Scientific English

As I was reading chapter three of Envision, I realized how much it reminded me of the everyday thinking process. Though it was the key point at the beginning of the chapter, it was core to being able to pick a stance in writing, planning arguments, and of course…persuasion. To me, the Canons of Rhetoric were very similar to the steps in the scientific method. Let’s break both down, starting at the beginning of the sequence. In the scientific world, we start our problem-solving process with a hypothesis, also known as an idea that would soon have to be tested in order to get an accurate answer. As for the Canons of Rhetoric, any persuasion must start with some form of idea, referred to in chapter three as an invention. Like a hypothesis, the invention will eventually need support, or backup, in order to have a legitimate argument. With the idea, the planner would then start organizing and predicting the possible outcomes that may or may not happen (arrangement). After the arrangement or potential predictions, one can then begin to find reliable sources of information to reinforce the original ideas. This step is called style, for an English and literature point of view, and method for the scientific meaning. Obviously, the persuader or experimenter must be able to comprehend the information they have collected, and in my opinion, this (the memory and research) is the make or breaking point of the whole process. If you cannot understand what you are observing, you will not be able to support your argument. With the knowledge and understanding, an outcome can then be produced. In other words, delivered (rhetoric) and reported (scientific). If one piece of this sequence is left out, from my understanding and observation, the outcome of the message would be altered if not destroyed. Though my relationship between these two factors (rhetoric and scientific) is probably nonexistent, it helped me understand the process of persuasion and creating an argument.