Lesson 7:

Rhetorical
Pattern

In the subject of
English Proficiency for Empowered Professionals

BSBA - MKTG2A
By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:

●​ Use the narrative pattern to tell a story.

●​ Describe something with the senses or tropes.
●​ Define a word or concept.
●​ Use classification to put things into categories.
●​ Explain what caused something and its effects.
●​ Compare and contrast two or more things. Combine rhetorical patterns to make
sophisticated arguments.

I.​ Introduction

Rhetorical Pattern

Writers use rhetorical patterns to organize ideas and information in ways that readers
find easy to follow and understand. Ancient rhetoricians called these patterns topoi, or
commonplaces (from the Greek word “place”). Rhetorical patterns are familiar places (topoi)
that can help you develop and organize your ideas. A variety of rhetorical patterns are
available, but the six most common are:

●​ Narrative
●​ Description
●​ Definition
●​ Classification
●​ Cause and Effect
●​ Comparison and Contrast
 II.​ Six Most Common Rhetorical Pattern

1.​ Narrative

​ Use the narrative pattern to tell a story. A narrative describes a sequence of events or
tells a story in a way that illustrates a specific point. Narratives can be woven into almost any
genre In reviews, literary analyses, and rhetorical analyses, narratives can be used to
summarize or describe the work you are examining. In proposals and reports, narratives can
be used to recreate events and supply historical background on a topic. Some genres, such
as memoirs and profiles, often rely on narrative to organize the entire text

Narrative Pattern

●​ Set the Scene

●​ Introduce a Complication
●​ Evaluate the Complication
●​ Resolve the Complication
●​ State the Point

The diagram shows the familiar pattern for a narrative. When telling a story, writers
will usually start out by setting the scene and introducing a complication, which presents the
characters with a challenging choice or problem. Then the characters evaluate the
complication, assessing the nature of the situation. Writers then resolve the complication by
describing the outcomes that resulted from the characters’ choices. At the end of the
narrative, writers often state the point of the story, or the overall meaning that readers should
take away from it.

EXAMPLE:
 Yesterday, I was eating at Gimpy’s Pizza on Wabash Street (scene). Suddenly, some
guy started yelling for everyone to get on the floor, because he was robbing the restaurant
(complication). At first, I thought it was a joke (evaluation). But then I realized all the others
were diving under their tables. I saw the guy waving a gun around, and I realized he was
serious. So I crashed down to the floor, too. Fortunately, the guy just took the money and ran
(resolution). That evening, on the news, I heard he was arrested a few miles away. This brush
with crime opened my eyes about the importance of personal safety (point). We all need to be
prepared for the unexpected because crime can happen anywhere.

This is the same pattern used in television sitcoms, novels, jokes, and just about any
story. In nonfiction writing, though, narratives are not “just stories.” They help writers make
specific points for their readers. The chart below shows how narrative can be used in a
few different genres.

2.​ Description

The purpose of description is to re-create, invent, or visually present a person, place,

event, or action so that the reader can picture that which is being described. It is heavily based
on sensory details in which we experience through our five senses:
seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, and tasting.
In Describing with senses, you need to describe a person, place, or object, start out by
considering your subject from each of the five senses:
Example:
In the sense of Seeing: What does it look like?
●​ What are its colors, shapes, and sizes?
●​ What is your eye drawn toward?
●​ What makes your subject visually distinctive?
In the sense of Hearing: What sounds does it make?
●​ Are the sounds pleasing, sharp, soothing, irritating, metallic, or erratic?
●​ What effect do these sounds have on you and others?
In the sense of Touching: What does it feel like?
●​ Is it rough or smooth, hot or cold, dull or sharp, slimy or firm, wet or dry?
In the sense of Smelling: How does it smell?
●​ Does your subject smell fragrant or pungent?
●​ Does it have a particular aroma or stench? Does it smell fresh or stale?
In the sense of Tasting: How does it taste?
●​ Is your subject spicy, sweet, salty, or sour?
●​ Does it taste burnt or spoiled?
●​ Which foods taste similar to the thing you are describing?

In description, it not only relies on the five senses only but also in using rhetorical
devices, such as metaphor, simile, and onomatopoeia, to deepen readers’ experience and
understanding. Some people, places, and objects cannot be fully described using the
senses. Here is where tropes like similes, metaphors, and onomatopoeia can be especially
helpful.

Simile
Simile involves the comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind,
used to make a description more emphatic or vivid. (typically using the words “like,” “as,” or
“than”)
Examples:

●​ Anthony used to be as strong as an ox.

●​ Her phone buzzed like a beehive.
●​ The dancer was as graceful as a swan.
●​ Your laughter is like music to my ears.
●​ His tongue is sharper than a sword.

Metaphor
​ It is a figure of speech that implicitly compares two unrelated things, typically by
stating that one thing is another. It describes your subject in more depth than a simile by
directly comparing it to something else.

Examples:
●​ The exam was a piece of cake.
●​ You are an open book.
●​ This town is a desert.
●​ The king ruled with an iron fist.

Onomatopoeia
Is a figure of speech in which a word is pronounced the same way as the sound
associated with it. The formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named.

Examples:
●​ The thunder boomed in the distance as the storm approached.
●​ The campfire crackled as the flames grew in size.
●​ The champagne bottle popped open.
●​ The cyclist whooshed by the crowd and then zipped along the road and up the
mountain.
 3.​ Definition
-​ Is a statement that explains the meaning of a word, phrase, symbol, or idea. It can
also refer to the act of defining something
-​ Explain how a particular term is being used and why it is being used that way.

The three main parts of a definition are:

Term – The word or concept being defined.

Class – The category or group to which the term belongs.
Distinguishing Characteristics - that sets it apart from other things in its category.

Example:
1. Ocean ( term )is a large body of water (class) that covers most of the Earth's surface and
contains saltwater (distinguishing characteristics).
2. A rose is a flower that has petals, a pleasant scent, and often comes with thorns.
3. A river is a natural flowing body of water that usually flows through a channel to the sea.

Extended Definition
- An extended definition is longer than a sentence definition. An extended definition usually
starts with a sentence definition and then continues to define the term further.
You can extend the definition with one or more of this following techniques:

1. Etymology - Explaining a word’s historical background helps understand its meaning.

Example:
-​ "Pandemic" comes from Greek pan (all) and demos (people), meaning a disease
affecting everyone.
2. Examples - Giving examples can put a word’s meaning into context.
Example:
-​ The term "bystander effect" refers to situations where people do not help in an
emergency because they assume someone else will. For instance, in a crowded
street, if someone faints, bystanders may hesitate to assist, thinking others will step
in.
3. negation, you explain something by telling what it is not.
Example:
-​ Courage is not the absence of fear but facing fear despite being scared.
4. Division - You can divide the subject into parts, which are then defined separately.
Example:
-​ Literature can be divided into fiction, which includes novels and short stories with
imaginary elements, and nonfiction, which consists of factual works like biographies
and essays.
5. similarities and differences - you can compare and contrast the item being defined to
other similar items.
Example:
-​ A violin and a viola look alike, but a viola is bigger and has a deeper sound.
6. Analogy - compares something unfamiliar to something that readers would find familiar.
Examples:
-​ A teacher is like a gardener, nurturing students’ minds just as a gardener helps plants
grow.

4.​ Classification
●​ Classification is a method of organizing information by dividing a broad topic into
smaller, more manageable categories based on shared characteristics.
●​ It connects a single thing or idea and how it relates to the whole subject.
●​ It helps to simplify complex subjects, making them easier to understand and analyze.

These are a few steps to help you use classification to organize a paragraph or
section:

Step 1: List Everything That Fits into the Whole Class.

List all the items that can be included in a specific class. Brainstorming is a good tool for
coming up with this kind of list.

Step 2: Decide on a Principle of Classification

The key to classifying something is to come up with a principle of classification that helps
you do the sorting.
Step 3: Sort into Major and Minor Groups.

You should be able to sort all the items from your brainstorming list cleanly into the major
and minor categories you came up with. In other words, an item that appears in one
category should not appear in another. Also, no items on your list should be leftover.

5.​ Cause and Effect

Cause and effect is a relationship where one event (the cause) makes another event
happen (the effect). The cause is the reason something happens, and the effect is the
result of that cause.

In rhetorical patterns, cause and effect is a method of organization used to explain

the relationship between an event (cause) and its consequences (effect). This pattern
helps writers and speakers logically structure their arguments, making them more
persuasive and clear.

-​ An effect is something that happens.

-​ A cause is why something happens

Example:

1.​ Jaime was going too fast and fell off his bicycle
2.​ Because of heavy rainfall, the streets were flooded.

3 types of Cause and Effect

1.​ Simple Cause and Effect – One cause directly leads to one effect.
Example: Eating too much junk food (cause) leads to weight gain (effect).

2.​ Cause-Effect Chain – One effect becomes the cause of another event,
creating a sequence.

Example: Heavy rain (cause) leads to flooding (effect), which then causes
road closures (next effect).

3.​ Multiple Causes and Effects – Several causes lead to multiple effects.

Example: Lack of exercise, poor diet, and stress (causes) can lead to obesity,
heart disease, and fatigue (effects).

How do I find cause and effect?

1.​ To find an effect, ask yourself “What happened?”

2.​ To find a cause, ask yourself “Why did this happen?”

Some cause and effect explanations simply point out the causes and effects of a
particular event. Other cause and effect explanations are arguable, especially when people
disagree about what caused the event and its effects. Even when describing a complex
cause and effect scenario, you should try to present your analysis as clearly as possible.

Example:

Although scientists still do not completely understand the causes behind the formation of
tornadoes, most agree on this basic pattern. Three ingredients must be present: a large
mass of warm moist air, a large mass of cold dry air, and a violent collision between the two.
During springtime in the central United States, enormous masses of warm moist air can
move rapidly northeastward from the Gulf of Mexico into what has become known as
“tornado alley.” When the warm air collides with the cold air, thunderstorms are almost
always produced. However, if the rapidly moving warm air slides under the cold air and gets
trapped beneath, that’s when a tornado can occur. Because warm air is lighter than cold air,
the warm-air mass will try to form something like a “drain” in the cold-air mass that would
allow the warm air to shoot through. If this happens, a vortex of air develops, sucking
everything on the ground upward at enormous velocities, causing the strongest winds
produced anywhere in nature, up to 300 miles per hour. These powerful winds sometimes
accomplish the unbelievable, such as uprooting enormous trees and driving pieces of straw
through wooden planks.
6. Comparison and Contrast

Comparison and Contrast allow you to explore the similarities and differences between two
or more people, organization, objects, ideas.

In simple term:

●​ Comparing generally means finding the similarities.

●​ Contrasting generally means finding the differences.

Comparing places, people, activities and things

The simplest way to find similarities is as follows:

A is similar to B

A is similar to B because

A is similar to B in that….

If we are talking about places,

London is similar to Paris because they are both capital cities

London is similar to Paris in that they have similar populations

We can also show the level of similarity and make our answers richer by using adverbs
such as

●​ really
●​ pretty
●​ rather
●​ quite

For example,

London is pretty similar to Paris in that they have similar

populations
Another way to express similarity is to mention both of them first and then give a
summarising phrase.

If we are comparing cars or brands, we can say the following:

When it comes to cars, two of the most famous brands are Audi
and BMW, they are so alike

We can also use:

They are pretty much alike

They have a lot in common
They are really similar

Another way to express similarity is to mention both of them first and then give a
summarising phrase.

If we are comparing cars or brands, we can say the following:

When it comes to cars, two of the most famous brands are Audi
and BMW, they are so alike

We can also use:

They are pretty much alike

They have a lot in common
They are really similar

Finally, if two things or people are actually the same, we can say,

A is identical to B

A is the same as B
Contrasting places, people, activities and things
The simplest way to find differences is as follows:

A is different from B

A is different from B because

A is different from B in that it

For example,

Manchester is different from Paris

Manchester is different from Paris because it is much more

industrial

Manchester is different from Paris in that the climate is colder

(than Paris).

Remember, we can also express the size of the difference with adverbs, such as,

●​ It is is totally different
●​ I think it’s strikingly different
●​ It’s distinctly different

If the difference is slight;

●​ it’s slightly different

●​ it’s rather different
●​ it’s subtly different
REFERENCES:

Narrative
•​ https://pressbooks.pub/powerofthepen/chapter/__unknown__-7/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0
CMTEAAR0tA_5LjBMQHKO2dJtIVJE3IDQeuQT1OGS0nDelNQefLogD_yLj2Lb3t04_aem_b0JM
QwMGhoWTVTqtNjdmgg
Description
•​ https://courses.lumenlearning.com/irsc-english/chapter/text-rhetorical-modes
Simile
•​ https://www.scribbr.com/rhetoric/simile/#:~:text=of%20a%20simile%3F-,A%20simile
%20is%20a%20rhetorical%20device%20used%20to%20compare%20two,as%20fit%
20as%20a%20fiddle.%E2%80%9D
Metaphor
•​ https://www.scribbr.com/rhetoric/metaphor/#:~:text=A%20metaphor%20is%20a%20figure
%20of%20speech%20that%20makes%20a,case%2C%20%E2%80%9Cfoolishness%E2%80%9D
)
Onomatopoeia
•​ https://www.scribbr.com/rhetoric/onomatopoeia/
Definition
•​ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/common_writing_assignments/definitions.
html#:~:text=The%20term%20(word%20or%20phrase,earth's%20atmosphere%20(di
fferentiating%20characteristics).
•​ https://pressbooks.pub/powerofthepen/chapter/__unknown__-7/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNh
ZW0CMTEAAR20nEKg6eZUlmEPl_ZjOPdaXal90NxxsfpmSjTuyu2XaPuNdbMdiwpY
vJo_aem_9IQD57dWwmamT9ZZYpauVA
Classification
•​ https://study.com/learn/lesson/classification-division-essay-process-format-examples.
html)
•​ https://www.istockphoto.com/photos/classification
•​ https://www.shutterstock.com/search/conclusion-text
•​ https://5oci4lm3di4101.wordpress.com/2014/06/04/blogging-for-beginners-5-blog-refi
ne-intro-body-conclusion/

Compare and Contrast

•​ https://pressbooks.pub/powerofthepen/chapter/__unknown__-7/
•​ https://youtu.be/V8lKfgtCzME?si=SR9gt8t9bg7oXaba