Rhetoric Part 2

                  The first time we did this assignment I was completely clueless as to what “rhetoric” meant. I had no idea what kind of English class “English 1900 Advanced Strategies Rhetoric and Research” would be. I had just expected an English class similar to all those taken in high school that required reading literature and then writing papers. Needless to say, I had no idea what this class would be like and what I was going to learn. I have since had some light shown on what rhetoric is.

                  The first time I was given the task to define rhetoric, I came across the definition that was given on Silvae Rhetoricae. This website defined rhetoric as “the study of effective speaking and writing, the art of persuasion, and many other things.” If I weren’t confused enough before as to what rhetoric was, I sure was now. Who puts “and many others things” in a definition? I was super lost. I did the assignment, but was still clueless as to what rhetoric really was and what it would mean for this class. Later as a class we were given the definition of rhetoric as “the art of effective expression”. That’s all that I was missing… That whole idea that had been so confusing to me was actually really straightforward, and was something I had been learning for what seems like forever in school. At this point, a light bulb turned on for me. Thank goodness, I finally knew what this class was about.

                  Since the day I finally figured out what the heck rhetoric was, my definition hasn’t changed per say. My definition has definitely evolved, but the basis is still the same. This happened through the course of the class. In class, we learned about a lot different aspects of rhetoric that have led me to a more mature understanding. Everything from reading Graff’s They Say, I Say to fight club has taught me the importance of rhetoric.

                  Reading They Say, I Say was incredibly informative. While the book was sometimes hard to get through, it really did teach me a lot. Graff never came out and said “this is how you master rhetoric”, but he gave all the tools needed to do so. In Graff’s book, he hits all the important points of rhetoric. Graff states the importance of introducing differing viewpoints into an argument so that a larger audience can be reached. He stressed the importance of adding a naysayer to a paper to address counter arguments throughout the paper. Graff showed the reader how to create a strong argument without being overbearing. Reading They Say, I Say really broadened my horizons on all that rhetoric entails. This book was also incredibly helpful when creating a strong argument for my proposal paper.

                  Another activity that really helped broaden my understanding of rhetoric was fight club. Fight club put my arguing skills to the test which are present in rhetoric on a large scale. Fight Club really helped me develop an argument and find strong supporting points. All of this is vital to “effectively expressing” an argument in a paper.

                  While my definition of rhetoric did not drastically change over the entirety of the course, my initial understanding was built upon. Rhetoric remains to me “the art of effective expression”, but I now know all that effective expression encompasses.