The aim of this study is to contribute further to the study of rhetoric in science. The essay will work as additional justification for the significant role rhetoric has in the science field. Starting in the rhetoric of science and everything it has to offer, this essay then concentrates on a specific area of science: mathematics. Specifically mathematics taught in Sweden to students in 9th and 10th grade. With the help of Lloyd F. Bitzers conceptual apparatus and Kim-Erik Berts questions of proof, this work concludes that there has been a shift in the use of proof in mathematics and therefore a shift in the basic scientific view that is taught in school. The proof has lost its convincing role. This both speaks for the important part that rhetoric plays in scientific studies, as well as the shift away from factual proofs as the most convincing.

On the 12:th of April 2011, the Swedish tabloid magazine Expressen publishes a story, claiming that Ola Lindholm, presenter of critically acclaimed TV-show “Wild Kids” has been suspected and apprehended on cocaine allegations. The serious allegation called for Ola Lindholm to defend himself against the allegations. His only public response was a blog-post where he claimed his innocence, albeit with some reservations.   The purpose of this paper is to analyze Lindholm’s rhetorical defense. By applying Benoit’s theory of image restoration, the stasis theory and the rhetorical situation my goal is to find what strategies Lindholm’s defense consists of.   The analyses showed that Lindholm used four different kinds of image restoration strategies. The most salient strategies consisted of bolstering and attacking the accuser. By applying a proposition analysis it was possible to find textual themes used to either undermine the tabloid Expressen's credibility or to mitigate his own actions.   The results also point out that ethos and image restoration strategies are closely intertwined.

In order to convince, one must know which arguments are most suitable for the specific situation. But even if you think you know how others will react to your arguments, you may be wrong. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to find out a way of examining to what extent informative text take account to the subjective views of their addressees. The theoretical framework is Blitzer's theory of the rhetorical situation, pragmatic theory of speech acts and their presuppositions, Burk´s theory of consubstantiality and phenomenographic theory of subjective perceptions. Methodologically, phenomenography has also been used as a guideline for selecting informants, collecting data and processing the interviews. The material analyzed consists interviews with four persons suffering from psoriasis, a brochure addressed to an unspecified audience with the same problem plus an interview with a spokesperson for the Swedish Psoriasis Association. The analysis reveals a clear difference in certain important respects between the subjective views of the intended reader and the implied addressees of the text, i.e. a lack of consubstantiality between sender and receiver. This points to a rhetorical problem when addressing an unknown audience without exploring their specific perceptions of concepts related to the transmitted information, a problem which may be grasped and perhaps to some extent even solved by applying a method similar to the one used in this study.

Syftet med denna fallstudie är att visa på en ökad förståelse kring regeringschefers förmåga att skapa förtroende sin kriskommunikation. Uppsatsen undersöker de tal till nationen som hölls av Sveriges statsminister Stefan Löfven och Storbritanniens premiärminister Boris Johnson vid Covid-19 pandemin under våren och hösten 2020. Uppsatsen utgår från ett retoriskt perspektiv och undersöker talens innehåll utifrån dess transkriberingar. Analysen utgår från uppsatsens teoretiska perspektiv som innefattar retorikens olika delar, appellformer och stilfigurer. Den utgår även från den retoriska situationen. Metoden som används är retorisk analys och utgår från uppsatsens disposition, argumentation, stil och retoriska situation. Den retoriska analysen skapar möjligheten att analysera och tolka talen både i sin helhet men också genom meningar, ord och tecken. Vidare diskuteras resultaten utifrån tidigare forskning och teoretiska perspektiv med ett fokus på politiskt förtroende och kriskommunikation.   Uppsatsen finner resultatet att regeringscheferna använder samtliga retoriska verktyg som undersöks i sina tal. Det framgår även att dessa verktyg används av regeringscheferna i syfte att öka förtroendet för dem som regeringschefer. Utifrån tidigare forskning går det se att både Löfven och Johnson fick ett ökat förtroende en kort tid efter att de första talen genomfördes, vilket indikerar att regeringscheferna kan ha lyckats uppnå ett förtroende genom sin kriskommunikation. / The aim of this case study is to gain more understanding of the head of government's ability to create trust in their crisis communication. The essay examines speeches to the nation, given by the Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven and the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, during the Covid-19 pandemic in the spring and fall of 2020. The essay uses a rhetorical perspective and examines the content of the speeches based on their transcripts. The analysis is based on the theoretical framework of the essay, which includes the rhetorical theory, three modes of persuasion and the figures of speech. It is also based on the rhetorical situation. The rhetorical analysis is the method used in the case study which focuses on the speech's disposition, argumentation, style and rhetorical situation. The rhetorical analysis makes it possible to analyze and interpret language both in its ensemble, but also through sentences, words, and signs. Furthermore, results based on previous research and theoretical perspectives are discussed with a focus on political trust and crisis communication.   The essay concludes that both Löfven and Johnson use all the rhetorical tools that are examined in their speeches. It is also clear that these tools are used by Löfven and Johnson to gain trust as Heads of Government. Based on previous research, it can be seen that both Löfven and Johnson gained increased trust shortly after their speeches were given, which indicates that the heads of government may have succeeded in gaining confidence through their crisis communication.