Published
2017-11-07
Section
Poster
License
Copyright (c) 0 CC BY
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Speeches That Changed the World
Using Software to Help Students Analyze Rhetorical Patterns
Jim Hall, MS
University of Minnesota - Morris
MaryElizabeth Bezanson, PhD
University of Minnesota - Morris
Keywords: DICTION, software, rhetoric, analysis
Abstract
At the University of Minnesota Morris, we implemented new software called DICTION (http://www.dictionsoftware.com/) to help our students analyze rhetorical texts. It helps students jump past the mechanics of textual categorization and get a head start in the analysis of the text: What were the key features of the rhetorical text that made it important? For example, analysis of 50+ texts can be completed in minutes, allowing more student research time to examine the trends of those texts: How does a rhetor’s style change over time? How does a rhetor’s delivery change based on the audience? We will share what we learned in using the DICTION software, and discuss its strengths and weaknesses in the classroom.
DICTION is software that helps in rhetorical criticism. Through word categorization, DICTION creates a "fingerprint" of five master variables that represent Certainty, Optimism, Activity, Realism, and Commonality. This gives the student a "jump start" towards deeper rhetorical criticism.
Author Biography
Jim Hall, MS, University of Minnesota - Morris
Jim Hall is Director, Computing Services at the University of Minnesota, Morris.
