Rhetorical Modes Persuasion Exposition Narration

We try to convince others to agree with our facts, share our values, accept our argument and conclusions, and adopt our way of thinking. 

* gives the position of the author* must be arguable* establish facts to support an argument * clarify relevant values for your audience (perspective) * prioritize, edit, and/or sequence the facts and values in

order of importance* form and state conclusions * "persuading" your audience that your conclusions are

based upon the agreed-upon facts and shared values * have the confidence to communicate your "persuasion" in

writing* list any sources that will help you determine the reliability

of your argument* identify what prejudices lie in the argument or values that

color the facts or the issue

Let us spend one day as deliberately as Nature, and not be thrown off the rails. Let us rise early and fast, or breakfast, gently and without perturbations; let company come and let company go, let the bells ring and the children cry - determined to make a day of it. Why should we knock under and go with the stream?...Let us settle ourselves and work and wedge our feet downward through the mud and slush of opinion, and prejudice, and tradition, and delusion, and appearance., that alluvion which covers the globe, through Paris and London...through Church and State, through poetry and philosophy and religion, till we come to a hard bottom and rock in place, which we can call reality and say, This is, and no mistake; and then begin, having a point d'appui, below freshet and frost and fire, a place where you might find a wall or a state, or set a lamppost safely, or perhaps a gauge, not a Nilometer, but a Realmeter, that future ages might know how deep a freshet of shams and appearance had gathered from time to time.

An "argument" is, simply, an educated guess or opinion, not a simple fact. It is something debatable: "Men have walked on the moon" is a fact, but "People will walk on Venus in the next ten years" is an opinion. Anything that reasonably can be debated is an argument. A simple argument paper usually presents a debatable opinion and then offers supports in favor of it, or sometimes an argument paper will discuss both sides of an issue and then give good reasons for choosing one side over the other.  For example, a paper about space flight might argue that humans should not spend large sums of money in sending people into space.  The paper might then argue that three good reasons this is true is that there are many poor on our planet, on whom our resources should be spent, that space flight is not as enlightening for humankind as increasing literacy or cultural awareness, and that most of he money being spent on space is for military purposes, which is useless.  Another type of argument paper might ask the main idea as a question: "Should the human race spend large sums of money to send people into space?"  Then it might argue both sides thoroughly and, finally, choose one side and give strong reasons why this side is best.

  A typical argument paper often has what is called a "thesis" structure.  It starts with an introduction that offers an interesting opening--a quotation, perhaps, or an interesting story, a statement of the main argument, and sometimes a list of the several reasons (often three, but not necessarily so) to be given in support of this argument.  Then, step by step, the reasons are given with supporting details such as quotations, facts, figures, statistics, and/or people's experiences.  If the paper is short, there may be just one paragraph per reason.  In a longer argument paper, there may be several paragraphs or even several pages per reason.  At the end, a conclusion provides a restatement of the main argument and a final interesting quotation or other detail.

   In the alternative form, the introduction is much the same, and often starts with an interesting quotation or story, but it offers the main idea as a question and provides the two (or more) possible answers.  It may or may not state which answer it will choose in the end.  The body is formed by having a section discussing the first possible answer with reasons and details supporting it, the second possible answer and its reasons and supporting details, and a final section in which you choose one of the two answers and give strong reasons why you are doing so.  The conclusion once again restates your final choice and offers a final interesting quotation or story.

  As with all the other modes, argument is a thinking pattern or skill that is used in a number of types of college papers in shorter form.  You will find it in any sentence, paragraph, or section of a paper in which an opinion is expressed, especially when one or more supporting reasons are given for the opinion. 

Argument is one of the most basic forms of human thinking.  When you use argument, you rise above the mere offering of a personal opinion precisely because an argument requires supporting reasons, preferably with specific supporting details, to justify the position you are taking.

 

We try to convince others to agree with our facts, share our values, accept our argument and conclusions, and adopt our way of thinking. 

gives the position of the author must be arguable establish facts to support an argument clarify relevant values for your audience

(perspective) prioritize, edit, and/or sequence the facts and

values in order of importance form and state conclusions "persuading" your

audience that your conclusions are based upon the agreed-upon facts and shared values

have the confidence to communicate your "persuasion" in writing

list any sources that will help you determine the reliability of your argument

identify what prejudices lie in the argument or values that color the facts or the issue

The function of the expository essay is to explain, or to acquaint your reader with a body of knowledge. By explaining a topic to the reader, you are demonstrating your own knowledge.

* present, completely and fairly, other people's views or to report about an event a situation.

* present a subject in detail, apart from criticism, argument, or development.

* convey information or explain what is difficult to understand.

* proceed by the orderly structuring of parts and the use of familiar illustrations or analogies.

* present the opinions of others without adding your own opinion to the essay.

* share and analyze information without criticism or argument of the subject.

* uses as definition, example, compare and contrast, cause and effect, classification, or process analysis

I think the observable reluctance of the majority of Americans to assert themselves in minor matters is related to our increased sense of helplessness in an age of technology and centralized political and economical power: For generations, Americans who were too hot or too cold, got up and did something about it...The habit of looking after our own needs obviously had something to do with the assertiveness that characterized the American family familiar to readers of American literature. With the technification of life goes our direct responsibility for our material environment, and we are conditioned to adopt a position of helplessness...yet, these distinctions, as we withdrew in to helplessness, tend to fade away.

Exposition is a type of oral or written discourse that is used to explain, describe, give information or inform. The creator of an expository text can not assume that the reader or listener has prior knowledge or prior understanding of the topic that is being discussed. One important point to keep in mind for the author is to try to use words that clearly show what they are talking about rather than blatantly telling the reader what is being discussed. Since clarity requires strong organization, one of the most important mechanisms that can be used to improve our skills in exposition is to provide directions to improve the organization of the text.

Let's think about the type of writing that most of us encounter in our daily lives. When you pick up and read a non-fiction book, magazines, or newspaper article the author uses expository writing to inform you, the reader, about the topic. At school, students are required to submit school exams and research papers as a means for their teachers to grade their progress. Finally, at work, people are required to produce business reports and memorandums to inform their superiors and co-workers about the occurrences that take place at other levels of the company. In addition, oral exposition is primarily observed in oral academic presentations, business talks, and speeches that are delivered to a group of people. As each of these different cases illustrate, expository writing and speech surround us in our everyday lives.

In order to give you more information about oral and written exposition we have provided you with eight different examples of expository organizational patterns. You will find that most of these organizational patterns are very familiar to you. You may have never really considered them to be "kind" of organizational patterns. As you read through the different types of organizational patterns that are presented below, try to figure out how many of these organizational patterns do you already find yourself writing or speaking on a daily basis?

The function of the expository essay is to explain, or to acquaint your reader with a body of knowledge. By explaining a topic to the reader, you are demonstrating your own knowledge.

present, completely and fairly, other people's views or to report about an event a situation.

present a subject in detail, apart from criticism, argument, or development.

convey information or explain what is difficult to understand.

proceed by the orderly structuring of parts and the use of familiar illustrations or analogies.

present the opinions of others without adding your own opinion to the essay.

share and analyze information without criticism or argument of the subject.

uses as definition, example, compare and contrast, cause and effect, classification, or process analysis.

Narrative writing tells a story. In essays the narrative writing could also be considered reflection or an exploration of the author's values told as a story. The author may remember his or her past, or a memorable person or event from that past, or even observe the present.

* is told in the form of a story* told from a particular point of view * makes and supports a point * is filled with precise detail * uses vivid verbs and modifiers * uses plot, character, setting, climax,

conflict, and ending as does any story * may use dialogue * is told in sequence* relies on personal experiences

Once there was a lot of sound in my grandmother's house, a lot of coming and going, feasting and talk. The summers there were full of excitement and reunion. The Kiowas are a summer people; they abide the cold and keep to themselves, but when the seasons turn and the land becomes warm and vital, they cannot hold still; an old love of going returns upon them...They made loud and elaborate talk among themselves, full of jest and gesture, fright and false alarm. They went abroad in fringed and flowered shawls, bright beadwork and German silver. They were at home in the kitchen and they prepared meals that were banquets...There were a lot of good things to eat, a lot of laughter and surprise. And afterwards, when the quiet returned, I lay down with my grandmother and could hear the frogs away by the river and feel the motion of the air.

"Narration" or a "narrative" provides details of what happened.  It is almost like a list of events in the order that they happened, except that it is written in paragraph form.  A narration or narrative doesn't have to show any cause and effect; it only needs to show what happened in the order that it happened.  History books are filled with narrations. For example, if I were to describe the visit of the Pope to Denver in 1993, I would use his itinerary and give details of each major event in that visit. If I were writing a book about it, I would give details of many of the more interesting minor events as well. I would do this in the order in which they occurred: first the Pope did this, then he did that, and then he did a third thing.

A typical short narration paper starts with a brief introductory paragraph consisting of two parts.  The first is a sentence or two stating the event you are going to narrate; you might even want to include the who, what, where, and when of the event in this part.  The second part is a simple statement that the paper you are writing is a narrative of this event.  In the body of the narrative, you break the event into several parts--one part per paragraph.  Each paragraph would then further break down the event into sub-events and enough description of them that your reader will know what you mean.  The body may have just a few paragraphs or many, depending on the length of paper and complexity you want.  The conclusion can be very brief: just a final rewording of the overall event you have narrated, and a final interesting comment or two about it, or perhaps a statement about how, where, or when this event fits into the larger flow of history around it.  Your audience is anyone who knows little or nothing about the event but can understand it easily once you explain it.

As with other rhetorical modes, narration often is used in a context shorter than an entire paper.  More commonly, you may need to explain a sequence of events, event by event, in just a paragraph or two when you are writing a longer paper for some other purpose: if you need to give a long example of one or two paragraphs, this example might, perhaps, be in story form--in the order in which events happened.  This would be a short narration.  Any other time as well that you write about events in the order in which they happened, you are using narration.

Narrative writing tells a story. In essays the narrative writing could also be considered reflection or an exploration of the author's values told as a story. The author may remember his or her past, or a memorable person or event from that past, or even observe the present.

is told in the form of a story told from a particular point of view makes and supports a point is filled with precise detail uses vivid verbs and modifiers uses plot, character, setting, climax, conflict,

and ending as does any story may use dialogue is told in sequence relies on personal experiences