What Aristotle tells us about writing for the web

Imagine it: the toga-clad philosopher sitting in front of his laptop, sipping a foaming latte and dreaming up theories about the best way to reach out to site visitors and potential customers.

Farfetched? Not in the least…

Rhetoric

“Rhetoric” has become a dirty word in modern usage, usually applied to the use of language to deceive or confuse.  However, the term originally meant neither more nor less than “the art of discourse”, which included both speaking and writing. So a student of Rhetoric as a discipline learned the most effective ways to communicate with words to an audience of readers or listeners in a given situation. In its original (proper) meaning, Rhetoric is as alive and relevant today as it ever was.

Persuasion

In its most typical form, persuasion, we experience and use Rhetoric every day of our lives through advertising, discussions, news, literature, the web — everywhere. In fact, I am here trying to persuade you that all writing is persuasion, as its intention is invariably to get the reader to accept what the writer is saying as plausible, useful, worthwhile.

Why Aristotle?

Aristotle was one of the fathers of Rhetoric, and he systematised it into a discipline to make it possible to study and apply it deliberately, in his day for use in law and government.  Among other things, Aristotle paid close attention to persuasion and came up with three “offices” or steps in creating a speech (or piece of writing) and three “proofs” or appeals for reaching an audience. These are still very useful today for covering the bases and making sure your written content is effective.

3 Steps

Invention: coming up with something to say is the first step to creating a piece of writing. The term “invention” is apt, as it applies to the imaginative processes involved in conjuring up something new from thin air. Aristotle offers many different methods and strategies for getting the creative juices flowing, such as using common topics and finding ideas to define, compare or analyse.

Arrangement: once the topic and ideas are forming, they need to be organised in a way that both makes sense and produces the right effect.

Style: last but not least, the ideas need to be clothed in the most appropriate words and images to help the reader understand and visualise the meanings they produce.

3 Appeals

Logos: this refers to the logic or reasoning contained within an argument or appeal. It’s the intellectual nuts and bolts of writing that appeals to a reader’s sense of rationality. A statistic or claim that is patently wrong or doesn’t make sense can be fatal, whereas well-made arguments and solid facts will win people over.

Pathos: this is an appeal to the emotions of the audience, and is often triggered by images, stories, metaphors. Advertising and web design are prime media for this type of appeal. If you can touch your audience’s emotions and get them sympathising with the topic, you’re in good shape.

Ethos: this refers to the character of the writer that comes through, which has a strong affect on the impression the audience gets and colours their judgement about the writing or the website.  This is easy to overlook, but it’s absolutely crucial for building a reputation. The audience needs to feel that the writer (or the business behind the website) is trustworthy and knowledgeable — and this includes using good grammar!

The Web

I’ve talked primarily about writing here, but you’re astute to think that Rhetoric applies much more widely, especially in today’s world. Every website is a persuasive act through its use of text and visuals– and through the interactivity that’s built within it (e.g., if a user clicks a button, it’s because something about the site has persuaded him or her to do it).  Invention, arrangement and style all apply completely to the design and layout of a site; and every designer and content creator uses the various tools and techniques at their disposal to make appeals to the site visitor.

The next time you go browsing on the web and stop to look more closely at a site and read its content, ask yourself what made you stop. See if you can recognise the types of appeals that are working on you.  And see if you can use these successes to improve your own site.

I would love to hear about sites you’ve found that make effective appeals. Please include a link and describe why they’re effective. (But no spam — I moderate all comments)

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