Rhetorical Analysis

Understanding a Rhetorical Analysis

Essay

A rhetorical analysis essay is a form of essay that breaks

down a particular piece of content into parts to unveil the
rhetorical analysis

Task of the essay is to analyze the methods employs in

his writing to convey his attitude, his opinion, or his
conviction about some topic.
 How to prepare a rhetorical
analysis essay
ASK yourself the following questions:

what did the author/speaker intend to say through the text or speech?

what was the core purpose of the text?

what result was expected by the author/speaker?

How does he/she tailor his/her message to the audience?

What choices does the author make to achieve his/her purpose?

 procedures for A Rhetorical Analysis
Essay
Read and analyze the prompt

Read the passage for the first time

Read the passage for the second

time and identify key rhetorical
choices

Develop the outline for the

rhetorical analysis essay
Rhetorical Analysis Essay – Prompt Wording
 Rhetorical Analysis Essay – Prompt Wording

[background on the rhetorical situation]. Read the

passage carefully. Write an essay that analyzes the
rhetorical choices [the writer] makes to [develop /
achieve / convey] [his/her] [argument ... / purpose ... /
message ...]
 Scoring Rubrics

1+4+1

Defensible thesis + Claim and Evidence + Sophistication

 scoring rubrics


 Scoring Rubrics


scoring rubrics
Prompt Analysis
 Approaching the prompt
Annotate the prompt. Identify any provided information
about the rhetorical situation.
Writer or speaker (and their credentials)

Audience (typically directly stated for speeches and letters)

Passage type (letter, speech, article, etc)

Types of speeches: conventions, commencement speech, eulogy, inaugural address, state of

union, etc
 Approaching the prompt

Context and / or Exigence

Be mindful of dates

Is the passage in response to an event? Was the person invited to speak?

Purpose, Message, or Argument

This may be included (or hinted at) in the prompt, but students will need to “dig deeped” as they

read the passage

Passage Annotation
 Annotate the passage
Depending on the situation and your preference,
annotate on the prompt or a separate doc/piece of paper

Look for rhetorical choices

Use rhetorically accurate verbs in your annotations and try to connect to the

rhetorical situation as well

 Annotate the passage
Note the strategy or choice in the margins. Use
abbreviations to save time and space

Underline or circular important words or phrases that can

be used as evidence. Don’t underline or circular too much

Write a bullet point summary of each paragraph so you

remember what you read and remain engaged with the text.
Divide the passage into sections

The major “movements” of a piece commonly include:

Establishing an argument

Developing an argument

Concluding an argument
Follow the line of
reasoning
 the Line of Reasoning
Divide the passage into sections. Look for “Movements” in the passage, such as shifts in topic,
choice or tone.

tips: authors create a line of reasoning in their writing. Rather than treating rhetorical analysis as a scavenger hunt

looking for particular choices throughout the passage, look at how the author structures the passage. The author

makes choices in a particular order to achieve a purpose, convey a message, or develop an argument. Follow the

author’s line of reasoning (logical progression of ideas) and ask yourself what he/she is doing in each section or

chunk.

Do not actually reference “sections” or “chunks” in your essay. You can say begins, continues, furthers, develops,

concludes, etc.
 choose your main points

What major strategy or choice does the writer use in the

beginning? The middle? The end?

Which other strategies are working?

 two writing modes

Chronological-driven

Devices-driven
 two writing modes

Device-driven: finding rhetorical devices or choices

throughout the text and grouping them as evidence in
one paragraph

Chronological: following the writer’s line of reasoning

and dividing the passage into sectons, noting the major
purpose or choice of each section
outline planning
 create an outline
Make a plan before you write. For a timed essay, this can
be a quick plan, but you should have a plan nonetheless

Defensible Thesis

Claims in each body

Evidence

Commentary
 create an outline
What is the main idea / focus of your paragraph? Create a claim

What evidence best proves this claim?

Why does the author make this choice for this audience on this
occasion? How does this help him/her convey a message / achieve a
purpose, or develop an argument?

Aim for multiple “layers” of evidence and commentary to develop your

argument

Aim for more commentary than evidence

Introduction
 Compose the Introduction

Start with context. You can use info from the passage or
prompt but write it in your own words. Think about the
big picture.

Defensible thesis. Make sure you include specific

choices and the purpose / argument / message
Tip: try to include rhetorically accurate verbs instead of nouns
thesis statement sentence frame
In SPEAKER / WRITER’s (tone) speech / letter / article
(to AUDIENCE), she uses ... and ... to PURPOSE

NOTE: saying “uses” and then a device (noun) is rather

simple. However, this sentence frame can lead to a
defensible thesis. Once you understand this style of
writing a thesis statement, practice writing some of the
more advanced thesis statement
In a (tone) speech to AUDIENCE, (descrptor) SPEAKER argues
(specific argument) by (-ing form of choice verb with specifics) and
(-ing form of choice verb with specifics), ultimately moving the
AUDIENCE to ....

In SPEAKER’S (tone) speech to AUDIENCE, he/she establishes

his/her argument (state specific argument) by (-ing form of choice
verb), he/she then develops his/her argument by (-ing form of
choice verb) to ..., and ultimately concludes his.her speech by (-ing
form of choice verb with specifics about argument and/or purpose).
 sentence examples

In his patriotic speech to a joint session of Congress and

the American public (via radio) President Roosevelt
creates a common enemy and asserts his confidence in
an American victory in order to convince Congress to
declare war on Japan
 Introduction checklist
Do I highlight specific elements of the rhetorical situation?

Relevant historical context and/or exigence

Speaker’s full name when used the first time (and credentials if known)

Specific audience (if applicable)

Type of passage

Specific message, argument, and/or purpose

Do I clearly identify rhetorical choices?

Body Paragraphs
Structure for Body Paragraphs

Topic Sentence + Evidence 1 + Commentary + Evidence

2 + Commentary
 selecting evidence

1 Evidence can be used in the form of a direct quote or

paraphrase

Avoid lengthy quotes , as they are not in your voice and

tend to detract from the flow of the essay
 embedding evidence

Embeding quotes into a sentence

Example: By juxtaposing “work” and “sleep”,Kelly highlights how her audience

enjoys a luxurious, peaceful life while children slave away in factories

 Developing Commentary

Commentary helps create a line of reasoning by

explaining how the evidence proves the thesis
 developing commentary
analyze “why” and “how”

Why does the author use this strategy? How does it

impact the audience? How does this strategy help the
author develop his/her argument or achieve his/her
purpose?

Use verbs such as “highlights”, “demonstrates”,

“illustrates”
 creating a line of reasoning
Include transitions in between layers of evidence in a
paragraph.

Use the topic sentence of body paragraph 2 (and 3 if

applicable) to create a “bridge” between paragraphs
Avoid: another choice the writer makes is ...

Try this: having already established (main idea of previous paragraph), WRITER

develops his/her argument / message by (main idea current paragraph)

conclusion
 conclusion

Restate your thesis but in different words if you are

worried it was not defensible the first time

Try to situate the issue in a broader context