Rhetorical modes are strategies for presenting information through writing or speech. The main rhetorical modes discussed in the document are comparison/contrast, cause and effect, classification, description, extended definition, exemplification, narration, and analysis. The document provides examples and explanations of each mode. It also discusses how to identify topics, evaluate sources, and use library resources like the catalog and databases to research topics using rhetorical modes.

1. RHETORICAL MODES
Prepared by
Zhian Fadhil Asaad

2. A rhetorical mode is (a strategy) a way or method of
presenting a subject through writing or speech. They
also known as modes of discourse. Its chiefly one way
with no discussion, and a platform for relying one
persons idea, beliefs of experience. Simple rhetoric
modes include simple descriptions and narratives.
Instructors have used rhetorical modes to teach writing
or public speaking since ancient Greek times over two
thousand years ago, perhaps longer. Knowing the
modes can help us understand the organization the
methodology of most kinds of writings or other
presentations.
•
What are rhetorical modes?

3. Using the modes is like putting together the pieces of
a puzzle: most major paragraphs use at least one
mode, and most papers use several modes. The
modes are useful in particular in helping writers learn
how to develop paragraphs, create longer papers in
many subjects and disciplines in college, and complete
careful analyses of college readings. Often it is helpful
to start with "Extended Definition" because it's pattern of
thought useful when writing the introduction to any
paper using the other rhetorical modes.

4. What are the "modes of writing"?
❀ Comparison/Contrast
❀ Cause-Effect
❀ Classification
❀ Description
❀ Extended Definition
❀ Exemplification
❀ Narration
❀ Analyzing Readings Using the Modes

5. Comparison/Contrast
"Comparison/contrast" means to show how subjects are alike
and/or different. A simple comparison/contrast paper often has
two subjects and describes how they are alike and then how they
differ. For example, a comparison/contrast paper on two forms of
weekend entertainment. Inacademic written comparison/contrast
writing sometimes is used to show how two related viewpoints,
two ideas or opinions can be similar but different
comparison/contrast paper simply and clearly: tell your readers
in a brief introduction what you are going to do (compare,
contrast, or both) and what your subject or subjects are. It also
may be helpful to offer a very brief definition, and then write the
body. It is a good idea to provide at least one paragraph for each
intellectual function you are going to do. For example, you might
first have just one paragraph (or one set of paragraphs) that use
comparison, then another set that uses just contrast.

6. Cause and Effect
"Cause and effect" simply means that you start with a
subject (an event, person, or object) and then show the causes
(reasons) for it, and/or the effects (results) of it. "Cause" means
the reasons why or for something, or the source of something.
"Effects" simply are results or outcomes. Cause-and-effect
writing shows a chain of connected events, each the logical
result of the one before it. A simple cause-and-effect paper
discusses the chain of events related to a person, event, or
object, showing what the causes are and what the results are.
Typically a cause-and-effect paper has an introductory
paragraph defining or clarifying the subject itself, and stating the
nature of the paper (i.e., that your paper is a cause-and-effect
paper); a body of several to many paragraphs; and a brief
concluding paragraph.

7. Assume, when you write a cause-and-effect paper,
that you are explaining events to someone who may
know a little about them but never has heard the entire
story of how the events are linked by logical cause and
effect. At the end of your cause-and-effect paper, add
a final, concluding paragraph. It should summarize,
very briefly, the most important cause and effect
concerning your subject.

8. Process
The purpose of a process analysis is to explain how to
do something or how something works.

9. Classification
"Classification" means that a subject, person, place,
event, or object is identified and broken into parts and
sub-parts. Imagine you want to classify a specific student.
You might first start by identifying this student by name
and briefly defining him or her. Second, you would
choose a system by which to classify him: e.g., you could
choose a system that would describe his looks, school
classes, and after-school activities; or you might choose a
biological system and describe him by his physical type,
health, blood type, and other biological markings; or,
perhaps, you might choose to describe the student by his
psychological makeup, his family history, and/or even his
medical history. Third, once you have chosen a system,
you would then describe the person.

10. Third, once you have chosen a system, you would
then describe the person. As you do so, you would
want to show how, in each part of our classification, he
is similar to others like him and also how he differs from
them. This is the heart of developing lengthy description
in a good classification paper, to use comparisons and
contrasts with each small element of our classification
system.
A standard classification paper starts with a short
introduction. You also should state clearly that you
intend to classify your subject. In the body of your
paper, you describe your subject according to the
classification system you have chosen. Classification is
used as a pattern of thinking, speaking, and writing in
shorter forms, too. Whenever you must break down a
subject into its separate parts, you are classifying.

11. Evaluation
If you are working with the rhetorical modes, you
sometimes can evaluate a text by describing how well
or poorly the rhetorical modes in it are used. This is
true whether the basic structure and substructures use
argumentation or other modes such as definition,
example, cause and effect, classification,
comparison/contrast, and process.
Texts sometimes are set up, organized, or formed
using the modes as structural patterns. If so, its
structure probably looks something like this:
•Introduction: Issue or Main Argument
•Body Sections: Rhetorical Mode Development
(Comparison/Contrast,Classificatio,Exemplification,
Process, etc.)
•Conclusion: Concluding Argument

12. Often, however, a number of different modes may be used
repeatedly as each point, reason, or explanation is
developed. For example, the mode of exemplification often is
used over and over--because, as the text makes a series of
points, it may also use a series of examples about those
points; or, for example, the text might use cause and effect to
prove one point, exemplification to prove another point, and
classification to prove yet another. There may even be a
definition mode in the introduction or before the first point is
made.
It is possible to evaluate a text entirely on the quality,
quantity, and usefulness of its rhetorical modes, step by step.
However, even if you use a different evaluative system, your
awareness of the use of the modes in the text will help you
better understand the connections between all the various
points, arguments, explanations, and examples or other
proofs, thus improving your evaluative comments using
whatever criteria you have chosen.

13. Suggestions for finding a topic
❀ Discuss your ideas with your course instructor.
❀ Discuss your ideas with a reference librarian.
❀ Look over the index and the article titles in a
specialized encyclopedia that covers a relevant
subject area or discipline

14. Identifying a topic
State your topic idea as a question. For example, if
you are interested in finding out about Title IX (Title
Nine) and women athletes in college athletic programs,
you might pose the question, "How did Title IX impact
women athletes in college athletic programs?
Identify the main concepts or keywords in your
question. These are potential search terms. In this case
they are "title ix," "women," "athletes," and "college
athletic programs“.

15. Testing the topic
Before you commit to a specific topic for your
research, do a scan to make sure that your topic isn't
completely covered in another paper; at the same time
ensure that there is enough information available to
complete the project.

16. Finding background
information
Once you have identified the main topic and
keywords for your research, find one or more sources of
background information to read. These sources will help
you understand the broader context of your research
and tell you in general terms what is known about your
topic. They will give you an idea of how much and what
kind of information is available on a given topic.

17. Finding books, articles, and
other materials
❀ Searching the Library Catalog
Find library materials such as books, music,
videos, articles and audio recordings via
the Library Catalog. This catalog searches not
only Cornell's collections, but also the
collections for many other libraries.
❀ Evaluating resources
When using a book, article, report, or Web
site for your research, it is important to gauge
how reliable the source is.

18. Initial appraisal
❀ Author or creator: What are the author's credentials
(educational background, past writing, experience) in this
area? Have you seen the author's name cited in other
sources or bibliographies? Respected authors are cited
frequently by other scholars. For this reason, always note
names that appear in many different sources.
❀ Year of publication: Is the source current or out of date
for your topic? Topic areas of continuing and rapid
development, such as the sciences, demand more current
information. Topics in the humanities often require
material that was written many years ago.
❀ Edition: Is this a first edition? Later editions indicate a
source has been revised and updated. Multiple printings or
editions may indicate that the work has become a
standard source in the area and is reliable.
❀ Publisher: Is it a university press or a large reputable
publisher?

19. Content analysis
❀ Intentions: Read the preface (book) or
abstract (article) to determine the author's
intentions. Scan the table of contents and the
index to get a broad overview of the material
covered. Note whether bibliographies are
included.
❀ Intended audience: What type of audience is
the author addressing? Is this source too
elementary, too technical, too advanced, or
just right for your needs?

20. Objective reasoning:
❀ Is the information fact, opinion, or
propaganda? It is not always easy to separate
fact from opinion.
❀ Does the information appear to be valid and
well-researched, or is it questionable and
unsupported by evidence?
❀ Is the author's point of view objective and
impartial? Is the language free of emotion-
rousing words or bias?

21. Coverage:
❀ Does the work update other sources, substantiate
other materials you have read, or add new
information? You should explore enough sources to
obtain a variety of viewpoints.
❀ Is the material primary or secondary in nature?
Primary sources are the raw material of the research
process; secondary sources are based on primary
sources

22. Writing style
❀ Writing style: Is the publication organized
logically? Are the main points clearly
presented? Do you find the text easy to read?
Is the author repetitive?
❀ Evaluative reviews (books):
❀ Locate critical reviews of books in a reviewing
source, such as Book Review Digest. Is the
book considered a valuable contribution to the
field? Does the reviewer mention other books
that might be better? If so, locate these
sources.
❀ Do the various reviewers agree on the value or
attributes of the book, or has it aroused
controversy among the critics?
❀

23. Using Source Materials to
discover and Evaluate a Topic
After free writing and clustering have produced
a promising topic, go to the library for
exploratory reading in reference books,
biographies, or periodicals. Read carefully the
title of articles and record key words. Look for
tips on how to focus the topic. Speed up the
process by using the new computer technology.

24. Using the public access catalog
Most libraries have PAC which is a computer version of
the card catalog files. It will guide you quickly from
general subjects to subtopics and, finally, to specific
books.
❀ First type in a general subject at the PAC.
❀ Second examine on the screen a set of subtopics, a list of
perhaps 20 topics or 200.
❀ Third scan the list looking for an interesting topic. The
PAC has carried you to specific titles of books and to the
contemporary issues.
❀ Fourth, if one book looks interesting, you can enter the
number and get a complete description of the book:
In effect, the PAC has rapidly identified a specific issue
about a broad topic and provided a printout of
bibliographic data for a book for preliminary reading.

25. Using CD-ROM Files on
Computers:
In addition to a PAC, most college libraries now have
compact disc (CD-ROM) facilities, which means that
data-base files, such as Readers' Guide to periodical
literature or Psychological Abstract, are located on a
compact disc stored as read only memory in the
computer. ROM means the computer can read the files
for you, but nobody can write into the files to change
them. CD-ROM systems have different names, but their
function is the same: to help you work from a general
subjects to specific topics and, finally, to the reading
materials.

26. ❀Type in a general subject.
❀Read the list of subtopics provided on the screen
and narrow your search to one.
❀Enter a choice, to get a list of articles.
❀Use these article titles to narrow your own work. If
one seems appropriate, read it for ideas and
terminology.
❀Use PAC and CD-ROM to begin research with two
or three topics at once.

27. References
❀ D. Lester. 1995, WRITING RESEARCH PAPERS,7th
ed., HarperCollins College publishers.
❀ www.google.com /wikipedia-the free encyclopedia,
12.15pm .