AP Lang Reading (August 24, 2017)

Assigned today were pages 11 through 23 of the textbook. From this reading I was able to further my learning of rhetorical appeals speakers use to persuade their audience; additionally, I learned about the rhetorical analysis of visual texts.

Ending last class's reading on the topic of ethos, today's homework went into the rhetorical appeal that is logos. Greek for "embodied thought", appealing to logos means to think logically. Speaker's do so by supporting their main idea with details, examples, facts, statistics, and/or expert testimonies. Moreover, another way to appeal to logos is by acknowledging a counterargument and using a combination of concession and refutation - agreeing that the opposing argument is reasonable, but then but then denying its validity.

Moving on to the last of the three main rhetorical appeals, the use of pathos was introduced in this reading. On one hand, using pathos in one's argument appeals to emotions, values, desires, hopes, and, on the other, fears and prejudices. In order to establish pathos, speakers use wide ranging tools, such as imagery, figurative language, words with strong connotations, humor, juxtaposition, syntax, etc. However, effective speakers don't just use one of these rhetorical appeals, instead, they combine the three and use all.

In addition to understanding the speakers' use of rhetorical appeals, I also learned how to analyze the rhetoric of visual texts. Many visual texts are arguments; they are framed by a certain occasion, have a purpose, make a claim, and support it using ethos, pathos, and logos. In fact, in order to do a proper rhetorical analysis of visual texts one could use the acronym SOAPS (Subject, Occasion, Audience, Purpose, and Speaker).

AP Lang Reading (August 22, 2017)

For today’s homework we were assigned to read pages one through ten of our textbooks. From this reading, I was able to further my knowledge of rhetoric, I learned how to effectively approach the concept of a rhetorical situation, and I covered the rhetorical appeal that is Ethos.

Debunking some people’s foremost perception that rhetoric is used for trickery, manipulation, or deception, the textbook shares the true definition of rhetoric. Aristotle defined this word as, “the faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion”. Essentially, rhetoric is a thoughtful, reflective activity that allows for effective communication. In fact, every text (ranging from essays to political cartoons) uses rhetoric and can be investigated; therefore, we must work to understand how rhetoric works.

The first step to analyzing rhetoric, is understanding the occasion, context, and purpose. Occasion is the time and place the text was written or spoken. Context is the atmosphere, attitude, and events surrounding the text. Purpose is the goal the speaker wants to achieve. Another important aspect of the rhetorical situation can be represented by the rhetorical triangle. This diagram displays the relationship among the speaker (creator of a text), audience (receiver(s) of a text), and subject (the topic). To summarize, one way to remember all of these things and to approach the concept of the rhetorical situation is by remembering SOAPS: Subject, Occasion, Audience, Purpose, and Speaker.

In addition to understanding how to assess a rhetorical situation, we should understand how to use the tools of rhetoric to persuade an audience. One such way is through Ethos. Greek for “character”, ethos are used to demonstrate that the author or speaker is credible and trustworthy. One could establish ethos by expertise, knowledge, experience, sincerity, and common purpose/values with the audience. For example, the use of the word “we” instead of I in a speech uses ethos to unity the audience with the commonality that they are all one.