2. WHY DO WE WRITE?
To communicate
The goal is to share information.
To learn
The goal is to clarify thinking.
To be creative
The goal is to express ourselves.
To persuade
The goal is to convince others of something.
3. Your ability to write – to communicate –
clearly and effectively is the most
important skill you can bring to both
college and the workplace.
TO MAKE THE RIGHT STYLE IN WRITING.
Understand the context in which you’re writing.
Consider your purpose as a writer.
Consider your reader.
4. THE BASIC PRINCIPLES OF EFFECTIVE
COMMUNICATION
THE PRINCIPLES OF RHETORIC
In order to persuade people, you need to
appeal to
Their sense of logic (logos)
Their belief system (pathos)
Their sense of ethics (ethos)
6. Rhetorical Triangle
LOGIC suggests the use of reasoning and
evidence to persuade the audience.
AUDIENCE suggests the need to understand
your reader’s belief system in order to create
an emotional appeal.
PERSONA, or self, suggests the need to
establish your own ethical credibility as a
writer with a clear sense of purpose.
9. Critical Reading
Internal Evaluation
Is the text coherent? Does its logic hang together
and make sense?
If it constitutes an argument, is it appealing to logic,
to authority, or to emotion?
Does it have enough supporting evidence?
Are there any fallacies in the author’s reasoning?
Does the author consider alternative views?
10. Critical Reading
External Evaluation
Where was this piece published? Does this suggest an
ideological slant of any kind?
Judging from the author’s other writings, what do you think his
or her general views or interests are?
What purpose or “agenda” might the author have had in writing
about this topic?
What do other writers have to say about this topic?
What might the author have left out of the text? Why?
How well does the author’s representation of the world fit with
your own experience?
