Rhetorical Analysis Essay What is a Rhetorical Analysis? To begin, let us define what a rhetorical..

Rhetorical Analysis Essay

What is a Rhetorical Analysis?

To begin, let us define what a rhetorical analysis is NOT. A rhetorical analysis is not merely a summary of a scholarly article. Instead, a rhetorical analysis requires you to apply your critical reading skills in order to “break down” a text. In essence, you break off the “parts” from the “whole” of the piece you’re analyzing. The goal of a rhetorical analysis is to articulate HOW the author writes, rather than WHAT they actually wrote. To do this, you will analyze the rhetorical strategies the author uses to achieve his or her goal or purpose of writing their piece. You will also determine whether or not those strategies were effective and why.

The overall purpose of this paper is to show your analysis and evaluation of an author’s ideas and writing strategies. Choose ONE text that hasanat the center of it. Provide an explanation of the issue and a detailed summary of the article early on to orient your reader, but the majority of the paper should focus on an in-depth rhetorical analysis, which should include your judgment about whether or not the article’s argument was effective, as well as your own responses to the writer’s claims.

Considerations for Reading What is the thesis, what is the overall argument the author presents? What did the author choose to study? Why? What is the writer’s purpose? To inform? To persuade? To criticize? Who is the author’s intended audience? How does the writer arrange his or her ideas? Chronologically? How does the writer use diction? (Word choice, arrangement, accuracy, is it formal, informal? Technical versus slang?) Does the writer use dialogue? Quotations? Why? Are important terms repeated? What is the sentence structure of text? Are there fragments, run ons? Is it declarative, imperative, exclamatory? What effect does this have? Does the writer use punctuation to create an effect? Italics, underlining, parentheses? Which marks does the writer use, and when?

Considerations for Writing 

So, you’ve analyzed your article, answered the questions above, and identified the rhetorical strategies the author uses. Now what? First, you’ll need to come up with your own thesis for your rhetorical analysis. What point do you want to make about the author’s rhetorical choices? Do the author’s rhetorical strategies make his/her article a strong argument? A weak one? After identifying your thesis, try to arrange the rhetorical strategies you’ve identified in a logical way. For example, you could start by identifying the purpose of the intended audience and why the author chose to write about their topic. Next, you could identify specific stylistic choices, such as word choice, formal/informal language, etc. The idea is to logically transition from analyzing one rhetorical strategy to another. Stay on topic with the strategies that the author uses often and actually has a purpose for using. With each point you make, have a strong topic sentence declaring the overall purpose of the rhetorical strategies you are about to discuss. This will help identify the argument you are making, transition your ideas, and add fluidity. Keep in mind that while authors use different strategies to achieve their purposes, you also need to be making points and evaluations about these strategies, not simply summarizing them. For example, instead of simply stating the author uses formal language in his essay, state what effect is created by using formal language. By doing this you are not only identifying the rhetorical strategy, by analyzing its purpose. As with all academic writing, check for grammar, transitional ease, fluidity, and a logical argument. Proofread, proofread, proofread!

A Successful Rhetorical Analysis Essay Provides a concise and accurate summary of the article early on to orient reader Has a thesis that makes an evaluative judgment about the effectiveness of the author’s argument Offers strong support for its thesis by using specific details and critical analysis of how the author effectively or ineffectively supports his or her argument Uses analytical tools appropriate to the argument he or she is evaluating Paraphrases and integrates quotations from the article effectively, smoothly, and ethically through appropriate signal phrases and parenthetical citations in MLA style Uses third-person voice to analyze the article, not first- or second-person voices