Overview of Rhetorical Analysis

Rhetorical analysis refers to analyzing a text or a given source. That text may be writing
or some different sort of communication which includes the consideration of the
rhetorical situations--purpose, audience, genre, stance, and media/design. In other words,
the analysis explores not only what everything means in the given source (content), but
also why the author wrote about it (the purpose), who the author is (background), how the
piece was organized (structure), and where and/or when it was published (forum), etc.

The rhetorical situation of a given source involves employing some reading strategies,
being more specific, some critical reading skills, examining how and why a particular
text is written in the first place, what kind of readers the text is intended for, and what the
goal of the text is. Those goals may include context of issues, the writer, the publication,
and other background information. The analyzer needs to observe the writer’s purpose
and relationship to readers. The analyzer also needs to observe the writer’s language such
as tone, denotation/connotation, figures of speech, and stereotypes.

Therefore, rhetorical analysis is one of the more challenging assignments in any writing
class. Students often confuse a rhetorical analysis with a review: both analyze a text
thoroughly. However, a rhetorical analysis reserves judgment on whether they
agree/disagree with the topic presented. A review, of course, invites the reviewer to
critique how "good" or "bad" the content of an article, book, or movie is. The sole goal of
a rhetorical analysis is to analyze the author's writing (or visuals, if one is engaging in a
visual rhetorical analysis). How did the author craft his/her argument? This should be the
guiding question during any rhetorical analysis.

Rhetoric is a term that is widely used in many forms, and by itself can mean a great many
things. Some use the term in association with political rhetoric, to name the voice and
stance, as well as the language that becomes the nature of politics. Rhetoric can be
thought of as the way in which you phrase what you are saying, and the forces that
impact what you are saying. If you think about the different groups of people that you
communicate with, you will see that you use different forms of rhetoric with each of
them. You talk to your friends differently than you talk to your parents, or your teachers,
or your employers. Each group you associate with calls for a different form of language,
of voice, of rhetoric to be used.

[edit] Basic Rhetorical Strategies

For the purposes of writing, when we refer to rhetoric, we often talk about it as the art of
persuasion. There are many different strategies a communicator may employ to get his
message across. Below is a list of some of the more basic ones:

Exemplification: Provide examples or cases in point. Are there examples -- facts,

statistics, cases in point, personal experiences, interview quotations -- added to the essay?
Description: Detail sensory perceptions of a person, place, or thing. Does a person,
place, or object play a prominent role in the essay?

Narration: Recount an event. Are there any anecdotes, experiences, or stories in the
essay? Process analysis: Explain how to do something or how something happens. Does
any portion of the essay include concrete directions about a certain process?

Comparison and contrast: Discuss similarities and differences. Does the essay contain
two or more related subjects? Does it evaluate or analyze two or more people, places,
processes, events, or things? Are there any similarities and/or differences between two or
more elements?

Division and classification: Divide a whole into parts or sort related items into
categories. Does the essay reduce the subject to more manageable parts or group parts?

Definition: Provide the meaning of terms you use. Is there any important word in the
essay with many meanings and is defined or clarified?

Cause and effect analysis: Analyze why something happens and describe the
consequences of a string of events. Does the essay examine past events or their outcome?
Does it explain why something happened?

Argumentation: Convince through reasoning. See more on inductive and deductive

reasoning below.

Aristotelian appeals: Appeals to passion (pathos), ethics (ethos), or logic (logos). See
more on appeals below.

Repetition: The constant use of certain words. Why, with all words at her disposal, does
the writer choose to repeat particular words?

Counterpoints: Contrasting ideas such as black/white, darkness/light, good/bad. Does

the writer acknowledge and respond to counterpoints to her position?

Imagery: Language that evokes one or all of the five senses: sight, sound, touch, taste,
smell. Does the essay use any provocative language that calls upon readers’ senses?

Metaphor and simile: A figure of speech in which two essentially unlike things are
compared, often in a phrase introduced by “like” or “as.” Does the essay make
connections between things to make a point or elicit an idea?

Style, tone, and voice: The attitude a writer takes towards a subject or character: serious,
humorous, sarcastic, ironic, satirical, tongue-in-cheek, solemn, objective. What tone does
the essay have? How does the writer portray herself? What choices does she make that
influence her position?
Analogy: The comparison of two pairs that have the same relationship. Are there any
comparisons made by the writer to strengthen her message?

Flashback: Action that interrupts to show an event that happened at an earlier time which
is necessary to better understand current information. Is the essay out of chronological
order?

Hyperbole: Exaggeration or overstatement. Does the writer make any claims that seem
extreme?

Personification: Giving human qualities to animals or objects. Is something without

conscience thinking or talking? Allusion: A reference to something real or fictional, to
someone, some event, or something in the Bible, history, literature, or any phase of
culture.

Irony: An expression or utterance marked by deliberate contrast between apparent and

intended meaning, often humorous. Does the writer really support her own assertions?
Does she seem to be claiming the opposite you expect her to claim?

Oxymoron: A contradiction in terms such as “faithless devotion,” “searing cold,”

“deafening silence,” “virtual reality,” “act naturally,” “peacekeeper missile,” or “larger
half.” Do any of the writer’s terms seem to obviously clash?

Paradox: Reveals a kind of truth which at first seems contradictory; Red wine is both
good and bad for us. Do any contradictions used in the essay contain some grain of truth?

Symbolism: Using an object or action that means something more than its literal
meaning; A skull and crossbones symbolize death. Does the writer seem to assert that a
thing has meaning outside of the obvious?

Parody: A humorous exaggerated imitation, or travesty. If there is humor, does it seem to

be mocking or making fun or a particular person, place, thing, or action?

Sarcasm: A cutting, often ironic remark intended to wound. Are there any caustic ironies
in the essay?

Satire: Literary tone used to ridicule or make fun of human vice or weakness, often with
the intent of correcting, or changing, the subject of the satiric attack. Does the writer’s
humor aim to fix its target?

Diction: Choice of words. Why, with all words at her disposal, does the writer choose to
use those particular words?

Parallelism: The use of identical or equivalent constructions in corresponding clauses.

Are there any syntactic similarities between two parts of a sentence?
Critical Reading

Critical reading is the first step for rhetorical analysis. In order to make a reasonable and
logical analysis, you need to apply critical reading skills to a text that you are about to
analyze. For example, when reading, you can break the whole text down into several
parts. Then, try to determine what the writer is attempting to achieve and identify the
writing strategies s/he is using. Use these findings to determine whether the argument is
effective or not. Reading critically does not simply mean being moved, affected,
informed, influenced, and persuaded by a piece of writing; it's much more than that. It
refers to analyzing and understanding how the writing has achieved its effect. Some
specific questions can guide you in your critical reading process. You can use them in
reading the text, and if asked to, you can use them in writing a formal analysis. The
following is a list of suggested questions that you may find useful for your reading.
However, you don't need to apply all of these questions to every text. You may use them
selectively according to the specific reading at hand. This is simply one method for
getting you started on reading (and then writing) more critically.

Questions to Ask in Critical Reading:

• What is the subject? Does the subject bring up any personal associations? Is it a
controversial one?

The "subject" is a topic that interests the author and is being explored by the author in the
given text. The subject matter focuses on the author's interest and enthusiasm for it
usually leads to a writing that is interesting. When you find the subject matter, think of
it's "scope". How broad or narrow the author's approach to the subject is. You may
consider the length in words in terms of the scope of the author's treatment of the subject.
Then try to observe whether the author's topic associates you with your own personal
related experience. What do you think of the subject? Do you think of it as a
controversial topic? How?

• What is the thesis (the overall main point)? How does the thesis interpret the
subject? If asked, could you summarize the main idea?

An effective argument centers on a clear thesis. The main body of an argument, however
long or divided, should be continually moving towards proving the thesis in the reader's
mind.

Good writers will usually unveil their thesis in the first or second paragraph. It's a good
strategy to prepare the audience early, and set them up to properly filter the information
that will follow.

Often, an author will alert the reader to the fact that he/she is introducing a thesis with a
signaling statement. When an author begins a phrase with something like "This article
will demonstrate...", or "My analysis will show that...", he/she is preparing readers for the
thesis. As a reader, when you see these signals, it's time to pay attention. The author is
about to reveal something important about the argument. That said, this is not the only
way to introduce a thesis. Authors often are much more subtle. It is important to closely
read the first couple of paragraphs to get a good idea what the essay will be about.

Here's an example of a research article that utilizes a signaling statement about its thesis.
See if you can pick up on the cues that Stephen Fishman and Lucille Parkinson McCarthy
provided in the first paragraph of their article, "Is Expressivism Dead?"

In the 1980s expressivism as a philosophy of composition

came increasingly under attack, and social
constructionism--the view that good writers must master the
accepted practices of a discourse community--was widely
adopted as an alternative. The purpose of this article is
to defend expressivism against this attack, particularly
against two charges. First, responding to the charge that
expressivism, following the romantics, is tied to the ideal
of the isolated writer, Steve Fishman argues on historical
grounds that it was the social reform dimension of German
romanticism that inspired expressivism. Second, Lucille
McCarthy responds to the charge that expressivism
disempowers students because it does not help them learn
disciplinary and professional languages...
"Is Expressivism Dead?," Excerpted from College English,
Vol. 54, no. 6, October 1992

Fishman and McCarthy get straight to business and introduce the problem, (post-
structuralist attacks on their pet theory, expressivism) and then introduce the main point
of their article. They introduce their thesis with the signaling statement: "The purpose of
this article," preparing the audience for the main points to follow.

Other authors leave clues about their thesis after it has been introduced. Here's an
example from Emily Bazelon's article published in Slate magazine, "Forget Homework":

Over the last decade, Japanese schools have been scrapping

homework, while American elementary schools have been
assigning more of it. What gives--aren't they supposed to
be the model achievers while we're the slackers? No doubt
our eagerness to shed the slacker mantle has helped feed
the American homework maw. But it may be the Japanese, once
again, who know what they're doing.

Such is my conclusion after reading three new books on the

subject: The Case against Homework by Sara Bennett and
Nancy Kalish; The Homework Myth by Alfie Kohn; and the
third edition of The Battle Over Homework by Duke
psychology professor Harris Cooper...
Excerpt from "Forget Homework," Slate 9/14/2006

In this instance, the subject is a debate over homework. Japanese schools are cutting back
while American schools are loading up. Which does Bazelon consider the best approach?
She concludes paragraph one with the idea that she is at least leaning toward the Japanese
method. But the reader can be certain that this is her position when she leads off the
second paragraph with "Such is my conclusion...", a clear indication that the audience has
just read a thesis.

• Who is the intended audience? What values and/or beliefs do they hold that the
writer could appeal to?

Audience is vital to the rhetorical success of any text, speech, or effort to persuade. A
writer must consider what type of audience he/she is writing for, and evaluate the values
and beliefs that the audience is likely to have. The writer should take into account any
assumptions held by his/her audience.

• What is the tone of the text? What is your reaction to the text, emotional or
rational (think of pathos)? Does this reaction change at all throughout the text?

Paying attention to your individual reaction at different points throughout the text will
help you critically assess the writer's goals in the piece. If you feel anger at what the
writer is stating, make a note of why you feel it. Pay attention to the vocabulary the writer
uses. It may be negative or positive.

• What is the writer's purpose? To explain? Inform? Anger? Persuade? Amuse?

Motivate? Sadden? Ridicule? Attack? Defend? Is there more than one purpose?
Does the purpose shift at all throughout the text?

If the writer's purpose is to simply explain something, chances are the text will contain
scientific language or statistics. An example would be a flight manual or owner's manual
for an automobile. Political ads are good examples of how writers will attempt to anger
or persuade their audience about something. Using the voting histories of other
candidates, audiences are encouraged to be angry or upset, and the result is a vote for the
candidate the ad is supporting.

• What methods does the writer use to develop his/her ideas? Narration?
Description? Definition? Comparison? Analogy? Cause and Effect? Example?
Why does the writer use these methods? Do these methods help in his/her
development of ideas?

• 'What pattern does the author use for the arrangement of ideas?' Particular to
general, broad to specific, spatial, chronological, alternating, or block? Does the
 format enhance or detract from the content? Does it help the piece along or
distract from it?

• Does the writer use adequate transitions to make the text unified and coherent?
Do you think the transitions work well? In what ways do they work well?

• Are there any patterns in the sentence structure that make the writer's purpose
clear to you? What are these patterns like if there are some? Does the writer use
any fragments or run-ons?

• Is there any dialog and/or quotations used in the text? To what effect? For what
purpose is this dialog or quotations used?

• In what way does the writer use diction? Is the language emotionally evocative?
Does the language change throughout the piece? How does the language
contribute to the writer's aim?

• Is there anything unusual in the writer's use of punctuation? What punctuation

or other techniques of emphasis (italics, capitals, underlining, ellipses,
parentheses) does the writer use? Is punctuation over- or under-used? Which
marks does the writer use where, and to what effect?

• Are there any repetitions of important terms throughout the text? Are these
repetitions effective, or do they detract from the text?

• Does the writer present any particularly vivid images that stand out? What is the
effect of these images on the writer's purpose?

• Are there any tropes--similes, metaphors, personification, hyperbole,

comparisons, contrasts, etc. that are employed by the writer? When does he/she
use them? For what reason(s)? Are those devices used to convey or enhance
meaning?

• Are there any other devices such as humor, wordplay, irony, sarcasm,
understatement, or parody that are used in the text?' Is the effect comic relief?
Pleasure? Hysteria? Ridicule?

• Is there any information about the background of the writer? Is the writer an
acceptable authority on the subject? How do you know?

[edit] Persuasive Appeals

One of the first steps in rhetorical analysis is to determine what persuasive appeals the
author is employing. There are three persuasive appeals (or rhetorical strategies): logos,
pathos, and ethos. A good argument will combine all three; however, not all pieces of
writing (scholarly included) utilize all three appeals.
Logos: Logos relies on logic or reason and depends on deductive and/or inductive
reasoning. Deductive reasoning begins with a generalization and then applies it to a
specific case. The generalization you start with must be based on a sufficient amount of
reliable evidence. Inductive reasoning takes a specific representative case, or facts, and
then draws generalizations or conclusions from them. Inductive reasoning must be based
on a sufficient amount of reliable evidence. In other words, the facts you draw on must
fairly represent the larger situation or population.

Pathos: Pathos appeals to an audience's needs and/or values. It is a highly emotional

appeal. Though argument emphasizes reason, there is usually a place for emotion as well.
Emotional appeals can use sources such as interviews and individual stories to paint a
moving picture of reality, or to illuminate the truth. For example, telling the story of a
specific child who has been abused may make for a more persuasive argument than
simply stating the number of children abused each year. The story provides the numbers
with a human face. However, a writer must be careful not to employ emotional appeals
which distract from the crux of the debate, argument, or point trying to be made.

Ethos: Ethos gives the author credibility. It is important to build credibility with your
audience because without it, readers are less inclined to trust you or accept the argument
presented to them. Using credible sources is one method of building credibility. A certain
amount of ethos may be implied solely from the author's reputation, but a writer should
not rely only on reputation to prop up his/her work. A sure way to damage your ethos is
by attacking or insulting an opponent or opposing viewpoint. The most effective ethos
should develop from what is said, whether it is in spoken or written form. The most
persuasive rhetoricians are the ones that understand this concept.

Examples of how Rhetorical Appeals are Used

The following example shows how the aforementioned rhetorical appeals function in
Martin Luther King Jr.'s, "Letter from a Birmingham Jail."

Rhetorical Analysis: Critical Reading

When you are asked to do a "rhetorical analysis" of a text, you are being asked to apply
your critical reading skills to break down the "whole" of the text into the sum of its
"parts." You try to determine what the writer is trying to achieve, and what writing
strategies he/she is using to try to achieve it.

Reading critically means more than just being moved, affected, informed, influenced, and
persuaded by a piece of writing. Reading critically also means analyzing and
understanding how the work has achieved its effect. Below is a list of questions to ask
yourself when you begin to analyze a piece of prose. These questions can be used even if
you're being asked only to read the text rather than write a formal analysis (a sample of
detailed formal analysis follows later in this section). Keep in mind that you don't need
to apply all of these questions to every text. This rather exhaustive list is simply one
method for getting you started on reading (and then writing) more critically.

Questions to ask for a Critical Reading:

1. What is the general subject? Does the subject mean anything to you? Does it bring
up any personal associations? Is the subject a controversial one?

2. What is the thesis (the overall main point)? How does the thesis
interpret/comment on the subject?

3. What is the tone of the text? Do you react at an emotional level to the text? Does
this reaction change at all throughout the text?

4. What is the writers' purpose? To explain? To inform? To anger? Persuade?

Amuse? Motivate? Sadden? Ridicule? Anger? Is there more than one purpose?
Does the purpose shift at all throughout the text?

5. How does the writer develop his/her ideas? Narration? Description? Definition?
Comparison? Analogy? Cause and Effect? Example? Why does the writer use
these methods of development?

6. How does the writer arrange his/her ideas? What are the patterns of arrangement?
Particular to general? Broad to specific? Spatial? Chronological? Alternating?
Block?

7. Is the text unified and coherent? Are there adequate transitions? How do the
transitions work?

8. What is the sentence structure like in the text? Does the writer use fragments or
run-ons? Declarative? Imperative? Interrogative? Exclamatory? Are they simple?
Compound? Complex? Compound-complex? Short? Long? Loose? Periodic?
Balanced? Parallel? Are there any patterns in the sentence structure? Can you
make any connections between the patterns and the writers' purpose?

9. Does the writer use dialogue? Quotations? To what effect?

10. How does the writer use diction? Is it formal? Informal? Technical? Jargon?
Slang? Is the language connotative? Denotative? Is the language emotionally
evocative? Does the language change throughout the piece? How does the
language contribute to the writers' aim?

11. Is there anything unusual in the writers' use of punctuation? What punctuation or
other techniques of emphasis (italics, capitals, underlining, ellipses, parentheses)
does the writer use? Is punctuation over- or under used? Which marks does the
writer use when, and for what effects? Dashes to create a hasty breathlessness?
 Semi-colons for balance or contrast?

12. Are important terms repeated throughout the text? Why?

13. Are there any particularly vivid images that stand out? What effect do these
images have on the writers' purpose?

14. Are devices of comparison used to convey or enhance meaning? Which tropes--
similes, metaphors, personification, hyperbole, etc. does the writer use? When
does he/she use them? Why?

15. Does the writer use devices of humour? Puns? Irony? Sarcasm? Understatement?
Parody? Is the effect comic relief? Pleasure? Hysteria? Ridicule?