Kristine Lee
My Writing toolbox: The Rhetorical Triangle
Complex texts form a key component of the common core in literary analysis. The ideal of such analyses are often farfetched and readily disputed. According to King, gaining real comprehension of common texts is hard for many scholars, especially those in the preparatory phases of their studies. Often, the content as well as structure do usually influence how the reader understands a certain context of the writing. This essay will discuss the various structural and content related paradigms of complex texts, emerging from the works of Stephen King. In this essay, I have analyzed my writing toolbox using ideals like the rhetorical triangle and the appeals of logos and ethos.
First, my writing toolbox emerges as I analyze the three measures to evaluate complex texts. The toolbox provides a metric that I will use to determine the appeal of my writing skills to the reader. . One way I analyze a text in this context is to evaluate the manner that the language appears conversational as well as the academic dimensions of the language. In my context, there are several skills that I put into practice to improve both the content and structure of my pieces. When writing I prefer to use short but precise sentences. They are not only more meaningful but help avoid the repetition that comes with long sentences. Over time, I have realized that in the search for clarity of content my sentences would end up being long with so much repetition. This repetition was not usually visible on a light look of the text. A deep analysis of the text on the other hand proved an effective way to reveal repetition.
This deep analysis involved writing several rough drafts through an analysis of the structure, grammar and content of each sentence. This would offer me the opportunity to realize what i need to fore go in a text without compromising on the meaning. With time I have become more experienced and I tend to use only two rough drafts. Revision of the first draft focuses on checking for unnecessary adverbs and words that have been repeated. Once this process is complete I use the revised draft to check for sentence and general structure of the piece.
The focus is to analyze the different levels of figurative usage as well as literal usage in the texts. King advocates explication is needed to evaluate a text for singular and multiple themes in the labyrinth of complexities. An evaluation emanates from a singular dimension and stretches to multiple viewpoints with the progression of the text. This is what I have learnt to utilize over time. Rather than focusing on the whole text, it is more effective to focus on a single view point to produce a rough draft that can then be used to handle another view point. For instance, it is challenging to simultaneously handle both the structure of the text and the grammatical part of it. In such an event, it is common to overlook one and place more emphasis on the other.
Additionally, the writer has to consider whether the textual analysis has a demand for familiar knowledge, everyday events, or culturally determined perspectives in line with the requirements of the society. In qualitative measurements, certain indicators are of importance in the valuing of such texts, such as the ranking index, which may be higher or lower depending on several factors of interest. These paradigms measure the rhetorical triangle as well as the logos and ethos of my writing toolbox. Quantitative evaluation requires a variety of nuances to extract the core of events; the common core knowledge has a paradigm of criticism. Ideally, no perfect method of evaluation exists at this level. As such, many effective methods exist at every level of analysis.
Oral reading may be important to certain ages of analysis but silent reading appears more effective in the end with returns from every angle. Moreover, complex textual analysis requires the focus on knowledge to acquire the paradigms of every perspective. An immersion in knowledge is necessary to dissect every new element in the context and structure. Such nuances determine the criteria of rhetorical triangle and written texts.
Another element of complex texts emanate from the complexity if the sentence choices. King remarks that a variety of texts is simple to produce simple texts are understandable to all. However, the usage of multiple, complex, and multiple complex sentences are often a recipe of complex texts. King remarks that certain texts are often so complicated because of their poetic discourse and disjointed connections that it becomes difficult to analyze every element within. On the other hand, such elements form the basis of potentially comprehensive texts, which are meaning bound. In particular he notes that the writer should utilize only that language that suits them. Use of complex vocabularies that end up making the content unattractive to the reader should be avoided. While sometimes, I get the urge to use new vocabularies within my text, I usually ensure that they are not overly used. This keeps the reader within the reading mood and without engaging them in thinking what the reader intended to bring out.
Moreover, the ethos of written complex texts and the rhetorical triangle often employ a variety of vocabularies that are often hard to comprehend unless one has a dictionary. A requirement that King requires of many readers is to have better vocabularies through wide reading. He remarks that certain writers have enormous vocabularies (King 114) and requires a better base of knowledge to unravel their texts. He gives an example of certain texts that are critical to increase the vocabulary base of readers like texts by Wilfred Funk (King 115). Such texts are bound to help one understand the complexities within texts and unravel them. In my view, I consider wide reading as a necessity for a good writer. I prefer reading all varieties of written material including academic and research journals, narratives, magazines, newsletters and historical records. This helps one understand the requirements of various readers with a view to ensuring that your own writing is pleasant to a wide variety of readers.
Similarly, as you read other writer’s texts, it provides a perfect platform to assume the reader’s position. There are different things you like or dislike about a text as you read it. This is the knowledge you apply to your own text to make it more appealing to your readers, this is one particular trend I have adopted and it has worked out well to improve my writing especially on an academic platform.
One example of such complex structures requiring rhetorical analysis emerges from Steinbeck’s piece, which reveals the usage of certain varieties falling within the same piece. In the instance used by King (116), where the writer uses the “because” on three occasions as well as “twice” to create the feeling of the element of three in the text To create an interesting textual complexity the writer does not have to use vocabularies that prove a certain essence of difficulty to the reader. A usage of syllables and structures can also create this effect. Interestingly, certain words do not have to exist in the dictionary, but still constitute complex vocabulary. Some of these include words like “Egggh or Unnnh” such words are contextual and require an understanding of the cultural as well as speech usage (King 117). In my own writings, I tend to avoid them as much as possible. This is because they tend to take up the reader’s take up the reader’s concentration as they try to figure out their intended meaning. I prefer describing such words especially if they reflect a feeling using the normal vocabulary. Though they might make the text more natural, the difficulty placed on the reader outweighs the importance of fusing them
However, complex sentences also disregard the elements of rhetoric in the sense that they have less inclination to the verb subject usage in many instances. Such rhetoric takes care of actions such as the complete sentence syndrome so that fragments and floating clauses may become the basic nuance of classic appearances (King 120). Such rhetorical inclinations form the elements of style that are vital to textual analysis. A complex text will at any time affect the reader’s morale for continuing to read the text. They are faced with the challenge of comprehending the content, incorporating the writer’s ideologies and at the same time figuring out the meaning of complex vocabularies.
The idea of the rhetorical triangle therefore, portrays a tridimensional aspect of the complex text with an inclination to the three aspects of ethics. The focus on the writer, the intended reader and the content is therefore an intertwined phenomenon whereby none of the three can be ignored if a text is to make meaning. They play different roles but overall, these roles cannot be considered interdependent. These ethical considerations are the logos at the apex and the ethos and pathos at the two rear ends. Logos contains the idea, which is central to the narration of the story, regardless of its source. The secret here is to remain within the scope of your topic. Otherwise, the reader will appear lost as they navigate through your text. These ideas must however be arranged in an orderly manner so that they give the text a flow.
In academic work for instance, it I prefer to begin with an overview of the topic so that the reader is able to discover whether the text is helpful to them. A clear overview is then followed by a detailed introduction of the topic so that the reader is seamlessly integrated into the text. Supporting the message are two critical elements if pathos which is the force and emotion accompanying the text. This in essence means trying to figure out the reader’s take on the topic. In my case, I consider an approach that will be attractive to the all readers whether they are of my opinion or not. This involves, making the reader the subject of the topic especially in matters where opinion rather than facts are used. In such a case, the reader is immersed into the text as it directly relates to them. Whether they agree or disagree with it. is not a matter of concern for them as long as they seem to understand that the text considers them the subject of the matter. There interest will gradually grow and they will get some emotional understanding of the topic. Les reasoning is required on their part and this provides a great appeal. The ethos includes the form and manner of presentation it details. King asserts that a good fiction always begins with a story, which initiates the conflict and then proceeds to the theme (11). George Orwell’s text though is an exception to this rule.
Conclusively, it is quite clear that there are bound to be writing revisions at every angle of narration. One instance of such is the usage of formal and informal discourse at every angle of the narration to create an impact of peaceful evaluation. In one instance, King assumes that pace determines the speed with which a work of art unfolds (279). It may seem easy to identify the connotation of a complex text without having to note the struggle and revisions that emerge in the course of such creations (King 282). This implies that for a text to meets its purpose, it is important that the writer should consider how easily the reader navigates through the text. If there are complexities, the reader’s pace is altered and the text becomes unreadable. In the very end, the reader could as well stop reading your text, to determine my reader’s pace I orally read my text and in instances where the reading pace slows, I quickly identify that as a complex part of the text. The solution is to rewrite the part in a more comprehensible fashion. The ideal of such complexities omits the trouble of having to use a variety of “needless” words (282) that do not encompass any factional situation. The trick for such eventual changes emerges in the writing of the first draft, which undergoes revisions as accorded by the critics and the writers. Therefore, a variety of factors determines the structure and content of a complex text. The variety, as discussed by King, has a manner of determining the various allures of the environment to create the possible reading culture desired.
Works cited
King, Stephen. On writing. Hachette UK, 2001. (111-284).
