Sunday, March 4, 2012

Chapter 13 Analysis

Basically, this chapter is describing how just as in the many outlets of life there are all kinds of styles, writing has many too. Style is how the way the argument is set up in order to make an effective claim. These can be found as ways of communication which the chapter classifies as high, which is formal, middle, which is understated, and low, which is every day talk. Using these gives a certain style and tone to the organization of the argument. This chapter also addresses word choice as very important for the style of the argument. Slang can be used for specific target audiences and jargon has the same effect too. The style can also have figures of speech, or use metaphors, similes and analogies to compare and contrast and further prove or disprove a point. Rhetorical questions, which most people are familiar with  help continue the argument on and also engages the audience to make assumptions. Another strategy that most people have heard of, but don't what it's called is "antonomasia," which is "George the Great," etc.
The part that I found most intriguing that reminded me of something I've seen on the web would have to be a combination of sentence structure and punctuation. The example I'm thinking of that makes a huge difference is "Let's eat Grandma!" as opposed to "Let's eat, Grandma!" because the meanings are completely different and affected by the smallest thing.
Also, I found the part about metaphors and similes interesting because I find this to be the easiest to understand for audiences of all types and are almost always effective as proving something. For instance, the advertisement below compares having a baby and being grounded. Most people can understand or relate to this because they understand what being grounded entails, or have experienced it themselves.

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