Kinds of Writing

Take a minute to think about all the different kinds of writing that there are in the world. Jot down a few that come to mind. If you’re like most of my students, your initial list might look something like this:

You might have been a little more creative and thought of some of the digital kinds of writing that are prevalent in our world today:

Some students name types of writing, like narrative and descriptive, that they remember from high school…

…and others think of genres of writing.

As they dig deeper, I ask students to think about kinds of writing they see (and even WEAR) every day.

Even though all of these examples of writing may seem different, every single type of writing has three things in common. Can you guess what they are?

 

It might help to think of an example.

Our answer to the first question is very simple–the list was written because it’s time to replenish the groceries in this refrigerator! That is the purpose of the list. The second question is a little more difficult to answer because we are not privy to that information. However, we can assume the author is the person who noticed that the items on the list were running low and decided that they needed to be replenished. The third question is where things get interesting. Is the person who wrote the list the person who will be doing the shopping? Is the shopper another member of the household? Is the list perhaps for an Instacart or DoorDash shopper? How does the audience impact the answer to the last question on our list?

Let’s imagine that a mother is the author of this list and take just one item on this list–cheese–as an example. Imagine the mother knows that she needs cheese slices to make sandwiches this week–that is her purpose is including cheese on this list. But it’s the audience that will determine if the list in this form will accomplish its purpose! If she is the one shopping, all she has to write on the shopping list is cheese because she knows exactly what kind of cheese she needs. But, what if she’s sending her teenage daughter or her husband to the store for her? She will need to be a lot more specific than just cheese. Her daughter, who loves quesadillas, might come home with shredded Mexican-style cheese. Or her husband, who loves specialty cheeses might come home with a hunk of Gouda. But, what she really needs, is the Kraft American slices for her picky 8 year old’s lunches!

As we look at the items on this list, it’s easy to see that the audience matters! If the audience doesn’t understand the message of the list, the purpose will not be accomplished. The poor mother will have to go back to the store…or her 8 year old will have some really interesting sandwiches this week!

We can see, then, that even a simple shopping list includes the elements of author, purpose, and audience. In fact, although all writing includes these three elements by default, effective writing must take all three carefully into consideration.

“Rhetorical Triangle” by Ted Major licensed under CC-BY-SA 2.0

Having a clear understanding of their purpose, audience, and even their own presence in their writing, is vital for effective communication. Unfortunately, many students, while they might carefully consider their social media posts, fail to consider these important elements when writing academic essays.

Rhetoric

The art of effective communication is an ancient one. In fact, people have been studying how to communicate effectively since the time of the ancient Greeks! The study of the art of communication is called Rhetoric.

Aristotle taught his students how to practice the art of speaking well. He believed that, in order to be effective, a speaker must carefully consider the situation–the audience and the purpose, as well as the presentation of the speaker and even the timing of the speech!

Rhetoric is the same way. If a writer and uses rhetoric to make a point more clear to the audience, then it’s being used for good. If a politician or a company uses rhetoric to confuse the audience and to convince them to believe a lie, then it’s not being used for good.

One example of a man who used rhetoric for immense good is Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Over his lifetime, he fought injustice using his words and made a lasting difference in our world. On the other hand, a man who used rhetoric for immense evil is Adolf Hitler. With his words, he murdered millions of innocent people and caused the deaths of many, soldiers and civilians alike, in World War II.

The Rhetorical Situation

When we talk about writing or communicating well in terms of rhetoric, what we mean is thinking carefully about not just what we are saying, but how we say it. Most people use rhetoric instinctively to communicate with different audiences. For example, imagine that you’re telling a story about something that happened over Spring Break. Without even thinking about it, you will likely tell the story differently to your mom and to your best friend. You might emphasize different people or events or leave out the things that you know might interest one party but not the other (or that might get you into trouble). Remembering that rhetoric is something that you already use all the time helps to alleviate any stress about how to use it.

Purpose, of course, is what an argument hopes to achieve. Most communication occurs because something needs to happen. Writers must think about what they want their readers to do once they’ve read the message. In our shopping list, for example, the purpose would be to go and buy the correct items on the list. If a person purchases a t-shirt with a logo or slogan, the purpose might be to show support for that brand. It’s telling your audience—the people who look at your shirt—to think about you a certain way or to think about a topic a certain way. If someone wears a Yavapai College t-shirt, they are telling their audience that they attend or maybe work at YC and are proud of it! So, whenever you write, think about the purpose. What is the end result you are hoping to achieve? What do you want the reader to do with what you’re telling them? The best writing will always have a clear purpose.

A writer’s purpose is very often related to the audience. The audience consists of the specific person or group or groups of people for whom the message is intended. Knowing and understanding the audience is vital for successful communication and accomplishing the purpose. Look at our shopping list example again. The amount of detail the author might provide in the list depends greatly on the intended audience. In an academic setting, many students think of their instructor as their audience. However, while your instructor is grading your papers, the message or the purpose should not be related to your instructor. Your instructor is grading how effective you are at getting your message across to your intended audience–NOT to them. If you are not given a specific audience, or you aren’t sure, a good solution is to write for an audience of your peers. This allows you to define your audience, which will help you to craft papers that are more interesting, not only for you to write and your audience to read, but also for your secondary audience–your instructor!

The final element of our rhetorical situation is the author. The position and the persona of the author may seem unimportant. However, the writer is always in the text, and how an author portrays him/herself can be very important in getting the message across. An interesting way to think about creating your persona as an author is to consider that persona a part of your personal brand. While branding is important for businesses, we often don’t consider branding in our personal lives, but, whether we like it or not, we are creating a brand–by what we wear, what we post on social media, etc. Here’s an interesting video describing how to create a personal brand:

In essence, a brand is how you represent yourself and who you are to others. It’s an extension of your values and personality–and it’s important not to lose that sense of self in your writing!

Let’s go back to our shopping list example just one more time. It might seems that the persona of the author isn’t very important in this instance–after all, it’s just a list. But imagine that the teenage daughter receives a text message with this list. Perhaps the there are some items spelled incorrectly. This might tell her that it was not her mother, but her little brother sending the list. Can you see how that might impact whether or not she chooses to go to the store to purchase those items? How you portray yourself in a text is important! After all, most writers want to be taken seriously. Even satirical writing usually has a clear purpose that the author hopes to portray.

When you’re writing an academic paper, you want to present yourself as a credible source of information. What does that mean? In part, it means using proper grammar and formatting and making sure your words are spelled correctly. Doing these things show the audience that you are serious about the topic and professional. Using good sources and citing them correctly, giving examples, and showing that you understand all sides of an issue tells readers that you are knowledgeable and that you can be trusted. If you don’t portray yourself well in your writing, your message may not be taken seriously–even worse, it may turn your audience against you.

Can you see how these three elements–purpose, audience, and author–work together to create good communication? When writing, it’s important to think about not just what you have to say, but how you say it. And how you say it should be determined by a careful examination of your purpose, audience, and the persona you want to project as a writer.

Ethos, Logos, and Pathos

The rhetorical appeals of logos, pathos, and ethos go hand in hand with the Rhetorical situation and make up what is called the Rhetorical Triangle. The ancient Greek scholar Aristotle believed that an argument would not be successful without the skillful use of all three rhetorical appeals.

The appeals connect the purpose to the audience and are necessary in some fashion for a good argument. An argument that only appeals to logic but lacks emotion, for example, will not move readers to action. An argument that has great logic and emotion, but presents the author as a shady character is not going to be persuasive, either. It’s only when the three appeals work in harmony that the most effective arguments are created.

Appeal to Logic (logos)

Logos is the rhetorical appeal based on facts and reason. Evidence and statistics strengthen logical arguments, which can be based on hard evidence or on reason and common sense.

“Genomic Fun Facts” by Genomics Education Program licensed CC BY 2.0.

Every reason in the paper should be supported by at least one piece of hard evidence. If a reason listed in the paper cannot be supported by evidence, it is considered personal opinion. Personal opinion is valuable in many writing situations, like the narrative essay, but it is not helpful in argument, where the readers expect the author to offer proof, rather than assumption.

1) Facts Facts are ideas that cannot be disputed. They differ from values in that facts are traditionally not controversial. Although anyone can dispute a fact for the sake of argument (the sky is blue; no, the sky is gray), the best facts to use in the paper are those that are widely accepted as true by respected and esteemed sources. This is where signal words can really help. Attributing facts to a reputable source (“According to the New York Times” or “According to the White House Press Office”) can add strength to any argument.

2) Statistics People trust numbers; therefore, statistics in the paper are very good pieces of evidence. It is, however, simple to view statistics in opposing ways. Whenever statistics are used in the argument, make sure the reasoning behind the argument is clearly supported by the numbers. If the reader looks at the numbers and reads the opposite argument, the paper will be less persuasive. For this reason, it’s very important to use statistics from the original source, not statistics that have been used to support another argument. The following video contains a really great explanation of the power of statistics–and how those statistics can be misleading.

3) Surveys, polls, studies It is one thing to state in a paper, “most people supported the war.” It is a completely different argument to state, “According to a poll conducted by Amnesty International, 35% of Americans supported the war.” The first example lacks specificity and proof. The second example is more specific, but it comes from a source that is inherently opposed to war and is therefore likely to be biased. Also in the second example, without the actual question that was addressed in the poll, there is no way to tell for sure exactly to what question people polled were responding. There is also no mention of how many people (out of millions of Americans) were polled. While numbers can be good argumentative tools, be careful to support and interpret data in the argument.

4) Testimonies, narratives, interviews Information from experts on a topic can be a very convincing type of evidence. Make sure, however, to establish the credentials of the expert in the text. Stating, “my roommate supports a gun ban” is very different from saying, “John Doe, Director of the Center for Violence against Children, supports a gun ban.”

Appeals to Emotion (Pathos)

While logos appeals may convince an audience, it is the pathos appeals that move the audience to action through emotions–anger, sadness, fear, joy, etc. A writer might appeal to a reader’s emotions by telling a story, painting a picture, or using loaded language. Pathos is powerful, but can be difficult to use.

Emotions can be used to establish a bond between writer and reader. Arguments expressed in emotional terms that readers can relate to can create strong reactions. Using personal experience to communicate hardship, pain, joy, faith, or any other emotion often allows the reader to empathize more fully with the goals of an argument. Some emotions, however, may work in the opposite way. Emotions such as rage, pity, or aggression may turn readers away.

1) Telling a Story. Emotions add to the logical reasoning in an argument to make it stronger or more memorable. A simple story relating to the topic can often be the best method of appealing to emotion. It uses personal experience to build bridges with the readers, it gives an example of the topic, and it allows the reader to empathize and connect with the issue at hand.

2) Vivid Description. Description works in much the same way as telling a story. For example, by painting a picture of a beach covered with trash, a writer can evoke the a stronger emotion in readers than if they were to simply say that the beach is covered in trash. Putting the reader into the situation and allowing them to “see” it for themselves can be a wonderful way to move then to action.

3) Loaded Words. Finally, using loaded words that remind readers of shared values can be a powerful tool to move emotions. For example, careful word choice that evokes feelings of patriotism can help sway an audience. Pay attention to your word choices and work to make your audiences care about your topic enough that they will be moved to action.

Appeal to Character (Ethos)

An appeal to ethos ( the author’s character) establishes a speaker’s credibility.  Ethical appeals convey honesty and authority. Appeals to character answer the questions, “What does this person know about the subject?” and “Why should I pay attention?” To seem credible sometimes means to admit limitations. Honesty and likeability are important characteristics used to persuade. Your character is established through your use of good support, through documenting your sources, through your tone, and through your background.

Credibility by Nick Youngson CC BY-SA 3.0 Pix4free

Claiming Authority: Readers are apt to be skeptical of any claim, but especially in cases where the author is not an expert. In such cases, honesty, integrity, and modesty are essential. Drawing on source material and acknowledging multiple sides of the argument are ways to prove to the reader that though the author may not have studied the topic closely for 20 years, he or she has performed ample research to come to a conclusion.

Establishing Credibility: The tone of the writing can have a big impact on how well the arguments are received. Elevated word choice that does not fit the subject and creates a forced formal tone can cause a reader to view the text as arrogant. In addition, an overly informal word choice that includes slang and simplistic language can cause a reader to view the text as uninformed or elementary. Careful word choice helps establish credibility by allowing the reader to see the honest level of knowledge of the text.

Final Thoughts

It will be almost impossible to convince all readers in all contexts. However, by paying careful attention to the ways you use the rhetorical appeals, you will be more likely to succeed in your goals.

This video demonstrates the use of ethos, pathos, and logos in advertising and film:

While each example focuses on one rhetorical appeal, the best arguments will make use of all three appeals to create a credible, persuasive argument that moves readers to action.

Attributions:

• “Purpose, Audience, and Author” content created by Dr. Karen Palmer and licensed under CC BY NC.
• “Kinds of Writing” images and content created by Dr. Karen Palmer and licensed under CC-BY NC.
• “Rhetoric” content created by Dr. Karen Palmer and licensed under CC BY NC.
• “Ethos, Logos, and Pathos” created by Dr. Karen Palmer. Licensed under CC BY NC.