Essay 2: Rhetorical Analysis

Essay Due: Saturday, Oct 24, 10pm

Word Count Requirement: Between 1200-1400

A rhetorical analysis explores how the author/text/film attempts to persuade an audience. Most of
you have already explored in Essay 1 how a social media application persuades its users to keep
returning through the various strategies it uses to hold your attention. For a film, these strategies
would be different but the messaging is nevertheless geared towards an audience. Overall you
might find it easier to generate an argumentative stance for a documentary but even with a
fictional story/fantasy like Wall-E, there are many ways to analyze symbols, representations in
the film, and strategies.
The goal of this analysis is twofold: one, identify and explain an argument that the film is
making, and two, provide your own argument about that argument.

You will cite specific evidence (entire scenes or shots/stills) from the film to establish a thesis
about the rhetoric of the film. Here are few guiding questions:

 Who is the primary audience of the film/documentary?

 What is this film’s purpose? What central theme does it respond to or address?
 If you’re reviewing a documentary, has the director/narrator/featured artist presented
information from both sides of the argument? If so, has both sides or many perspectives
been represented fairly? Is there bias in their presentation of information? What could the
presenter do differently in providing information to audiences?
 What is the primary mode of appeal used to persuade audiences: ethos, pathos, or logos? Is
this mode effective or do you find it repetitive? Why?
 As the reviewer, are you persuaded by the argument and will now think differently about
the topic?
 Your argument can involve a number of sub-arguments –mini-theses you prove to prove
your larger argument true. For example, if your thesis was that the author’s presumption
that the world will soon face a “clash of civilizations” is flawed because the film/director
inadequately specifies their key concept, civilizations, you might prove this by identifying
how the film’s examples do not meet the example of civilizations.

File Format: Google Document. I’ll be setting up a drive where you can upload your paper. I’m
choosing this option so that you could copy paste screenshots from relevant scenes in your
essay when you are talking about a scene or describing this particular shot in relation to your
theme/argument. Save file as FirstName_LastName_Essay2

How to cite: https://www.scribbr.com/mla/how-to-cite-a-movie/

Please ensure you have a Works Cited page at the end, which is where you will cite the film.
You will also cite the timestamps of the relevant shots you are analyzing.

Examples of Film analysis

1. Purdue Film Analysis Example
2. http://www.horrorhomeroom.com/tag/features/ Most of them are reviews rather than analysis
but this is a good source to gain a flexible vocabulary in describing scenes.