Rhetorical Analysis Notes 

• Rhetoric - language used to persuade, to entertain, and to inform 

• Construct meaning fo a specific purpose 

  • Using language to construct meaning 

  • Basic block of speaking and writing 

• Rhetorical Device - singular device 

  • Anything (honestly, anything at all!!!) that a speaker USES to construct meaning 

  • ALWAYS be Nouns 

  • The image pattern

• Rhetorical strategy - the intent of utilizing the rhetorical strategies 

  • Anything a speaker DOES to construct meaning 

  • Based on verbs 

  • How the author repeats an image pattern

• Purpose - what the author wants to achieve 

  • What the audience is supposed to understand and do  after experiencing the discourse 

• NEVER USE IN RHETORICAL ANALYSIS

  • Shows 

  • Ethos 

  • Pathos 

  • Logos 

• Writing a Rhetorical Analysis

  • Writing that separates the content (what the passage is about) from the methods (rhetorical strategies) used to successfully convey that content 

  • Use content to drive analysis 

  • Prompt offers an effect; answer should identify and discuss rhetorical techniques used to create the effect 

    • Ex: Florence Kelly brings to light child labor 

      • How: she uses examples, statistics, and emotional language 

    • 50-40-30 - synthesis, rhetorical analysis, and argumentative 

  • Sample prompt 

    • T - “The Plastic Pink flamingo: A Natural History”

    • A - Jennifer Price

    • G - Essay

    • Exigence or background - about the 1950s, the popularity of the plastic pink flamingo in the 1950s

    • Command: analyze (always)

    • Conquer question - “What is Price’s view of United States culture?” 

  • Another sample prompt 

    • T - Abigail Adams letter to her son

    • A - Abigail Adams 

    • G - Letter

    • Exigence - 1744-1818, a U.S diplomat at the time, 1744-1818, father becomes 2nd president 

    • Command - analyze

    • Conquer question: what is adams advising her son

  • Rhetorical Techniques

    • Effective use of words to persuade or influence 

    • Includes ethos, logos and pathos 

    • Includes FIDDS - figurative language, imagery, diction (tone), details, structure (syntax), etc. 

    • anything that constructs meaning can be a technique 

    • Fig. language is always attached to some verb 

      • Ex. when talking about personification, u can say “personifies” 

      • Metaphor - “compares”

      • Hyperbole - exaggerates 

      • Anything used to deliberately create effect 

      • Verb attached to technique 

      • Think what the author is doing  

      • What does the author use and do to create purpose 

    • Rhetorical Analysis = Why, How, So What 

      • How = What techniques does the writer choose to present the material?

      • Why = Are the choices effective and appropriate for the intended audience?

      • So what = what is accomplished or created?

      • Rhetorical strategies - verbs 

      • Rhetorical techniques and devices - nouns 

      • If you don’t do this, you don’t have analysis 

    • Things you must know in order to accurately analyze a text 

      • 1. SOAPS 

      • 2. Rhetorical Strategies - What is the author doing (verbs) to create meaning?

      • 3. Rhetorical Devices - What tools is the author using (noun) to create meaning?

        • Appeals (ethos, logos, pathos)

        • Style (diction, syntax, details, imagery, tone, etc.)

      • Intro is made up of soaps and no more than 4 or 5 sentences 

        • Ex in rhetorical analysis - the author describes….

        • Ex. allusions, Stanton alludes to the Declaration of Ind. to connect the idea of patriotism to misogyny treatment of women 

      • you get 15 min on top of 50-40-30 

      • 9 min for synthesis 

      • 5 min for rhetorical 

      • 1 min on arg. 

    • Things you must know in order to accurately analyze a text:

    • 4. Why did the author choose these strategies/devices? For the particular audience, occasion, and/or purpose 

      • This the analysis part! Without this, you are merely summarizing the text 

      • Think about these questions 

      • 1. How do the rhetorical strategies/devices help the author achieve his.her purpose?

      • Why does the author choose those strategies/devices for that particular audience and for that particular occasion?

      • No laundry list 

    • Poor papers are easy to spot: five paragraphs. Introduction with thesis. Three body paragraphs, each about one rhetorical strategy. And

    • A bad paper has only 1 rhetorical strategy and a conclusion that summarizes

    • The formula for a low-scoring paper 

      • The writer wants his audience to think he’s right. To do this, he uses diction, selection of detail, and figurative language 

      • The writer uses diction when…

      • The writer uses selection of detail when…

      • The writer uses figurative language to 

      • In conclusion, by using diction, selection of detail, and figurative language, the writer convinces the audience to think he’s right 

    • Introduction

    • Put SOAPS in your introduction and follow this format 

      • Speaker, occasion, and subject 

      • (writer’s credentials,), (writer’s first and last name), in his/her (type of text), (title of text), (strong verb-see handout) (writer’s subject)

      • Purpose - (Writer’s last name)’s purpose is to (what the writer does in the text)

      • Audience 

      • Thesis

      • Message - what he is saying 

      • Purpose - why he’s saying it 

  • How do I write a Thesis for a Rhetorical Analysis

    • The authors name + an adjective (sophisticated, carefully crafted, flashy, inventive) + the rhetorical strategies (three specific rhetorical strategies used as topics of body paragraphs) + a strong verb (demonstrates, creates, emphasizes, generates, fulfills) + the function (what the rhetoric does for the piece)

      • Throughout the her epistle to her traveling son, John Quincy Adams (JQA), Abigail Adams--a future first lady and historical icon--exposes his naivete, references enriching metaphors, and provide examples of honorable role models in order to remind him of his privileged position in life and subsequently prompt him to seek the personal value of his advantageous trip

        • Writing about what the writer does 

    • In the (Genre)(Title)____, (Contextual Information about Author and/or Text) (Author’s Name) (Rhetorical Strategy 1), (Rhetorical Strategy 2), (Rhetorical Strategy 3) in order to (Answer to Conquer Question)

      • In Act II.ii of Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeare, Portia--Brutus’s Wife--embraces a submissive postures and demand their relationship in order to get him to feel pity and guilt towards her, ultimately prompting him to reveal his troubles 

• Synthesis has the longest intro 

• Rhetorical analysis intro should be at least 3-4 sentences 

• Body 

  • This is the analysis part! This is where you include a detailed explanation of the strategies used by the writer 

  • When writing an analysis, work chronologically through the text.

    • Start at the beginning of the text and work your way through it by discussing what the writer is saying ad the effectiveness of the strategies he/she is using at the beginning, middle, and end of the text

  • Sometimes this means that you will:

    • Discuss each paragraph (one at a time) or 

    • Divide the text into sections and discuss the beginning, middle, and end of the text

    • Divide the text into sections and discuss the beginning, middle, and end of the text

    • Whether you discuss each paragraph or each section depends on the length and organization of the text itself 

    • Ex. Kincaid compares England (beginning - compared england to jerusalem) (end - compares England to city dump) - bring it back to original and talk about the shift 

  • Every analysis paragraph MUST:

    • Find the STRONGEST rhetorical strategy 

    • Identify the part of the text you are analyzing by using transition words and strong verbs to explain what is being said 

    • Identify the STRONGEST RHETORICAL STRATEGIES used in that particular section. This includes integration specific text examples (exact words from the text) into your own words. Do NOT try to discuss every strategy the writer uses; pick the strongest!

    • Clearly and specifically explain how the rhetorical strategies/devices are used to help the writer achieve his purpose and reach his audience 

    • The above items must be woven together seamlessly into one sophisticated paragraph 

  • A well-developed body paragraph should consist of an assertion, text evidence, and analysis/commentary

    • 1. Assertion: a particular insight you have about how the author expresses his/her purpose 

    • 2. Textual evidence: quotations or paraphrase from the text 

    • 3. Analysis: further explanation and elaboration of the assertion. Analysis, along with your assertion, is a crucial element in each paragraph. In analysis, you explore the possibilities which connect your textual evidence to the author’s meaning. This is the place to be creative, to allow your mind to forge new ideas which express the author’s intent in using a particular rhetorical device

    • What the author is doing is the argument 

    • Talk about the text in terms of what they are doing 

      • Laundry listing is only okay if ur staring at prompt and you don't know what to do 

    • Do not use whole lines

    • Use snippets of text 

    • Format and example    

      • 1. The first sentence is topic 

      • Identifies section of text you are discussing, rhetorical strategies you are discussing and how it relates to essay’s purpose 

      • (Writer’s last name) his/her (type of text) by (strong verb) that (main idea of this section of the text).

      • Ex. In his speech regarding the Challenger tragedy, Reagan employs sympathy in order to both comfort the nation and memorialize the astronauts 

      • Ex. 2  - Reagan begins his tribute to the Challenger astronauts by acknowledging that the shuttle accident has appropriately postponed his planned State of the Union address and by expressing the depth of his and his wife’s personal grief 

      • Ex. Benjamin Banneker’s letter to Jefferson implores that Jefferson reconsiders his views on slavery and abolish them immediately. He begins by… and talk about how he does that 

    • 2. The second sentence conveys writer’s support for the assertion made in topic sentence by identifying and providing specific textual support (This sentence is repeated if you want to discuss more than one tool used to support the rhetorical strategy)

      • Ex. He appeals to the mournful emotions of the audience by admitting that he and Nancy are “pained to the core.” that today is rightfully a “day for mourning and remembering,” and that the accident is “truly a national loss”.

        • Uses small snippets of evidence 

        • Follow negative connotation 

  • 3. Third sentence explains HOW the rhetorical strategies and tools discussed in previous sentences help writer achieve his purpose 

    • Ex. He joins in the time of mourning in order to unify the nation and humbly admit that “we share this pain with all of the people of our country”

    • Continuing what happened and why 

    • Why = wants to unify the nation

  • 4. Fourth sentence identifies the effect the writer’s use of these rhetorical strategies has on the audience 

    • Ex. this outpouring of emotion from the presidency conveys a calming tone that reassures the Nation that their grief is both understandable and proper 

    • Sentence structure and allusions

  • 5. The fifth sentence is a transition into the next piece of textual evidence 

    • Another way that Reagan appeals to the emotion (name the emotion) of the audience is through his praise of the astronauts 

  • 6. The sixth sentence introduces and identifies the next piece of textual evidence 

    • He describes them as “daring and brave” and asserts that they “honored us by the manner in which they lived their lives”

      • Asserts = active verbs

    • 7-8 the seventh and eighth sentence(s) explain how the rhetorical strategies you discussed in the previous sentences to help the writer achieve his purpose

    • You can’t write the rhetorical analysis without the rhetoric 

      • Reagan praises the astronauts in order to comfort the nation and assure them that this “national loss,” while tragic, will be forever remembered, and that the astronauts were “pioneers” who met a challenge “with joy”. 

    • The final sentence ties all o the analysis back to the purpose/thesis

      • Through Reagan’s skillful employment of emotional appeal, he effectively achieves his purpose of comforting the nation and memorializing the fallen astronauts.

      • You will have mini purposes that lead up to the main purpose 

    • Conclusion 

      • No more than 2-3 sentences 

      • Summarize how the work establishes the goal

      • Do not simply restate thesis 

      • Can give reflective comment on overall piece 

      • This is where you get the sophistication point 

  • Conclusion - Suggested approaches 

    • Summarize what the work you analyzed accomplishes, such as persuading the audience to believe a certain idea or portraying a certain political party in an admirable or absurd light 

    • Summarize how the work you analyzed accomplished its goal

      • For example, the author or speaker may have used evidence-based arguments illustrated with emotionally evocative personal anecdotes. If the work did not accomplish its goal, summarize why it failed or what you believe it could have done differently to succeed

    • Explain the significance of the work’s rhetorical methods or purpose 

      • For example, write about how you as a reader have changed because of a particularly effective technique the work employed. Alternatively, explain that a given technique, such as independent research or appeal to divine authority, was particularly appropriate for the author’s time period and audience. Put the writer’s argument in context to the rest of her life, for example, by demonstrating that the argument in the work you analyzed was an important statement or theme that appears throughout her writings 

    • Things you must know in order to accurately analyze text:

      • 4. Why did the author choose these strategies/devices for the particular audience, occasion, and/or purpose?

        • A. this is the analysis part! Without this, you are merely summarizing the text 

        • Think about these questions 

          • HOW do the rhetorical strategies/devices help the author achieve his/her purpose?

          • WHY does the author choose those strategies/devices for that particular audience and for that particular occasion? 

You can use rhetorical devices or tools in body but not intro