Definitions

The importance of definitions in reaching an audience is pretty simple.  There are many times an author may use words that their audience has never heard before, and using definitions can get the audience up to speed quickly and without too much straining.  The best example of this is when an author is writing about something specific to them or their job.  They might be using words or slang that only people in their field know.  If they define them then the audience will learn and understand those words.

Rhetorical Terms

Rhetorical terms are the terms that are used to elevate the language in writing.  They are used to get the authors point across as well as make certain elements known in an easy and more accessible way for the reader.  There are subject specific terms that are used in writing that apply to the subject at hand.  These are used to speed up the process of explaining things to the audience.
       These are five rhetorical terms that can be used for a visual or descriptive or compare and contrast essay.  The first one is a visual gaze.  A visual gaze is when a person looks at something and it reminds them of something else.  The next is master narratives.  Master narratives is when cultural stories or histories are used to persuade people to a certain point of view.  The next is contrast. Contrast is used when an author is going to contrast something. Another is persuasive themes.  Persuasive themes are the way tools are used to persuade the audience to have the point of view that is desired.  And finally the term resonance.  Resonance is when a story connects with the target audience, the story resonated with them.

Compare and Contrast

Compare and contrast is something we use everyday.  It is when we look at the similarities or the differences between two things.  The things we look at and compare could be anything.  They could people, places, objects, anything that can be compared to anything else.

Here are  some of the tools we use to compare and contrast.  Analogy, we use analogies all the time.  An analogy is when a person uses something familiar to describe something else.  The next tool is subject by subject.  This is when you look at subject A and everything subject A is.  And then you look at subject B and everything subject B is. And then you look at the similarities and differences of A and B relative to each other.  The last tool is point by point.  This is when you look at subject A  and then look at point A.  And then you look at subject B and point A as well.  Then you compare the two to see the similarities and differences.

Rhetorical Gazes

Rhetorical gazes are the tool used when we describe something or see something that makes us remember something else.  The human brain stores important events into long term memory.  Sometimes when we see something similar to those memories, it brings those memories back in an instant. 

There are many different types of gazes and I will go over a few.  There is a familial gaze. this is when a person sees something that triggers an intimate memory.  It is something that only they or a small number of people close to them know.  There is a national gaze.  This is when person sees something that means triggers a memory for them, but also is a shared memory.  For instance if i look at the American flag it triggers personal memories of being an American.  If someone else sees it, it will trigger personal memories for them that have nothing to do with me.