Have you ever bargained with a car salesperson to lower a price, wanted to negotiate a raise with your boss, needed to give a presentation in front of a group, had an argument with a friend over a controversial topic, or made a complaint over the phone? Have you ever written an essay, composed a letter applying for a job, read a book, watched an advertisement, or contributed to a blog?
What do you need to do these things well? Rhetoric.
Rhetoric is not just empty words or fine political speeches. Rhetoric is the study and art of writing and speaking well, being persuasive, and knowing how to compose successful writing and presentations. Rhetoric teaches us the essential skills of advanced leaning and higher education. In Rhetoric classes, students learn to think logically, to discover wrong or weak arguments, to build a good case on a controversial topic, and to overcome the all-too-common fear of speaking in public so that they can deliver crisp and well-prepared speeches.
Rhetoric is a fundamental building block of good education, whether it is followed by studies of Engineering, English or Entomology. Clear thinking, good argument, and logical discussion are essential to academic student success in any discipline and field. The better the essays you write, the better your grade. The stronger the presentations you make, the greater your academic success. The more you understand how to criticize and analyze what you read and study in Music, Mathematics or the Modern Languages, the stronger your education.
In the Rhetoric classroom, you will learn how to conduct rigorous and responsible knowledge production—from becoming more acute and attentive interpreters of the world around us to writing more deeply critical, meaningful and persuasive presentations and papers. We want you to learn how to contribute more usefully to discussions and to social debates, knowing what arguments are sound and what fallacies to avoid yourself or discover in others’ work and words. We want you to write the best essays you can write in the future, knowing the profound principles of composition and creative writing. We also know that you will need to speak in front of others throughout your life, and you will do it more effectively if you have studied some great speeches, understand what makes them great, and have the opportunity to practice those principles yourself.
--excerpted from University of Iowa
http://clas.uiowa.edu/rhetoric/about/why-is-rhetoric-required
What do you need to do these things well? Rhetoric.
Rhetoric is not just empty words or fine political speeches. Rhetoric is the study and art of writing and speaking well, being persuasive, and knowing how to compose successful writing and presentations. Rhetoric teaches us the essential skills of advanced leaning and higher education. In Rhetoric classes, students learn to think logically, to discover wrong or weak arguments, to build a good case on a controversial topic, and to overcome the all-too-common fear of speaking in public so that they can deliver crisp and well-prepared speeches.
Rhetoric is a fundamental building block of good education, whether it is followed by studies of Engineering, English or Entomology. Clear thinking, good argument, and logical discussion are essential to academic student success in any discipline and field. The better the essays you write, the better your grade. The stronger the presentations you make, the greater your academic success. The more you understand how to criticize and analyze what you read and study in Music, Mathematics or the Modern Languages, the stronger your education.
In the Rhetoric classroom, you will learn how to conduct rigorous and responsible knowledge production—from becoming more acute and attentive interpreters of the world around us to writing more deeply critical, meaningful and persuasive presentations and papers. We want you to learn how to contribute more usefully to discussions and to social debates, knowing what arguments are sound and what fallacies to avoid yourself or discover in others’ work and words. We want you to write the best essays you can write in the future, knowing the profound principles of composition and creative writing. We also know that you will need to speak in front of others throughout your life, and you will do it more effectively if you have studied some great speeches, understand what makes them great, and have the opportunity to practice those principles yourself.
--excerpted from University of Iowa
http://clas.uiowa.edu/rhetoric/about/why-is-rhetoric-required