Module 2: Section A

Section Warm-Up

Philosophers understood the concept of the power of three and defined the basic principles or purposes of rhetoric using the triangle as a model. So, what is rhetoric? Rhetoric is what you use when you:

• tell your best friend a story about your latest run in with your crush
• try to convince your parents to extend your curfew just this once
• show your little brother how to do a math problem
• when you write in your journal

Based on these examples, which definition would you give for rhetoric?

• Rhetoric is the art of stretching the truth without giving yourself away.
• Rhetoric is the way humans get ideas across to each other in writing and speech
• Rhetoric is the process of asking questions that cannot truly be answered.

In every act of communication there are four "actors." Each of the "communication actors" is a focus for one of the four rhetorical purposes. Look at the rhetorical triangle below to see how it works.