasive appeal”. Determining which appeal would be most effective comes from analyzing your audience, which is why I feel like your audience is an extremely important part of the definition of rhetoric. Once you understand your audience, which we discussed in class  from “They say I say”, you can determine how to build your argument effectively. Then once you have a persuasive argument, you can engage in a more complex conversation with your peers and acquaintances. In addition, I loved how the website was able to divide rhetoric into the 5 cannons of communication. The website seemed very helpful to give beginners a good understanding of rhetoric by breaking the definition up into many sections. I also believe that it helps more advanced writers to keep in mind the foundations of communication and help them prosper even more.

The website contained a lot of valuable information that helped me understand the definition of rhetoric beyond the one I had previously derived from the word rhetorical. I can now see the immense difference and how rhetoric surrounds us in our daily lives. Rhetoric is something so seemingly simple, but also exhibits great complexities. It is something so powerful that can influence your audience in many ways. Since we encounter it so often, we must study and practice rhetoric to build our arguments and create more engaging conversations. Rhetoric is a compelling argument. Rhetoric is logos, pathos, and ethos. Rhetoric is based upon your audience. 

Gideon, Burton 0. "The Forest of Rhetoric." Silva Rhetoricae. Brigham Young University, n.d. Web. 04 Sept. 2015.