Rhetorical arrangement refers to the organization of a speech or written work in a manner that is most effective for persuading an audience. Regardless of the type of the text or oration, persuasive arguments must contain six basic elements: an introduction, a statement of facts, a division, proof, refutation and a conclusion. The Roman philosopher Cicero (106 to 43 BCE) outlined these elements in his "De Oratore." Quintilian (AD 35 to AD 96) , a Spanish-Roman rhetorician, made some additions to Cicero's outline.
The "exordium" or introduction has two primary purposes: establishing the expertise of the speaker/author and introducing the topic of the argument. In order to be persuaded to the speaker's position, the audience must believe he is credible and an authority on the subject. The introduction of a written work or a speech must captivate the audience while providing these elements of credibility and overview of the topic.
With the "narratio" or statement of facts, the speaker provides background information for the audience. Rather than a simple list of the issues at hand, the statement of facts is a narrative account of the situation. The facts are presented in a story format.
Cicero refers to the next portion of the rhetorical argument as the "partitio" or division. Quintilian refers to it as the "propositio" or summary of the issues or the statement of the speaker's position. This part should outline the remainder to the text or speech. The audience can gather from this statement the speaker's proposition that he is about to delineate.
The "confirmatio" or proof refers to the main body of the text or speech. It is in this section that the speaker or author explains her principle arguments or theories and provides evidence for her statements. The arguments must have an element of logic in order to expect the audience to be persuaded by them. The statements must also be clearly stated so the audience can follow the speaker's meaning.
Effective persuasive arguments must contain refutation or "refutatio." Refutation refers to statements of the weaknesses of the speaker's argument. Including refutations in one's arguments actually strengthens the speaker's position. The audience is more likely to believe someone who admits their position has weaknesses. Furthermore, stating the weaknesses of one's argument allows him to point out any negatives before his audience can, giving him an opportunity to explain how the weaknesses are mitigated.
With the "peroratio" or conclusion, the speaker or author completes her oration. She sums up her main points for her audience. Restating her position strengthens the audience's memory of the points she wants them to remember most clearly.