In classical
rhetoric
Rhetoric () is the art of persuasion, which along with grammar and logic (or dialectic), is one of the three ancient arts of discourse. Rhetoric aims to study the techniques writers or speakers utilize to inform, persuade, or motivate par ...
, the Common Topics were a short list of four traditional topics regarded as suitable to structure an argument.
Four Traditional Topics
#Past Fact (Circumstance)
#Possible/Impossible (Possibility)
#Future Fact (Circumstance)
#Greater/Lesser (Comparison)
Expanded List of Topics
Edward P.J. Corbett
Edward P.J. Corbett (October 29, 1919 – June 24, 1998) was an American rhetorician, educator, and scholarly author. Corbett chaired the 1970 Conference on College Composition and Communication, and was chair of the organization and a member o ...
and Robert J. Connors expanded the list in their 1971 book ''Classical Rhetoric for the Modern Student'' to include:
*Definition
**genus / division / species
**etymology
**description
**definition
**example
**synonyms
*Comparison
**similarity
**difference
**degree
*Circumstance
**cause and effect
**timing
*Relationship
**contraries
**exclusion
*Testimony
**statistics
**maxims
**law
**precedents
**personal example
**historical example
**authoritative quotes
See also
*
Rhetoric (Aristotle)
Aristotle's ''Rhetoric'' ( grc, Ῥητορική, Rhētorikḗ; la, Ars Rhetorica) is an ancient Greek treatise on the art of persuasion, dating from the 4th century BCE. The English title varies: typically it is titled ''Rhetoric'', the ''Art ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Common Topics, The
Rhetoric