Rhetorical Theory

This portfolio sample gives my thoughts on rhetoric and rhetorical theory through short essays. I took Rhetorical Theory with Dr. Joyce Carter in Spring 2019. For our final exam, we wrote short essays to "drill down into particular subject areas and also to sweep broadly across the entire course subject."  My essays demonstrate how I meet the program objective of understanding the history and major theories of my profession; knowing how the rules of my craft were shaped and how they are changing.

The biggest question of this class was, "What is rhetoric?" Technically, there is not one set definition, but you can think of it as the art of persuasion. Basically, rhetoric is the reason behind everything we write and do in this field. The documents we create are meant to leave some kind of impression on our audience. In these essays, I discuss my understanding of rhetorical concepts. 

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The first essay describes what I would teach in a four-week rhetoric course. I chose to focus on Classical Rhetoric to give students a solid foundation on rhetorical theory. 

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In the second essay, I describe the relationship between rhetoric and truth. Here I explain that there is the Truth, as in beliefs or ideas that can be supported with facts and/or evidence, and then there is truth, as in beliefs or ideas that are not based on facts and/or evidence.  Part of being a good rhetorician is having the ability to make your audience accept the Truth or truth that you tell them.

The next essay is about context. Rhetoric does not operate the same in all situations. All of your rhetorical choices are based on your audience.  We employ different rhetorical strategies for different audiences. 

My final essay discusses the scope of rhetoric in this degree program and in the field of technical writing. This program helps provide an understanding of rhetoric and the history of rhetoric so that writers can make informed decisions about how they write and create. As working technical writers, the documentation we produce is not only informational but also persuasive. There are rhetorical choices behind the work that we do, and having foundational knowledge of those choices helps writers create work that is clear, logical, and relevant.