Rhetorical patterns
- 2. Rhetorical Patterns Rhetorical Patterns are ways of organizing information and thoughts in a logical manner. Most of these patterns include connectors to express transitions or relations between the different ideas. Sometimes connectors are not used.
- 3. Why are they important? • Separating supporting points from main ideas is an important reading skill. The organization of the supporting details will help you understand how an author thinks. • Detecting the patterns of organization of the major and minor details can help with comprehension and retention.
- 4. Patterns of Organization Time Order or Sequence Space Order, Location, Spatial Order Listing Classification Definition Exemplification Comparison-Contrast Cause and Effect Hypothesis Method-purpose/ Process Analysis Problem – Solution Purpose Description Argument Mixed Patterns
- 5. Time Order • It involves putting facts, events, or concepts in order of occurrence. • It usually refers to events. • The order is not strict. It can vary according to the circumstances. Time order signal words first, third…; next; then; finally; eventually; following this, after, as, before, currently, during, eventually, last, later, previously, etc.
- 6. The famous Leaning Tower of Pisa has been tilting for over 800 years, and recent improvements should allow it to continue tilting for another 300 more. On August 9, 1173, construction began on this well-known Italian bell tower. Almost immediately, it began leaning because it was being erected on the soft silt of a buried riverbed. Between 1178 and 1360, work stopped and started two more times as workers tried to continue the project and figure out how to compensate for the tilt. Over the next six centuries, the tower’s lean continued to increase, although tourists were still allowed to visit. Then, in 1990, Italy’s prime minister feared the tower would collapse and closed it to the public. From 1999 to 2001, engineers excavated soil from beneath the tower. Now, the tower still leans out about 15 feet beyond its base, but it should remain stable for several more centuries. Covington, Richard (2001) Smithsonian. “The Leaning Tower Straightens Up,” pp. 41-47
- 7. Space Order, Location, Spatial Order In this pattern, writers describe a person, place or thing based on its location or the way it is arranged in space. The author uses descriptive details to help the reader create vivid mental images of what is being described. Space Order signal words above, across, around, at the bottom, behind, below, under, in, left, outside, etc.
- 8. Juma works a small plot, barely more than an acre, near the town of Bagamoyo, on the Indian Ocean about 40 miles north of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. (T. Folger, The Next Green Revolution, National Geographic, 2013)
- 9. Listing Also known as listing, series, addition and enumeration, the information listed may be items, facts, reasons, examples, features or characteristics. List of items signal words and, too, in addition, moreover, or, also, furthermore, as well as, plus, in fact, moreover, besides...
- 10. Many modern people are turning themselves into social victims. One example is a Tennessee woman who is suing McDonald’s because she was badly burned on the chin by a hot pickle in her hamburger. A Canadian woman is another example. She wants to ban the South Park television show because her son Kenny is victimized by the show’s Kenny character, who is killed in each episode. A third example is a group of European and Australian women who want to ban urinals in men’s restrooms because they require men to stand in a way that suggests violence toward women. Another group argues that single people are victimized because society ignores them. Leo, John. (2000) U.S. News and World Report. “Victims of the Year,” p. 24
- 11. Classification It involves grouping things together (on the basis of similarities) and dividing them (according to differences).
- 12. The three types of courts in the legal system of United States are trial courts, appellate courts, and supreme courts. Trial courts are responsible for resolving disputes between two parties. In some trial courts, a jury decides the case. In other trial courts, however, a judge has that responsibility. Appellate courts are composed of a panel of judges. The job of the panel is to hear appeals brought by plaintiffs or defendants who did not like the decision made in a trial court. After reviewing the evidence presented in a particular case and deciding if the proceedings were legally sound, the appellate court can affirm, modify, or reverse the lower court’s decision. An appellate court can also call for a re-trial. The highest level of appellate court is the state supreme court, which can review and override decisions made in lower appellate courts. The federal Supreme Court is the court of last resort. Supreme Court rulings are final and cannot be challenged, although later Supreme Court rulings can set new precedents, or examples, for the court to follow.
- 13. Definition •It explains the meaning of new, difficult, or special terms. The short definition (a paragraph or a single sentence) is essential to technical writing. •A definition answers the question “What is it?” Definition signal words is, are, means
- 14. Acrophobia is an intense, unreasonable fear of high places. People with acrophobia exhibit emotional and physical symptoms in response to being at great heights.
- 15. Exemplification An exemplification usually follows a definition to show how the word is used or applied. They are used in all rethorical situations and within other rethorical strategies. Examples can help explain definitions, comparisons, processes, classifications groupings, etc. Exemplification signal words for example, to illustrate, for instance, that is, as an example, in fact, specifically, such as
- 16. Acrophobia is an intense, unreasonable fear of high places. People with acrophobia exhibit emotional and physical symptoms in response to being at great heights. For instance, one sufferer of extreme acrophobia, Andrea Copeland, is unable to go above the third floor of any building without feeling enormous anxiety. Her acrophobia began one evening when she was working alone in her office on the eighth floor of a large building. Suddenly she was struck with terror. She gathered her things and left the building, Yet, she still has no rational explanation for her fear, which is also typical of this type of phobia.
- 17. Comparison- Contrast The material is organized to emphasize the similarities and/or differences between two or more items or topics. Comparison means ▪ what things have in common ▪ how items or concepts are alike ▪ the similarities between elements or ideas Contrast means ▪ the differences between items or concepts ▪ how things are not alike ▪ distinctions between elements Comparison and contrast signal words similarly, like, the same as, compared to, in the same way, likewise, but, yet, on the other hand, however, instead, nevertheless, on the contrary...
- 18. When it comes to mood disorders, psychologists distinguish between depressive and bipolar disorders. With depressive disorders, the patient feels sad, despairing, hopeless. These feelings don’t just come and go in a day. They persist over long periods of time, with only occasional periods of relief. Typical, too, are fatigue, sleeplessness, and digestive problems. Bipolar disorders are also likely to be accompanied by feelings of despair and hopelessness, but these feelings alternate with excited or manic moods, in which the individual is sure that he or she can accomplish great things. During the manic periods of bipolar disorder, the patient is likely to be extremely energetic and full of plans for new and exciting projects; however, those plans vanish like smoke when the disorder swings into its depressed phase.
- 19. Cause and Effect • This pattern describes or discusses an event or action that is caused by another event or action. • On occasion, this pattern is also referred to as result. Cause and effect signal words because, for this reason, due to, cause, on account of, if this, then this… as a result, since, consequently, therefore, thus, in effect, resulting, and the outcome is...
- 20. Want to know how important nurses are to health care? Then consider these statistics. A 2002 nationwide study found that patient complications increased every time a nurse had to increase the normal patient load by one single person. Mortality also rose by 7 per cent. In a similar study, University of Utah researcher Susan Horn found that a nursing staff decrease forced convalescent-home nurses to spend less than fifteen minutes per day with their patients. What was the result? The incidence of bed sores, falls, and infections quickly began to climb. When more nurses were hired, time spent with patients increased to thirty or forty minutes per day, and patient outcomes improved dramatically. As these statistics suggest, nurses are the heart and soul of hospital and nursing-home care. Yet the nursing shortage continues to grow as trained nurses suffer from burn-out, and nursing schools turn away new applicants due to a lack of adequate funding. The fewer nurses tending the sick the more complications and deaths will continue to rise. (Source of information: Anne Underwood. "Diagnosis: Not Enough Nurses." Newsweek, December 12, 2005, p. 80)
- 21. Hypothesis •It presents a suggested explanation of phenomenon. •It sometimes indicates suppositions or future actions. •It may predict the outcome of a process.
- 22. According to latest research, chocolate may not cause pimples as it has been believed. Returning to suburban areas will improve the lives of millions of people who live cramped in urban areas.
- 23. Method- Purpose/ Process Analysis In this pattern the information explains the steps in a particular procedure or process. The steps and stages lead up to a final product or finished project Time order and Process use overlapping signal words. Both patterns organize points in time, but for different reasons. Process ends with a specific predetermined outcome. A basic cookbook recipe, laboratory reports, descriptions or directions for technical procedures are examples of process analysis. Process signal words how to, in the process of, the following steps, first, second, third…
- 24. How does corn on the cob get off the cob and into the can? The short answer is, not easily. After truckloads of freshly picked corn arrive at a processing plant, the ears are dumped onto a huge conveyor belt that takes them to what’s called the husking machine. At this point, each ear of corn is stripped of its leaves and stalk. Then the corn is sent on for inspection, and real human beings, not machines, remove diseased or immature kernels. After this stage is complete, workers line up the ears of corn and send them into cutting machines where they will be stripped of their kernels at around one hundred ears per minute. Finally, the corn is vacuum packed, sealed, and canned before it is cooked. Once the corn is put into cans, the cans enter a huge pressure cooker, where they sit until they reach the desired temperature. Once the corn is cooked, it is allowed to cool. Finally, labels are added to the cans. At this point, the corn is ready for the market.
- 25. Problem Solution This pattern involves the presentation of a problem and its solution, usually upon determined agreements and consensus. Problem solution signal words problem, need, difficulty, dilemma,enigma, challenge, issue, answer, propose, suggest, indicate, solve, resolve, improve, plan, respond to a need
- 26. The growth of urban areas exacerbated many problems, including the absence of clean drinking water, the lack of cheap public transportation, and most importantly, poor sanitation. Sanitation problems led to heavy urban mortality rates and frequent epidemics of typhoid, dysentery, typhus, cholera, and yellow fever. Government officials, recognizing the need for improvement, initiated the return to suburban and rural areas. The proposal involved several cost-effective solutions. Local village water delivery systems were improved, and as villages were substantially smaller, almost everything was in walking distance, thereby eliminating the need for public transportation.
- 27. Purpose Purpose states the objective of an intention in relation to an idea. To save enough of the crop to sell and to feed his family, Juma will have to harvest a month early. (T. Folger, The Next Green Revolution, National Geographic, 2013)
- 28. Argument It is a sentence that expresses a personal, debatable opinion. Seat belts must be compulsory. There is no such thing as personal freedom when it comes to saving one's life and respecting that of others. It's just common sense.
- 29. Other Patterns There are other patterns such as description (used to state the physical or psychological features of an idea, object, or person) and narration (used to describe something that wasn’t directly experienced by the writer) that will not be evaluated separately because, in the long run, almost all paragraphs either narrate or describe something.
- 30. Mixed Patterns In the real world, many texts contain sections and passages that combine two or more patterns of organization. This is perfectly normal and acceptable. Authors may incorporate blended patterns in their writing.
- 31. Patterns of Organization Arrange details and information Remember information and its organization Recognize what the author thinks is important understanding the reading's overall structure, which will help you grasp the text's main ideas