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Skyler Maynard

Professor Gardiakos

ENC1101

2 July 2021

Reading Response for Doug Downs

Rhetoric is often viewed as the most basic form of being a human. Through the use of

rhetoric, people are able to convey their messages to one another to achieve something, whether

it’s communication for needs or otherwise. Some aspects of rhetorical theory include: ecology,

proofs, and canons.

Ecology is a term used to encapsulate the fluidity of rhetoric in writing and speaking.

Much like how each species has a specific objective within an environment, each factor of

communication is taken into account when discussing rhetoric ecology. Some of these factors

include exigence, the target audience, and possible constraints. Exigence can be defined as “the

need for a given rhetorical interaction to occur to begin with.” (379). Meaning, exigence is the

initial issue or situation that prompts one to communicate. The audience refers to the recipients

of the information that is being communicated by the rhetor. The author must identify an

effective way to reach the target audience. This can refer to the form of communication; speech,

graphic, or otherwise, and the primary form of appeal. Depending on the target audience, the

author might opt for a specific form of delivery and style. For example, rhetors will appeal to one

or more proofs that would positively affect their argument.

Proofs are the way people appeal to their audience through ethos, logos, and pathos. Each

of the three proofs appeals through a different means, such as credibility, logic, or emotion.

Depending on the type of message the rhetor is trying to convey, one might choose a different
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proof to appeal to the audience. For example companies often choose this form of appeal since

the majority of the general population is receptive to the credibility of experts, making them

more likely to buy their product. Another aspect of ecology is constraints. With each form of

communication, there are constraints and advantages that the communicators must take into

consideration. These constraints can range from the type of delivery used to the audience itself.

Continuing with the same example from before, some possible constraints include: the audience

being unfamiliar with the expert, the audience being desensitized to advertisements, or the

audience being uninterested in the type of media used for the advertisement. Each of these

constraints are considered by the author when creating the text in order to convey their message

more effectively.

To effectively convey a message, the rhetor must consider the canons of rhetoric. There

are five canons of rhetoric: invention, arrangement, style, memory, and delivery; with each

playing an important role in how effective a piece of text ultimately ends up being. Every

successful speaker or text utilizes these five canons. A good example of effective use of the five

canons is O.J. Simpson’s legal team during Simpson’s murder trial of 1995. Invention refers to

the process of creating the material for a text, similar to the brainstorming process one goes

through when developing an argument. This canon mostly pertains to devising one’s key

arguments or message through research and personal experiences, as well as understanding how

one will capture their target audience’s attention. In the case of the O.J. Simpson trial, Simpson’s

legal team practiced invention by researching the demographic of the jury and catering their

narrative to suit the jury’s assumed personal experiences. One example of this is the decision to

theorize evidence was planted by racist police. This was done because the jury consisted mostly

of minorities and there had been many instances of racism within the police force leading up to
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the trial. Next comes arrangement, which refers to the organization of the material. With a well-

done arrangement, the audience is easily able to understand the message being conveyed through

the text. In terms of arrangement, Simpson’s legal team created a simplistic order that built off of

the theory initially introduced to the jury, making the argument strong due to how “matter of

fact” it felt to the audience. Following arrangement is style; the process of coming up with the

type of language used. Language is a way speakers are able to establish the level of formality and

tone of a piece of text, making the style of the piece extremely important. Considering the jury in

the O.J. Simpson case only had two members with higher education, the defense chose to use a

level of language easy to comprehend, choosing to omit legal terms such as “alibi” unless asked

by the prosecution. Along with that, the defense continued to create an emotional tone by

continuing to play into the jury’s preexisting beliefs about the inequalities minorities were

experiencing from police. The fourth canon is memory: the act of committing the material to

memory. In the example of the O.J. Simpson case, the defense memorized their key arguments in

order to create a more persuasive delivery, which is the fifth canon. Delivery refers to the

presentation of an argument. In the context of the Simpson trial, the delivery was largely oral,

with the defense presenting their argument through speech. By memorizing their key arguments,

their overall point is more believable to the audience since there’s a form of confidence created

through the defense knowing their key argument well.

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Works Cited

Downs, Doug. Writing about Writing, by Elizabeth Wardle, Fourth ed., Bedford Books St.

Martin's, 2020, pp. 369–395.

“OJ Simpson Trial - January 24th, 1995 - Part 1.” YouTube, YouTube, 28 Nov. 2016,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zbiov_K8QXo&ab_channel=OJTrialUncut.