The Rhetorical
modes
Academic Writing Unit
EW 3 classes
Ms. A. Rodriguez
High School for World Cultures
Bronx, New York

What does the five-paragraph essay look like?
 INTRODUCTION: The first paragraph contains the summary of topic,
three supporting ideas, and the thesis statement.
 BODY : The second paragraph contains the first supporting idea with
evidence. The last sentence of it leads into the next idea.
 BODY : The third paragraph contains the second supporting idea with the
same structure as the second.
 BODY : The fourth paragraph contains the third supporting idea and the
same structure as the second and third with the last sentence leading to the
conclusion.
 CONCLUSION: The last paragraph restates the thesis, three supporting
ideas, and gives the reader something to think about.

What is a thesis statement?
 A thesis statement is a section of text which
clearly outlines the argument that will be
presented in a paper.
 Ex: It is a great idea for schools to implement a policy on school
uniforms because statistics show that students who wear uniforms
earn better grades, the male students aren't as distracted by what the
female students are (or aren't) wearing, and students feel a sense of
equality with one another.
 Thesis statements include the points that will be
supported in the argument.

Why do we need to know this?
 Rhetorical modes are the kinds of writing and
their purposes.
 Knowing the rhetorical modes helps us
recognize them in essay questions and writing
exams.
 Knowing the styles and the techniques helps us
create polished pieces of writing.

What are the four most common rhetorical
modes?
 Argumentation: The purpose of argumentation is to prove the
validity of an idea, or point of view.
 Description: The purpose of description visually present a
person, place, event, or action .
 Narration: The purpose of narration is to tell a story or narrate
an event or series of events .
 Exposition: The purpose of exposition is to explain and
analyze information.

Argumentation

The purpose of argumentation (sometimes also called
persuasive writing) is to prove the validity of an idea, or point
of view, by presenting sound reasoning, discussion, and
argument that thoroughly convince the reader.
 Persuasive writing is a type of argumentation with the
additional aim to urge the reader to take some form of action.

Examples of argumentation writing
Critical review
Editorials
Job evaluation
Letter of recommendation
Letters to the editor
Résumés/Cover letter

Descriptive
 Descriptive writing is characterized by sensory details,
which appeal to the physical senses, and details that
appeal to a reader’s emotional, physical, or intellectual
sensibilities
 A description is usually arranged spatially but can be
chronological. The focus of a description is the scene.
 Description uses tools such as figurative language,
metaphor, and simile to arrive at a dominant
impression.

Description
 The purpose of description is to re-create, invent, or visually
present a person, place, event, or action so that the reader can
picture that which is being described.
 Descriptive writing can be found in the other rhetorical
modes.

Examples of description writing
 Poetry
 Journal writing
 Witness statements
 Lab reports

Narration
 The purpose of narration is to tell a story or narrate an event
or series of events.
 This writing mode frequently uses the tools of descriptive
writing.
 Narration is an especially useful tool for sequencing or
putting details and information into some kind of logical
order, usually chronological.

Examples of narrative writing
 Anecdote: a short tale narrating an interesting or amusing biographical incident
 Autobiography: a biography written by its subject (or sometimes, in modern usage,
composed conjointly with a collaborative writer , styled "as told to" or "with").
 Memoir- Closely associated with autobiography , difficult to precisely distinguish
from it, is the form of memoir. As a literary genre, a memoir, forms a subclass of
autobiography
 Biography: a description of someone's life, usually published in the form of a book
or essay, or in some other form, such as a film.
 Novel: "short story of something new" is today a long narrative in literary prose.
 Oral histories: can be defined as the recording, preservation and interpretation of
historical information, based on the personal experiences and opinions of the
speaker.
 Short stories: The short story refers to a work of fiction that is usually written in
prose, usually in narrative format.

Exposition
 The purpose of exposition (or expository writing) is to explain
and analyze information by presenting an idea, relevant
evidence, and appropriate discussion.

What are some types of expository
writing?
 Cause and Effect
 Classification and Division
 Comparison and Contrast
 Definition
 Process Analysis

Examples of expository writing
 How-to essays, such as recipes
and other instructions
 Business letters
 Personal letters
 News stories
 Press releases
 Reports
 Scientific reports
 Wikipedia entries
 Term papers
 Textbooks
 Wills

Cause and effect
 The defining features of a cause and effect
essay are causal chains, careful language, and
chronological or emphatic order.
 This rhetorical mode is often required on
History exams.
 Ex: What led to the outbreak of World War I?
 Ex: What led to the Japanese Internment?

Classification and division
 Classification is the categorization of objects
into a larger whole,
 Division is the breaking of a larger whole into
smaller parts.
 Classification essays are often used in the
sciences including sociology and psychology.

Comparison and Contrast
 Compare and contrast is characterized by a basis for
comparison, points of comparison, analogies, and either
comparison by object (chunking) or by point (sequential).
 Comparison highlights the similarities between two or more similar
objects while contrasting highlights the differences between two or more
objects.
 Ex: Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic
 Basis for comparison: both geographic areas
 Comparison point by point- Caribbean cultures, former Spanish colonies, racial mixture due to
historical events,
 Contrast point by point- Size, relationship to the United States, level of development,
Citizenship and migration patterns.

Block Arrangement (four paragraphs)
 I. Introduction in which you state your purpose which is to discuss
the differences between vacationing in the mountains or at the
beach
 II. Mountain
A. Climate
B. Types of Activities
C. Location
 III. Beach
A. Climate
B. Types of Activities
C. Location
 IV. Conclusion

Point-by-Point or Alternating
Arrangement (five paragraphs)
 I. Introduction in which you state your purpose which is to discuss differences
between vacationing in the mountains or at the beach
 II. First difference between mountains and beaches is climate
A. Mountains
B. Beach
 III. Second difference between mountains and beaches are types of activities
A. Mountains
B. Beach
 IV. Third difference between mountains and beaches is the location
A. Mountains
B. Beach
 V. Conclusion

Definition
 Definition essays explain a term's meaning.
Some are written about concrete terms, such as
trees, oceans, and dogs, while others talk about
more abstract terms, such as liberty, happiness,
and virtue.
 What does it mean to be Latino?
 What is cultural diffusion?

Process Analysis
 Process analysis essays explain the “process” of
how to do something, or how something was
done.
 An action is broken down into steps and
explained.

References
 www.wikipedia.com
 http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080901114401AAFpmXD