DESCRIPTION AND INSTRUCTIONS:

Throughout the semester, I’ll be asking you do informal presentations based on rhetorical terminology from the Forest of Rhetoric. These presentations will only need to be about 8-10 minutes long. Each presentation will be centered around an advertisement. This can be a commercial, an image-based ad, an audio-based ad (perhaps from the radio), an internet banner ad – anything. You may find that working with a series of ads works well for this assignment. The ads also do not have to be current; using older or historical advertisements is an interesting approach, too. Regardless, you must choose an advertisement, not a clip from a TV show, an online meme, etc. After selecting an advertisement, you’ll need to select four rhetorical terms (one from each of four categories) to use as the main lenses through which to view the ad. A list of these terms can be found below. Remember that these presentations should be informative, but informal. The idea is to put our skills of rhetorical analysis into practice as well as to introduce the class to a phrase or term from the lexicon of rhetorical studies in order to help us build our vocabulary in this area for us in our writing during this semester in a way that allows us to see that term in play in our daily lives. (And after all – what’s more a part of our daily lives than advertising?) Your presentation should focus on a rhetorical analysis of the ad, should explain the terminology you’re using well, and should be interesting for the class. (Be creative and have fun with this!)

If you need more guidance, take a look at this blog post about definitions in the Forest of Rhetoric, and this rhetorical analysis essay about advertisements for some ideas. While these pieces are not examples of the particular assignment I’m asking you to do, they both feature writing that emulates the qualities I’m asking from you for this presentation.

FIND YOUR PRESENTATION DATE HERE.

CATEGORIES OF RHETORICAL TERMS

(Please choose one from each category for a total of four terms to use as focal points for your analysis.)

Category #1: Encompassing Terms

Kairos

Audience

Decorum

Category #2: Canons of Rhetoric

Invention

Arrangement

Style

Memory

Delivery

Category #3: Persuasive Appeals and Figures of Rhetoric

Logos

Pathos

Ethos

Category #4: Specific Figures

Figures of Logos:

• enthymeme
• sorites
• syllogismus
• aetiologia
• ratiocinatio
• anthypophora
• apophasis
• contrarium
• expeditio
• proecthesis
• prosapodosis
• paromologia
• dirimens copulatio
• commoratio

Figures of Pathos:

• adhortatio
• adynaton
• aganactesis
• apagoresis
• aposiopesis
• apostrophe
• cataplexis
• conduplicatio
• congeries
• deesis
• descriptio
• iacope
• ecphonesis
• enargia
• energia
• epanorthosis
• epimone
• epiplexis
• epitrope
• excitatio
• exuscitatio
• inter se pugnantia
• mempsis
• ominatio
• paenismus
• pathopoeia
• perclusio
• synonymia

Figures of Ethos:

• anamnesis
• litotes
• paronomasia