Thinking Rhetoric Through

Rhetoric: the art of speaking or writing effectively. Chapter one of “Envision” discusses how asking questions and making our own arguments about how a text works is rhetoric. In order to approach a text rhetorically, you must ask yourself questions about how the text expresses a persuasive message or argument. “Envision” states that you encounter many kinds of texts every day, even just walking across campus. Things like advertisements, posters, cartoons, websites, textbooks, TV shows, flyers, signs, and newspapers are all examples of rhetorical texts. I love English class, but I had no idea it followed me everywhere I went.

In order to understand rhetoric, you need to consider the relationship between the writer, the text, and the audience. Throughout every day arguments, you should always consider your rhetorical situation. Also, the argument must be determined by the relationship between the writer, the audience and the text. Inserting an image in an essay, creating a poster to advertise something, or drawing a cartoon are all examples of visual persuasion as a means of writing with images. Rather than through images, a strategy called visual rhetoric includes situations such as a documentary produced to suggest a point of view, an illustration in a children’s book provided to shape the meaning of a story, and sequential cartoons of a comic strip to offer powerful commentary on society or culture (Alfano 7).

Prior to writing a paper, a writer should always use a prewriting checklist. This prewriting checklist should consist of finding a topic, a story, an audience, an author, and an argument. I think it is a great idea to always have some sort of prewriting technique to ensure that your story is thought-over well.