Rhetoirc Blog Post- Round 2

Throughout the semester we have practiced rhetoric-the art of effective expression. Whether it was Fight Club, They Say, I Say, or our research papers, it was based on rhetoric. Heck, the word is even in the name of the class. Through these experiences we have come to an understanding of what rhetoric truly is. However, it is hard to put a label on it. One cannot understand the art of rhetoric unless they have experienced it themselves, for the same reason that one cannot understand how to ride a bike unless they actually practice it. The art of rhetoric is learned through experiences. For example, when doing Fight Club we learned how to develop arguments in any given situation, regardless of our interest in the subject. This was one of the first times that I encountered this in an english class. In high school, we were encouraged to write about topics that we were interested in. Teachers did this because they thought it would motivate us to do the work, which would inevitably make it good. While this did make it easier for me, was that really the best thing? In the end, my teachers were holding me back. The whole point of rhetoric is to branch out of your comfort zone and develop arguments regardless of our interest level. In life, we are bound to encounter situations where these skills would be useful. This, among other things, emphasizes the importance of Fight Club.

Looking back, I believe that my perspective of rhetoric has changed almost every week this semester. At the beginning of the semester, my definition for it was, “the art of effective expression”. Then, after a few weeks in I developed the definition of,  “the art of having a meaningful and powerful effect on an audience with persuasive techniques”. That one was a little better.

The reason why my perspective of rhetoric has changed is because of the experiences I have had in class. For example, this was evident in my research paper. Throughout the semester I worked on the paper. At the beginning of the semester, my paper was just an idea. The only thing I knew was that I was going to write about high school sports. I had no idea what I was going to argue or what defend for that matter. Then, as most things do, it developed over time. This wasn’t just because I put time into it, as time is nothing if it isn’t used efficiently. The reason my paper developed was because of what I learned in class. As I stated, Fight Club played a large role in my paper as it helped me develop my arguments and taught me to acknowledge that counter-arguments exist. They Say, I Say helped me with tone, and sentence structure. This was beneficial as my paper was well-organized and formal. Lastly, our class was itself was beneficial. My experiences in this class taught me to make my work relevant. Write something that people actually care about. If our class had a different focus where we didn’t develop of rhetoric skills, my research paper would merely be thin pieces of wood with words on them. It would serve no purpose, and after taking this class I have realized that I should have one.

Now that I have established how my experiences with rhetoric, it is time to develop one last definition for the semester. The grand finale. Without further ado, I believe that rhetoric is, the art of making a relevant, concise, argument in a persuasive manner. While this still does not encompass what rhetoric is (as no sentence ever will), I believe that this definition justifies it fairly well. However, as I emphasized, one will never know the art of rhetoric without practicing it.