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Draft 1.1 The Rhetorical Analysis

Your Draft 1.1 is due October 23 on Raider Writer by 11:59:59 p.m.
This assignment is called a Draft because you will be submitting a second version of this essay at the end of
the semester. Some students think that because this is a draft they do not need to develop fully their ideas, do
not need to meet the required word count, etc. However, this assignment is the equivalent of your midterm
exam in this course, so we will be grading your work with that in mind. In the first half of the course, you have
been honing your writing skills to prepare you for college-level writing. You will use all of these skills,
(paraphrasing, critical reading, constructing thesis statements, and using supporting material via quotations)
throughout your writing of this assignment.
To complete this assignment, you will begin by selecting one of the three texts weve been working this
semester. It would make the most sense for you to choose the text with which you have been working most
closely since the BA3 assignment. If you do this, you should already have a thesis statement as well as
quotations and evidence that you can use to construct your paper.
After selecting your text and critically reading it, you will determine the writers purpose and intended audience
for the text and discuss these elements in the introduction of your essay.
Once you have determined these elements, you will begin to analyze the text in your body paragraphs to
determine the specific strategies (rhetorical choices) the writer uses to achieve his or her purpose and to meet
the needs of the audience.
I know that all of this can seem overwhelming, but I want you to have an overview of what to expect on this
assignment. I am going to dissect all of these components throughout this handout and help you understand
what the graders and I are looking for on this assignment. If you follow this handout closely, you should
increase your chances of earning a good grade. Dont forget to refer back to all of the other handouts we have
discussed this semester.
Please use MLA format for both your in-text citations and your works cited in this draft. Lack of proper
citations will hurt your final grade on this essay.
This essay, not including your Work Cited, should be at least 1200 words and no more than 1300 words (NOT
including your Work Cited reference).
Draft 1.1 Introduction Paragraph
Its helpful to think of the introduction paragraph as a combination of Part 1 and 2 BA4. On Part 1 of BA4, you
identified the audience and purpose of the text in 75-100 words; and in Part 2, you wrote a thesis statement
suitable for rhetorical analysis. After you have revised both Part 1 and Part 2 based on your grader feedback,
you can combine Part 1 and Part 2 to form your introductory paragraph.
Heres an introduction example written by yours truly:
George Orwells essay Politics and the English Language criticizes and satirizes ugly and inaccurate English.
According to Orwell, most of these inaccuracies in English stem from vagueness and incoherencies; and,
throughout his satirical essay, Orwell provides his audience of aspiring professional writers with numerous
examples of bad writing, imploring his readers to join the fight against bad English (205). In his essay, Orwell
establishes his credibility as an expert on effective writing, appeals to his audiences fear, and parodies and
satirizes bad writing in order to expose bad English. By using these rhetorical choices, Orwell effectively argues

that if aspiring professional authors can join the fight against bad English, they can purge their writing of
vagueness and incoherencies, which, in turn, will help our English-speaking society become more sophisticated.
Comments: Sometimes, students will try to write a long summary of the text in their introduction. Put simply,
you do not have enough time to do this. Keep summary to a bare minimum. Focus more on establishing the
purpose, audience, and rhetorical situation of the text. I was able to summarize Orwells text in one sentence at
the beginning of my introduction (you summarized your text in one sentence on BA2). Then, I spend the next
two sentences establishing the audience and purpose of the text. My thesis statement is actually two
sentences. Your thesis statement does not have to be two sentences. You should use the thesis statement
structure that makes the most logical sense for your own purpose in this essay.
Revising your introduction: After youve finished your rhetorical analysis, you may find that your original
introduction no longer properly introduces what you have written throughout the body paragraphs. If that
happens, simply change your introduction to reflect this. In my years of writing, I have never kept the same
introduction that I started with. In fact, the last thing I do when writing any paper is revise the introduction so
that it appropriately reflects what my essay will be about.
Thesis statement: the graders and I are looking for three rhetorical choices in your thesis statement, just like
we did on BA4. Remember that your thesis statement establishes your primary argument and tells your reader
what to expect from reading your essay. Weve done a lot of work since BA4, so do not forget to revise your
thesis statement accordingly! A strong thesis statement typically correlates with a strong rhetorical analysis
overall.
Draft 1.1 Body Paragraphs
Before we discuss the elements of your body paragraphs, please understand this major point: do not spend an
entire body paragraph summarizing the text. There are always a few students who do this each semester, and
those students typically do not earn a good grade on this assignment. In each body paragraph, you will develop
further the argument set forth in your thesis statement. This means that every word you write in the body
paragraph should work to advance your argument. At times, brief paraphrase or summary may be necessary, but
the primary focus should always be your argument and your rhetorical analysis.
We will break down each component of what I expect to see in your body paragraph. First, read the following
body paragraph that appeared in a rhetorical analysis essay that I wrote. Then, we will dissect the paragraph to
understand how it is successful in analyzing rhetoric.
Sample body paragraph: Rhetorically, it is important for Orwell to establish his credibility early and
throughout the rest of essay because, if he is going to criticize bad English, he needs to prove to his reader that
he is an authority on how to write effectively or else the reader will be able to dismiss easily Orwells argument
altogether. Writers usually might state their own credentials to establish their credibility to the reader. Orwell,
however, does not state his credentials anywhere in the essay. Instead, Orwell maintains his credibility
throughout the entire essay by writing in a clear, coherent style, which works against the vague, incoherent
writing that he wishes to purge from English writing altogether. One example of Orwells clear writing is this
opening sentence from his section on meaningless words: In certain kinds of writing, particularly in art
criticism and literary criticism, it is normal to come across long passages which are almost completely lacking
in meaning (208). Here, Orwell frankly informs the reader that he will talk about meaningless words.
Additionally, he uses no unnecessary words, phrases, or out-of-date metaphors, which are grave errors in bad
writing that Orwell discusses throughout the entire essay. The result of Orwells clear diction and style is an
even clearer message that tells the reader what he plans to discuss in this section. Again, the important idea here
is that by writing in this clear style, Orwell is proving to the reader that he is an expert on effective

communication. After all, few people will take Orwells essay seriously if he does not write his essay in such a
way that it is cogent and easily readable.
1. Begin each paragraph with a topic sentence
Each body paragraph should begin with a topic sentence that tells your reader what you will be arguing in the
paragraph. This sentence should not contain a quote or summary of what the author has said. Rather, this topic
sentence should be put forth an argument or idea that you intend to defend throughout the paragraph. I find that
it helps to think of a topic sentence as a mini thesis that relates back to the general thesis statement from the
introduction paragraph.
My topic sentence in the paragraph above is:
Rhetorically, it is important for Orwell to establish his credibility early and throughout the rest of essay because,
if he is going to criticize bad English, he needs to prove to his reader that he is an authority on how to write
effectively or else the reader will doubt Orwells credibility.
Comments: In the thesis statement from earlier, I stated that I would discuss Orwells establishment of
credibility. Here in the topic sentence, I stick to what I said I was going to do in the thesis statement. I clearly
state why establishing credibility is an important rhetorical strategy for Orwell. Notice how I did not begin with
a long quote, nor did I summarize or paraphrase Orwells text. When in doubt, your focus should always be the
analysis of the rhetoric.
2. After your topic sentence, develop your argument further by explaining how the rhetorical strategy
works.
Immediately after my topic sentence, I qualify what I said in my topic sentence with a logical explanation of
how Orwells rhetorical choice works:
Writers usually might state their own credentials to establish their credibility to the reader. Orwell, however,
does not state his credentials anywhere in the essay. Instead, Orwell maintains his credibility throughout the
entire essay by writing in a clear, coherent style, which works against the vague, incoherent writing that he
wishes to purge from English writing altogether.
Comments: I cannot provide you with an easy formula for how to write about an authors rhetorical strategy.
Ostensibly, there are an infinite amount of ways to do this. Generally speaking, your goal here is to identify how
the author is intentionally and actively attempting to persuade his/her audience. The more specific you can be in
your explanations, the better. Use your critical thinking skills!
3. Provide evidence to support your claims.
Up to this point in the paragraph, you have been asserting your ideas. Its now time to turn those assertions into
arguments by providing evidence to show that your assertions have validity. Lets look at how I did this in the
paragraph:
One example of Orwells clear writing comes from his section on meaningless words: In certain kinds of
writing, particularly in art criticism and literary criticism, it is normal to come across long passages which are
almost completely lacking in meaning (208).
Comments: Remember to refer back to the Effective Quote Integration handout for strategies on how to
incorporate quotes into this essay. When integrating direct quotations into any essay, it is important to move
smoothly from the source information to your own thoughts. If quotations are simply dropped into a paper

without significant warning or context, a reader may become confused as to the appropriateness and relevance
of that particular quotation. Do not forget to properly cite the quotation in MLA style.
4. Tie the quote to your own logical reasoning
Remember that quotes and evidence are only as strong as the writers logical reasoning. Therefore, its your job
to explain to your reader how the quote proves that your argument has validity. Lets examine how I did this:
Here, Orwell frankly informs the reader that he will talk about meaningless words. Additionally, he uses no
unnecessary words, phrases, or out-of-date metaphors, which are grave errors in bad writing that Orwell
discusses throughout the entire essay. The result of Orwells clear diction and style is an even clearer message
that tells the reader what he plans to discuss in this section. Again, the important idea here is that by writing in
this clear style, Orwell is proving to the reader that he is an expert on effective communication. After all, few
people will take Orwells essay seriously if he does not write his essay in such a way that it is cogent and easily
readable.
Comments: Remember that no evidence speaks for itself. As a writer, it is your job to connect the evidence to
your argument. Linking the evidence to your argument also serves as the conclusion to your paragraph. Do not
end a paragraph with an isolated quote; otherwise, your reader will be confused about what you want
them to believe.
Final body paragraph comments
Now that we have examined my body paragraph sentence by sentence, reread the paragraph again with all of
this new knowledge that you have acquired. As you read, think actively about how each word works to explain
Orwells rhetorical choice. Remember that body paragraphs, and your essay as a whole, is like a well-oiled
machine: each word is a part that makes the whole machine work. Meaningless words, phrases, quotes, and fluff
will only distract your reader and cause you to lose points. Strive to write as clearly and concisely as possible!
If you follow this simple four-step process for composing your body paragraphs, you should be able to
write strong body paragraphs for this essay.
Draft 1.1 Conclusion Paragraph
Begin your conclusion paragraph by restating your thesis statement. Do not restate your thesis verbatim.
After you restate your thesis statement, paraphrase your rhetorical analysis. I find it easy to write a conclusion
for any type of essay when I ask myself this: If someone skipped my essay entirely and just read the conclusion,
what would I want them to know about my essay?
Heres the conclusion paragraph I wrote in my rhetorical analysis of Orwells essay:
In Politics and the English Language, Orwell establishes his credibility as an expert on effective writing,
appeals to his audiences fear, and parodies and satirizes bad writing in order to expose his definition of bad
English. Orwell maintains that by joining this fight against bad English, readers can purge their own writing of
vagueness and incoherencies, which, in turn, will help our English-speaking society become more sophisticated.
Orwell establishes credibility primarily by practicing all of the rules about effective writing that he puts forth in
his essay. By establishing his credibility, Orwell proves to the reader why he is an expert on effective writing
and why his audience should listen to him. Orwell also uses appeals to fear to scare his audience into believing
his argument. More specifically, Orwell compares bad writers to drunkards who set themselves up for failure,
the implication being that no sensible, sophisticated person would want to fail or to look like a drunkard.

Finally, Orwell also uses parody and satire, which often accompany each other, to poke fun at bad writing and
show people how absurd it really is.
Final Thoughts
This is not an assignment that you can start working on a few hours before the deadline. An effective rhetorical
analysis requires diligence and time management. Give yourself plenty of time to write this assignment!
Look over the entire Orwell analysis that I wrote for more tips on writing your rhetorical analysis. Feel free to
e-mail me with questions and dont hesitate to stop by during my office hours if you need help.
Finally, just because you finished your conclusion paragraph does not mean that you are done. Good writing is
good revising. Give yourself plenty of time to read through your essay and make revisions so that you can earn
the highest grade possible. Good luck!