Notes Jordan Starr

1. Rhetoric - the way we use language and images to persuade.
2. Rhetoric is why social media works.
3. Understanding rhetoric messages is essential to help us become informed consumers.
4. Understanding rhetoric messages also helps us evaluate the ethics of the message, how they affect us personally, and how they affect society.
5. Pathos - when a rhetoric message uses emotion to persuade you.
6. If we don't stop and think about how and why rhetoric messages persuade us, we will become mindless consumers.
7. When we blog something or tweet something, we are using rhetoric.
8. Rhetoric is everywhere according to Kenneth Burke, "wherever there is persuasion, there is rhetoric. And wherever there is 'meaning' there is 'persuasion.'"
9. There are three parts to understanding the context or rhetorical moment: exigence, audience, and constraints.
10. Exigence: circumstance or condition that invites a response.
11. Audience: those who are the recipients of the rhetoric message.
12. Constraints: things that have the power to "constrain decision and action needed to modify the exigence." What limits the change
13. Three "artistic appeals" that rhetor could draw to make a case: logos, pathos, and ethos.
14. Logos: argument for a reason
15. Pathos: print advertising, billboards, or television commercials
16. Ethos: simple, humorous, and engaging
17. Same basic principles apply when you look at any piece of rhetoric: you need to consider the context and the argument.

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