Rhetorical Analysis Introduction Words have power. However, for them to have the desired impact on the audience, some styles have to be incorporated in articulating them out. Orators of the time are best known for their ability to touch people through words. One such person is President Obama. He has a way of making people remember what he has said. This is because; he has styles that he uses in his speech which capture the interest and emotions of the listener. Oppositely, a speaker may want to bring out a certain point, but the choice of technique may impede the passage of such a point to the audience. Basing on this, it is vital for speakers not just to come with word they think are appropriate but also make a choice of the techniques that will influences the delivery of the desired message. Information regarding the styles and techniques utilized by the speaker cannot be gathered unless thee speech is critically analyzed. Accordingly, one of the speeches by President Obama is going to be analyzed. SOAPS The State of the Union 2014 speech by President Obama is going to be analyzed. The president gave out this speech on 28th January 2014 in Washington D.C. the speech was delivered before a joint session of the congress. Thesis Statement Pathos, logos and ethos are techniques incorporated in speeches to ensure that the audience is reached to. However, the employment if any of these techniques has to be thoroughly thought about so as to positively implicate on the delivery of the intended information. Speakers drive their desired point home through capturing the emotions of the audience. Some relate to varied scenarios that might be of interests to the audience. Moreover, some of the speakers use approved facts. By studying the ... ... middle of paper ... ... real life stories like the one for Misty DeMars and Andra Rush Company. This is to show how people are industrious in the American society so that the leaders do not let them down. Conclusion A speech utilizes information that may be interesting to the audience or that which is known. This is to make sure that information relayed creates the desired impact. The president has used factual information, examples, emotions and a persuading tone to urge the leaders to work together with him so as to ensure the welfare of the people. He has been able to explain the efforts of the people and where the leaders might be failing to influence positively on the people. Accordingly, he has explained to the people the methods which can be effective in ensuring that they remain committed to the people they serve. In addition, he had explained his personal commitment to the same.
...etorical analysis teaches that the practice of rhetoric in pathos is not always strong enough to stand alone or solely support an argument. Many times pathos is contingent on emotions that are not supported by anything but the speaker alone. Therefore, like President Johnson’s speech, it is important to stick to a genre since it offers enough structure to validate the pathos illustrated. The deliberative genre provides a speech that evokes a serious setting where the speaker can be taken seriously and with a sense of urgency. The combination of pathos and genre can be a model for a successful pair of rhetorical features explained through my rhetorical analysis of Lyndon B. Johnson’s 1963 acceptance speech. In this speech he was able to address the devastating loss and mourning of JFK, while all the same maintaining an outlook of perseverance of the American people.
In order to grasp the rhetorical situation, one must first understand the correlation between the purpose of the State of the Union Address and the response to the address. Before discussing the response in detail, one needs to know why the State of the Union Address is given. According to the website, This Nation, the intent of the State of the Union Address shall convey a message of what America is striving to become in the form of speech to the citizens. The website defines the State of the Union Address by stating, “ shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the
Rhetorical analysis assignment: President’s Address to the Nation. Since the 9/11 attacks, the Bush administration has been calling on all citizens and all nations to support his Middle East policy. Nonetheless, the U.S. has been involved in the Middle East struggle for more than half of the century, wars were waged and citizens were killed.
In his “State of the Union” speech, President Barack Obama effectively uses the rhetorical devices of Ethos, Pathos and Logos to convey a more convincing message to the citizens of the United States to urge them to follow the example of the many people that have made their nation greater.
Obama is able to gain his listeners’ ears because of his clear and effective writing. In Obama’s writing various elements of rhetorical framework create a strong and persuasive argument that Obama is able to present in grabbing his audience’s attention and consideration. Seen through his writing, Obama’s use of rhetorical appeals, devices, and context create an in-depth look into the problem of the racial divide which still exist today. In writing an effective argument, Obama employ’s through rhetoric’s personal experience, historical events, religion, and the current state of things, which he asks his audience think more about. By noting that the problems of America as a whole is a problem that every citizen shares and not a problem that exist individually for different races. Obama is able to have his audience focus on the real issues Americans face moving forward. Ultimately, as it is seen prior before the speech was published and given, Obama’s intent on the direction and how his speech would be formed, along with writing techniques that were used to craft the speech, all reveal his personal knowledge of rhetoric’s and ability to write a persuasive argument. Through his speech Obama is easily able to dismisses his critics and do what he intended to do, being that he wants his audience to focus their attention on to the more serious problems that remain unsolved for American
Obama, Barack H. "The 2013 State of the Union Address." The White House. N.p., 13 Feb.
President Obama’s Inaugural Speech: Rhetorical Analysis. Barrack Obama’s inauguration speech successfully accomplished his goal by using rhetoric to ensure our nation that we will be in safe hands. The speech is similar to ideas obtained from the founding documents and Martin Luther King’s speech to establish ‘our’ goal to get together and take some action on the problems our country is now facing. As President Barack Obama starts his speech, he keeps himself from using ‘me’, ‘myself’, and ‘I’ and replacing it with ‘we’, ‘us’, and ‘together’ to achieve his ethos.
President Barack Obama is the 44th president and current president of the United States, and the first African American to serve as U.S president. He was elected second terms over former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney. He gave a famous speech “a more perfect union” on March 2008 for the Democratic Party presidential nomination, speaking at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In his part of the speech, he used a quote from the Constitution, with the strong reaction as “we the people, in order to form a more perfect union.” “He mentions powerful words as the words democracy and liberty. He also point out the unequal society”. “The most effective of his speech was he used four rhetorical strategies, as the power of allusion and patriotism. He also apply Du Bois’s useful term in his speech, to bring out the strong emotion, he distinct himself from the Wright, and give strong
Although logos and ethos was also presented the overall affective rhetorical strategy was pathos giving out the highest emotional vibe.
The first issue discussed in the speech was healthcare reform. The next topic was the budget and another stimulus. Then, Obama addressed some bills and policies, specifically the climate bill and the cap-and-trade. Lastly, the authors views on Obama and his views on his administration. Both Will and Gerson cover the State of the Union address. In their articles they both agree about the address’ topics and messages to the American people, as well as disagreeing on some of the bills and policies the president
Edlund, John R. Ethos, Logos, Pathos: Three Ways to Persuade.” Cal Poly Pomona, n.d. Web. 6
President Lincoln, King George VI, and President F. Roosevelt all gave speeches facing a conflict and they used ethos, pathos, and logos when persuading their audiences of the arguments they presented. They used ethos to prove their credibility and trustworthiness, pathos to attract their audience and connect to them on an emotional level, and logos to back up their information and arguments with logical reasoning.
Ethos is the ethical appeal or the appeal to the credibility and authority of a speaker. Ethos assists in conveying the message through tone and style in addition to being in possession of the relevant knowledge in the field that you want to bestow a speech. Pathos is the emotional appeal or the appeal to the audience’s heart and emotions. Personal connections, stories, testimonies and experiences aid the speaker to bond emotional to the audience. Logos is the rational appeal or the appeal to the audience’s logical reasoning ability. The speaker can include facts or statistics. Furthermore, by asking himself or herself the following questions a speaker can be able to weigh how his or her speech appeals logically; does the speech make sense?
Over the recent four months in Communication 1402 class, I have addressed three formal speechs and completed a number of chapters in the corresponding textbook “Communication Works”. This course of Communication aims to provide general information what public speaking is and how to address a public speaking. Recalling back the experience during the processes of completing the Speech to Imform, Speech to Persuade, and Group Presentation, I will draw a conclusion about this course and these three presentations in five aspects, comprising my previous perception of public speaking before this course; learning from the Speech to Inform; the goal and evaluation of Speech to Persuade; learning from the Group Presentation; the most important thing learned from this course.
I have also learned about different types of audiences and speeches including persuasive, informative, entertaining and delivering special occasion speeches. It came to my attention that whenever I was making these presentations or speeches, I needed to do so with confidence, consistence and practice before the actual presentation and completely eliminate the element of panic. It was also clear that capturing the attention of the audience and engaging them in the whole process, it was necessary to have a very strong introduction and also try and use visuals to deliver the message. It was therefore vital to respect each person’s diversity and cultural values (Lucas, 2011).