Throughout the semester, my definition of rhetoric has not changed, but it has gained more meaning. I had less of an understanding about what writing and speaking in rhetoric was before this class. I now know what rhetoric is and how to use it in my writing. I have learned how to be persuasive and convincing. I learned how the rhetor is supposed to have an impact on an audience in order to convince them. “The art of effective expression” is the definition we were first given. This definition is perhaps the simplest way to define rhetoric. The word “effective” is a simple way to sum up that writing in rhetoric has to be convincing, persuasive, and make an impact on an audience.
Before this class, my understanding of ethos, pathos, and logos was not complete. I now believe I do have a complete understanding of these forms of rhetoric writing. I now understand their importance and in what contexts the can and should be used. I know that ethos is an appeal to ethics. Ethos is a means of convincing a person of the credibility or character of a persuader. It can be used to take advantage of an audience’s opinions of right and wrong to persuade them of your argument. Pathos is an appeal to emotion. Pathos is the way to convince audiences of your argument by tapping into their emotions and creating an emotional response. This can be used to convince an audience of something by making them feel, whether it is making them feel positively or negatively. Logos is an appeal to logic. Logos is a way of persuading an audience by using reason and facts. When someone uses logos, they have to back up their argument with facts and valid reasons.
Using rhetoric writing in this class helped me understand how to recognize problems easier. We were asked to point out problems about things and find a solution for our final paper. We had to argue our solution and why it should be executed. For our paper, we were to talk about a problem in our hometown and how to fix it. This helped me understand how to use rhetoric in my writing. In fight club, we had to speak about a number of debatable issues and present arguments. This helped me learn how to use rhetoric in my speaking.
Learning how to use rhetoric helped me practice how to be more persuasive and form valid arguments. No audience will be convinced of something unless valid arguments are stated. Valid arguments have to be backed up with facts and use ethos, pathos, or logos to appeal to an audience. When appealing to a specific audience, a writer may change what they say. Arguments should be made to be specific to the audience a writer is trying to reach. Writers need to examine the audience, occasion, purpose, and subject before beginning to write in rhetoric. They need to gather information and form an argument that possibly will appeal to a number of audiences, instead of just the target.
