Welcome to Rhetorical Devices!

In the "Analysing and Evaluating Reasoning" section of your Thinking Skills course, we have already looked at how arguments are built and how they can sometimes be logically flawed (fallacies). Now, we are diving into rhetorical devices. These are special "tools" or techniques that writers and speakers use to make their arguments more persuasive, even if they don't add extra logical proof.

Think of a rhetorical device like the "packaging" of a product. A fancy box doesn't change what’s inside, but it definitely makes you more likely to want to buy it! In Thinking Skills, your job is to look past the "packaging" to see if the argument underneath is actually strong.

1. What are Rhetorical Devices?

According to the syllabus, we focus on two main types of rhetorical devices when evaluating reasoning: Appeals and Analogies. While these can sometimes make an argument feel stronger, they can also be used to hide a lack of real evidence. Your task is to identify them and then evaluate whether they actually support the conclusion or just sound good.

2. Appeals

An appeal is an attempt to persuade the reader by tapping into their emotions, their respect for authority, or their sense of "what everyone else is doing," rather than providing a logical reason.

Common Types of Appeals

  • Appeal to Authority: Claiming something is true just because a famous person or a "top expert" says so, even if the topic is outside their expertise.
    Example: "You should buy this brand of socks because the world champion chess player wears them."
  • Appeal to Popularity: Suggesting that because many people believe or do something, it must be right.
    Example: "Everyone is switching to this new diet, so it must be the healthiest way to eat."
  • Appeal to Emotion: Using feelings like fear, pity, or pride to get someone to agree.
    Example: "If you don't support this law, think of the poor, innocent animals who will suffer!"
  • Appeal to Tradition: Arguing that we should keep doing something just because "we’ve always done it this way."
  • Appeal to Novelty: Arguing that something is better simply because it is new or "high-tech."

How to Evaluate Appeals

Don't worry if this seems tricky at first! To evaluate an appeal, ask yourself: "Does this actually provide evidence for the conclusion?"

  • If an expert is actually an expert in the relevant field, the appeal might be strong.
  • If the appeal is just trying to make you feel guilty or afraid to stop you from thinking clearly, it is a weakness in the reasoning.

Quick Review: An appeal is a shortcut to persuasion. It asks you to agree based on "who" or "how," not "why."

3. Analogies

An analogy is a comparison between two different things to show they share a similar quality. In an argument, a writer uses an analogy to say: "Because situation \( X \) is like situation \( Y \), what is true for \( X \) must also be true for \( Y \)."

Example of an Analogy

"Managing a country's economy is just like managing a household budget. You can't spend more than you earn, so the government must cut all spending immediately."

How to Evaluate Analogies

To evaluate an analogy, you must look for significant differences (also called "points of dissimilarity").

  1. Identify the two things being compared: In the example above, it is a country's economy vs. a household budget.
  2. Look for similarities: Both involve income and spending.
  3. Look for the "Big Difference": A household cannot print its own money or raise taxes, but a government can. A household doesn't have millions of people depending on it for survival in the same way.

The Verdict: If the differences are more important than the similarities, the analogy is weak and does not support the conclusion.

Did you know? Analogies are great for explaining complex ideas, but they are often the "weakest link" in an argument because no two things are ever 100% the same!

4. Identifying and Evaluating (Step-by-Step)

When you are sitting your Paper 2 or Paper 4 exam, you might be asked to "evaluate the reasoning." Here is how you handle rhetorical devices:

Step 1: Spot it

Look for words like "similarly," "just as," "like," or phrases that try to make you feel a certain way ("Surely we all agree..." or "It would be heartless not to...").

Step 2: Name it

State clearly if it is an appeal (name the type if you can) or an analogy.

Step 3: Assess the Impact

Explain why it is strong or weak.
- For an appeal: Does it replace logic with emotion?
- For an analogy: Is the comparison fair, or are the two things too different?

Common Mistake to Avoid: Don't just say "there is an analogy." You must say whether the analogy works or if it is a weakness that makes the argument less convincing.

5. Key Takeaways

  • Rhetorical devices are persuasive tools, not necessarily logical ones.
  • Appeals (authority, emotion, popularity, etc.) try to bypass your logic. They are weaknesses if they offer no real evidence.
  • Analogies compare two things. They are only strong if the similarities between the two things are relevant to the conclusion.
  • When evaluating, always explain how the device affects the strength of the overall argument.

Note: For more on how to identify the basic parts of an argument, see the chapter "Identify key elements of an argument." To see how rhetorical devices differ from errors in logic, check out "Recognise and evaluate informal fallacies."