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How to Write a Rhetorical Analysis | Key Concepts & Examples
Published on August 28, 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on July 23, 2023.
A rhetorical analysis is a type of essay that looks at a text in terms of rhetoric. This means it is less concerned with what the author is saying than with how they say it: their goals, techniques, and appeals to the audience.
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Table of contents
Key concepts in rhetoric, analyzing the text, introducing your rhetorical analysis, the body: doing the analysis, concluding a rhetorical analysis, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about rhetorical analysis.
Rhetoric, the art of effective speaking and writing, is a subject that trains you to look at texts, arguments and speeches in terms of how they are designed to persuade the audience. This section introduces a few of the key concepts of this field.
Appeals: Logos, ethos, pathos
Appeals are how the author convinces their audience. Three central appeals are discussed in rhetoric, established by the philosopher Aristotle and sometimes called the rhetorical triangle: logos, ethos, and pathos.
Logos , or the logical appeal, refers to the use of reasoned argument to persuade. This is the dominant approach in academic writing , where arguments are built up using reasoning and evidence.
Ethos , or the ethical appeal, involves the author presenting themselves as an authority on their subject. For example, someone making a moral argument might highlight their own morally admirable behavior; someone speaking about a technical subject might present themselves as an expert by mentioning their qualifications.
Pathos , or the pathetic appeal, evokes the audience’s emotions. This might involve speaking in a passionate way, employing vivid imagery, or trying to provoke anger, sympathy, or any other emotional response in the audience.
These three appeals are all treated as integral parts of rhetoric, and a given author may combine all three of them to convince their audience.
Text and context
In rhetoric, a text is not necessarily a piece of writing (though it may be this). A text is whatever piece of communication you are analyzing. This could be, for example, a speech, an advertisement, or a satirical image.
In these cases, your analysis would focus on more than just language—you might look at visual or sonic elements of the text too.
The context is everything surrounding the text: Who is the author (or speaker, designer, etc.)? Who is their (intended or actual) audience? When and where was the text produced, and for what purpose?
Looking at the context can help to inform your rhetorical analysis. For example, Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech has universal power, but the context of the civil rights movement is an important part of understanding why.
Claims, supports, and warrants
A piece of rhetoric is always making some sort of argument, whether it’s a very clearly defined and logical one (e.g. in a philosophy essay) or one that the reader has to infer (e.g. in a satirical article). These arguments are built up with claims, supports, and warrants.
A claim is the fact or idea the author wants to convince the reader of. An argument might center on a single claim, or be built up out of many. Claims are usually explicitly stated, but they may also just be implied in some kinds of text.
The author uses supports to back up each claim they make. These might range from hard evidence to emotional appeals—anything that is used to convince the reader to accept a claim.
The warrant is the logic or assumption that connects a support with a claim. Outside of quite formal argumentation, the warrant is often unstated—the author assumes their audience will understand the connection without it. But that doesn’t mean you can’t still explore the implicit warrant in these cases.
For example, look at the following statement:
We can see a claim and a support here, but the warrant is implicit. Here, the warrant is the assumption that more likeable candidates would have inspired greater turnout. We might be more or less convinced by the argument depending on whether we think this is a fair assumption.
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Rhetorical analysis isn’t a matter of choosing concepts in advance and applying them to a text. Instead, it starts with looking at the text in detail and asking the appropriate questions about how it works:
- What is the author’s purpose?
- Do they focus closely on their key claims, or do they discuss various topics?
- What tone do they take—angry or sympathetic? Personal or authoritative? Formal or informal?
- Who seems to be the intended audience? Is this audience likely to be successfully reached and convinced?
- What kinds of evidence are presented?
By asking these questions, you’ll discover the various rhetorical devices the text uses. Don’t feel that you have to cram in every rhetorical term you know—focus on those that are most important to the text.
The following sections show how to write the different parts of a rhetorical analysis.
Like all essays, a rhetorical analysis begins with an introduction . The introduction tells readers what text you’ll be discussing, provides relevant background information, and presents your thesis statement .
Hover over different parts of the example below to see how an introduction works.
Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech is widely regarded as one of the most important pieces of oratory in American history. Delivered in 1963 to thousands of civil rights activists outside the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., the speech has come to symbolize the spirit of the civil rights movement and even to function as a major part of the American national myth. This rhetorical analysis argues that King’s assumption of the prophetic voice, amplified by the historic size of his audience, creates a powerful sense of ethos that has retained its inspirational power over the years.
The body of your rhetorical analysis is where you’ll tackle the text directly. It’s often divided into three paragraphs, although it may be more in a longer essay.
Each paragraph should focus on a different element of the text, and they should all contribute to your overall argument for your thesis statement.
Hover over the example to explore how a typical body paragraph is constructed.
King’s speech is infused with prophetic language throughout. Even before the famous “dream” part of the speech, King’s language consistently strikes a prophetic tone. He refers to the Lincoln Memorial as a “hallowed spot” and speaks of rising “from the dark and desolate valley of segregation” to “make justice a reality for all of God’s children.” The assumption of this prophetic voice constitutes the text’s strongest ethical appeal; after linking himself with political figures like Lincoln and the Founding Fathers, King’s ethos adopts a distinctly religious tone, recalling Biblical prophets and preachers of change from across history. This adds significant force to his words; standing before an audience of hundreds of thousands, he states not just what the future should be, but what it will be: “The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.” This warning is almost apocalyptic in tone, though it concludes with the positive image of the “bright day of justice.” The power of King’s rhetoric thus stems not only from the pathos of his vision of a brighter future, but from the ethos of the prophetic voice he adopts in expressing this vision.
The conclusion of a rhetorical analysis wraps up the essay by restating the main argument and showing how it has been developed by your analysis. It may also try to link the text, and your analysis of it, with broader concerns.
Explore the example below to get a sense of the conclusion.
It is clear from this analysis that the effectiveness of King’s rhetoric stems less from the pathetic appeal of his utopian “dream” than it does from the ethos he carefully constructs to give force to his statements. By framing contemporary upheavals as part of a prophecy whose fulfillment will result in the better future he imagines, King ensures not only the effectiveness of his words in the moment but their continuing resonance today. Even if we have not yet achieved King’s dream, we cannot deny the role his words played in setting us on the path toward it.
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The goal of a rhetorical analysis is to explain the effect a piece of writing or oratory has on its audience, how successful it is, and the devices and appeals it uses to achieve its goals.
Unlike a standard argumentative essay , it’s less about taking a position on the arguments presented, and more about exploring how they are constructed.
The term “text” in a rhetorical analysis essay refers to whatever object you’re analyzing. It’s frequently a piece of writing or a speech, but it doesn’t have to be. For example, you could also treat an advertisement or political cartoon as a text.
Logos appeals to the audience’s reason, building up logical arguments . Ethos appeals to the speaker’s status or authority, making the audience more likely to trust them. Pathos appeals to the emotions, trying to make the audience feel angry or sympathetic, for example.
Collectively, these three appeals are sometimes called the rhetorical triangle . They are central to rhetorical analysis , though a piece of rhetoric might not necessarily use all of them.
In rhetorical analysis , a claim is something the author wants the audience to believe. A support is the evidence or appeal they use to convince the reader to believe the claim. A warrant is the (often implicit) assumption that links the support with the claim.
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How to Write a Rhetorical Analysis Essay–Examples & Template
What is a Rhetorical Analysis Essay?
A rhetorical analysis essay is, as the name suggests, an analysis of someone else’s writing (or speech, or advert, or even cartoon) and how they use not only words but also rhetorical techniques to influence their audience in a certain way. A rhetorical analysis is less interested in what the author is saying and more in how they present it, what effect this has on their readers, whether they achieve their goals, and what approach they use to get there.
Its structure is similar to that of most essays: An Introduction presents your thesis, a Body analyzes the text you have chosen, breaks it down into sections and explains how arguments have been constructed and how each part persuades, informs, or entertains the reader, and a Conclusion section sums up your evaluation.
Note that your personal opinion on the matter is not relevant for your analysis and that you don’t state anywhere in your essay whether you agree or disagree with the stance the author takes.
In the following, we will define the key rhetorical concepts you need to write a good rhetorical analysis and give you some practical tips on where to start.
Key Rhetorical Concepts
Your goal when writing a rhetorical analysis is to think about and then carefully describe how the author has designed their text so that it has the intended effect on their audience. To do that, you need to consider a number of key rhetorical strategies: Rhetorical appeals (“Ethos”, “Logos”, and “Pathos”), context, as well as claims, supports, and warrants.
Ethos, Logos, and Pathos were introduced by Aristotle, way back in the 4th century BC, as the main ways in which language can be used to persuade an audience. They still represent the basis of any rhetorical analysis and are often referred to as the “rhetorical triangle”.
These and other rhetorical techniques can all be combined to create the intended effect, and your job as the one analyzing a text is to break the writer’s arguments down and identify the concepts they are based on.
Rhetorical Appeals
Rhetorical appeal #1: ethos.
Ethos refers to the reputation or authority of the writer regarding the topic of their essay or speech and to how they use this to appeal to their audience. Just like we are more likely to buy a product from a brand or vendor we have confidence in than one we don’t know or have reason to distrust, Ethos-driven texts or speeches rely on the reputation of the author to persuade the reader or listener. When you analyze an essay, you should therefore look at how the writer establishes Ethos through rhetorical devices.
Does the author present themselves as an authority on their subject? If so, how?
Do they highlight how impeccable their own behavior is to make a moral argument?
Do they present themselves as an expert by listing their qualifications or experience to convince the reader of their opinion on something?
Rhetorical appeal #2: Pathos
The purpose of Pathos-driven rhetoric is to appeal to the reader’s emotions. A common example of pathos as a rhetorical means is adverts by charities that try to make you donate money to a “good cause”. To evoke the intended emotions in the reader, an author may use passionate language, tell personal stories, and employ vivid imagery so that the reader can imagine themselves in a certain situation and feel empathy with or anger towards others.
Rhetorical appeal #3: Logos
Logos, the “logical” appeal, uses reason to persuade. Reason and logic, supported by data, evidence, clearly defined methodology, and well-constructed arguments, are what most academic writing is based on. Emotions, those of the researcher/writer as well as those of the reader, should stay out of such academic texts, as should anyone’s reputation, beliefs, or personal opinions.
Text and Context
To analyze a piece of writing, a speech, an advertisement, or even a satirical drawing, you need to look beyond the piece of communication and take the context in which it was created and/or published into account.
Who is the person who wrote the text/drew the cartoon/designed the ad..? What audience are they trying to reach? Where was the piece published and what was happening there around that time?
A political speech, for example, can be powerful even when read decades later, but the historical context surrounding it is an important aspect of the effect it was intended to have.
Claims, Supports, and Warrants
To make any kind of argument, a writer needs to put forward specific claims, support them with data or evidence or even a moral or emotional appeal, and connect the dots logically so that the reader can follow along and agree with the points made.
The connections between statements, so-called “warrants”, follow logical reasoning but are not always clearly stated—the author simply assumes the reader understands the underlying logic, whether they present it “explicitly” or “implicitly”. Implicit warrants are commonly used in advertisements where seemingly happy people use certain products, wear certain clothes, accessories, or perfumes, or live certain lifestyles – with the connotation that, first, the product/perfume/lifestyle is what makes that person happy and, second, the reader wants to be as happy as the person in the ad. Some warrants are never clearly stated, and your job when writing a rhetorical analysis essay is therefore to identify them and bring them to light, to evaluate their validity, their effect on the reader, and the use of such means by the writer/creator.
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What are the Five Rhetorical Situations?
A “rhetorical situation” refers to the circumstance behind a text or other piece of communication that arises from a given context. It explains why a rhetorical piece was created, what its purpose is, and how it was constructed to achieve its aims.
Rhetorical situations can be classified into the following five categories:
Why was a text written or a cartoon drawn? Does it want to inform someone? Instruct a certain audience? Entertain a specific group of people? | |
Who will read/see this (or read/saw it in the past) and be influenced by it/motivated to do something? | |
What type of writing/advertisement/communication is this? | |
What views does the piece represent? How do these views fit into the situation the writer was in at the time or the reader is in now? | |
What forms, means, and techniques does the piece use to communicate with its audience? |
Asking such questions when you analyze a text will help you identify all the aspects that play a role in the effect it has on its audience, and will allow you to evaluate whether it achieved its aims or where it may have failed to do so.
Rhetorical Analysis Essay Outline
Analyzing someone else’s work can seem like a big task, but as with every assignment or writing endeavor, you can break it down into smaller, well-defined steps that give you a practical structure to follow.
To give you an example of how the different parts of your text may look when it’s finished, we will provide you with some excerpts from this rhetorical analysis essay example (which even includes helpful comments) published on the Online Writing Lab website of Excelsior University in Albany, NY. The text that this essay analyzes is this article on why one should or shouldn’t buy an Ipad. If you want more examples so that you can build your own rhetorical analysis template, have a look at this essay on Nabokov’s Lolita and the one provided here about the “Shitty First Drafts” chapter of Anne Lamott’s writing instruction book “Bird by Bird”.
Analyzing the Text
When writing a rhetorical analysis, you don’t choose the concepts or key points you think are relevant or want to address. Rather, you carefully read the text several times asking yourself questions like those listed in the last section on rhetorical situations to identify how the text “works” and how it was written to achieve that effect.
Start with focusing on the author : What do you think was their purpose for writing the text? Do they make one principal claim and then elaborate on that? Or do they discuss different topics?
Then look at what audience they are talking to: Do they want to make a group of people take some action? Vote for someone? Donate money to a good cause? Who are these people? Is the text reaching this specific audience? Why or why not?
What tone is the author using to address their audience? Are they trying to evoke sympathy? Stir up anger? Are they writing from a personal perspective? Are they painting themselves as an authority on the topic? Are they using academic or informal language?
How does the author support their claims ? What kind of evidence are they presenting? Are they providing explicit or implicit warrants? Are these warrants valid or problematic? Is the provided evidence convincing?
Asking yourself such questions will help you identify what rhetorical devices a text uses and how well they are put together to achieve a certain aim. Remember, your own opinion and whether you agree with the author are not the point of a rhetorical analysis essay – your task is simply to take the text apart and evaluate it.
If you are still confused about how to write a rhetorical analysis essay, just follow the steps outlined below to write the different parts of your rhetorical analysis: As every other essay, it consists of an Introduction , a Body (the actual analysis), and a Conclusion .
Rhetorical Analysis Introduction
The Introduction section briefly presents the topic of the essay you are analyzing, the author, their main claims, a short summary of the work by you, and your thesis statement .
Tell the reader what the text you are going to analyze represents (e.g., historically) or why it is relevant (e.g., because it has become some kind of reference for how something is done). Describe what the author claims, asserts, or implies and what techniques they use to make their argument and persuade their audience. Finish off with your thesis statement that prepares the reader for what you are going to present in the next section – do you think that the author’s assumptions/claims/arguments were presented in a logical/appealing/powerful way and reached their audience as intended?
Have a look at an excerpt from the sample essay linked above to see what a rhetorical analysis introduction can look like. See how it introduces the author and article , the context in which it originally appeared , the main claims the author makes , and how this first paragraph ends in a clear thesis statement that the essay will then elaborate on in the following Body section:
Cory Doctorow ’s article on BoingBoing is an older review of the iPad , one of Apple’s most famous products. At the time of this article, however, the iPad was simply the latest Apple product to hit the market and was not yet so popular. Doctorow’s entire career has been entrenched in and around technology. He got his start as a CD-ROM programmer and is now a successful blogger and author. He is currently the co-editor of the BoingBoing blog on which this article was posted. One of his main points in this article comes from Doctorow’s passionate advocacy of free digital media sharing. He argues that the iPad is just another way for established technology companies to control our technological freedom and creativity . In “ Why I Won’t Buy an iPad (and Think You Shouldn’t, Either) ” published on Boing Boing in April of 2010, Cory Doctorow successfully uses his experience with technology, facts about the company Apple, and appeals to consumer needs to convince potential iPad buyers that Apple and its products, specifically the iPad, limit the digital rights of those who use them by controlling and mainstreaming the content that can be used and created on the device .
Doing the Rhetorical Analysis
The main part of your analysis is the Body , where you dissect the text in detail. Explain what methods the author uses to inform, entertain, and/or persuade the audience. Use Aristotle’s rhetorical triangle and the other key concepts we introduced above. Use quotations from the essay to demonstrate what you mean. Work out why the writer used a certain approach and evaluate (and again, demonstrate using the text itself) how successful they were. Evaluate the effect of each rhetorical technique you identify on the audience and judge whether the effect is in line with the author’s intentions.
To make it easy for the reader to follow your thought process, divide this part of your essay into paragraphs that each focus on one strategy or one concept , and make sure they are all necessary and contribute to the development of your argument(s).
One paragraph of this section of your essay could, for example, look like this:
One example of Doctorow’s position is his comparison of Apple’s iStore to Wal-Mart. This is an appeal to the consumer’s logic—or an appeal to logos. Doctorow wants the reader to take his comparison and consider how an all-powerful corporation like the iStore will affect them. An iPad will only allow for apps and programs purchased through the iStore to be run on it; therefore, a customer must not only purchase an iPad but also any programs he or she wishes to use. Customers cannot create their own programs or modify the hardware in any way.
As you can see, the author of this sample essay identifies and then explains to the reader how Doctorow uses the concept of Logos to appeal to his readers – not just by pointing out that he does it but by dissecting how it is done.
Rhetorical Analysis Conclusion
The conclusion section of your analysis should restate your main arguments and emphasize once more whether you think the author achieved their goal. Note that this is not the place to introduce new information—only rely on the points you have discussed in the body of your essay. End with a statement that sums up the impact the text has on its audience and maybe society as a whole:
Overall, Doctorow makes a good argument about why there are potentially many better things to drop a great deal of money on instead of the iPad. He gives some valuable information and facts that consumers should take into consideration before going out to purchase the new device. He clearly uses rhetorical tools to help make his case, and, overall, he is effective as a writer, even if, ultimately, he was ineffective in convincing the world not to buy an iPad .
Frequently Asked Questions about Rhetorical Analysis Essays
What is a rhetorical analysis essay.
A rhetorical analysis dissects a text or another piece of communication to work out and explain how it impacts its audience, how successfully it achieves its aims, and what rhetorical devices it uses to do that.
While argumentative essays usually take a stance on a certain topic and argue for it, a rhetorical analysis identifies how someone else constructs their arguments and supports their claims.
What is the correct rhetorical analysis essay format?
Like most other essays, a rhetorical analysis contains an Introduction that presents the thesis statement, a Body that analyzes the piece of communication, explains how arguments have been constructed, and illustrates how each part persuades, informs, or entertains the reader, and a Conclusion section that summarizes the results of the analysis.
What is the “rhetorical triangle”?
The rhetorical triangle was introduced by Aristotle as the main ways in which language can be used to persuade an audience: Logos appeals to the audience’s reason, Ethos to the writer’s status or authority, and Pathos to the reader’s emotions. Logos, Ethos, and Pathos can all be combined to create the intended effect, and your job as the one analyzing a text is to break the writer’s arguments down and identify what specific concepts each is based on.
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What Is a Rhetorical Analysis and How to Write a Great One
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Do you have to write a rhetorical analysis essay? Fear not! We’re here to explain exactly what rhetorical analysis means, how you should structure your essay, and give you some essential “dos and don’ts.”
What is a Rhetorical Analysis Essay?
How do you write a rhetorical analysis, what are the three rhetorical strategies, what are the five rhetorical situations, how to plan a rhetorical analysis essay, creating a rhetorical analysis essay, examples of great rhetorical analysis essays, final thoughts.
A rhetorical analysis essay studies how writers and speakers have used words to influence their audience. Think less about the words the author has used and more about the techniques they employ, their goals, and the effect this has on the audience.
![how to construct a rhetorical analysis essay Image showing definitions](https://marketing.prowritingaid.com/definitions-rhetorical-analysis.png)
In your analysis essay, you break a piece of text (including cartoons, adverts, and speeches) into sections and explain how each part works to persuade, inform, or entertain. You’ll explore the effectiveness of the techniques used, how the argument has been constructed, and give examples from the text.
A strong rhetorical analysis evaluates a text rather than just describes the techniques used. You don’t include whether you personally agree or disagree with the argument.
Structure a rhetorical analysis in the same way as most other types of academic essays . You’ll have an introduction to present your thesis, a main body where you analyze the text, which then leads to a conclusion.
Think about how the writer (also known as a rhetor) considers the situation that frames their communication:
- Topic: the overall purpose of the rhetoric
- Audience: this includes primary, secondary, and tertiary audiences
- Purpose: there are often more than one to consider
- Context and culture: the wider situation within which the rhetoric is placed
Back in the 4th century BC, Aristotle was talking about how language can be used as a means of persuasion. He described three principal forms —Ethos, Logos, and Pathos—often referred to as the Rhetorical Triangle . These persuasive techniques are still used today.
![how to construct a rhetorical analysis essay Image showing rhetorical strategies](https://marketing.prowritingaid.com/rhetorical-strategies.png)
Rhetorical Strategy 1: Ethos
Are you more likely to buy a car from an established company that’s been an important part of your community for 50 years, or someone new who just started their business?
Reputation matters. Ethos explores how the character, disposition, and fundamental values of the author create appeal, along with their expertise and knowledge in the subject area.
Aristotle breaks ethos down into three further categories:
- Phronesis: skills and practical wisdom
- Arete: virtue
- Eunoia: goodwill towards the audience
Ethos-driven speeches and text rely on the reputation of the author. In your analysis, you can look at how the writer establishes ethos through both direct and indirect means.
Rhetorical Strategy 2: Pathos
Pathos-driven rhetoric hooks into our emotions. You’ll often see it used in advertisements, particularly by charities wanting you to donate money towards an appeal.
Common use of pathos includes:
- Vivid description so the reader can imagine themselves in the situation
- Personal stories to create feelings of empathy
- Emotional vocabulary that evokes a response
By using pathos to make the audience feel a particular emotion, the author can persuade them that the argument they’re making is compelling.
Rhetorical Strategy 3: Logos
Logos uses logic or reason. It’s commonly used in academic writing when arguments are created using evidence and reasoning rather than an emotional response. It’s constructed in a step-by-step approach that builds methodically to create a powerful effect upon the reader.
Rhetoric can use any one of these three techniques, but effective arguments often appeal to all three elements.
The rhetorical situation explains the circumstances behind and around a piece of rhetoric. It helps you think about why a text exists, its purpose, and how it’s carried out.
![how to construct a rhetorical analysis essay Image showing 5 rhetorical situations](https://marketing.prowritingaid.com/rhetorical-situations.png)
The rhetorical situations are:
- 1) Purpose: Why is this being written? (It could be trying to inform, persuade, instruct, or entertain.)
- 2) Audience: Which groups or individuals will read and take action (or have done so in the past)?
- 3) Genre: What type of writing is this?
- 4) Stance: What is the tone of the text? What position are they taking?
- 5) Media/Visuals: What means of communication are used?
Understanding and analyzing the rhetorical situation is essential for building a strong essay. Also think about any rhetoric restraints on the text, such as beliefs, attitudes, and traditions that could affect the author's decisions.
Before leaping into your essay, it’s worth taking time to explore the text at a deeper level and considering the rhetorical situations we looked at before. Throw away your assumptions and use these simple questions to help you unpick how and why the text is having an effect on the audience.
![how to construct a rhetorical analysis essay Image showing what to consider when planning a rhetorical essay](https://marketing.prowritingaid.com/planning-a-rhetorical-essay.jpg)
1: What is the Rhetorical Situation?
- Why is there a need or opportunity for persuasion?
- How do words and references help you identify the time and location?
- What are the rhetoric restraints?
- What historical occasions would lead to this text being created?
2: Who is the Author?
- How do they position themselves as an expert worth listening to?
- What is their ethos?
- Do they have a reputation that gives them authority?
- What is their intention?
- What values or customs do they have?
3: Who is it Written For?
- Who is the intended audience?
- How is this appealing to this particular audience?
- Who are the possible secondary and tertiary audiences?
4: What is the Central Idea?
- Can you summarize the key point of this rhetoric?
- What arguments are used?
- How has it developed a line of reasoning?
5: How is it Structured?
- What structure is used?
- How is the content arranged within the structure?
6: What Form is Used?
- Does this follow a specific literary genre?
- What type of style and tone is used, and why is this?
- Does the form used complement the content?
- What effect could this form have on the audience?
7: Is the Rhetoric Effective?
- Does the content fulfil the author’s intentions?
- Does the message effectively fit the audience, location, and time period?
Once you’ve fully explored the text, you’ll have a better understanding of the impact it’s having on the audience and feel more confident about writing your essay outline.
A great essay starts with an interesting topic. Choose carefully so you’re personally invested in the subject and familiar with it rather than just following trending topics. There are lots of great ideas on this blog post by My Perfect Words if you need some inspiration. Take some time to do background research to ensure your topic offers good analysis opportunities.
![how to construct a rhetorical analysis essay Image showing considerations for a rhetorical analysis topic](https://marketing.prowritingaid.com/rhetorical-analysis-topic.png)
Remember to check the information given to you by your professor so you follow their preferred style guidelines. This outline example gives you a general idea of a format to follow, but there will likely be specific requests about layout and content in your course handbook. It’s always worth asking your institution if you’re unsure.
Make notes for each section of your essay before you write. This makes it easy for you to write a well-structured text that flows naturally to a conclusion. You will develop each note into a paragraph. Look at this example by College Essay for useful ideas about the structure.
![how to construct a rhetorical analysis essay Image showing how to structure an essay](https://marketing.prowritingaid.com/essay-structure.jpg)
1: Introduction
This is a short, informative section that shows you understand the purpose of the text. It tempts the reader to find out more by mentioning what will come in the main body of your essay.
- Name the author of the text and the title of their work followed by the date in parentheses
- Use a verb to describe what the author does, e.g. “implies,” “asserts,” or “claims”
- Briefly summarize the text in your own words
- Mention the persuasive techniques used by the rhetor and its effect
Create a thesis statement to come at the end of your introduction.
After your introduction, move on to your critical analysis. This is the principal part of your essay.
- Explain the methods used by the author to inform, entertain, and/or persuade the audience using Aristotle's rhetorical triangle
- Use quotations to prove the statements you make
- Explain why the writer used this approach and how successful it is
- Consider how it makes the audience feel and react
Make each strategy a new paragraph rather than cramming them together, and always use proper citations. Check back to your course handbook if you’re unsure which citation style is preferred.
3: Conclusion
Your conclusion should summarize the points you’ve made in the main body of your essay. While you will draw the points together, this is not the place to introduce new information you’ve not previously mentioned.
Use your last sentence to share a powerful concluding statement that talks about the impact the text has on the audience(s) and wider society. How have its strategies helped to shape history?
Before You Submit
Poor spelling and grammatical errors ruin a great essay. Use ProWritingAid to check through your finished essay before you submit. It will pick up all the minor errors you’ve missed and help you give your essay a final polish. Look at this useful ProWritingAid webinar for further ideas to help you significantly improve your essays. Sign up for a free trial today and start editing your essays!
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You’ll find countless examples of rhetorical analysis online, but they range widely in quality. Your institution may have example essays they can share with you to show you exactly what they’re looking for.
The following links should give you a good starting point if you’re looking for ideas:
Pearson Canada has a range of good examples. Look at how embedded quotations are used to prove the points being made. The end questions help you unpick how successful each essay is.
Excelsior College has an excellent sample essay complete with useful comments highlighting the techniques used.
Brighton Online has a selection of interesting essays to look at. In this specific example, consider how wider reading has deepened the exploration of the text.
![how to construct a rhetorical analysis essay Image showing tips when reading a sample essay](https://marketing.prowritingaid.com/tips-sample-essay.png)
Writing a rhetorical analysis essay can seem daunting, but spending significant time deeply analyzing the text before you write will make it far more achievable and result in a better-quality essay overall.
It can take some time to write a good essay. Aim to complete it well before the deadline so you don’t feel rushed. Use ProWritingAid’s comprehensive checks to find any errors and make changes to improve readability. Then you’ll be ready to submit your finished essay, knowing it’s as good as you can possibly make it.
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Helly Douglas
Helly Douglas is a UK writer and teacher, specialising in education, children, and parenting. She loves making the complex seem simple through blogs, articles, and curriculum content. You can check out her work at hellydouglas.com or connect on Twitter @hellydouglas. When she’s not writing, you will find her in a classroom, being a mum or battling against the wilderness of her garden—the garden is winning!
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How to Write a Rhetorical Analysis Essay in 6 Steps
Written by MasterClass
Last updated: Sep 2, 2021 • 3 min read
In a rhetorical analysis essay, a writer will examine the rhetoric and style of another author’s work. If you want to write your own rhetorical analysis essay, we’ve developed a step-by-step guide to lead you through the process.
![how to construct a rhetorical analysis essay](https://images.ctfassets.net/3s5io6mnxfqz/5WPSnTrb3pDpCos3Rv6xY6/afcfdc7a58c78bbac28d98a7cf15167c/AdobeStock_420396784.jpeg?w=1920)
Reference management. Clean and simple.
How to write a rhetorical analysis
![how to construct a rhetorical analysis essay Rhetorical analysis illustration](https://cdn.paperpile.com/guides/img/rhetorical-analysis-illustr-400x400.png)
What is a rhetorical analysis?
What are the key concepts of a rhetorical analysis, rhetorical situation, claims, supports, and warrants.
- Step 1: Plan and prepare
- Step 2: Write your introduction
- Step 3: Write the body
- Step 4: Write your conclusion
Frequently Asked Questions about rhetorical analysis
Related articles.
Rhetoric is the art of persuasion and aims to study writers’ or speakers' techniques to inform, persuade, or motivate their audience. Thus, a rhetorical analysis aims to explore the goals and motivations of an author, the techniques they’ve used to reach their audience, and how successful these techniques were.
This will generally involve analyzing a specific text and considering the following aspects to connect the rhetorical situation to the text:
- Does the author successfully support the thesis or claims made in the text? Here, you’ll analyze whether the author holds to their argument consistently throughout the text or whether they wander off-topic at some point.
- Does the author use evidence effectively considering the text’s intended audience? Here, you’ll consider the evidence used by the author to support their claims and whether the evidence resonates with the intended audience.
- What rhetorical strategies the author uses to achieve their goals. Here, you’ll consider the word choices by the author and whether these word choices align with their agenda for the text.
- The tone of the piece. Here, you’ll consider the tone used by the author in writing the piece by looking at specific words and aspects that set the tone.
- Whether the author is objective or trying to convince the audience of a particular viewpoint. When it comes to objectivity, you’ll consider whether the author is objective or holds a particular viewpoint they want to convince the audience of. If they are, you’ll also consider whether their persuasion interferes with how the text is read and understood.
- Does the author correctly identify the intended audience? It’s important to consider whether the author correctly writes the text for the intended audience and what assumptions the author makes about the audience.
- Does the text make sense? Here, you’ll consider whether the author effectively reasons, based on the evidence, to arrive at the text’s conclusion.
- Does the author try to appeal to the audience’s emotions? You’ll need to consider whether the author uses any words, ideas, or techniques to appeal to the audience’s emotions.
- Can the author be believed? Finally, you’ll consider whether the audience will accept the arguments and ideas of the author and why.
Summing up, unlike summaries that focus on what an author said, a rhetorical analysis focuses on how it’s said, and it doesn’t rely on an analysis of whether the author was right or wrong but rather how they made their case to arrive at their conclusions.
Although rhetorical analysis is most used by academics as part of scholarly work, it can be used to analyze any text including speeches, novels, television shows or films, advertisements, or cartoons.
Now that we’ve seen what rhetorical analysis is, let’s consider some of its key concepts .
Any rhetorical analysis starts with the rhetorical situation which identifies the relationships between the different elements of the text. These elements include the audience, author or writer, the author’s purpose, the delivery method or medium, and the content:
- Audience: The audience is simply the readers of a specific piece of text or content or printed material. For speeches or other mediums like film and video, the audience would be the listeners or viewers. Depending on the specific piece of text or the author’s perception, the audience might be real, imagined, or invoked. With a real audience, the author writes to the people actually reading or listening to the content while, for an imaginary audience, the author writes to an audience they imagine would read the content. Similarly, for an invoked audience, the author writes explicitly to a specific audience.
- Author or writer: The author or writer, also commonly referred to as the rhetor in the context of rhetorical analysis, is the person or the group of persons who authored the text or content.
- The author’s purpose: The author’s purpose is the author’s reason for communicating to the audience. In other words, the author’s purpose encompasses what the author expects or intends to achieve with the text or content.
- Alphabetic text includes essays, editorials, articles, speeches, and other written pieces.
- Imaging includes website and magazine advertisements, TV commercials, and the like.
- Audio includes speeches, website advertisements, radio or tv commercials, or podcasts.
- Context: The context of the text or content considers the time, place, and circumstances surrounding the delivery of the text to its audience. With respect to context, it might often also be helpful to analyze the text in a different context to determine its impact on a different audience and in different circumstances.
An author will use claims, supports, and warrants to build the case around their argument, irrespective of whether the argument is logical and clearly defined or needs to be inferred by the audience:
- Claim: The claim is the main idea or opinion of an argument that the author must prove to the intended audience. In other words, the claim is the fact or facts the author wants to convince the audience of. Claims are usually explicitly stated but can, depending on the specific piece of content or text, be implied from the content. Although these claims could be anything and an argument may be based on a single or several claims, the key is that these claims should be debatable.
- Support: The supports are used by the author to back up the claims they make in their argument. These supports can include anything from fact-based, objective evidence to subjective emotional appeals and personal experiences used by the author to convince the audience of a specific claim. Either way, the stronger and more reliable the supports, the more likely the audience will be to accept the claim.
- Warrant: The warrants are the logic and assumptions that connect the supports to the claims. In other words, they’re the assumptions that make the initial claim possible. The warrant is often unstated, and the author assumes that the audience will be able to understand the connection between the claims and supports. In turn, this is based on the author’s assumption that they share a set of values and beliefs with the audience that will make them understand the connection mentioned above. Conversely, if the audience doesn’t share these beliefs and values with the author, the argument will not be that effective.
Appeals are used by authors to convince their audience and, as such, are an integral part of the rhetoric and are often referred to as the rhetorical triangle. As a result, an author may combine all three appeals to convince their audience:
- Ethos: Ethos represents the authority or credibility of the author. To be successful, the author needs to convince the audience of their authority or credibility through the language and delivery techniques they use. This will, for example, be the case where an author writing on a technical subject positions themselves as an expert or authority by referring to their qualifications or experience.
- Logos: Logos refers to the reasoned argument the author uses to persuade their audience. In other words, it refers to the reasons or evidence the author proffers in substantiation of their claims and can include facts, statistics, and other forms of evidence. For this reason, logos is also the dominant approach in academic writing where authors present and build up arguments using reasoning and evidence.
- Pathos: Through pathos, also referred to as the pathetic appeal, the author attempts to evoke the audience’s emotions through the use of, for instance, passionate language, vivid imagery, anger, sympathy, or any other emotional response.
To write a rhetorical analysis, you need to follow the steps below:
With a rhetorical analysis, you don’t choose concepts in advance and apply them to a specific text or piece of content. Rather, you’ll have to analyze the text to identify the separate components and plan and prepare your analysis accordingly.
Here, it might be helpful to use the SOAPSTone technique to identify the components of the work. SOAPSTone is a common acronym in analysis and represents the:
- Speaker . Here, you’ll identify the author or the narrator delivering the content to the audience.
- Occasion . With the occasion, you’ll identify when and where the story takes place and what the surrounding context is.
- Audience . Here, you’ll identify who the audience or intended audience is.
- Purpose . With the purpose, you’ll need to identify the reason behind the text or what the author wants to achieve with their writing.
- Subject . You’ll also need to identify the subject matter or topic of the text.
- Tone . The tone identifies the author’s feelings towards the subject matter or topic.
Apart from gathering the information and analyzing the components mentioned above, you’ll also need to examine the appeals the author uses in writing the text and attempting to persuade the audience of their argument. Moreover, you’ll need to identify elements like word choice, word order, repetition, analogies, and imagery the writer uses to get a reaction from the audience.
Once you’ve gathered the information and examined the appeals and strategies used by the author as mentioned above, you’ll need to answer some questions relating to the information you’ve collected from the text. The answers to these questions will help you determine the reasons for the choices the author made and how well these choices support the overall argument.
Here, some of the questions you’ll ask include:
- What was the author’s intention?
- Who was the intended audience?
- What is the author’s argument?
- What strategies does the author use to build their argument and why do they use those strategies?
- What appeals the author uses to convince and persuade the audience?
- What effect the text has on the audience?
Keep in mind that these are just some of the questions you’ll ask, and depending on the specific text, there might be others.
Once you’ve done your preparation, you can start writing the rhetorical analysis. It will start off with an introduction which is a clear and concise paragraph that shows you understand the purpose of the text and gives more information about the author and the relevance of the text.
The introduction also summarizes the text and the main ideas you’ll discuss in your analysis. Most importantly, however, is your thesis statement . This statement should be one sentence at the end of the introduction that summarizes your argument and tempts your audience to read on and find out more about it.
After your introduction, you can proceed with the body of your analysis. Here, you’ll write at least three paragraphs that explain the strategies and techniques used by the author to convince and persuade the audience, the reasons why the writer used this approach, and why it’s either successful or unsuccessful.
You can structure the body of your analysis in several ways. For example, you can deal with every strategy the author uses in a new paragraph, but you can also structure the body around the specific appeals the author used or chronologically.
No matter how you structure the body and your paragraphs, it’s important to remember that you support each one of your arguments with facts, data, examples, or quotes and that, at the end of every paragraph, you tie the topic back to your original thesis.
Finally, you’ll write the conclusion of your rhetorical analysis. Here, you’ll repeat your thesis statement and summarize the points you’ve made in the body of your analysis. Ultimately, the goal of the conclusion is to pull the points of your analysis together so you should be careful to not raise any new issues in your conclusion.
After you’ve finished your conclusion, you’ll end your analysis with a powerful concluding statement of why your argument matters and an invitation to conduct more research if needed.
A rhetorical analysis aims to explore the goals and motivations of an author, the techniques they’ve used to reach their audience, and how successful these techniques were. Although rhetorical analysis is most used by academics as part of scholarly work, it can be used to analyze any text including speeches, novels, television shows or films, advertisements, or cartoons.
The steps to write a rhetorical analysis include:
Your rhetorical analysis introduction is a clear and concise paragraph that shows you understand the purpose of the text and gives more information about the author and the relevance of the text. The introduction also summarizes the text and the main ideas you’ll discuss in your analysis.
Ethos represents the authority or credibility of the author. To be successful, the author needs to convince the audience of their authority or credibility through the language and delivery techniques they use. This will, for example, be the case where an author writing on a technical subject positions themselves as an expert or authority by referring to their qualifications or experience.
Appeals are used by authors to convince their audience and, as such, are an integral part of the rhetoric and are often referred to as the rhetorical triangle. The 3 types of appeals are ethos, logos, and pathos.
![how to construct a rhetorical analysis essay](https://cdn.paperpile.com/guides/img/predatory-journal-illustr-400x400.png)
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How to Write a Rhetorical Analysis Essay
A rhetorical analysis essay requires you to write about an author’s writing. In other words, in a rhetorical analysis essay, you write about the way an author uses words to influence or persuade an audience to do or think something.
A rhetorical analysis essay explains how the parts of a text work together to persuade, entertain, or inform an audience.
When writing a rhetorical analysis, you are not writing a summary nor are you writing about whether or not you agree with the argument. Instead, you’re discussing how the author makes that argument and whether or not the approach used is successful.
In order to write a coherent and grade-winning rhetorical analysis essay, before you write, you need to make evident to yourself what you know about what you need to analyze (the text that you read and now have to analyze).
![title= how to construct a rhetorical analysis essay](https://writingcenterofprinceton.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/thought-2123970_1920.jpg)
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Master the art of crafting an impactful rhetorical essay to captivate your readers.
![Master the art of crafting an impactful rhetorical essay to captivate your readers How to write a rhetorical essay](https://studbaywritingvip.com/wp-content/images/how-to-write-a-rhetorical-essay.jpg)
When it comes to expressing one’s thoughts and opinions, the art of rhetoric plays a crucial role. Whether it be through verbal communication or the written word, the power of persuasive language has the ability to sway hearts and minds, making it a powerful tool in any communicator’s arsenal. In this article, we will delve deep into the world of crafting a rhetorical essay, a form of composition that requires careful analysis, insightful interpretation, and skillful persuasion. By following a thoughtful and systematic approach, you will be able to effectively convey your message and leave a lasting impact on your audience.
Understanding the Nature of a Rhetorical Essay
An essay of rhetorical nature seeks to analyze and evaluate how the author uses various rhetorical appeals and strategies to effectively communicate their message. By dissecting the text, the writer aims to identify the key components that contribute to the overall persuasiveness of the composition. This could involve examining the author’s use of ethos, pathos, and logos, as well as the rhetorical devices employed, such as metaphor, irony, or repetition. Through a close examination of these elements, the writer can gain a deeper understanding of how they contribute to the audience’s perception and interpretation of the text.
The Importance of Pre-Writing
Before diving into the actual writing process, it is important to engage in thorough pre-writing activities. This includes reading and analyzing the text, identifying the author’s intended audience, and understanding the context in which the composition was created. By doing so, you will be able to gather the necessary information and develop a clear understanding of the rhetorical strategies employed by the author. This will also help you establish your own stance and create a solid foundation for your essay.
Understanding the purpose of a rhetorical essay
![how to construct a rhetorical analysis essay Understanding the purpose of a rhetorical essay](https://studbaywritingvip.com/wp-content/images/how-to-write-a-rhetorical-essay-jfl6vfo3.jpg)
Exploring the true essence and objective of a rhetorical essay is vital for any aspiring writer. This type of essay delves into the art of persuasion, dissecting various techniques used to convince an audience of a particular point of view or argument. More than just presenting facts, a rhetorical essay aims to evoke emotions, challenge preconceived notions, and provoke critical thinking in its readers.
Unlike other forms of writing, a rhetorical essay allows the writer to express their opinions and beliefs openly. It serves as a platform for individuals to analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of rhetorical strategies employed by speakers or authors in order to sway an audience. By carefully examining language choices, logical reasoning, and appeals to ethos, pathos, and logos, the writer can gain a deeper understanding of the intended message and effectively convey their own interpretations.
Moreover, a rhetorical essay acts as a tool for students and scholars to enhance their analytical skills. It encourages them to critically analyze texts and speeches to uncover the underlying motives, biases, and strategies used. By closely studying the rhetoric employed in various forms of communication, writers can sharpen their ability to identify persuasive techniques and employ them effectively in their own writing.
- Recognize the goals and intentions of the speaker or author.
- Analyze the rhetorical strategies employed to convey meaning.
- Evaluate the effectiveness of those strategies in achieving the intended purpose.
- Develop and present a well-structured argument based on the analysis.
In conclusion, understanding the purpose of a rhetorical essay goes beyond examining the surface-level techniques and strategies employed by speakers or authors. It involves delving deep into the art of persuasion, exploring the intended message, and honing one’s analytical skills. By becoming proficient in this form of writing, individuals can effectively engage and persuade their audience while developing their own critical thinking abilities.
Analyzing the rhetorical situation
When it comes to dissecting a rhetorical piece of writing, one of the first steps is to analyze the rhetorical situation. This involves examining the various elements that make up the context in which the text was produced, such as the audience, the purpose, and the speaker. By understanding these components, one can gain valuable insights into the persuasive techniques and strategies employed in the text.
Identifying the audience: The audience refers to the group of people for whom the text is intended. This could be a specific demographic, such as young adults or professionals in a particular field, or a broader general audience. Understanding the intended audience helps to determine the tone, language, and arguments used in the text.
Clarifying the purpose: Every piece of writing has a purpose, and analyzing the rhetorical situation involves determining what that purpose is. The purpose could be to inform, to persuade, to entertain, or a combination of these. By identifying the underlying purpose, one can better understand the rhetorical choices made by the author.
Evaluating the speaker: The speaker, or author, of a text plays a significant role in shaping its rhetorical elements. Analyzing the rhetorical situation involves considering the credibility, expertise, and biases of the speaker. By evaluating the speaker, one can assess their authority and understand how it impacts the persuasive power of the text.
Examining the context: Context refers to the broader circumstances surrounding the creation of the text. This includes factors such as the historical, social, and cultural background in which the text was produced. Analyzing the context helps to uncover the motivations behind the text and provides a deeper understanding of its rhetorical strategies.
By analyzing the rhetorical situation, readers can gain a comprehensive understanding of the persuasive techniques used in a text. This knowledge allows for a more critical and informed interpretation, enabling readers to engage with the piece on a deeper level.
Identifying the rhetoric elements
When analyzing a piece of writing from a rhetorical perspective, it is essential to be able to identify the various elements of rhetoric that are present. These elements encompass the strategies and techniques used by the writer to persuade and influence the audience. By understanding and recognizing these elements, readers can gain a deeper appreciation for the art of rhetoric and the effectiveness of the writer’s message.
One key element to look for is the use of ethos, which refers to the credibility and ethical appeal of the writer. This can be observed through the author’s use of personal anecdotes, expert testimonials, or the establishment of their own expertise on the subject. The presence of ethos can lend credibility to the writer’s argument and make the audience more likely to trust their perspective.
Another important rhetorical element to consider is pathos, which refers to the emotional appeal of the writing. This can be achieved through the use of vivid language, anecdotes that tug at the reader’s heartstrings, or appeals to their values and emotions. By appealing to the reader’s emotions, the writer can evoke empathy and create a lasting impact on the audience.
Additionally, the use of logos, or logical appeal, is another element to be aware of. This can be observed through the writer’s use of evidence, reasoning, and logical arguments to support their claims. By presenting a well-reasoned and logical argument, the writer can convince the audience of the validity of their perspective and sway their opinions.
Furthermore, the consideration of tone is crucial when identifying rhetoric elements. Tone refers to the author’s attitude and approach towards the subject matter and the audience. By analyzing the tone of the writing, readers can gain insight into the writer’s intentions and how they are attempting to persuade the audience.
Finally, an important rhetorical element is the use of rhetorical devices such as repetition, rhetorical questions, parallelism, and figurative language. These devices can add emphasis, create a memorable impact, and enhance the overall persuasive effect of the writing. Recognizing these devices allows readers to appreciate the skill and craftsmanship employed by the writer.
In summary, identifying the rhetoric elements within a piece of writing involves recognizing the use of ethos, pathos, logos, tone, and rhetorical devices. By analyzing these elements, readers can gain a deeper understanding of the writer’s persuasive techniques and the effectiveness of their argument. Being able to identify these elements is essential in appreciating the art of rhetoric and becoming a more critical and discerning reader.
Developing a thesis statement
Creating a strong and effective thesis statement is a crucial step in writing a successful essay. It serves as the foundation for your entire argument and guides the reader’s understanding of your main points. In this section, we will discuss the process of developing a thesis statement that encapsulates the central idea of your essay.
When crafting a thesis statement, it is essential to clearly articulate the main argument or claim you will be making in your essay. This statement should be concise, specific, and thought-provoking, setting the tone for the rest of your paper. The thesis should also be debatable, meaning there should be room for disagreement and a potential counter-argument.
To develop a strong thesis statement, start by identifying your topic or subject matter. What is the main focus of your essay? Once you have a clear understanding of your subject, think about the main point or argument you want to make. Consider the evidence and arguments you will present throughout your essay to support this main point.
Next, condense your main argument into a single, clear sentence. This thesis statement should be direct and assertive, expressing your overall stance on the topic. Avoid vague and general statements that lack specificity. Instead, aim for a thesis that is concise and impactful.
Additionally, your thesis statement should be compelling and engaging. It should grab the reader’s attention and make them interested in reading further. Consider incorporating strong language, rhetorical devices, or compelling evidence to make your thesis statement more persuasive and memorable.
Finally, it is important to revisit and revise your thesis statement as you progress in your essay writing process. As you gather more information and refine your arguments, your thesis statement may evolve or change altogether. Be open to reevaluating and adapting your thesis statement to best reflect the content and direction of your essay.
In conclusion, developing a well-crafted thesis statement is a vital component of writing a rhetorical essay. It serves as the foundation for your argument and sets the tone for the rest of your paper. By following these steps and continually revisiting and refining your thesis statement, you will create a strong and impactful essay.
Organizing your essay outline
Structuring your essay is a crucial step in the writing process, as it helps to ensure clarity and cohesiveness in your argument. In this section, we will explore effective strategies for organizing your essay outline, enabling you to present your rhetorical analysis in a logical and persuasive manner.
Begin by identifying the key elements of the text you will be analyzing. Look for the main thesis or argument, as well as any supporting evidence or rhetorical devices employed by the author. Once you have a clear understanding of these elements, you can start crafting your essay outline.
A strong introduction is essential to grab the reader’s attention and provide context for your analysis. Use a compelling opening statement or anecdote to engage the audience, and briefly outline the main points you will cover in your essay. Remember to include a clear thesis statement that articulates your overall interpretation of the text.
Next, divide the body of your essay into distinct sections, each focusing on a specific rhetorical device or strategy used by the author. Consider organizing your analysis chronologically, examining how the author introduces and develops their argument over the course of the text. Alternatively, you can organize your essay thematically, grouping together examples and evidence that support specific ideas or themes.
Within each section, provide a clear topic sentence that introduces the rhetorical device you will be discussing. Follow this with detailed analysis and examples, using quotes from the text to support your points. Be sure to explain how each rhetorical device contributes to the overall effectiveness of the author’s argument.
Finally, conclude your essay by summarizing your main points and offering a final analysis of the text. Restate your thesis in a fresh way, and consider the broader implications of the author’s rhetorical choices. What message or impact do they have on the audience? What can we learn from the author’s techniques? End your essay with a thought-provoking statement or question that encourages further reflection.
By organizing your essay outline in a clear and logical manner, you can effectively convey your analysis and persuade your audience of your interpretation. Remember to revise and refine your outline as you go, ensuring that each section flows seamlessly into the next. With a well-structured essay outline, you will be well-equipped to write a compelling rhetorical analysis.
Using effective rhetorical strategies
Mastering the art of persuasive writing involves implementing a variety of powerful rhetorical strategies that can captivate your audience and convey your message with clarity and impact. By skillfully using these strategies, you can enhance the effectiveness of your writing and persuade your readers to see things from your perspective.
Rhetorical strategies are techniques used to persuade or influence an audience. They involve the skillful use of language, structure, and appeals to emotions, logic, and ethics. These strategies can be used in various forms of writing, including speeches, essays, and advertisements, to effectively communicate your message and convince your audience of your viewpoint.
One effective rhetorical strategy is the use of rhetorical questions. By asking thought-provoking questions, you can engage your audience and encourage them to consider your ideas. Rhetorical questions are not meant to be answered, but rather to stimulate reflection and provoke thinking.
Another powerful strategy is the use of logical appeal, also known as logos. This involves presenting a logical argument supported by evidence, facts, and reasoning. By employing logical appeal, you can convince your audience through sound and rational arguments that are difficult to dispute.
Emotional appeal, or pathos, is another strategy that can be highly effective in persuading your audience. By appealing to their emotions, you can evoke empathy, sympathy, or even anger, motivating them to take action or change their viewpoint. Personal anecdotes, vivid imagery, and touching stories are all effective tools in creating emotional appeal.
The use of ethical appeal, or ethos, is also crucial in persuasive writing. It involves establishing credibility and trust with your audience by presenting yourself as knowledgeable, reliable, and trustworthy. By demonstrating your expertise and integrity, you can gain the confidence of your readers and make your argument more convincing.
Rhetorical Strategy | Description |
---|---|
Rhetorical questions | Engage the audience and provoke reflection |
Logical appeal (logos) | Present logical arguments supported by evidence and reasoning |
Emotional appeal (pathos) | Evoke emotions to motivate action or change |
Ethical appeal (ethos) | Establish credibility and trust with the audience |
By utilizing these effective rhetorical strategies, you can effectively communicate your ideas and persuade your readers to engage with and accept your message. Remember to use these strategies strategically and analytically assess their effectiveness for each specific rhetorical situation.
Revising and editing your essay
Once you have completed the initial draft of your rhetorical analysis, it is crucial to revise and edit your essay to ensure clarity and coherence in your arguments. This stage of the writing process involves reviewing your work to identify any areas that require improvement or further development.
During the revision process, focus on examining the overall structure and flow of your essay. Consider whether your introduction effectively captures the reader’s attention and provides a clear thesis statement that sets the tone for the rest of the essay. Additionally, evaluate the development of your arguments in each paragraph and the effectiveness of your transitions between ideas.
When revising, pay close attention to the clarity and precision of your language. Eliminate any unnecessary jargon or technical terms that may confuse your audience. Instead, strive for clear and concise language that is accessible to a wide range of readers. Make sure your arguments are supported by evidence and examples, and that your analysis is thorough and well-reasoned.
Editing is an essential step in the writing process that involves checking for grammatical errors, typos, and inconsistencies in your essay. Carefully proofread your work for spelling and punctuation mistakes, and ensure that your writing adheres to the appropriate style guide. It can be helpful to read your essay aloud or have someone else review it to catch any errors that may have been overlooked.
Lastly, consider the overall effectiveness of your rhetorical analysis. Reflect on whether your essay successfully persuades your audience and achieves its intended purpose. Consider seeking feedback from others to gain different perspectives and to further improve your essay.
By revising and editing your essay, you can refine your arguments, improve the clarity of your language, and enhance the overall impact of your rhetorical analysis.
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Rhetorical Analysis
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Almost every text makes an argument. Rhetorical analysis is the process of evaluating elements of a text and determining how those elements impact the success or failure of that argument. Often rhetorical analyses address written arguments, but visual, oral, or other kinds of “texts” can also be analyzed.
Rhetorical Features—What to Analyze
Asking the right questions about how a text is constructed will help you determine the focus of your rhetorical analysis. A good rhetorical analysis does not try to address every element of a text; discuss just those aspects with the greatest [positive or negative] impact on the text’s effectiveness.
The Rhetorical Situation
Remember that no text exists in a vacuum. The rhetorical situation of a text refers to the context in which it is written and read, the audience to whom it is directed, and the purpose of the writer.
The Rhetorical Appeals
A writer makes many strategic decisions when attempting to persuade an audience. Considering the following rhetorical appeals will help you understand some of these strategies and their effect on an argument. Generally, writers should incorporate a variety of different rhetorical appeals rather than relying on only one kind.
Ethos (appeal to the writer’s credibility)
- What is the writer’s purpose (to argue, explain, teach, defend, call to action, etc.)?
- Do you trust the writer? Why?
- Is the writer an authority on the subject? What credentials does the writer have?
- Does the writer address other viewpoints?
- How does the writer’s word choice or tone affect how you view the writer?
Pathos (appeal to emotion or to an audience’s values or beliefs)
- Who is the target audience for the argument?
- How is the writer trying to make the audience feel (i.e., sad, happy, angry, guilty)?
- Is the writer making any assumptions about the background, knowledge, values, etc. of the audience?
Logos (appeal to logic)
- Is the writer’s evidence relevant to the purpose of the argument? Is the evidence current (if applicable)? Does the writer use a variety of sources to support the argument?
- What kind of evidence is used (i.e., expert testimony, statistics, proven facts)?
- Do the writer’s points build logically upon each other?
- Where in the text is the main argument stated? How does that placement affect the success of the argument?
- Does the writer’s thesis make that purpose clear?
Kairos (appeal to timeliness)
- When was the argument originally presented?
- Where was the argument originally presented?
- What circumstances may have motivated the argument?
- Does the particular time or situation in which this text is written make it more compelling or persuasive?
- What would an audience at this particular time understand about this argument?
Writing a Rhetorical Analysis Essay
No matter the kind of text you are analyzing, remember that the text’s subject matter is never the focus of a rhetorical analysis. The most common error writers make when writing rhetorical analyses is to address the topic or opinion expressed by an author instead of focusing on how that author constructs an argument.
You must read and study a text critically in order to distinguish its rhetorical elements and strategies from its content or message. By identifying and understanding how audiences are persuaded, you become more proficient at constructing your own arguments and in resisting faulty arguments made by others.
A thesis for a rhetorical analysis does not address the content of the writer’s argument. Instead, the thesis should be a statement about specific rhetorical strategies the writer uses and whether or not they make a convincing argument.
Incorrect: Smith’s editorial promotes the establishment of more green space in the Atlanta area through the planting of more trees along major roads.
This statement is summarizing the meaning and purpose of Smith’s writing rather than making an argument about how – and how effectively – Smith presents and defends his position.
Correct: Through the use of vivid description and testimony from affected citizens, Smith makes a powerful argument for establishing more green space in the Atlanta area.
Correct: Although Smith’s editorial includes vivid descriptions of the destruction of green space in the Atlanta area, his argument will not convince his readers because his claim is not backed up with factual evidence.
These statements are both focused on how Smith argues, and both make a claim about the effectiveness of his argument that can be defended throughout the paper with examples from Smith’s text.
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Introduction
The introduction should name the author and the title of the work you are analyzing. Providing any relevant background information about the text and state your thesis (see above). Resist the urge to delve into the topic of the text and stay focused on the rhetorical strategies being used.
Summary of argument
Include a short summary of the argument you are analyzing so readers not familiar with the text can understand your claims and have context for the examples you provide.
The body of your essay discusses and evaluates the rhetorical strategies (elements of the rhetorical situation and rhetorical appeals – see above) that make the argument effective or not. Be certain to provide specific examples from the text for each strategy you discuss and focus on those strategies that are most important to the text you are analyzing. Your essay should follow a logical organization plan that your reader can easily follow.
Go beyond restating your thesis; comment on the effect or significance of the entire essay. Make a statement about how important rhetorical strategies are in determining the effectiveness of an argument or text.
Analyzing Visual Arguments
The same rhetorical elements and appeals used to analyze written texts also apply to visual arguments. Additionally, analyzing a visual text requires an understanding of how design elements work together to create certain persuasive effects (or not). Consider how elements such as image selection, color, use of space, graphics, layout, or typeface influence an audience’s reaction to the argument that the visual was designed to convey.
This material was developed by the KSU Writing Center and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License . All materials created by the KSU Writing Center are free to use and can be adopted, remixed, and shared at will as long as the materials are attributed. Please keep this information on materials you adapt or adopt for attribution purposes.
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Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts
Organizing Your Analysis
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There is no one perfect way to organize a rhetorical analysis essay. In fact, writers should always be a bit leery of plug-in formulas that offer a perfect essay format. Remember, organization itself is not the enemy, only organization without considering the specific demands of your particular writing task. That said, here are some general tips for plotting out the overall form of your essay.
Introduction
Like any rhetorical analysis essay, an essay analyzing a visual document should quickly set the stage for what you’re doing. Try to cover the following concerns in the initial paragraphs:
- Make sure to let the reader know you’re performing a rhetorical analysis. Otherwise, they may expect you to take positions or make an evaluative argument that may not be coming.
- Clearly state what the document under consideration is and possibly give some pertinent background information about its history or development. The intro can be a good place for a quick, narrative summary of the document. The key word here is “quick, for you may be dealing with something large (for example, an entire episode of a cartoon like the Simpsons). Save more in-depth descriptions for your body paragraph analysis.
- If you’re dealing with a smaller document (like a photograph or an advertisement), and copyright allows, the introduction or first page is a good place to integrate it into your page.
- Give a basic run down of the rhetorical situation surrounding the document: the author, the audience, the purpose, the context, etc.
Thesis Statements and Focus
Many authors struggle with thesis statements or controlling ideas in regards to rhetorical analysis essays. There may be a temptation to think that merely announcing the text as a rhetorical analysis is purpose enough. However, especially depending on your essay’s length, your reader may need a more direct and clear statement of your intentions. Below are a few examples.
1. Clearly narrow the focus of what your essay will cover. Ask yourself if one or two design aspects of the document is interesting and complex enough to warrant a full analytical treatment.
The website for Amazon.com provides an excellent example of alignment and proximity to assist its visitors in navigating a potentially large and confusing amount of information.
2. Since visual documents often seek to move people towards a certain action (buying a product, attending an event, expressing a sentiment), an essay may analyze the rhetorical techniques used to accomplish this purpose. The thesis statement should reflect this goal.
The call-out flyer for the Purdue Rowing Team uses a mixture of dynamic imagery and tantalizing promises to create interest in potential, new members.
3. Rhetorical analysis can also easily lead to making original arguments. Performing the analysis may lead you to an argument; or vice versa, you may start with an argument and search for proof that supports it.
A close analysis of the female body images in the July 2007 issue of Cosmopolitan magazine reveals contradictions between the articles’ calls for self-esteem and the advertisements’ unrealistic, beauty demands.
These are merely suggestions. The best measure for what your focus and thesis statement should be the document itself and the demands of your writing situation. Remember that the main thrust of your thesis statement should be on how the document creates meaning and accomplishes its purposes. The OWl has additional information on writing thesis statements.
Analysis Order (Body Paragraphs)
Depending on the genre and size of the document under analysis, there are a number of logical ways to organize your body paragraphs. Below are a few possible options. Which ever you choose, the goal of your body paragraphs is to present parts of the document, give an extended analysis of how that part functions, and suggest how the part ties into a larger point (your thesis statement or goal).
Chronological
This is the most straight-forward approach, but it can also be effective if done for a reason (as opposed to not being able to think of another way). For example, if you are analyzing a photo essay on the web or in a booklet, a chronological treatment allows you to present your insights in the same order that a viewer of the document experiences those images. It is likely that the images have been put in that order and juxtaposed for a reason, so this line of analysis can be easily integrated into the essay.
Be careful using chronological ordering when dealing with a document that contains a narrative (i.e. a television show or music video). Focusing on the chronological could easily lead you to plot summary which is not the point of a rhetorical analysis.
A spatial ordering covers the parts of a document in the order the eye is likely to scan them. This is different than chronological order, for that is dictated by pages or screens where spatial order concerns order amongst a single page or plane. There are no unwavering guidelines for this, but you can use the following general guidelines.
- Left to right and top to down is still the normal reading and scanning pattern for English-speaking countries.
- The eye will naturally look for centers. This may be the technical center of the page or the center of the largest item on the page.
- Lines are often used to provide directions and paths for the eye to follow.
- Research has shown that on web pages, the eye tends to linger in the top left quadrant before moving left to right. Only after spending a considerable amount of time on the top, visible portion of the page will they then scroll down.
Persuasive Appeals
The classic, rhetorical appeals are logos, pathos, and ethos. These concepts roughly correspond to the logic, emotion, and character of the document’s attempt to persuade. You can find more information on these concepts elsewhere on the OWL. Once you understand these devices, you could potentially order your essay by analyzing the document’s use of logos, ethos, and pathos in different sections.
The conclusion of a rhetorical analysis essay may not operate too differently from the conclusion of any other kind of essay. Still, many writers struggle with what a conclusion should or should not do. You can find tips elsewhere on the OWL on writing conclusions. In short, however, you should restate your main ideas and explain why they are important; restate your thesis; and outline further research or work you believe should be completed to further your efforts.
How to Write a Rhetorical Analysis: Full Guide
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Have you ever been completely fascinated by a speech or ad, wondering how it managed to convince you so effectively? From powerful political speeches to catchy commercials, persuasion is all around us, shaping our thoughts and choices every day.
In this guide, we'll explain all about a rhetorical analysis essay. We'll break down the clever tricks writers and speakers use to win over their audience, like how they choose their words carefully and play with our emotions. This article will give you the tools you need to understand and analyze texts more deeply. So, let’s jump right in and start by understanding the nature of this assignment first.
What is a Rhetorical Analysis Essay
A rhetorical analysis essay is a type of essay where you examine how authors or speakers use words, phrases, and other techniques to influence or persuade their audience. This type of essay focuses on analyzing the strategies used by the writer or speaker to achieve their purpose, whether it's to inform, persuade, entertain, or provoke.
You'll dissect the text or speech into its components, looking at how each part contributes to the overall message. This might involve examining the introduction, thesis statement, body paragraphs, evidence, and conclusion.
Once you've identified the strategies used, you'll assess their effectiveness in achieving the author's or speaker's purpose. This involves considering the intended audience, context, and the impact of the communication.
As per our essay writing service , some common topics for rhetorical analysis include analyzing speeches by influential leaders, dissecting political advertisements, or examining the rhetoric used in literary works.
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Rhetorical Analysis Topic Ideas
Now that we've grasped the essence of a rhetorical analysis essay let's explore some potential topics you might consider for your own analysis. Here are 15 specific ideas to get you started:
- The Use of Metaphors in Barack Obama's 'Yes We Can' Speech
- Visual Rhetoric in Dove's 'Real Beauty' Advertising Campaign
- The Role of Irony in Jonathan Swift's 'A Modest Proposal'
- The Manipulation of Emotions in Coca-Cola's 'Share a Coke' Campaign
- The Repetition Technique in Winston Churchill's 'We Shall Fight on the Beaches' Speech
- The Argument Structure in Michelle Obama's Speech on Education
- The Use of Imagery in Edgar Allan Poe's 'The Raven'
- Gender Stereotypes in Old Spice's 'The Man Your Man Could Smell Like' Ad
- Satirical Elements in George Orwell's 'Animal Farm'
- The Influence of Tone in Greta Thunberg's Climate Change Speeches
- Political Symbolism in Banksy's Street Art
- Humor as Persuasion in Ellen DeGeneres' Stand-Up Comedy
- The Power of Silence in Emma Watson's UN Speech on Gender Equality
- Ethical Appeals in ASPCA's Animal Rights Advertisements
- The Cultural References in Super Bowl Commercials: A Case Study
How to Write a Rhetorical Analysis
Understanding how to start a rhetorical analysis essay involves dissecting a piece of communication to learn how it works and what effect it aims to achieve. This analytical process typically includes five paragraphs and three main parts: an introduction, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Below, our analytical essay writing service will explain each in more detail
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Major Rhetorical Elements
Before heading towards the analysis process, it's essential to grasp some key rhetorical concepts that will help guide your examination of the text or speech. These concepts provide a framework for understanding how authors and speakers use language to persuade and influence their audience.
Ethos, pathos logos in rhetorical analysis form the foundation of persuasive communication and are often intertwined in rhetorical strategies. Ethos refers to the credibility or authority of the speaker or author. Pathos involves appealing to the audience's emotions, while logos appeals to reason and logic.
There are also other rhetorical devices that are specific techniques or patterns of language used to convey meaning or evoke particular responses. Examples include metaphor, simile, imagery, irony, repetition, and hyperbole. Recognizing and analyzing these devices can provide insight into the author's intended message and its impact on the audience.
Tone and mood also play crucial roles in shaping the audience's perception and response to the communication. Tone refers to the author's attitude toward the subject matter, while mood describes the emotional atmosphere created by the text.
Whether you ask us - write my essay , or tackle the task yourself, familiarizing yourself with these concepts will help you analyze the text and persuade the audience more effectively.
Understanding Rhetorical Appeals
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First off, what is ethos in rhetorical analysis? Well, it revolves around establishing the credibility and authority of the speaker or author. This appeal seeks to convince the audience that the communicator is trustworthy, knowledgeable, and reliable. Ethos in rhetorical analysis can be built through various means, including:
- Professional Credentials : Demonstrating expertise in the subject matter through relevant qualifications or experience.
- Personal Character : Highlighting traits such as honesty, integrity, and sincerity to engender trust and respect.
- Association : Aligning oneself with respected individuals, institutions, or causes to enhance credibility by association.
For instance, in a health-related speech, a doctor might leverage their medical expertise and professional experience (credentials) to establish ethos. Similarly, a celebrity endorsing a product is using their fame and reputation (association) to persuade consumers.
Now, let's understand what is pathos in rhetorical analysis. Pathos involves appealing to the audience's emotions, aiming to evoke feelings such as empathy, sympathy, joy, anger, or fear. This emotional connection can be a powerful tool for persuasion, as it resonates with the audience on a personal level. Strategies for employing pathos in rhetorical analysis include:
- Vivid Imagery : Painting a vivid picture or narrative that elicits strong emotional responses from the audience.
- Anecdotes : Sharing personal stories or anecdotes that evoke empathy or sympathy and make the message more relatable.
- Language Choice : Using emotive language, sensory details, and rhetorical devices to evoke specific emotional reactions.
For example, in a charity advertisement for children in need, images of impoverished and suffering children coupled with heart-wrenching stories (anecdotes) are used to evoke feelings of compassion and a desire to help.
Lastly, what is logos in rhetorical analysis, you may ask. It appeals to reason and logic, aiming to persuade the audience through rational argumentation and evidence. This appeal relies on facts, statistics, logical reasoning, and sound arguments to convince the audience of the validity of the message. Strategies for employing logos in rhetorical analysis include:
- Factual Evidence : Providing empirical data, research findings, or expert opinions to support the argument.
- Logical Reasoning : Presenting a well-structured argument with clear premises and conclusions that logically follow one another.
- Counterarguments : Addressing potential counterarguments and refuting them with logical reasoning and evidence.
For instance, in a persuasive essay advocating for environmental conservation, the author might present scientific data on climate change (factual evidence) and use logical reasoning to explain the consequences of inaction.
Text and Context
Text analysis involves closely examining the language, structure, and rhetorical devices employed within the communication. This includes identifying key themes, rhetorical appeals, persuasive strategies, and stylistic elements used by the author or speaker to convey their message.
For example, in a political speech advocating for healthcare reform, text analysis might involve identifying the use of rhetorical appeals such as ethos (e.g., highlighting the speaker's experience in healthcare policy), pathos (e.g., sharing anecdotes of individuals struggling with medical costs), and logos (e.g., presenting statistics on healthcare affordability).
Contextual analysis involves considering the broader social, cultural, and historical factors that shape communication and influence its reception. This includes examining the audience demographics, the political and cultural climate, the historical events surrounding the communication, and any relevant societal norms or values.
For instance, when analyzing a historical speech advocating for civil rights, contextual research paper writers might involve considering the social and political context of the time, including prevailing attitudes towards race, ongoing civil rights movements, and recent legislative developments.
Claims, Supports, and Warrants
A claim is a statement or assertion that the author or speaker is advocating for or seeking to prove. Claims can take various forms, including factual claims (assertions of fact), value claims (judgments about what is good or bad), and policy claims (proposals for action). For example, in an argumentative essay about the importance of exercise, the claim might be that regular physical activity is essential for maintaining good health.
Supports are the evidence, reasoning, or examples provided to substantiate and strengthen the claims being made. Supports can take many forms, including empirical data, expert testimony, personal anecdotes, logical reasoning, and analogies. The quality and relevance of the supports provided play a critical role in the persuasiveness of the argument.
Continuing with the example of the argumentative essay about exercise, supports might include scientific studies demonstrating the health benefits of physical activity, testimonials from fitness experts, and personal stories of individuals who have experienced positive changes from incorporating exercise into their routine.
Warrants are the underlying assumptions or principles that connect the supports to the claims. They provide the reasoning or justification for why the supports are relevant and valid evidence for supporting the claims. Warrants are often implicit rather than explicit and require careful analysis to uncover. In the context of the essay on exercise, the warrant connecting the supports to the claim might be the assumption that actions that promote good health are inherently valuable and worthy of pursuit.
Rhetorical Analysis Essay Outline
Whether you opt for the option to buy essay or start writing it yourself, it's important to use a clear plan to organize your thoughts well. This plan usually includes four main steps, each looking at different parts of your analysis.
Analyzing the Text
Before writing a rhetorical analysis, take the time to thoroughly analyze the text you'll be examining. This means more than just skimming through it; it requires a thorough understanding of its subtleties and complexities. Here are some questions to guide your analysis:
- How does the text try to sway its audience? What methods does it use to convince or influence them?
- Which rhetorical appeals—ethos (credibility), pathos (emotion), logos (logic)—does the author use, and how do they contribute to the overall argument?
- What specific rhetorical devices and strategies does the author employ to effectively convey their message? Are there any patterns or recurring motifs?
- How does the structure of the text contribute to its persuasive power or overall impact?
- Are there any cultural, historical, or contextual factors that influence how the text is perceived or understood?
By scrutinizing the text in this manner, you'll gain a deeper understanding of how it functions and the techniques employed by the author to achieve their desired effect.
Rhetorical Analysis Introduction
The introduction sets the stage for your analysis by providing essential context and framing the discussion. Start by introducing the text you're analyzing, including the author's name and the title of the work. Provide some background information to give context to your analysis. For example, if you're analyzing a speech, mention the occasion or event where it was delivered.
Next, summarize the main arguments or claims made by the author. Highlight the rhetorical techniques they use to persuade their audience. Are they appealing to logic, emotion, credibility, or a combination of these? Use specific examples from the text to illustrate these techniques discussed by our dissertation service .
For instance, if you're analyzing a speech on climate change, mention the speaker's expertise in environmental science to establish credibility. Summarize the key points they make about the consequences of inaction and the urgent need for change.
Finally, conclude your introduction with a clear thesis statement. This statement should encapsulate the main argument or purpose of your analysis.
Rhetorical Analysis Body Paragraph
The body paragraphs form the crux of your analysis, where you delve into the details of the text and dissect its rhetorical strategies. Each paragraph should focus on a specific aspect of the text, such as the use of ethos, pathos, logos, or specific rhetorical devices.
Utilize Aristotle's rhetorical triangle and other key concepts introduced earlier to guide your analysis. Provide quotations or examples from the text to illustrate your points and explain why the author chose certain approaches. Evaluate the effectiveness of these strategies in achieving the author's goals and persuading the audience.
For instance, if you're discussing the use of pathos in a marketing campaign, analyze the emotional appeal of the imagery or language used and consider how it resonates with the target audience.
Rhetorical Analysis Conclusion
In the conclusion, it's crucial to reinforce your main arguments and evaluate the author's effectiveness in achieving their goals, whether you're writing an MLA or APA essay format . Reflect on the overall impact of the text on both its immediate audience and society at large, underscoring the importance of your analysis.
Resist the temptation to introduce new ideas in the conclusion. Instead, draw upon the points you've already explored in the body of your essay to strengthen your analysis. Conclude with a poignant statement that resonates with your readers, encapsulating the essence of your interpretation and leaving a lasting impression. This final remark should tie together the threads of your analysis, leaving the reader with a deeper understanding of the text's rhetorical strategies and significance.
Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example
In this section, you'll discover two essay samples that skillfully demonstrate the application of rhetorical analysis. These examples offer insightful insights into the effective use of rhetorical techniques in writing.
5 Rhetorical Analysis Essay Tips
Here are five focused tips that will help you lay a solid foundation for your examination.
- Dissect Rhetorical Strategies : Break down the text to identify specific rhetorical devices such as metaphor, simile, or parallelism.
- Evaluate Tone and Diction : Pay attention to the author's tone and word choice. Analyze how these elements contribute to the overall mood of the text.
- Probe Ethos, Pathos, Logos : Explore how the author establishes credibility (ethos), evokes emotions (pathos), and employs logic (logos) to sway the audience.
- Contextualize Historical Significance : Consider the historical, cultural, and social backdrop against which the text was written.
- Craft a Structured Analysis : Organize your essay with a clear introduction, body paragraphs focusing on specific rhetorical elements, and a conclusion that synthesizes your findings.
Final Words
As we near the end, it's important to analyze carefully whether you're examining a speech, an advertisement, or a story. Pay attention to the smart tactics that influence our thinking. It's all about revealing how we communicate and relate to one another. Ultimately, understanding rhetoric offers a fresh perspective on the world beyond just academic success.
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What is a Rhetorical Analysis Essay?
How to structure a rhetorical analysis essay, how to write a rhetorical analysis essay.
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Daniel Parker
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How to Write a Rhetorical Analysis
Last Updated: August 8, 2024 Fact Checked
This article was co-authored by Megan Morgan, PhD . Megan Morgan is a Graduate Program Academic Advisor in the School of Public & International Affairs at the University of Georgia. She earned her PhD in English from the University of Georgia in 2015. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 1,381,246 times.
A rhetorical analysis can be written about other texts, television shows, films, collections of artwork, or a variety of other communicative mediums that attempt to make a statement to an intended audience. In order to write a rhetorical analysis, you need to be able to determine how the creator of the original work attempts to make his or her argument. You can also include information about whether or not that argument is successful. To learn more about the right way to write a rhetorical analysis, continue reading.
Gathering Information
![how to construct a rhetorical analysis essay Step 1 Identify the SOAPSTone.](https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/f/f5/Write-a-Rhetorical-Analysis-Step-1-Version-3.jpg/v4-460px-Write-a-Rhetorical-Analysis-Step-1-Version-3.jpg)
- The speaker refers to the first and last name of the writer. If the writer has any credentials that lend to his or her authority on the matter at hand, you should also briefly consider those. Note that if the narrator is different from the writer, though, it could also refer to the narrator.
- The occasion mostly refers to the type of text and the context under which the text was written. For instance, there is a big difference between an essay written for a scholarly conference and a letter written to an associate in the field.
- The audience is who the text was written for. This is related to the occasion, since the occasion can include details about the audience. In the example above, the audience would be a conference of scholars versus an associate in the field.
- The purpose refers to what the writer wants to accomplish in the text. It usually includes selling a product or point of view.
- The subject is simply the topic the writer discusses in the text.
![how to construct a rhetorical analysis essay Step 2 Examine the appeals.](https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/c/c0/Write-a-Rhetorical-Analysis-Step-2-Version-3.jpg/v4-460px-Write-a-Rhetorical-Analysis-Step-2-Version-3.jpg)
- Ethos, or ethical appeals, rely on the writer's credibility and character in the garnering of approval. Mentions of a writer's character or qualifications usually qualify as ethos. For instance, if a family therapist with 20 years of practice writes an article on improving familial relations, mention of that experience would be using ethos. Despite their name, these appeals don't have anything to do with "ethics" as we usually think of them.
- Logos, or logical appeals, use reason to make an argument. Most academic discourse should make heavy use of logos. A writer who supports an argument with evidence, data, and undeniable facts uses logos.
- Pathos, or pathetic appeals, seek to evoke emotion in order to gain approval. These emotions can include anything from sympathy and anger to the desire for love. If an article about violent crime provides personal, human details about victims of violent crime, the writer is likely using pathos.
![how to construct a rhetorical analysis essay Step 3 Note style details.](https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/9/95/Write-a-Rhetorical-Analysis-Step-3-Version-3.jpg/v4-460px-Write-a-Rhetorical-Analysis-Step-3-Version-3.jpg)
- Analogies and figurative language, including metaphors and similes, demonstrate an idea through comparison.
- Repetition of a certain point or idea is used to make that point seem more memorable.
- Imagery often affects pathos. The image of a starving child in a low income country can be a powerful way of evoking compassion or anger.
- Diction refers to word choice. Emotionally-charged words have greater impact, and rhythmic word patterns can establish a theme more effectively.
- Tone essentially means mood or attitude. A sarcastic essay is vastly different from a scientific one, but depending on the situation, either tone could be effective.
- Addressing the opposition demonstrates that the writer is not afraid of the opposing viewpoint. It also allows the writer to strengthen his or her own argument by cutting down the opposing one. This is especially powerful when the author contrasts a strong viewpoint he or she holds with a weak viewpoint on the opposing side.
![how to construct a rhetorical analysis essay Step 4 Form an analysis.](https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/b/b5/Write-a-Rhetorical-Analysis-Step-4-Version-4.jpg/v4-460px-Write-a-Rhetorical-Analysis-Step-4-Version-4.jpg)
- Ask yourself how the rhetorical strategies of appeals and style help the author achieve his or her purpose. Determine if any of these strategies fail and hurt the author instead of helping.
- Speculate on why the author may have chosen those rhetorical strategies for that audience and that occasion. Determine if the choice of strategies may have differed for a different audience or occasion.
- Remember that in a rhetorical analysis, you do not need to agree with the argument being presented. Your task is to analyze how well the author uses the appeals to present her or his argument.
Writing the Introduction
![how to construct a rhetorical analysis essay Step 1 Identify your own purpose.](https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/1/18/Write-a-Rhetorical-Analysis-Step-5-Version-3.jpg/v4-460px-Write-a-Rhetorical-Analysis-Step-5-Version-3.jpg)
- By letting the reader know that your paper is a rhetorical analysis, you let him or her know exactly what to expect. If you do not let the reader know this information beforehand, he or she may expect to read an evaluative argument instead.
- Do not simply state, "This paper is a rhetorical analysis." Weave the information into the introduction as naturally as possible.
- Note that this may not be necessary if you are writing a rhetorical analysis for an assignment that specifically calls for a rhetorical analysis.
![how to construct a rhetorical analysis essay Step 2 State the text being analyzed.](https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/5/54/Write-a-Rhetorical-Analysis-Step-6-Version-3.jpg/v4-460px-Write-a-Rhetorical-Analysis-Step-6-Version-3.jpg)
- The introduction is a good place to give a quick summary of the document. Keep it quick, though. Save the majority of the details for your body paragraphs, since most of the details will be used in defending your analysis.
![how to construct a rhetorical analysis essay Step 3 Briefly mention the SOAPS.](https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/7/77/Write-a-Rhetorical-Analysis-Step-7-Version-3.jpg/v4-460px-Write-a-Rhetorical-Analysis-Step-7-Version-3.jpg)
- You do not necessarily need to mention these details in this order. Include the details in a matter that makes sense and flows naturally within your introductory paragraph.
![how to construct a rhetorical analysis essay Step 4 Specify a thesis statement.](https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/4/4f/Write-a-Rhetorical-Analysis-Step-8-Version-3.jpg/v4-460px-Write-a-Rhetorical-Analysis-Step-8-Version-3.jpg)
- Try stating which rhetorical techniques the writer uses in order to move people toward his or her desired purpose. Analyze how well these techniques accomplish this goal.
- Consider narrowing the focus of your essay. Choose one or two design aspects that are complex enough to spend an entire essay analyzing.
- Think about making an original argument. If your analysis leads you to make a certain argument about the text, focus your thesis and essay around that argument and provide support for it throughout the body of your paper.
- Try to focus on using words such as "effective" or "ineffective" when composing your thesis, rather than "good" or "bad." You want to avoid seeming like you are passing value judgments.
Writing the Body
![how to construct a rhetorical analysis essay Step 1 Organize your body paragraphs by rhetorical appeals.](https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/9/96/Write-a-Rhetorical-Analysis-Step-9-Version-3.jpg/v4-460px-Write-a-Rhetorical-Analysis-Step-9-Version-3.jpg)
- The order of logos, ethos, and pathos is not necessarily set in stone. If you intend to focus on one more than the other two, you could briefly cover the two lesser appeals in the first two sections before elaborating on the third in greater detail toward the middle and end of the paper.
- For logos, identify at least one major claim and evaluate the document's use of objective evidence.
- For ethos, analyze how the writer or speaker uses his or her status as an "expert" to enhance credibility.
- For pathos, analyze any details that alter the way that the viewer or reader may feel about the subject at hand. Also analyze any imagery used to appeal to aesthetic senses, and determine how effective these elements are.
- Wrap things up by discussing the consequences and overall impact of these three appeals.
![how to construct a rhetorical analysis essay Step 2 Write your analysis in chronological order, instead.](https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/d/dc/Write-a-Rhetorical-Analysis-Step-10-Version-3.jpg/v4-460px-Write-a-Rhetorical-Analysis-Step-10-Version-3.jpg)
- Start from the beginning of the document and work your way through to the end. Present details about the document and your analysis of those details in the order the original document presents them in.
- The writer of the original document likely organized the information carefully and purposefully. By addressing the document in this order, your analysis is more likely to make more coherent sense by the end of your paper.
![how to construct a rhetorical analysis essay Step 3 Provide plenty of evidence and support.](https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/5/52/Write-a-Rhetorical-Analysis-Step-11-Version-3.jpg/v4-460px-Write-a-Rhetorical-Analysis-Step-11-Version-3.jpg)
- Evidence often include a great deal of direct quotation and paraphrasing.
- Point to spots in which the author mentioned his or her credentials to explain ethos. Identify emotional images or words with strong emotional connotations as ways of supporting claims to pathos. Mention specific data and facts used in analysis involving logos.
![how to construct a rhetorical analysis essay Step 4 Maintain an objective tone.](https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/7/74/Write-a-Rhetorical-Analysis-Step-12-Version-3.jpg/v4-460px-Write-a-Rhetorical-Analysis-Step-12-Version-3.jpg)
- Avoid use of the first-person words "I" and "we." Stick to the more objective third-person.
Writing the Conclusion
![how to construct a rhetorical analysis essay Step 1 Restate your thesis.](https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/7/70/Write-a-Rhetorical-Analysis-Step-13-Version-3.jpg/v4-460px-Write-a-Rhetorical-Analysis-Step-13-Version-3.jpg)
- When restating your thesis, you should be able to quickly analyze how the original author's purpose comes together.
- When restating your thesis, try to bring more sophistication or depth to it than you had in the beginning. What can the audience now understand about your thesis that they would not have without reading your analysis?
![how to construct a rhetorical analysis essay Step 2 Restate your main ideas.](https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/b/b2/Write-a-Rhetorical-Analysis-Step-14-Version-4.jpg/v4-460px-Write-a-Rhetorical-Analysis-Step-14-Version-4.jpg)
- Keep this information brief. You spent an entire essay supporting your thesis, so these restatements of your main ideas should only serve as summaries of your support.
![how to construct a rhetorical analysis essay Step 3 Specify if further research needs to be done.](https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/5/57/Write-a-Rhetorical-Analysis-Step-15-Version-3.jpg/v4-460px-Write-a-Rhetorical-Analysis-Step-15-Version-3.jpg)
- Indicate what that research must entail and how it would help.
- Also state why the subject matter is important enough to continue researching and how it has significance to the real world.
Writing Help
![how to construct a rhetorical analysis essay how to construct a rhetorical analysis essay](https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/4/4b/What-to-Include-in-a-Rhetorical-Analysis_sample.png/340px-What-to-Include-in-a-Rhetorical-Analysis_sample.png)
Community Q&A
![how to construct a rhetorical analysis essay Community Answer](https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/b/b0/CommunityAvatar2.png/-crop-104-104-104px-CommunityAvatar2.png)
- Avoid the use of "In conclusion..." While many writers may be taught to end conclusion paragraphs with this phrase as they first learn to write essays, you should never include this phrase in an essay written at a higher academic level. This phrase and the information that usually follows it is empty information that only serves to clutter up your final paragraph. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
- Do not introduce any new information in your conclusion. Summarize the important details of the essay. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
- Do not argue in an analysis. Focus on the "how" they made their point, not if it's good or not. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
![how to construct a rhetorical analysis essay how to construct a rhetorical analysis essay](https://www.wikihow.com/images/b/b5/Quiz_v1_wHwoman_420x250_2.jpg)
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- ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/academic_writing/establishing_arguments/rhetorical_strategies.html
- ↑ https://courses.lumenlearning.com/englishcomp1/chapter/text-an-overview-of-the-rhetorical-modes/
- ↑ https://oer.pressbooks.pub/informedarguments/chapter/rhetorical-modes-of-writing/
- ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/visual_rhetoric/analyzing_visual_documents/organizing_your_analysis.html
- ↑ https://www.pfw.edu/offices/learning-support/documents/WriteARhetoricalAnalysis.pdf
About This Article
![how to construct a rhetorical analysis essay Megan Morgan, PhD](https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/8/8f/M.-Morgan.jpg/-crop-100-100-96px-M.-Morgan.jpg)
To write a rhetorical analysis, start by determining what the author of the work you're analyzing is trying to argue. Then, ask yourself if they succeeded in making their argument. Whether you think they did or didn't, include quotes and specific examples in your analysis to back up your opinion. When you're writing your analysis, use the third-person to appear objective as opposed to using "I" or "we." Also, make sure you include the author's name, profession, and purpose for writing the text at the beginning of your analysis to give reader's some context. To learn different ways to structure your rhetorical analysis from our English Ph.D. co-author, keep reading! Did this summary help you? Yes No
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How to Write the AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Essay (With Example)
November 27, 2023
Feeling intimidated by the AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Essay? We’re here to help demystify. Whether you’re cramming for the AP Lang exam right now or planning to take the test down the road, we’ve got crucial rubric information, helpful tips, and an essay example to prepare you for the big day. This post will cover 1) What is the AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Essay? 2) AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Rubric 3) AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis: Sample Prompt 4) AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example 5)AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example: Why It Works
What is the AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Essay?
The AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Essay is one of three essays included in the written portion of the AP English Exam. The full AP English Exam is 3 hours and 15 minutes long, with the first 60 minutes dedicated to multiple-choice questions. Once you complete the multiple-choice section, you move on to three equally weighted essays that ask you to synthesize, analyze, and interpret texts and develop well-reasoned arguments. The three essays include:
Synthesis essay: You’ll review various pieces of evidence and then write an essay that synthesizes (aka combines and interprets) the evidence and presents a clear argument. Read our write up on How to Write the AP Lang Synthesis Essay here.
Argumentative essay: You’ll take a stance on a specific topic and argue your case.
Rhetorical essay: You’ll read a provided passage, then analyze the author’s rhetorical choices and develop an argument that explains why the author made those rhetorical choices.
AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Rubric
The AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Essay is graded on just 3 rubric categories: Thesis, Evidence and Commentary, and Sophistication . At a glance, the rubric categories may seem vague, but AP exam graders are actually looking for very particular things in each category. We’ll break it down with dos and don’ts for each rubric category:
Thesis (0-1 point)
There’s nothing nebulous when it comes to grading AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Essay thesis. You either have one or you don’t. Including a thesis gets you one point closer to a high score and leaving it out means you miss out on one crucial point. So, what makes a thesis that counts?
- Make sure your thesis argues something about the author’s rhetorical choices. Making an argument means taking a risk and offering your own interpretation of the provided text. This is an argument that someone else might disagree with.
- A good test to see if you have a thesis that makes an argument. In your head, add the phrase “I think that…” to the beginning of your thesis. If what follows doesn’t logically flow after that phrase (aka if what follows isn’t something you and only you think), it’s likely you’re not making an argument.
- Avoid a thesis that merely restates the prompt.
- Avoid a thesis that summarizes the text but does not make an argument.
Evidence and Commentary (0-4 points)
This rubric category is graded on a scale of 0-4 where 4 is the highest grade. Per the AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis rubric, to get a 4, you’ll want to:
- Include lots of specific evidence from the text. There is no set golden number of quotes to include, but you’ll want to make sure you’re incorporating more than a couple pieces of evidence that support your argument about the author’s rhetorical choices.
- Make sure you include more than one type of evidence, too. Let’s say you’re working on your essay and have gathered examples of alliteration to include as supporting evidence. That’s just one type of rhetorical choice, and it’s hard to make a credible argument if you’re only looking at one type of evidence. To fix that issue, reread the text again looking for patterns in word choice and syntax, meaningful figurative language and imagery, literary devices, and other rhetorical choices, looking for additional types of evidence to support your argument.
- After you include evidence, offer your own interpretation and explain how this evidence proves the point you make in your thesis.
- Don’t summarize or speak generally about the author and the text. Everything you write must be backed up with evidence.
- Don’t let quotes speak for themselves. After every piece of evidence you include, make sure to explain your interpretation. Also, connect the evidence to your overarching argument.
Sophistication (0-1 point)
In this case, sophistication isn’t about how many fancy vocabulary words or how many semicolons you use. According to College Board , one point can be awarded to AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis essays that “demonstrate sophistication of thought and/or a complex understanding of the rhetorical situation” in any of these three ways:
- Explaining the significance or relevance of the writer’s rhetorical choices.
- Explaining the purpose or function of the passage’s complexities or tensions.
- Employing a style that is consistently vivid and persuasive.
Note that you don’t have to achieve all three to earn your sophistication point. A good way to think of this rubric category is to consider it a bonus point that you can earn for going above and beyond in depth of analysis or by writing an especially persuasive, clear, and well-structured essay. In order to earn this point, you’ll need to first do a good job with your thesis, evidence, and commentary.
- Focus on nailing an argumentative thesis and multiple types of evidence. Getting these fundamentals of your essay right will set you up for achieving depth of analysis.
- Explain how each piece of evidence connects to your thesis.
- Spend a minute outlining your essay before you begin to ensure your essay flows in a clear and cohesive way.
- Steer clear of generalizations about the author or text.
- Don’t include arguments you can’t prove with evidence from the text.
- Avoid complex sentences and fancy vocabulary words unless you use them often. Long, clunky sentences with imprecisely used words are hard to follow.
AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis: Sample Prompt
The sample prompt below is published online by College Board and is a real example from the 2021 AP Exam. The prompt provides background context, essay instructions, and the text you need to analyze. For sake of space, we’ve included the text as an image you can click to read. After the prompt, we provide a sample high scoring essay and then explain why this AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis essay example works.
Suggested time—40 minutes.
(This question counts as one-third of the total essay section score.)
On February 27, 2013, while in office, former president Barack Obama delivered the following address dedicating the Rosa Parks statue in the National Statuary Hall of the United States Capitol building. Rosa Parks was an African American civil rights activist who was arrested in 1955 for refusing to give up her seat on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Read the passage carefully. Write an essay that analyzes the rhetorical choices Obama makes to convey his message.
In your response you should do the following:
- Respond to the prompt with a thesis that analyzes the writer’s rhetorical choices.
- Select and use evidence to support your line of reasoning.
- Explain how the evidence supports your line of reasoning.
- Demonstrate an understanding of the rhetorical situation.
- Use appropriate grammar and punctuation in communicating your argument.
AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example
In his speech delivered in 2013 at the dedication of Rosa Park’s statue, President Barack Obama acknowledges everything that Parks’ activism made possible in the United States. Telling the story of Parks’ life and achievements, Obama highlights the fact that Parks was a regular person whose actions accomplished enormous change during the civil rights era. Through the use of diction that portrays Parks as quiet and demure, long lists that emphasize the extent of her impacts, and Biblical references, Obama suggests that all of us are capable of achieving greater good, just as Parks did.
Although it might be a surprising way to start to his dedication, Obama begins his speech by telling us who Parks was not: “Rosa Parks held no elected office. She possessed no fortune” he explains in lines 1-2. Later, when he tells the story of the bus driver who threatened to have Parks arrested when she refused to get off the bus, he explains that Parks “simply replied, ‘You may do that’” (lines 22-23). Right away, he establishes that Parks was a regular person who did not hold a seat of power. Her protest on the bus was not part of a larger plan, it was a simple response. By emphasizing that Parks was not powerful, wealthy, or loud spoken, he implies that Parks’ style of activism is an everyday practice that all of us can aspire to.
AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example (Continued)
Even though Obama portrays Parks as a demure person whose protest came “simply” and naturally, he shows the importance of her activism through long lists of ripple effects. When Parks challenged her arrest, Obama explains, Martin Luther King, Jr. stood with her and “so did thousands of Montgomery, Alabama commuters” (lines 27-28). They began a boycott that included “teachers and laborers, clergy and domestics, through rain and cold and sweltering heat, day after day, week after week, month after month, walking miles if they had to…” (lines 28-31). In this section of the speech, Obama’s sentences grow longer and he uses lists to show that Parks’ small action impacted and inspired many others to fight for change. Further, listing out how many days, weeks, and months the boycott lasted shows how Parks’ single act of protest sparked a much longer push for change.
To further illustrate Parks’ impact, Obama incorporates Biblical references that emphasize the importance of “that single moment on the bus” (lines 57-58). In lines 33-35, Obama explains that Parks and the other protestors are “driven by a solemn determination to affirm their God-given dignity” and he also compares their victory to the fall the “ancient walls of Jericho” (line 43). By of including these Biblical references, Obama suggests that Parks’ action on the bus did more than correct personal or political wrongs; it also corrected moral and spiritual wrongs. Although Parks had no political power or fortune, she was able to restore a moral balance in our world.
Toward the end of the speech, Obama states that change happens “not mainly through the exploits of the famous and the powerful, but through the countless acts of often anonymous courage and kindness” (lines 78-81). Through carefully chosen diction that portrays her as a quiet, regular person and through lists and Biblical references that highlight the huge impacts of her action, Obama illustrates exactly this point. He wants us to see that, just like Parks, the small and meek can change the world for the better.
AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example: Why It Works
We would give the AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis essay above a score of 6 out of 6 because it fully satisfies the essay’s 3 rubric categories: Thesis, Evidence and Commentary, and Sophistication . Let’s break down what this student did:
The thesis of this essay appears in the last line of the first paragraph:
“ Through the use of diction that portrays Parks as quiet and demure, long lists that emphasize the extent of her impacts, and Biblical references, Obama suggests that all of us are capable of achieving greater good, just as Parks did .”
This student’s thesis works because they make a clear argument about Obama’s rhetorical choices. They 1) list the rhetorical choices that will be analyzed in the rest of the essay (the italicized text above) and 2) include an argument someone else might disagree with (the bolded text above).
Evidence and Commentary:
This student includes substantial evidence and commentary. Things they do right, per the AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis rubric:
- They include lots of specific evidence from the text in the form of quotes.
- They incorporate 3 different types of evidence (diction, long lists, Biblical references).
- After including evidence, they offer an interpretation of what the evidence means and explain how the evidence contributes to their overarching argument (aka their thesis).
Sophistication
This essay achieves sophistication according to the AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis essay rubric in a few key ways:
- This student provides an introduction that flows naturally into the topic their essay will discuss. Before they get to their thesis, they tell us that Obama portrays Parks as a “regular person” setting up their main argument: Obama wants all regular people to aspire to do good in the world just as Rosa Parks did.
- They organize evidence and commentary in a clear and cohesive way. Each body paragraph focuses on just one type of evidence.
- They explain how their evidence is significant. In the final sentence of each body paragraph, they draw a connection back to the overarching argument presented in the thesis.
- All their evidence supports the argument presented in their thesis. There is no extraneous evidence or misleading detail.
- They consider nuances in the text. Rather than taking the text at face value, they consider what Obama’s rhetorical choices imply and offer their own unique interpretation of those implications.
- In their final paragraph, they come full circle, reiterate their thesis, and explain what Obama’s rhetorical choices communicate to readers.
- Their sentences are clear and easy to read. There are no grammar errors or misused words.
AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Essay—More Resources
Looking for more tips to help your master your AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Essay? Brush up on 20 Rhetorical Devices High School Students Should Know and read our Tips for Improving Reading Comprehension . If you’re ready to start studying for another part of the AP English Exam, find more expert tips in our How to Write the AP Lang Synthesis blog post.
Considering what other AP classes to take? Read up on the Hardest AP Classes .
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Christina Wood holds a BA in Literature & Writing from UC San Diego, an MFA in Creative Writing from Washington University in St. Louis, and is currently a Doctoral Candidate in English at the University of Georgia, where she teaches creative writing and first-year composition courses. Christina has published fiction and nonfiction in numerous publications, including The Paris Review , McSweeney’s , Granta , Virginia Quarterly Review , The Sewanee Review , Mississippi Review , and Puerto del Sol , among others. Her story “The Astronaut” won the 2018 Shirley Jackson Award for short fiction and received a “Distinguished Stories” mention in the 2019 Best American Short Stories anthology.
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Rhetorical Analysis Essay
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How To Write A Rhetorical Analysis Essay That Stands Out
17 min read
Published on: Jul 17, 2020
Last updated on: Jan 29, 2024
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Are you struggling to write a compelling rhetorical analysis essay that captures your readers' attention?
Don't worry, you're not alone!
Crafting an effective analysis requires a deep understanding of rhetorical devices and techniques.
In this comprehensive guide, we will equip you with the essential knowledge of writing impactful rhetorical analysis essays.
By following our step-by-step approach you'll gain the skills needed to analyse texts, engage your audience, and leave a lasting impression.
Let's dive into the world of rhetorical analysis essays and embark on a transformative writing journey!
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What is a Rhetorical Analysis Essay?
Rhetorical analysis is a type of college essay in which the writer conducts a deep analysis of an object.
In this type of analysis, the object of analysis is mostly some kind of book, a movie, or any other type of creative work.
When it comes to rhetorical analysis, a writer picks a particular subject and analyzes its effects on the surroundings and the target audience.
It is important to mention that rhetorical analysis can be done on nearly anything that comes to your mind. Be it a billboard, a logo, a motto, or anything else you can think of.
What are the Five Rhetorical Situations?
The concept of the rhetorical situation is an essential aspect of rhetorical analysis. The following are the five rhetorical situations that you need to consider when analyzing a text:
- Audience : The audience refers to the individuals who receive the message. Understanding the audience's characteristics, values, and expectations is crucial in crafting persuasive communication that resonates with them.
- Purpose : The purpose is the reason why the communication is created. It could be to inform, entertain, persuade, or educate the audience.
- Speaker : The speaker is the person who creates or delivers the communication. The speaker's characteristics, such as their credibility, expertise, and reputation, play a significant role in how the audience perceives and responds to the message.
- Occasion : The occasion is the event or situation that prompts the creation of the communication. The occasion may affect the tone, language, and overall message of the communication.
- Context : The context is the broader environment that shapes the communication, including the cultural, social, political, and historical factors. Understanding the context helps you analyze how the message relates to larger societal issues and trends.
What are the Three Rhetorical Analysis Strategies?
There are three main methods of persuasion: ethos, pathos, and logos. To be successful in persuading someone, you need to understand how to use each of these methods.
- Ethos (Credibility)
Ethos focuses on the credibility and authority of the speaker or author. It involves evaluating their expertise, knowledge, experience, and reputation. By examining the speaker's ethos, you can assess how their credibility influences the audience's perception of the message.
Look for elements such as professional qualifications, personal anecdotes, or references to establish ethos.
- Pathos (Emotional Appeal)
Pathos involves appealing to the emotions and values of the audience. This strategy aims to evoke specific emotions, such as empathy, fear, joy, or anger, to create a connection with the audience. Analyze the use of vivid language, storytelling, imagery, personal anecdotes, or appeals to shared values and beliefs.
Consider how these emotional appeals impact the audience's engagement and response.
- Logos (Logical Reasoning)
Logos centers on logical reasoning and appeals to the audience's rationality and critical thinking. It involves analyzing the use of evidence, statistics, logical arguments, facts, and logical structures within the text.
Assess how the author or speaker supports their claims, presents a logical progression of ideas, and uses reasoning to persuade the audience.
Check out this blog on ethos, pathos, logos for dig deeper into these rhetorical strategies!
Rhetorical Analysis Essay Structure
Below is a rhetorical analysis essay structure for your help.
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How To Write a Rhetorical Analysis Essay?
Writing a rhetorical analysis essay may seem challenging at first, but with a systematic approach, you can effectively analyze and interpret a piece of rhetoric.
Here is a step-by-step guide to help you craft a successful rhetorical analysis essay.
Analyzing The Text
Before you directly hop on to write your rhetorical analysis essay, make sure that you follow some prewriting steps. These steps will make essay writing easy and less time-consuming.
Some simple pre-writing steps of such an essay are as follows:
- Identify your Target Audience
Identifying the audience is the most important factor for an essay. Identifying the audience allows the writer to write the essay according to the intellectual level of the intended audience.
If a writer writes the essay without knowing the audience, all the effort will go in vain as the audience will not understand the essay's purpose.
- The Subject of the Essay
Another important thing about a rhetorical analysis essay is identifying and analyzing the chosen subjectâs underlying meaning. A writer of this essay type should understand that message and explain it in a few words.
- Define Purpose
Defining the purpose of the rhetorical analysis essay provides logic to the reader for the essay. The writer explains the reason behind the composition and what made them choose a particular topic for an essay.
- Mention the Occasion
The occasion refers to the work and its setting. When analyzing the occasion, two approaches are used, i.e., micro view and macro view. Both these views are used to explain where the occasion took place.
- Identify the SOAPSTone
The SOAPSTone of a text includes its Speaker, Occasion, Audience, Purpose, Subject, and Tone. Further elaboration of SOAPSTone is as follows:
- Speaker: The speaker basically refers to the first and last name of the writer.
- Occasion: The occasion mostly refers to the type of text and the context under which the text was written.
- Audience: The audience is who the text was written for.
- Purpose: The purpose refers to what the writer wants to accomplish in the text.
- Subject: The subject is simply the topic the writer discusses in the text.
These were some basic pre-writing steps for a rhetorical analysis essay. Letâs move forward and see what steps we need to follow to write a good rhetorical analysis essay.
Rhetorical Analysis Essay Outline
An outline is an essential part of essay writing. It serves as a guide for the reader throughout the essay.
All the information you have gathered so far needs to be organized. A rhetorical analysis outline can help you in this regard.
A rhetorical analysis essay uses the typical 5-paragraph outline. It has the following elements:
- Introduction
- Body Paragraphs
- Conclusion
Let us see what elements are added in these five parts of a rhetorical analysis essay.
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Rhetorical Analysis Essay Introduction
The introduction is the first part of an essay. This part of the essay must be made as attractive as possible.
The reader can perceive the whole idea of the essay by just reading the introduction. This is why this part should be interesting, as well as expressive.
Essay introduction usually starts with a hook sentence. The hook sentence is an attention-grabbing sentence that can be a quotation, fact, or even a question.
The most important part of the essay, the thesis statement, is stated in this part. It is stated somewhere before the last sentence of the introduction.
Rhetorical Analysis Essay Body Paragraphs
Body paragraphs are the scene element in an outline and come after the introductory paragraph.
In these paragraphs, the writer elaborates on the key elements in detail. Usually, there are three body paragraphs in this type of academic essay.
Each body paragraph is written to explain a key element. All the facts and evidence the writer has collected for that point are also mentioned in that paragraph.
Keep in mind a topic sentence is used to start a paragraph. This sentence is just like a short introduction to the body paragraph. It gives the reader an idea about the element that will be discussed in the following paragraph.
Rhetorical Analysis Essay Conclusion
After all the information is mentioned in the body paragraphs, the reader expects to see how you represent your final analysis. The writer is supposed to give the final verdict in the last part, which is the conclusion.
The conclusion is the shortest but the most technical part of an essay. In this part, the entire essay is summarized in such a way that all the key elements are once again revised.
Also, the thesis statement is reiterated but uses more convincing words.
In a rhetorical analysis essay conclusion, it should be mentioned how the main argument is proved right. The writer also presents the impact of the authorâs work on the audience in the past paragraph.
Make sure to look at the example below for more information.
Rhetorical Analysis Essay Sample (PDF)
Rhetorical Analysis Essay Examples
To gain a better understanding of how to write a rhetorical analysis essay, it can be helpful to examine some examples. Here are a few notable examples that showcase the application of rhetorical analysis techniques:
Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example (PDF)
A visual rhetorical analysis essay document communicates primarily through images or the interaction of image and text.
Here is an example of such an essay.
Visual Rhetorical Essay Example (PDF)
H3- Rh etorical Analysis Essay Example: AP Language
Rhetorical analysis done in AP Language and Composition is one of the biggest tasks a student can ever get. There are some specific tips that you need to follow for this purpose. Those major tips are mentioned below:
- Understand the Prompt
It is a must for this type of essay to understand the prompt to know what the task demands from you.
- Stick to the Format
The content for the rhetorical analysis should be properly organized and structured. The rhetorical analysis essay outline divides all the information into different sections such as introduction, body, and conclusion.
Look at the example given below and see how a well-written rhetorical analysis essay is written for AP language.
AP Rhetorical Analysis Essay (PDF)
Letter from Birmingham Jail Rhetorical Analysis Essay (PDF)
AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Essay Rubric (PDF)
Rhetorical Analysis Essay Format (PDF)
Comparative Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example (PDF)
Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example High School (PDF)
Rhetorical Analysis Essay Topics
Writing an essay is easy, but finding a good topic to compose an essay on is the real deal. Similarly, writing a rhetorical analysis essay becomes very easy when a writer has a good topic in hand.
Here we have summed up some very good rhetorical analysis essay topics. One of them might help you to compose an impressive rhetorical analysis essay.
Easy Rhetorical Analysis Essay Topics
- âI Am Prepared to Dieâ by Nelson Mandela
- Nobel Peace Prize Speech by Malala Yousafzai
- The Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln
- âFull Power of Womenâ by Priyanka Chopra
- Emma Watsonâs speech on the Power of Women
- âIntegrityâ speech by Warren Buffet
- Freedom Speech from Braveheart
- Ending Scene from The Breakfast Club
- Maximusâ Speech to Commodus from Gladiator
- Oprahâs 2018 Golden Globes speech
High School Rhetorical Analysis Essay Topics
- Rhetorical Analysis of âThe Olympic Gamesâ
- âNFL And the Concussion Rulesâ
- BCS or Playoffs
- AAU or NBA; which team has more fan following?
- Rhetorical Analysis of âFootball World Cupâ
- Kobe Bryant or LeBron
- Rhetorical Analysis of Presidential Sports Encomia
- Rhetorical Analysis of Symbolic Power of Sports
- The communication between the players and a coach.
- Rhetorical Analysis of the use of steroids
College Rhetorical Analysis Essay Topics
- Importance of theme of hope in literature
- The fact does not support the rhetorical questions.
- A streetcar named desire.
- Conduct a rhetorical analysis of the Bible
- The key allegories are used in Daddy by Sylvia Plath.
- The absurdity of the Afterlife
- Do we laugh when someone tickles us?
- The year of magical thinking
- Rhetorical analysis of James Joyceâs Ulysses
- Analyze a piece of work from the Parks library
Tips to Write an Effective Rhetorical Analysis Essay
Writing a strong rhetorical analysis essay requires careful analysis, persuasive writing skills, and attention to detail.
Here are five tips to help you write an effective essay:
- Analyze the Rhetorical Situation
Before diving into the analysis, thoroughly understand the rhetorical situation. Consider the author, audience, purpose, and context of the text. This understanding will shape your analysis and help you identify the most relevant rhetorical devices.
- Focus on Key Rhetorical Devices
Identify and analyze the key rhetorical devices used in the text. Look for devices such as ethos, logos, pathos, rhetorical questions, metaphors, and analogies. Discuss how these devices contribute to the author's persuasive techniques and the overall effectiveness of the text.
- Provide Strong Evidence
Back up your analysis with strong evidence from the text. Quote specific passages, examples, or statistics to support your claims. Ensure that your evidence directly relates to the rhetorical devices and strategies you are discussing.
- Consider the Impact on the Audience
Evaluate how the rhetorical devices and strategies used in the text affect the target audience. Discuss the emotional, logical, and ethical appeals created by these devices and their potential influence on the readers or listeners.
- Structure and Coherence
Organize your essay in a logical and coherent manner. Use a clear introduction that provides context and presents your thesis statement. Develop body paragraphs that focus on specific rhetorical devices, supporting your analysis with evidence.
Common Pitfalls to Avoid While Writing a Rhetorical Analysis Essay
Writing a rhetorical analysis essay requires careful attention to detail and critical thinking. To ensure a successful essay, be mindful of these common pitfalls and avoid them:
- Summarizing Instead of Analyzing
One of the main pitfalls is falling into the trap of summarizing the text instead of analyzing it. Remember that your task is to dissect the rhetorical devices and strategies used by the author, not simply summarize the content of the text.
- Neglecting the Rhetorical Context
Failing to consider the rhetorical context of the text can weaken your analysis. Always take into account the author's purpose, intended audience, and the social, historical, or cultural context in which the text was produced.
- Lack of Focus
Stay focused on the main argument or thesis of your essay. Avoid going off on tangents or including irrelevant information. Every point you make should directly support your thesis and contribute to the overall analysis.
- Insufficient Evidence and Examples
To strengthen your analysis, provide ample evidence and examples from the text. Merely stating your interpretation is not enough; you need to back it up with specific quotes, examples, or references.
Overgeneralizing or Oversimplifying
Be cautious of overgeneralizing or oversimplifying the author's intent or the impact of rhetorical devices. Avoid making broad statements without proper evidence or disregarding the complexity of the text.
- Lack of Structure and Coherence
A poorly structured essay can undermine the effectiveness of your analysis. Ensure that your essay has a clear introduction, well-developed body paragraphs, and a concise conclusion.
- Neglecting Revision and Proofreading
Failing to revise and proofread your essay can lead to errors and inconsistencies. Take the time to review your essay, checking for grammar, spelling, and punctuation mistakes.
In conclusion, mastering the art of writing a rhetorical analysis essay can open doors to a deeper understanding of persuasive communication.
By following the outlined structure and incorporating the provided tips, you can confidently navigate the process and produce a compelling essay.
Now that you have a solid understanding of rhetorical analysis, it's time to put your knowledge into practice.
If you need assistance with your college essays or any other academic writing, consider trying our AI writing tool .
Our writing service consists of experienced writers who can provide professional essay help .
Visit our rhetorical analysis essay writing service today and take the first step towards academic success.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the elements of a rhetorical analysis.
The main elements of a rhetorical analysis essay are:
- Situation
- Audience
- Purpose
- Medium
- Context
How do you end a rhetorical analysis essay?
Here are some ways that help you to end the rhetorical analysis essay.
- Summarize the entire essay.
- Restate the thesis statement.
- Focus on the main ideas.
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A rhetorical analysis is a type of essay that looks at a text in terms of rhetoric. This means it is less concerned with what the author is saying than with how they say it: their goals, techniques, and appeals to the audience. A rhetorical analysis is structured similarly to other essays: an introduction presenting the thesis, a body analyzing ...
Rhetorical analysis essays are a type of academic writing where students analyze the strategies used by authors to persuade their audience. These essays typically focus on examining the appeals (ethos, logos, pathos), tone, structure, and writing style of a text to understand how the author conveys their message. To write a successful ...
5. State your thesis. Now that you've completed your analysis of the material, try to summarize it into one clear, concise thesis statement that will form the foundation of your essay. Your thesis statement should summarize: 1) the argument or purpose of the speaker; 2) the methods the speaker uses; and 3) the effectiveness of those methods ...
Rhetorical appeal #2: Pathos. The purpose of Pathos-driven rhetoric is to appeal to the reader's emotions. A common example of pathos as a rhetorical means is adverts by charities that try to make you donate money to a "good cause". To evoke the intended emotions in the reader, an author may use passionate language, tell personal stories ...
Name the author of the text and the title of their work followed by the date in parentheses. Use a verb to describe what the author does, e.g. "implies," "asserts," or "claims". Briefly summarize the text in your own words. Mention the persuasive techniques used by the rhetor and its effect.
Step 2: MAD TO WRITE! Follow this process to prepare for any timed rhetorical analysis essay. Some of this is redundant, but this portion has more to do with the actual process of writing an essay, whereas the previous questions are part of simply gaining full comprehension of the text. Main ideas - read to determine what points the speaker makes
In a rhetorical analysis essay, a writer will examine the rhetoric and style of another author's work. If you want to write your own rhetorical analysis essay, we've developed a step-by-step guide to lead you through the process. Get 50% off this Labor Day. Get 50% off this Labor Day.
Step 1: Plan and prepare. With a rhetorical analysis, you don't choose concepts in advance and apply them to a specific text or piece of content. Rather, you'll have to analyze the text to identify the separate components and plan and prepare your analysis accordingly. Here, it might be helpful to use the SOAPSTone technique to identify the ...
Rhetorical Analysis. Rhetoric is the study of how writers and speakers use words to influence an audience. A rhetorical analysis is an essay that breaks a work of non-fiction into parts and then explains how the parts work together to create a certain effect—whether to persuade, entertain or inform. You can also conduct a rhetorical analysis ...
Learn what a rhetorical analysis essay is. Learn how to write a rhetorical analysis essay and get an example of a rhetorical analysis essay outline.
18.List three rhetorical devices used by the writer that you feel comfortable writing about and that provide you with ample material to use in your essay. In your list, name the device, include the quotation in which the device is used, and the page number or paragraph number. 19.Evaluate the text. Form an opinion.
Rhetorical analysis separates a work of non-fiction into manageable parts and then demonstrates how these parts together create a persuasive argument. When writing a rhetorical analysis you are NOT summarizing a text NOR are writing whether you agree with the author or not. A rhetorical analysis is writing about HOW the author makes his/her ...
Like most essays, rhetorical analyses are divided into three main parts. Introduction: The essay begins with a quick introduction to the text, its claim/purpose, its intended audience, and the author. The rhetorical situation or the context of the text is also included here. The writer maintains objectivity when speaking about the text's content.
Recognize the goals and intentions of the speaker or author. Analyze the rhetorical strategies employed to convey meaning. Evaluate the effectiveness of those strategies in achieving the intended purpose. Develop and present a well-structured argument based on the analysis.
Rhetorical Analysis Purpose. ... Go beyond restating your thesis; comment on the effect or significance of the entire essay. Make a statement about how important rhetorical strategies are in determining the effectiveness of an argument or text. Analyzing Visual Arguments. The same rhetorical elements and appeals used to analyze written texts ...
There may be a temptation to think that merely announcing the text as a rhetorical analysis is purpose enough. However, especially depending on your essay's length, your reader may need a more direct and clear statement of your intentions. Below are a few examples. 1. Clearly narrow the focus of what your essay will cover.
Evaluate Tone and Diction: Pay attention to the author's tone and word choice. Analyze how these elements contribute to the overall mood of the text. Probe Ethos, Pathos, Logos: Explore how the author establishes credibility (ethos), evokes emotions (pathos), and employs logic (logos) to sway the audience.
The purpose refers to what the writer wants to accomplish in the text. It usually includes selling a product or point of view. The subject is simply the topic the writer discusses in the text. 2. Examine the appeals. Appeals are the first classification of rhetorical strategy and involve the ethos, logos, and pathos.
writer's position/issue, or explaining the issue. Instead, you are analyzing how the writer i. s in Creating a Rhetorical AnalysisPa. 1: AnalyzePick your text and read it thoroughly. Determine the speaker, audience, purpose, & genre.The spea. er refers to the first and last name of the writer. If the writer has credentials that len.
The AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Essay is one of three essays included in the written portion of the AP English Exam. The full AP English Exam is 3 hours and 15 minutes long, with the first 60 minutes dedicated to multiple-choice questions. Once you complete the multiple-choice section, you move on to three equally weighted essays that ask you ...
Follow these steps when writing your rhetorical analysis essay: 1. Gather information. Use the SOAPSTone technique to identify the components of the work and plan your analysis. SOAPSTone is an acronym commonly used in literary analysis that stands for Speaker, Occasion, Audience, Purpose, Subject, Tone. 2.
A rhetorical analysis essay is organized very similarly to other essays. It should include an introduction, body, and conclusion. The introduction should tell your readers what you will be doing in your essay, provide relevant background information, and present your thesis statement. The body is where you provide analysis of how the author ...
Writing an essay is easy, but finding a good topic to compose an essay on is the real deal. Similarly, writing a rhetorical analysis essay becomes very easy when a writer has a good topic in hand. Here we have summed up some very good rhetorical analysis essay topics. One of them might help you to compose an impressive rhetorical analysis essay.