Kairos

Unit Four Blog Two - Kairos

            The idea behind Kairos is all about placement. How do you fit your argument into a place where it will be heard, understood and able to reach its full effectiveness? The answer is timing. Ramage, Bean and Johnson describe the word “Kairo” to mean appropriate for the occasion (116).  

To take it one step further, it is about placing your argument in the best possible situation where the most optimum results will occur. For example, the argument about whether or not the United States military should receive pay raises would be best brought up at this time because Osama Bin Laden has just been killed by a division of the United States military. They have eliminated a person that brought great catastrophe and devastation to millions of people and because of their heroic actions, the kairos of the argument of whether or not they should receive substantial pay raises based on the degree to which they place their lives in danger would be best brought up now. Another example, maybe not so broad in terms, is the argument about smoking. From the perspective of kairos, the argument would fit right in after someone suffered a lengthy illness, like a heart attack, because of smoking cigarettes. Maybe the person’s doctor could bring up the argument at the check-up following the illness and though the person may not want to hear it, the doctor could create the kairotic moment by showing the evidence of what smoking caused and the pain the person went through because of smoking. If you carefully plan when and where to introduce the argument, the dynamics behind the kairos is used to the fullest extent and that is where the whole dramatic effect of the argument comes in to play.

Ramage, Bean and Johnson explain that there are no rules to help you determine the right kairotic moment for your argument, but being attuned to kairos will help you “read” your audience and rhetorical situation in a dynamic way (118). This is the situation where you have to have a keen awareness of the situation you are in before you present your argument. 

            Kairos are just as important to an argument as ethos, logos and pathos are. With the use of the three components of the rhetorical triangle along with kairos, the effectiveness of an argument is reached and goal of reaching and persuading your audience is accomplished.

                                                                                                                                   

Works Cited

Ramage, John D., John C. Bean, and June Johnson. Writing Arguments: a Rhetoric with Readings. New York: Pearson Longman, 2010. Print.

Going Back to the Rhetorical Triangle

Unit Four Blog One – The Rhetorical Triangle

            The components of the rhetorical triangle, ethos, logos and pathos, are the heart of an argument. They make or break an argument and without them, writings would just be words that meant nothing. Ramage, Bean and Johnson urge writers to think about ethos, logos and pathos as more of different lamps and filters used on theatre spotlights rather than “ingredients” in an essay (109). Their description paints more of a picture of strengthening an essay rather than adding decoration to it. Ethos, logos and pathos work together, hand-in-hand and without one the other two are lost.

 Ethos, Greek for “character”, emphasizes the need for the writer to be trustworthy, credible and an attention-grabber (62). Logos, Greek for “word”, require the message be of quality and sound in order to be understood and believed (62). Last, pathos, Greek for “suffering” or “experience”, is all about the grabbing the attention of the audience and keeping them focused, emotionally and imaginatively (63). These three structures of an argument are the dynamics to an essay and they all three work together to in order for the essay be of any quality.

The beauty to the rhetorical triangle is that the three components can be used interchangeably to appeal to the reader. For instance, images are a powerful way to engage an audience emotionally by using pictures or other images (115). But also, images can be used to relay the message (word) of the argument and can be done so in a way that captures the audience and yet still sends the point out as to the objectiveness of the argument. 

When an argument is created, the three components of the rhetorical triangle are used and when used correctly, the argument goes from being just words about something to a powerful message about a topic that the writer is passionate about that drives its message into the heart of the reader. This is the effectiveness that a writer strives for in every essay and with the help of the rhetorical triangle, it can be accomplished.

Works Cited

            Ramage, John D., John C. Bean, and June Johnson. Writing Arguments: a Rhetoric with Readings. New York: Pearson Longman, 2010. Print.

Response to Julie

Julie – I loved your blog regarding the Save the Children campaign. I was also presented with media regarding helping children and it caught my eyes. Mine had to do with childrens’ education but I could see where the headline, Save the Children, caught your attention. It is heartbreaking that there is pain and suffering throughout the world and what a way to do your part. I too am leery about giving monetary donations to charities because of the fraud it sometimes presents but by making hats, you helped not only the children but also their caregivers. Those children flyers sure are a way to reach millions of people because who wants to hear about them suffering? Not me. It is easy to ignore the fact that they need our help but by reading it and thereby somewhat experiencing it, you get the full effect. Way to go, Julie. I just might have to try helping in the same way, as well.

Proposal Arguments

Proposing an Argument

            Unit 15, Proposal Arguments, contains important information because they are the type of arguments that are used the most and like the chapter suggests, they require action. Proposal arguments, for me, contain bait-and-hook like information because they are used to get you to take a side and then take action in defending your stance. Whether the argument is about something minor like raising utility taxes in your community or a more broad subject such as health care reform, the point is for you to decide what your position is and then do something to support your claim, maybe attend town meetings and let your voice be heard or writing to your Senator about an issue.  In developing your proposal argument, Ramage, Bean and Johnson suggest that you first win your audience over by emphasizing that a there is an issue at hand and then use your evidence to support your claim by presenting statistics or by showing your audience in some way, the problem at hand. Some proposal arguments use media advertising to focus on a certain audience while others use their actions to speak their words. While so many types of arguments are important, one cannot overemphasize the need for proposal arguments. I would much rather write a proposal argument because it is a challenge and sometimes a very difficult challenge. The most important part of the challenge is winning over your audience. I always want people to agree with me in my arguments and if I can actually persuade someone to listen to me and my claims and then influence them then I consider my writing an accomplishment. Persuading is more of a skill that some writers have and some do not. You can learn to persuade if you do not have the natural ability but being able to persuade is not something you are born with. On the other hand, listening to other writer’s proposal arguments can be somewhat frustrating because I want everyone to agree with me and my ways of thinking. If the writer presents evidence that I either chose not to adhere to or just did not know, then I am forced to think about my own stance. By thinking about my own stance, I may be motivated to change my mind on a proposal. That can be a good thing though and the older I get the more I realize that it is okay to be influenced by other beliefs and sometimes my way of thinking is not always the right way. I agree with Ramage, Bean and Johnson when they emphasize, “effective proposal writing constitutes one of the most powerful ways you can identify and help solve problems” (311).  The more you argue, the better chance you have of someone listening to you and the more people that listen, the more people will do something.

Works Cited

Ramage, John D., John C. Bean, and June Johnson. Writing Arguments: a Rhetoric with Readings. New York: Pearson Longman, 2010. Print.

An Effective Proposa Argument

The most effective proposal argument that I have heard was when I was given a flyer from my professor at the university in the town I live in. It was regarding your children and their education funding. It is sad to say but I never stopped to think about my children’s future regarding their education up to this point. I have always stressed to them the importance of an education and the need for it but I never stopped to think about the financial aspect of it. The flyer was produced in a way that not only caught my attention (I usually throw flyers in the trash) but kept my attention as well. The front portion had a boy and a girl that appeared to be the same age as my two children and they were both reading books, which both of my babies love to do. The headline read, CHILDREN NEED PARENTS THAT CARE. That also caught my eye so I began to read the information provided in the flyer. The creator of this flyer insinuated that if you cared for your child/children at all then you would start financing for their education beyond high school before they even started school and in some cases, before they are even born. In today’s economy, it is hard enough to pay your bills much less think about saving money for your child that may or may not even continue their education beyond high school. But, as I began to read and relate to the information in the flyer, I began to really thing about my children’s future. And the more I read, the more I thought. The more I thought, the more excited I got about their lives with an education and I made a promise right then and there that no matter what bills or expenses I had, secondary to a roof over our head and food on the table, is the future of my children’s education. I called the contact person listed on the flyer and set up an appointment to enlighten my knowledge of college saving funds and I am very glad I did. I opened both of my children accounts for college and the money that goes in to their accounts are taken out of my check before I even see it, so in a sense, I don’t even know it is gone. The author of the flyer caught my attention, enthralled me to further read and then persuaded me to take action.

Understanding an Argument

Unit Two Blog One

After reading Chapters 3 and 4, I am more aware of the basics of an argument and how they are formed. Ramage, Bean and Johnson explain that for an argument to be effective, the rhetorical triangle must be present. Logos, the message the argument in conveying; Ethos, the writer’s character as it is projected in the message; and Pathos, the audience and its values and beliefs – the three focal points that an argument must have in order to have persuasive appeal (Ramage, et al 62 – 63).  Once the rhetorical triangle is in place, the next part to an argument is the framework. In order to structure an argument, the mains points and evidence are just as important as the argument itself. Ramage, Bean and Johnson described the framework to an argument by developing reasons and claims and then using your evidence to support those claims. Further, the authors express the need to get to the core of an argument by using what is called enthymeme, an incomplete logical structure (Ramage, et al 74). Finally, after you form your argument based on a rhetorical triangle, developing your basis of the argument, often using enthymeme and building your framework, the authors detail in chapters 5 and 6, using the evidence you have gained in an effective manner. They suggest a variety of strategies for framing evidence and one such strategy is using images to guide the reader’s response to data (Ramage, et al 99). This is effective because a number of people need visual evidence to form an opinion and like the old saying goes, “a picture is worth a thousand words”. And, one way to effectively use images in an argument is to consider the arguments kairos. Karios are the timing and appropriateness for the occasion (Ramage, et al 116). You have to know when the right opportunity is to introduce certain dynamics into your argument to keep your audience attentive and by doing so, you present your argument in a manner that keeps your audience focused and interested in what you are saying.

Basically, an enthymeme is a part of an argument that uses assumptions and in order for the audience to understand and accept the assumptions; the writer must give the audience a reason for such. Once the audience is okay with the assumptions, the writer can go further into the argument. However, if the audience is lost on the first assumption then the writer must continue to provide reasoning until accepted by the audience. For example, if you said that everyone in the room wearing a blue shirt is nice. Tony is wearing a blue shirt. From these sentences, the audience concludes that Tony is nice because he is wearing a blue shirt. We don’t need to say, Tony is nice and he is wearing a blue shirt. We know that he is nice based on the fact that he is wearing a blue shirt and those wearing a blue shirt are nice.

Ramage, Bean and Johnson’s dissection of an argument and the components that make up an argument are the building blocks that a writer needs to gain the attention of the audience. By using these skills, writer’s arguments are strengthened and what better way to relay the message of an argument than by attentiveness of an audience? That is one of many goals a writer possesses.

Works Cited

Ramage, John D., John C. Bean, and June Johnson. Writing Arguments: a Rhetoric with Readings. New York: Pearson Longman, 2010. Print.

Rhetorical Triangle - What it Means to me

“Rhetorical Triangle” When I think of a rhetorical triangle, first I think of the word rhetoric, which to me means a way of understanding language, and then there is the word triangle, and in my opinion is a three sided work of art. When I put the two words together, rhetoric triangle, I feel that it means understanding language by using a work of art. The three sides to the triangle – Logos, Ethos and Pathos have different meanings but without each other the triangle as a whole is not complete.

Logos focuses attention on the quality of the message (Ramage, et al 62). This is the context of what you are writing about. That is, what is the message you are sending? Are you informing your audience about the context of your writing and if so, what is your evidence and what are the claims surrounding your argument. Ethos focuses attention on the writer’s character as it is projected in the message (Ramage, et al 62). Who are you as a writer? Can the audience trust what you are saying are facts or are you trying to entertain? To me, this is the most important part of the rhetorical triangle because you have to believe in yourself as a writer before your audience will take heed and listen to what you have to say. In theory, you should be able to take any audience and grab their attention and their focus on what you have to say. Without the writer, you have no reader. And last, Pathos focuses attention on the values and beliefs of the intended audience (Ramage, et al 63). Who are you trying to relay your message to? And, what will they do with the message once it has been received by them? Do you want them to use the information in their lives, are you trying to inform them and leave them wanting more and/or are you wanting input as to their beliefs as well?

Logos, Ethos and Pathos are the corner fitting pieces to the rhetorical triangle. Once you have formulated your ideas of writing into these three elements, the triangle is complete and you can deliver your message. I think everyone has the ability to write and using the rhetorical triangle is just one of many skills that will guide you in organizing and developing your writing so that you can make your writing as useful to others as it is for yourself.

Works Cited

Ramage, John D., John C. Bean, and June Johnson. Writing Arguments: a Rhetoric with Readings. New York: Pearson Longman, 2010. Print.