ARS Dictaminis Perverted: The Personal Solicitation E-Mail as a Genre

Abstract

Phishing e-mails deceive individuals into giving out personal information which may then be utilized for identity theft. One particular type, the Personal Solicitation E-mail (PSE) mimics personal letters-modern perversions of ars dictaminis (the classical art of letter writing). In this article, I determine and discuss 19 appeals common to the PSE. These appeals were established first by conducting generative rhetorical analysis, then by volunteer coding, on 170 e-mails collected over a 12-month period. After defining these categories, I show how these letters are excellent twenty-first century teaching tools for pathos-based argumentation, logical appeals, the creation of ethos, and kairos in the development of perceived exigency. LETTERS AND E-MAILWe are increasingly bombarded with unsolicited e-mails which escape even multiple layers of anti-spam software. These phishing e-mails deceive individuals into giving out personal information which may then be utilized for identity theft. These deliberate attempts to lull unsuspecting audiences into a false sense of confidence in the sender represent much of what is bad about our increasingly digitally connected society. Such e-mails destroy our trust in our fellow humans, and force us to constantly question unsolicited communication.The flip side, of course, is that these e-mails have value. They force us to constantly question unsolicited communication. As educators and practitioners of

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