What Is Rhetoric?: Study Hall Writing Composition #10: ASU + Crash Course

Politicians give speeches promising to bring change, evoking strong feelings. But they might be dismissed as “just empty rhetoric.” This use of the word rhetoric suggests that a speech is just an empty pie crust, with no valuable apple-y evidence to fill it. But rhetoric shouldn’t be demonized as underhanded or negative. It’s a tool that can be used for good. And that's what we're discussing in this episode of Study Hall.

Presented by Arizona State University and Crash Course, Study Hall is a tailored series of YouTube Learning Playlists aimed at helping you with resources to navigate college and your education path. Count on Study Hall to guide you to and through college.

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[golmera]

I'd give this video and the entire course 1000 likes if I could, thank you so much for making this content available to us!

[chikiamccoy]

Thanks! I actually understood all of 8 minutes and 49 seconds. Time to go write this paper :)

[hjaiswal]

This video has persuaded me look deeper into 'rhetoric as tool' for my writings. Thanks to the team for making this series.

[HMArtStudio]

Watching this a 2 am I’ve been thinking about this all day. Thanks for answering that for me 👍

[WisdomWorkshop]

excellent work, Crash Course, once again :)

[randomperson-zswb]

This video hasn't been added to the Composition playlist yet. :)

[ahmedalosif]

Rhetoric needs tools like language, information, experience

[OfficialNex]

Except empty rhetoric means the persuasion itself is empty. By definition, the use of 'Empty Rhetoric' is correct.

[luciddreamer]

I was reading the Iron Druid Chronicles, and at the end of Hounded, or maybe the beginning of Hexed, Kevin Hearne wrote about consulting a Professor of Rhetoric to get the dialogue right for one of his characters, an old Irish widow with a few peculiar turns of phrase and a distinct manner of speech.

My understanding of rhetoric is that it typically pertains to literary devices, framing tools and tactics that can be honest or dishonest, or just useful (e.g. pertaining to the rhythm or cadence or the ease with which words can be remembered, etc.) But where could I learn about the kind of rhetoric that would improve my ear for dialogue? Where would I learn about profanities of the ancient world, or syntaxes and turns of phrase common to people who, say, spoke a particular dialect of Farsi as their first language and then immigrated to New York?

[elizabethgrant]

You're missing kairos and telos ... The persuasive appeal within the argument needs to be given at the right time which requires audience analysis and proper context creation (kairos) while also remaining cognizant of it's purpose (telos) within the argument as a whole.

Just focusing on logos, ethos, and pathos is not sufficient for persuasion, in fact, logos, ethos, and pathos are the less important parts about a persuasive appeal (they are merely discriptive not substantive).