Rhetoric in English Writing

1、rhetoric in english writingjust as what jonathan swift said, saying the right thing in the most effective way; proper words in proper places makes the true definition of a style.in other words, rhetoric is” choice”. for instance:1) the wind is blowing hard through the woods.2) the little girl is sin

2、ging merrily.3) the wind is roaring through the woods.4) the little girl is singing as merrily as a lark.the first two sentences are only literal, plain statements which give mere information about some facts and no more. the following two sentences are not literally but figuratively in that some ex

3、pressed or implied comparisons are involved. from the above examples we can see that rhetoric is the art of using language effectively. it is also a choicefirstly, in our choice of words, we must pay attention to their meaning, color, sound, and context of use. the basic requirement of being effecti

4、ve is to use fewer words to accomplish the best communicative purpose. compare with the following two sentences:a. the sports event began its commencement with the fine performance of 1000 children. b. the sports event started with the splendid group calisthenics of 1000 childrenthe two sentences re

5、fer to the same thing. it is obvious that the second sentence is more effective because it is concise and specific: one word (started) is used for three (began its commencement). besides, the adjective “fine” in the first sentence is not as impressive as “splendid” in the second. compare another tow

6、 sentences:a: but the lake was not drained before april. b: but the lake was not, in fact, drained before april. we emphasize the words on each side of a pause or interruption in order to maintain continuity of the thought. besides, for another example about the general words and specific words: a:

7、a stroll after meal benefits you a good deal.b: a walk after meal benefits you a good deal.a: only by sipping can tea be properly tasted.b: only by drinking can tea be properly tasted.a: it is cruel to ridicule people in difficulty.b: it is cruel to laugh at people in difficulty.a: the trees are cri

8、mson with blossoms.b: the trees are red with blossoms.compared with general words, specific words are more exact, vivid, and expressive. they can in a split of second form a vivid picture in readers imagination. thus, i suggest that use specific words in your writingrhetoric is the science of using language effectively, which plays a significant role in english writing. writing is related to rhetoric, logic, reasoning, and critical thinking,