Uses of Rhetorical and Reasoning Features in Communication - Essay Example

Name: Instructor: Course: Date: Communication Rhetoric reasoning refers to the art of observing and using persuasive techniques in writing so as to entice and attract the reader of the article to message contained in the article. Reasoning also means employing tools like facts, critical thinking, logic and common sense in building an argument,(Robert Cockcroft,3). This technique is aptly and commonly used in the mass media communication industry especially in the newspapers, online articles, radios and televisions news among others. The major purpose of the use of this technique is to attract and retain new and more readers of the article which is of benefit to the media company. Here is an example of two contrasting articles from two different newspapers both handling the same issue of gay marriages that has used the art of rhetoric reasoning to lure their readers into reading their articles. According to the New York Times of 4th march 2011, there was an article titled, ’Same-Sex Marriage, Civil Unions, and Domestic Partnerships’. The article is all about how the New England has remained to be the nucleus of people of the same sex. The main message in the article is all about gay marriage and the paper seems to be in support of this type of marriages. The writer of the article has employed various rhetoric techniques such as the use of Aristotelian appeals (Passion, Ethics and logic) to persuade his or her readers into reading the text. In this article, the writer introduces it with a very informative headline that is touchy, attractive and always palatable to the eyes and the mind, (Barbaro, 4). Ones the reader goes through the newspaper and the eyes comes into contact with the headline that goes like, ’Same-Sex Marriage, Civil Unions, and Domestic Partnerships’, the eyes and the mind are lured into trying to comprehend what it is all about. Here the message is almost half-communicated. Using logical reasoning the readers can search for the other half of the message in the text after reading. So the headline of these article hits directly what the text is all about. This persuades the mind to read the main text and get the full information about the gay marriages in UK. The editor actively uses deductive logics to express the message to the leader, (James A. Reinking, 129). He begins by informing the reader that the crisis is now a decade since it began and that there are various groups in the political arena i.e. the Democrats and the Republicans who are for and against the idea of same sex marriages respectively. Logically it means that the type of government that is in power determines that the stand to be taken by the nation on this issue of same sex marriage. For instance, for editor to put the idea into premise, he/she uses a flashback to remind us that on February the same year, President Ballack Obama who is a democrat directed the Justice Department in United States to stop defending the defense marriage Act, (Barbaro, 4). Further we see information that the law was enacted back in 1996 when the Republicans were in power to bar federal recognition of same-sex marriages. Without further questions on which part the Americans support, it shows that all the democrats are the proponents of same-sex marriages while the Republicans oppose the same. Pathos refers to the appeal to passion, which is the use of emotion to persuade readers’ or listeners’ opinions in a rhetorical argument. The use of pathetic appeals has a characteristic of evocative imagery, description, visuals, and the likes that are meant to create within the readers a sense of emotion; outrage, sorrow, excitement, etc. The editor of this article actively capitalized on these rhetorical features right away from the beginning to the end. To begin with, the editor immediately after the title of the article opens the readers’ site with a colorful picture of the gay couple. The image of these two men smartly dressed in same colorful suit together with a group of two women and in between them is a picture of a heart of a human being which simplifies the act of love. On the picture of the heart, words like John plus Stuart, 17 years are written. Logically the 17years indicates the number of years the two have being together even though it’s not explained to the readers. The orange picture of a human heart shows love in the picture of the couple which can be easily felt by the readers through emotions. It’s persuading to the reader, (Mckay, 219). It’s very exciting for the readers to see such colorful pictures whenever they go through the article. They are quite enticing and appealing to see the smartly dressed men marrying one another in the picture. In some cases some hides themselves not to be seen or known by the public, but here the writer brings them forth for the people to see them. Somehow am sure that any reader of this article will pay close attention on the picture of the two men holding each others by the shoulders. It’s an emotional picture to the heart and mind of the readers whenever they come across it. It’s also shocking to the reader who may be imagining that gay marriages are illegal and antisocial. The picture in the article vividly exposes a congregation of relatives and friends who accompanied the couple to their weeding. This will also persuade the mind to read the content of the article and see if what they see is correlated with what is written or to get more and clear information about the pictures in the paper. Further the writer employs irony very well to attract the attention of the reader. In front of the couple the readers can see two women standing each opposite each of the two men may be reading for them a verse from a Holy book (one woman is reading something from a book she is holding in her hands as the rest of the group is listening attentively). The reader is left with several questions unanswered about this picture and the content of the article. How can two men who have denounced marriages of opposite sex stand opposite two other women? Are they also lesbians? Or have they also come to congratulate the couple and wish them happy and prosperous marriage? And what are they reading for them? Is it a word from the Holy book? How can the Holy book verses benefit the couple who have denounced its message to mankind about marriages? These plus other several questions not mentioned can lure the human mind into wanting to know what the article is all about thereby reading it. Ethos in rhetorical reasoning is the appeal to ethics, the use of authority to persuade an audience which includes the readers to believe in their character. The writer of this article vividly captures this in the picture of the gay couple in the marriage. While taking the photograph of the couple, the photographer just looked at the moment when the couple seemed to be more humble than ever. Thus in the picture, the readers can admire the way the two gentlemen posses. They look less or no harmful or dangerous, simple and always showing the image of gentleness, (Barbaro, 4). One can easily be convinced that the two have never sinned on earth. It’s persuading to people who may think that in marriages of people of the same-sex there is no sufferings and sad moments as the couple seems to be more humble, always listening and less stressed up. The above persuasive techniques are contrary to the ones employed in the article of 15th February 2011 from The Independent titled, ‘What’s undermining about gay marriages?’ In this article, the writer Tom Sutcliffe employed different rhetoric techniques to caution the public about the problems associated with the gay marriages. He began his article by exactly extracting and hitting what mighty be surprising but not enticing and attractive to the reader. His title is in the form of a question i.e. ‘What’s undermining about gay marriages?’ (Sutcliffe, 1).This title set the mind of the readers into the mood of trying to find the immediate and possible solutions. It also prepares the mind logically on what is expected in the article content. The readers are then made aware that there is absolute truth of the existence of some factors or some disadvantages associated with gay marriages. What is left is for the readers is to read the content and extract these disadvantages. The next step is the introduction of the first paragraph in which we see the writer begins by reminding the reader that gay couples may be allowed to register civil partnerships in church. Here he uses a lot of imagery and symbolism in order to drive the readers’ mind into demanding to know more about what the symbols may represent, like when he says ‘there was a predictable explosion of froth and foam in reaction to the news that gay couples may be allowed to register civil partnerships in church’. This evokes the readers mind and all the five senses in order to comprehend what he means by this usage. Thus in his introduction, the writer approaches it with a more inductive logics as compared to the first article in the New York times that deductively approached the readers. After the title or in between the content, the writer of this article did not provide or accompany his message with any photography related to the problems associated with gay marriages. He thus begins writing about the gay marriage problems and there is no break of monotony for the readers. The readers will be required to concentrate in what the writer is pouring out in writings only. This is also motivating and persuading as the readers only reads the message and they will fasten to finish the content which is more important than watching pictures incase they were there. He considered that the use of pictures may be disruptive to the reader who may watch them only instead of reading what is more important in the content. Tom, the writer further decides to use phrases that keep the mind of the reader in the motion of thinking logically in order to unveil the real message behind it. Phrases such as ’nothing is impossible’ on the cutting age of a razor blade, describe the razor that Mr. Graham Short found after mucking around one hundred and fifty blades. Now the blade goes for the price of £47, 500, (Sutcliffe, 1).He was doing this in order to raise some money for the donation to support Christine Hamilton’s planned trip to Machu Picchu on another Muscular Dystrophy fund-raising. But the writer argues that he could have bought the razor if the fundraising was meant for something that is socially constructive like keeping her clothes on than going for muscular dystrophy. Here using logics the reader is indirectly informed that Christine Hamilton walks naked. The reader is left with the questions to ask about the type of a blade that goes for such an amount of money and why could someone decide to appear half or almost naked like Christine Hamilton. Is it because of the same-sex marriage or there is something else? How can something impossible be made possible on socially unconstructive behavior like walking naked? And how can people like Mr. Graham decide to contribute money for this charity that is antisocial? Obviously something is wrong on the figures of price tag of the blade. It’s false to tell the people that a price of a single blade can go up to £47,500. This is an example of the faulty logos used by the writer so as to persuade the reader of the article. Sense of emotions in this article is created by the use of evocative imageries. The images in sentences like, ‘a whole the richly comical Melanie Phillips – who goes off like a whole packet of Mentos in a bathtub of Coke’ the readers of this article are not meant to pity these gays, rather they are meant to reel in horror at the destruction the marriage can cause to a person in life time’. In the above case, horror or shock is the emotional rhetorical tool the writer has used to persuade the readers. This is contrary to the above article which uses colored photographs with written words of passion that illicit the desire in the readers’ mind to read more in the content text. While in the previous article, the writer had a command on the flow of the simple language that is easy to follow and understand. Less and less phrases were used to drive the message supporting gay marriage at home. On the other hand in this second article, the writer has just used a strong command of a bit hard and complicated language that is mixed up with a lot of phrases and citations. Phrases like ‘nothing is impossible’, ‘this is a complete waste of time’,’ it’s for charity’ and many others are used by the writer to persuade the readers. He further cites the comical work of Melanie Phillips in expressing his ideas about the problems with the gay marriages. The writer has a good knowledge of these comics and he is establishing them within his writings to establish his authority. This is also persuading to the readers. After comparing the two articles, I can conclude that the first article in the New York Times that was supporting the issue of gay marriage is better than the second one that is against gay marriages. This is because the article has used a variety of rhetorical techniques that are too persuading to the readers. The use of pictures that are relevant to the text like the pictures of the gay partners makes the article more attractive and appealing to the eyes and minds of the readers. The colorful pictures of the lovers and the small picture of the human heart that indicates the existence of love on the two men analyses the content of the text in brief. Since the pictures are attractive, the readers may find it easy and inevitable to peruse through the main message thereby reading the text. Further, the presentation of the article right away from the title of the article is also more appealing. The choice of the title is quite relevant and straight forward to any one who may wish to know much about the gay marriages. It strikes on the parts its going to tackle clearly for the readers to decide whether to read it or not. Breaking down the title into parts is more commanding and persuading than writing the title in form of a full sentence (question). Thus the first article is better than the second. The uses of rhetorical and reasoning features are more effective in convincing and persuading the readers of any article to read and pay more attention to the message. Its nature motivates the readers into doing further readings in future times which is vital to the publishing companies and the writers themselves. References Barabaro, Michael. "Same-Sex Marriage, Civil Unions, and Domestic Partnerships." New York Times Sunday June 2011: 22. James A. Reinking, A.W Hart,R Von Der Osten. Strategies for successfull writing:a rhetoric, reader and handbook. New York: Prentice Hall, 1993. McKay, David. American Politics and Society. New York: Wiley Blackwell, 2009. Robert Cockcroft, Susan M. Cockcroft. Persuading people:an introduction to rhetoric. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005. Sutcliffe, Thomas. "What's undermining about gay marriage?" The Independent Tuesday February 2011: 30 Read More

 

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