1 Rhetoric in English WritingJinsong Yang
2 The name / My name? “Wanna go to movie with me sometime, Jess?” asked Davey Ackerman. “The name / My name is Jessica. And no, I wouldn’t, I don’t go out with juveniles.” ----Man, Woman and Child by Erich Segal
3 Is there anything to eat? Is there something to eat? Anything/something? Is there anything to eat? Is there something to eat? I was cut a little in the fight, but it wasn’t anything. He isn’t anything in the local government.
4 Anything/something? H: Honey, I gotta talk to you./ have got to W: Sure. Is something/anything wrong? H: Well, sort of. Yes. W: Bob, something in your voice scares/frighten/terrify me. Have I done anything/ something ? H: No. It’s me. I’ve done it. Sheila, remember when you were pregnant with Paula?
5 The following 7 sentences are different ways of asking the time:Excuse me, could you tell me the right time, please? What time is it, please? What the time? How goes the enemy? Time? How much longer have we got? My watch seems to be going slow (have stopped)….
6 Rhetoric is the (linguistic) choicelinguistic choice: Saying the right thing in the most effective way. ------Jonathan Swift 一样的话几样的说 一言足可“丧邦”,一言也足以“兴邦” 会说的说得你笑，不会说的说得你跳
7 rhetoric=art of choiceRhetoric originated in speaking- Aristotle, in the 4th century BC, first defined rhetoric as the art of persuasion equivalent to argumentation as people understand today, particularly its early association with forensic oratory ——— that is, pleading in court. John Locke, English philosopher of the late 17th century, described rhetoric as "the art of speaking with propriety, elegance, and force"..
8 Linguistic Choice 1. linguistic choice at lexical levellinguistic choice at syntactic level linguistic choice at paragraph level linguistic choice at textual level
9 Dynamic verbs and Static verbs
10 Choice at Syntactic levelThe hero came in, confidence was on his face. The hero came in, on his faces was confidence. Conversion He always lied. He always distorted the fact. Euphemism The learning environment is not good. The learning environment leaves much to be desired. Negative-positive
11 Choice at Paragraph LevelHow can we start a paragraph? We may start a paragraph with a topic sentence, which is usually a general statement, telling the reader the controlling idea of the paragraph We may start a paragraph with a detailed example, which is usually a specific description, inviting the reader into the paragraph
12 Choice at Paragraph LevelA Paragraph of General-to-specific Order In a paragraph of general-to-specific order, the topic sentence and controlling idea make the general statement. The body of the paragraph supports the controlling idea with details , reasons , or illustrations .It’s just like an pyramid. Topic sentence general idea Supporting sentences specific details
13 3. Many new houses have relatively light roofs and strong walls. Deduction (演绎法) Statement: People would also like to be able to prevent the great destruction of property caused by earthquakes. Details: 1. Many new structures are built with an I-joint, which appears to be the most durable type of joint. 2. Architects design buildings so that their columns and horizontal beams are of equal strength, and vertical support columns are inserted deep into solid soil. 3. Many new houses have relatively light roofs and strong walls. 4. Concrete pillars for highway bridges that previously only had steel rods inside are now enclosed in steel.
14 Strategy Analysis: deductionIn the above paragraph, the writer uses 4 major supporting statements to explain the controlling idea in the first (topic) sentence , and then , to make the development more adequate , backs up each of the major supporting statements by giving an example .
15 Specific details: Mysterious facts recordedInduction (归纳法) Back Specific details: Mysterious facts recorded 1. At 2 PM on December 5, 1945, five Navy aircraft took off in perfect flying weather, on a routine training mission over the Atlantic Ocean. Less than two hours later, the flight commander radioed that he was “completely lost”. Then there was silence. 2. A rescue plane was sent to search for the missing aircraft, and it, too, disappeared without trace. 3. A most extensive search effort, involving more than 300 planes and dozens of ships, found nothing, not even an oil stain floating on the water. >>>more
16 A general introduction of the Devil’s Triangle:Induction (归纳法) A general introduction of the Devil’s Triangle: The Bermuda Triangle is a mysterious area of the Atlantic Ocean roughly stretching southwest from Bermuda to the Florida coast and down to Puerto Rico. It is known as “the Graveyard of the Atlantic” because of the mysterious disappearances of planes and ships and because of the strange weather found there. A method of reasoning that moves from specific instances to a general conclusion.
17 300 planes and dozens of shipsInduction (归纳法) Specific details five Navy aircraft Specific details A rescue plane Specific details 300 planes and dozens of ships A general introduction about the triangle and the public responses to it
18 Choice at Paragraph Level
19 Register [1]Ladies and Gentleman,I am exceedingly grateful to have been asked by our chairman, Dr. Jean Monrovia, to present our recent findings on the topic of “Research and Developments in Sociolinguistics”, and hope that it will prove useful to those of you engaged in teaching English. [2]Good evening, friends, Our chairman, Jean Monrovia, asked me to share some of my current research in sociolinguistics, and I hope it will be useful to you in your English classes next week. [3]Hi, everyone, Jean asked me to come on over and rap a bit about the stuff I’m into sociolinguistics. Maybe it’ll help in teaching those English classes, and I hope it will be useful to you won’t be turned off with some of the technical jargon and stuff.
20 Choice at Textual Level
21 Choice at Textual Level
22 Summary With the development of the modern printing industry in the 19th century, rhetoric came to be understood as the ability to write or speak well in ornate, showy language. Before 1960s, in America, practically all courses in composition were nominally courses in "rhetoric". Today there are still people who equate rhetoric with the adoption of stylistic devices or the use of figures of speech in speech or writing. During the same period It also means ornamentation and the study of figures of speech, and also the whole art of spoken discourse, especially persuasive discourse. This last meaning has gained somewhat in currency in the last fourty years, especially among scholars in speech and renaissance literature
23 Rhetoric in English WritingAssignments Topic Rhetoric in English Writing