I was interested to read about The Five Canons of Rhetoric
in our reading this week in Chapter One.
I have always prided myself in being able to write papers well during my
college career, but I have a fear of public speaking. During my paper writing process, I use the
first three parts: invention, style and
arrangement. I first must decide on what
I want to write about, what I feel knowledgeable about and a topic that I feel I
can express thru my writing well. Then I
must decide what kind of style I will use when writing the paper. Is it informational? Persuasive?
Then I must arrange my paper into the best format: introduction, body and conclusion. Turning my paper into a speech would require
the final two parts: memory and delivery. I would need to memorize my paper and be able
to recite it without sounding monotonous or boring. And most importantly, I would need to deliver
my speech to the audience in a way that would capture their attention and
emotions. For me personally I believe
delivery is the most important part of your speech because it holds the power
as to whether or not you will get the attention of your audience.
The five canons of rhetoric were definitely an interesting part in the reading. Following them in anything persuasive or communicative in general is a good idea. Proper use of the appropriate canons can easily aid anything directly, or even indirectly, persuasive. To be able to effectively communicate, the canons of rhetoric are most important. Without following them all, one cannot hope to be a good communicator.
ReplyDeleteI also found the history of The Five Canons of Rhetoric to be insightful. I hadn’t realized that this division of communication dated back to the classical period. These canons further elaborated on the original teachings of Plato and Aristotle by providing a strong structure to follow. I particularly liked how they covered Aristotle’s methods of persuasion under style with ethos being the plain style, logos being the middle style, and pathos being the vigorous style. I hadn’t thought to compare these to the structure of a written essay. The first three canons definitely fit the structure of a well written paper. This organization of thoughts is essential to communicating effectively whether the communication be verbal or written.
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