RHETORICAL Introduction to analytical methods

ANALYSIS
RHETORICAL ANALYSIS IS
NOT:
- reading a text and merely restating the topic
- viewing an image and summarizing what you see
- merely stating your own opinion on the topic
- identifying individual rhetorical devices without linking
them to the purpose of the text. (I.e. “This is an example
of pathos because it pulls at our emotions…”)
RHETORICAL ANALYSIS:
- involves looking how all the little parts contribute to the
effectiveness of the author’s purpose
- requires you to focus on what happens behind the scenes
of arguments
- allows you to comment on specific features that make the
text effective in achieving its goal.
SPEAKER
- Who wrote this?
- What do we know about him or her? (Think of the
author’s experiences, his / her authority on the subject,
potential bias, etc.)
- What don’t we know about him / her? (Sometimes what
we don’t know could be equally important.)
Does this text have a specific meaning because of its
author?
PURPOSE
- What is the writer / speaker hoping to accomplish by
communicating this to an audience?
Example - Is the purpose:
- to inform
- to inspire
- to persuade
- to convince / call to action
- to entertain, etc.
** Remember that the main idea or thesis is not the same
as the purpose
 AUDIENCE
- Who was the audience for this piece? Was that the intended audience?
- What did the writer / speaker / artist assume about the audience? How
do these assumptions impact the text?
Consider:
- How much does the audience know about the subject?
- Is the audience likely to support or oppose the speaker / author’s
message? (consider religion, political views, class, race, etc.)
- What type of language should be used for the audience? (format,
informal, simple, sophisticated, etc.)
CONTEXT
- What was happening in the world when this text was
produced?
- What were the biggest issues on the author’s mind at the
time and is the author addressing these issues directly or
indirectly?
- How would this same text be received differently by a
different audience or in a different time?
Example: Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech or
“Letter from Birmingham Jail” are key texts in the Civil Rights
movement.
EXIGENCE
- Why did the author write this NOW?
- What was the spark or catalyst that moved the writer or
speaker to act?
(This is linked to context, but it is more specific. It shows
the urgency in communicating the idea. Why is this text
needed now? Why is it important? How is this a pressing
issue?)
Example: George W. Bush’s 9/11 speech was needed at that specific time.
The country was in deep shock and mourning, and needed an authority
figure like the president to reassure them. This was important at that
moment – it could not have waited a day.
CHOICES
- What rhetorical choices does the author make?
(Examples: personal anecdote, concession, emotional
appeal, humor, facts / statistics, description, call to action,
etc.)
- What are the rhetorical reasons behind these choices?
(Example: “The author begins in a personal anecdote in order to…”)
APPEALS
- Appeal to logic / facts (logos)
- Appeal to authority / character (ethos)
- Appeal to emotion (pathos)
TONE
- What is the author’s attitude toward the subject?
How do you know what his / her attitude is? Where is the
evidence?
- Does the tone shift? When? Why?
(Example – a eulogy may use a variety of tones: a light-hearted
tone in sharing stories about the deceased, tone of mourning, tone
of comfort, tone of inspiration, etc.)