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How to Answer Any Rhetoric Question on the CSET English Exam

By: Jolene Wise

Humans have been seeking to persuade each other for a long time. Perhaps one of the greatest fluent early persuasive speakers was the Greek scholar Aristotle. His ideas are as pertinent today as they were when he was educating at the Lyceum around 290 B.C.

Persuasion is the action of persuading. It is the superpower to persuade using the written or spoken word. Persuasion is a type of social molding. It is the process of leading people toward the adoption of an idea, attitude, or action by rational and symbolic (though not always logical) means. It is a scheme of cerebration relying on "appeals" rather than force.

Persuasion is conveyed by sorts of persuasive appeals:

Logos = The appeal to reason or the intellect.
Pathos = The appeal to emotion or the feelings.
Ethos = The persuasive appeal of one's character or notoriety.

We will analyze these three appeals on an individual basis but know that often these three appeals work as a single unit towards a convincing conclusion.

Aristotle defines these "intrinsic" or "artistic" proofs—those that could be set up by means of the art of rhetoric—in contrast to "extrinsic" or "nonartistic" proofs such as testimony or legal instruments that are merely used by the speaker, not originating in rhetoric.

Logos

Aristotle hoped that all communication could be transacted only through this method, but given the short comings of humanity, he deplores, we must resort to the use of the other two appeals. The Greek word logos can be defined as "reason".

Example of Logos

"My ex-wife is a materialistic lady, in addition to being a murderer and drug abuser. She was driving a car while under the influence of a controlled substance and had a car crash which resulted in the death of my only daughter Jenny."

Pathos

Aristotle dedicates a significant portion of discussion of impacting the emotions, and defining the sorts of reactions of diverse demographic groups. Therefore, we notice the tight-fitting dealings betwixt appraisal of pathos and of audience. Pathos, as well, is the concept by which we understand the psychological expressions of rhetoric. The Greek word pathos can be defined as "emotion". Unfavorable judgments of rhetoric are inclined to concentrate on the overstressing of pathos, feelings, at the cost of logos, the message.

Example of Pathos

"Jenny lived with me, her father, about 50 percent of the time, ever since she was 11 months old. When Jenny was in my care, I had the role of mother and father. Along with being a single dad, came a tremendous amount of duty. It was a duty I certainly enjoyed. I cooked for her, washed her clothes and took care of Jenny when she was sick. When Jenny got the chicken pox, I got the chicken pox. All of my life was devoted to Jenny. It was the greatest time of my life. Never did I ever have to scold Jenny, disciplining only with love and patience. At the time of my divorce, my former wife's income was $170,000.00 + a year. I was below the poverty level. I even signed away the home to my former wife in divorce, which had $215,000.00 of equity in it. All I wanted was my daughter Jenny. All my former wife cared about was money. In 1998, when I was going through an exceedingly rough time financially, my former wife offered to help me out financially. She offered to purchase my parental rights for $11,000.00. Even though I was facing eviction, I told her that my daughter was not for sale at any price. For 7 years, my former wife tried to take Jenny away from me. She finally did. On March 22nd, 2004 Jenny's mother was driving her to school. She was driving in excess of 55 mph in a 15 mph speed zone, around a turn, on a wet and slippery street, near a school, with no seatbelt on my daughter. Jenny was thrown and twisted through the glass window of the car driven by her mother. The vehicle then rolled over my daughter. With two collapsed lungs, my daughter stood up, took a several steps gasping for air, and fell back down. My former wife never even went over to Jenny after the accident. A witness claimed that my former wife was more worried about her car and jewelry than her own daughter. Jenny was rushed to the hospital, hooked up to what looked like 100 tubes and a brain monitor. I waited on the cold floor in the waiting room for two weeks. Jenny's heart stopped beating at 8:22 p.m. on April 5th, 2004 at the age of 7 1/2 years old. My former wife tested positive for cocaine, hydrocodone and other drugs."

Ethos

Ethos is the method of persuasion that involves the use of one's notoriety, especially how this character is established by means of the speech or discourse. Aristotle asserts that someone should attempt to be seen as both well-read about one's topic and good. Cicero said that in speech the first part of a speech (its exordium or introduction) was the space to demonstrate one's credibility with the audience.

Example of Ethos

"My Dear Fellow Clergymen:

While confined here in Birmingham city jail, I came across your recent statement calling my present activities "unwise and untimely."...Since I feel that you are men of genuine good will and that your criticisms are sincerely set forth, I want to try to answer your statement in what I hope will be patient and reasonable in terms.

I think I should indicate why I am here in Birmingham, since you have been influenced by the view which argues against "outsiders coming in."...I, along with several members of my staff, am here because I was invited here. I am here because I have organizational ties here.

But more basically, I am in Birmingham because injustice is here. Just as the prophets of the eighth century B.C. left their villages and carried their "thus saith the Lord" far beyond the boundaries of their home towns, and just as the Apostle Paul left his village of Tarsus and carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to the far corners of the Greco-Roman world, so am I compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my own home town. Like Paul, I must constantly respond to the Macedonian call for aid." - Martin Luther King, Jr. "Letter from Birmingham Jail"

This article is an extract from ACE the CSET English study guide and online course. In the class, we look at specific examples of logos, pathos, and ethos, and we analyze all forms of persuasion such as a bandwagon, red herring, straw man, shifting the burden of proof, and many more. The CSET English class has computer generated chronology, fill-in, and matching exercises that enable you to quickly memorize the information you need to pass the rhetoric and media persuasion sections of the CSET English test.

If you’re looking for a big publishing company that sells dozens of instant downloadable test preparation pdfs or ebook study guides with which to pass your CSET examination, we’re not for you.

But if you’re looking for an affordable interactive software program or an online CSET class from a small company that specializes exclusively in the California curriculum as applied to the CSET exam, I encourage you to check out our Web site.

Article Source: http://articles.tiptopweb.info

Jolene Wise is a education advisor and critic for ACE the CSET English which is the better way to ace the CSET English examination.

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How to Answer Any Rhetoric Question on the CSET English Exam