

For example, they may not know the reason for the proposed ordinance, what might happen if it is passed or not passed, or how it might affect them personally or culturally. Next, again consider the culture of your audience members and what they may or may not know about your topic. Also, be sure that you fully understand the issues surrounding the ordinance and how it might have different effects on different groups of people so that what you assert is accurate. First, consider the culture of your audience to ensure the language you use clearly explains the terms of ordinance for those who know nothing about it. Suppose, for instance, your purpose is to persuade your audience to vote for a proposed local ordinance.
Signal words definition how to#
Determining-or at least making an educated guess about-the culture of your audience will aid you in deciding how to use the reasoning strategy you choose and the way in which you present your paper. Determine first what your readers want to know (their expectations), what they already know, and what they do not know. The culture and audience expectation determine the language you use, the amount and type of information you include, and the way you deliver that information. Definition : to illustrate to readers an idea, word, or expression, allowing you to explain a unique meaning of a topic through details and analysis.Ĭritically thinking about the culture, or common beliefs and lived experiences, of your audience, the people who will read your work, can help you choose an appropriate vocabulary and level of detail.Problem-and-solution : to indicate a predicament or difficulty and suggest ways to deal with or eliminate it.Compare and contrast : to examine the similarities and/or differences of subjects in order to explain a specific point about their similarity or difference (often an unexpected similarity or difference).Classification and division: to explain a subject by breaking it into smaller parts and explaining the distinctions of the smaller parts or by grouping individual, disparate elements on the basis of certain characteristics to form larger units.Cause-and-effect : to provide a clear understanding of the relationship between an event or situation and/or what happened because of it, why it occurred, and what might continue to happen.

Analogy : to explain to readers a subject with which they are unfamiliar by comparing a specific trait or traits with those of a more familiar subject.To support and clarify your purpose, you are likely to use the following: Your introduction, thesis, topic sentences, body paragraphs (which include reasoning and evidence), and conclusion should all reflect your argumentative or persuasive purpose. Throughout your paper, your purpose for writing should be clear and focused. Therefore, while the essay’s primary purpose may be to compare and contrast, individual strategies within an essay or even within a paragraph may differ. For instance, within the larger structure of comparison and contrast, they may use classification and division when discussing the restaurants’ menus, sorting by main dishes, side dishes, appetizers, soups, salads, and desserts. For example, within comparison and contrast, they may include description, such as sensory details about the food at the two restaurants narration, such as an anecdote about why they and their companions went to the restaurants or about something that happened at one of the restaurants and sequencing, such as the order in which they received their food or the directions to get to the restaurants.Īlternatively, writers may combine some of the six strategies already mentioned.


Writers of essays and other formal papers usually support their ideas by using more than one reasoning strategy. For example, if your purpose is to explain why one restaurant is better than another, you likely would use comparison and contrast. The purpose, or intention, for your writing determines the reasoning strategies you use. To help you determine the conditions and the agents, you can examine purpose, culture, and audience expectation. Determine how the rhetorical situation influences the content and reasoning strategies of written works.Īs you read in The Digital World: Building on What You Already Know to Respond Critically, rhetorical situation are shaped by the conditions of the communication and the agents involved in that communication.Identify and define reasoning strategies and signal words.By the end of this section, you will be able to:
