The Art of Rhetoric

Rhetoric, or the effective use of language, serves as the foundation for effective delivery. Your words are the matter from which you will shape arguments and shape other’s opinions. Much like sculpture, rhetoric is an art. You are given the content of your debate from the resolution, but you will decide how it will be discussed. From this lumpy, grey topic you will sculpt the debate into something meaningful. Aristotle’s work Rhetoric introduced the idea of three modes of persuasion that one can invoke with language: ethos, pathos, and logos. Though ancient, these concepts are relevant today. These concepts will help you become more a persuasive debater and orator.

ETHOS

Ethos concerns how the speaker appears to his or her audience. Appearance relates to how trustworthy the speaker seems. Ethos is shaped by both what you say and how you say it. The style and diction choices you make will affect how knowledgeable you sound. Your use of credible sources as well as your own reputation as a speaker affects how the judge receives you. Your confidence will also add to your ethos.

To appeal to Ethos, use:

– Language appropriate to the audience and the subject, both in your vocabulary and way of speaking
– Restrained, sincere, fair minded presentation
– Correct grammar
– Credible sources
– Organization of ideas and points
– Good nonverbal presentation skills even while listening
– Cooperative partner dynamics

LOGOS

Logos concerns your use of logic and reason. It appeals to the audience’s intellect. You should outline how an argument works in order to walk the judge through each step of logic. In order to use logic as a tool, you need to understand some basic concepts. All of the following definitions are adapted from Merriam Webster Online Dictionary. Examples are based on the March 2010 Resolved: The United States should suspend all assistance to Pakistan.

Premise: a proposition or claim that must be supposed or proved in order for the following conclusion to be drawn. Think of Premise as the argument you are making that must be supported by evidence and logic in order for you persuade the judge of the effect, or conclusion. We call this the Claim in PF.

Example: Foreign aid to Pakistan will increase the number of schools available to rural communities.

Conclusion: the necessary consequence of two or more propositions taken as premises. In order to draw an argument, you will have to prove your premises, or claims are true. Obviously, proving that your claims are true is not the point of the debate. The conclusion articulates why, if the premises are true, this matters under the resolution. We also call this the Claim or Impact in PF, depending on where the conclusion is made within the argument.

Example: Foreign aid to Pakistan will increase schools, and therefore improve quality of life for Pakistani citizens.

Causation: the act or agency that produces an effect. A causes B. This means you can show conclusive evidence that if one thing occurs, another will subsequently or simultaneously occur as well. This logical relationship underpins the strongest arguments. It also shows that A, at least in part, is responsible for what happens with B.

Example: Increasing the number of schools will increase the literacy rate among Pakistani citizens.

Correlation: a relation existing between things which tend to occur together not by chance. A and B both occur in a way that A may cause B or B may cause A. This means you can provide evidence that two occurrences tend to happen together. While this may support an argument, correlation is not as strong as causation to prove a conclusion.

Example: Increased literacy rates correlate with increased economic productivity, increased life expectancy, and decreased political oppression. 

Analogy: inference that if two or more things agree with one another in some meaningful or significant respects, both or all will probably agree in others. A is to B as C is to D. Analogies are helpful in illustrating a difficult or intangible logical concept in a more vivid, concrete way.

Example: Providing schools to Pakistani children is like providing a balanced diet – both are required for sustaining the quality of life of a country. Investing in schools means that we will produce many subsequent benefits through education, both in the present quality of life and the future work of educated individuals. Education is like putting yeast in dough – over time, the dough continues to rise far beyond the original volume of material.

Deduction: an inference in which the conclusion about particulars follows necessarily from general or universal premises. Or an argument whose conclusion must be true if its premises are true. Because A is true, B must be true as well. Or because A, B, and C in similar ways and D is like the previous examples, D will occur in a similar way.

Example: Increased presence of schools in developing nations has been shown to increase economic productivity. Therefore, if the US invests aid in Pakistani schools, we will see similar results.

Inductive: inference of a generalized conclusion from particular instances. Typical forms of inductive argument include reasoning from a part to a whole, from the particular to the general, and from a sample to an entire population. Because A has occurred a few times, A characterizes the whole of B.

Example: US aid has built many schools, but the Taliban continues to destroy what has been built. Investing money in new schools will not substantially change Pakistani education if the schools are destroyed. Therefore the aid will be money wasted.

Fallacy: an often-plausible argument using false or invalid inference/reasoning. I advise looking into specific fallacies, often called “logical fallacies” in order to understand this concept. Common fallacies you will encounter in PF are the red herring, post hoc ergo propter hoc (ill-made conclusion), circular reasoning, begging the question, etc. I suggest you spend some time researching fallacies, not only to avoid making them, but also to catch your opponents’ use of fallacy.

To appeal to Logos, use:

– Theoretical or abstract language applied to concrete examples
– Literal and historical analogies
– Definitions
– Factual data and statistics
– Quotations
– Citations from experts and authorities
– Informed opinions
– “Walk” through the argument step by step
– Current events

PATHOS

Pathos concerns the emotion or passion that a speaker uses to appeal to his or her audience. Persuasion can occur at the level of how one feels, generally without a full consideration of the rationale behind an argument. The speaker can convey emotion, such as excitement, anger, or sadness, or appeal to the audience’s emotions, such as guilt, patriotism, hate, fear, love, or joy. While some may feel the use of Pathos is manipulative, it nonetheless can effectively move the audience to action or feeling that can underscore Logos and Ethos. No debater wants an apathetic audience. No judge wants a Dramatic Interpretation for a PF speech either. Pathos is only as useful as your ability to control your own emotion and use the emotions of your judge wisely.

To appeal to Pathos, use:

– Vivid, concrete descriptions
– Emotionally loaded language and examples
– Narratives of emotional events or arguments
– Emotional tone/presentation
– Figurative language

Effective persuasion pairs rhetorical modes and consciously chooses which modes will be most successful for any given argument. In reality, you use all three modes fluidly and together throughout your arguments. The goal is to be conscious of the modes available to build the most persuasive presentation.