Visual Rhetoric: Demonstration and Narrative

24 Pages Posted: 1 Oct 2013 Last revised: 6 Nov 2013

See all articles by Michael D. Murray

Michael D. Murray

University of Kentucky, J. David Rosenberg College of Law

Date Written: March 12, 2013

Abstract

Visual rhetoric is a form of narrativity and storytelling. These skills are critical to client-centered legal practice. Storytelling connects all subject areas in the law, and extends far beyond the law to disciplines as varied as cognitive studies, brain science, and rhetoric and persuasion. Lawyers use stories as framing devices, organizational schema, and persuasive rhetorical methods to communicate the context and meaning of a client’s situation and to improve the communication, reception, and understanding of legal argument with a given audience. Most legal writing and advocacy study has focused on the facts section for narrativity and storytelling, but there is potential for advocacy through visual rhetoric in questions presented, introductions and summaries of the argument, and in the argument's explanation and application sections.

This summary presentation of a work in progress will examine the use of visual rhetoric in legal advocacy.

Keywords: visual, graphical, rhetoric, narrativity, storytelling, advocacy, demonstration, narrative, modern argument theory, discourse community theory, ethics, evidence

JEL Classification: K1, K11, K13, K19, K39

Suggested Citation

Murray, Michael D., Visual Rhetoric: Demonstration and Narrative (March 12, 2013). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2333679 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2333679

Michael D. Murray (Contact Author)

University of Kentucky, J. David Rosenberg College of Law ( email )

620 S. Limestone Street
Lexington, KY 40506-0048
United States
219-299-9777 (Phone)
859-323-1061 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://law.uky.edu/people/michael-murray

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
195
Abstract Views
1,595
Rank
281,117
PlumX Metrics