Rhetorical Modes Of Essay Writing

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This week, we return to essay writing. I mentioned in a previous lecture that there are nine rhetorical modes of writing, or nine different styles of writing. You are learning that writing is NOT one-size-fits-all! You would not write a Narrative essay in you wanted to make a point and support it with examples. That would be most effectively done in an Illustration/Exemplification essay, with which you now have experience. Another common style of writing is called “Compare and Contrast”. We will be working in Chapter 16 of your text, which begins on page 252. Let me provide you with an overview of this style of writing. Comparing and contrasting two topics is an activity that you participate in nearly every day. When you recognize…show more content…
As with all essays, you begin the development of this essay by generating lots of ideas. You may make one column in which you identify the points of comparison, another column in which you identify the points of contrast. Please refer to the bottom of page 254 and the top to middle of page 255 for an example. ORGANIZATION: POINT BY POINT OR WHOLE TO WHOLE I mentioned earlier that you may choose to organize your essay in a point-by-point format or in a whole-to-whole format. POINT BY POINT: In this format, you will first compare or contrast one point between two subjects and then move to the next point of comparing or contrasting between the two subjects. Remember the paragraph on page 253 is point by point. WHOLE BY WHOLE: Here you would first present all the points of comparison or contrast for one subject and be done with that one subject. Then, you would use a strong transition to move from Subject 1 to Subject 2 where you would present all the points for the second. The choice is yours, but once you decide on a format, you must stick to it throughout the essay. Refer to the chart on page 256 for a visual display of what I just

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