Response to Sara Ross' Rhetoric Post

Sara provides great examples of rhetoric in action. Rhetoric or persuasion, is a powerful tool that we use to get people to do what we want them to do. We are constantly exposed to rhetoric every day, whether we persuade others or whether we act because of the persuasion of others. Whether watching the early morning news, listening to the radio while commuting to school, sitting in class listening to our professor lecture or having a casual communication with a friend or family member, we are exposed to one or more forms of rhetoric. The innate ability of using rhetoric to persuade others can have positive or negative results. One negative consequence of rhetoric is the terror threat around the world today. Terrorists groups use ethos, pathos, and logos as a tool to recruit members into their organization, to train them and to persuade them to support their destructive cause.

Chapter 6 and 7

Chapter 6 introduces us to the reader-centered research process. The seven guidelines of this chapter will assist us in conducting our research assignment for our English 402 class. By taking this approach, I will complete my research assignment more efficiently and limit my potential to waste valuable time. I've also recently been assigned a research project for my intermediate accounting class and I will certainly practice using these guidelines. Hopefully this will help me get a better grade.

Chapter 7 explains proper drafting techniques on preparing useful and persuasive communication. These techniques are: 1. Begin your segments with topic statements. 2. Present generalizations before details. 3. Organize from most important to least important. 4. Reveal your communication's organizations with headings, forecasting statements, and similar devices. 5. Consider your readers' cultural background. I will definitely use this chapter as a guide when I start drafting my research paper.

Chapter 4, 5, 16 and 23 Readings

Chapter 4

Chapter 4 builds upon chapter 3 and emphasizes the importance of taking a reader-centered approach to properly "plan" communication to make it usable and persuasive. The readings describe communication to be usable if it is complete, task-oriented and accessible. This chapter provides 10 guidelines we can employ to ensure we develop complete, task-oriented and accessible communication. One tool we commonly use to organize our communication effectively is an outline, which enables us to identify our main points and build upon these ideas in our supporting arguments.

Chapter 5

Chapter 5 presents in great detail how to use persuasion in technical and professional writing. Although this chapter provides us with persuasive guidelines to help us strengthen our communication, the most important persuasion tool is to remember the needs, concerns, values, and preferences of our readers. Something interesting and important that I've consistently seen throughout the guidelines of chapter 3-5 is the impact that ethics has on our communication. By knowing our readers will respond to our communication differently from each other based on cultural differences, position, etc., we can effectively plan our communication and persuade our readers towards our goals.

Chapter 16

Chapter 16 focuses on creating communications with a team. We are introduced to eight guidelines that we can employ to operate efficiently as a team. Employers sometimes require individuals to collaborate for several reasons such as time constraints or complexity of a project. The advantage of working in a team rather than individually enables us to exploit more ideas through our combined efforts. Although more resources are available to us as a team, we must operate in an organized fashion to limit waste and enhance productivity. Chapter 16 educates us on effective team organization to prevent wasting time and resources.

Chapter 23

This chapter focuses on writing reader-centered instructions. This section of our text is particularly important for the manufacturing industry. Let's look at Boeing Corporation as an example. Boeing manufactures and sells aircraft to both civilian and military sectors. To properly service these aircraft to keep them air worthy, civilian and military maintenance crews must clearly understand how to maintain these delicate aircraft. Boeing provides these
maintenance instructions in the form of technical publications or technical orders that consist of thousands of pages in length. To allow maintenance technicians to quickly find the instructions they need, Boeing must organize these instructions in a way that permits quick access to required information. Boeing provides reader-centered instructions by allowing quick access to maintenance instructions by providing table of contents, step-by-step instructions and visual images of the aircraft.

Rhetoric

There are three kinds of rhetoric or modes of persuasion that we were introduced to in our professional and technical writing class. These modes by definition are ethos (identity), pathos (emotion) and logos (logic). By interpreting these general definitions, ethos can be described as the identity factor of persuasion which gives our communication an identity by using such terms as “us”, “we” “them” or “I”. Pathos can be described as the emotional factor of communication which gives our communication feelings or senses which help us persuade our readers by tapping into their emotions. Logos can be described as the logical factor of communication which influences our readers by using facts, reasoning and intellect. When we communicate, we may be using either one form of rhetoric, or a combination of rhetoric to catch our reader’s attention. An example of ethos would be an automotive dealership stating “We provide the lowest auto retail cost and guarantee satisfaction on your purchase”. An example of pathos and logos would be a security alarm company that states “The security alarm system package provides your family safety and security by detecting intruders, fire and carbon monoxide and automatically alerts police or fire authorities”.

Comment on Amela Colakovic's Writing

Amela, I see we both agree that if our readers don't think our message is as important to them as it is to us, our ideas are in fact, useless and non-persuasive, which are opposite of the two critical ingredients for successful writing. The readings gave us insight on how to communicate effectively to individuals from all levels in an organization through different cultural backgrounds.

Chapter 3

This chapter sets the stage for developing effective writing skills as a professional writer. It provides a lot of information writers must take into account when writing which is described in detail under the 10 guidelines on defining your communication objectives. Things we must consider to be a successful writer is to understand the reader in terms of their attitudes, personalities, culture, experience, knowledge, title/position, preference, etc. Chapter 3 points out that in order to be effective and persuasive, you must understand how your readers will react to your message and how you want them to react. Understanding their emotions when reading your message will enable you to eliminate negative views/reactions and create more positive aspects in your communication that will help you persuade your readers to agree with your message.

In my opinion, this chapter has a lot of information to digest and I see why individuals can spend years studying the art of writing to be successful. In reflecting on past writing experiences, I sometimes found myself writing from my perspectives on how I wanted to relay information without regard to the reader's perspective on how they will react. This completely goes against the principle of developing a "You-Attitude". I'm not saying that I wasn't successful, but now I know the effective way to communicate using specific principles to guide me. Although things may seem important to me might not be as important to others unless I can convey my message effectively by persuading my readers to feel the importance of my message. One interesting point mentioned in the reading is "identifying the information your readers want from your communication." You must imagine what your readers want to hear in your message. What if your readers don't even know what they expect to hear? An example would be convincing your neighborhood to support local firefighter fundraising events. I can see the benefits of identifying information readers want to hear. Giving readers an understanding of the hazards volunteer firefighters face to protect neighborhoods from fire disaster and encouraging funds for equipment and advance training will enable the public to see the benefits of their support. This guideline enables readers who are completely unfamiliar with your subject to read detailed information that could possibly persuade them to act in your favor.