A rhetorical analysis asks you to explain how writers or speakers within specific social situations attempt to influence others through discourse (including written or spoken language, images, gestures, and so on). A rhetorical analysis is not a summary. It also does not ask you to agree or disagree with the author’s argument. Instead, the purpose of a rhetorical analysis is to make an argument about how an author conveys their message to a particular audience: you’re exploring the author’s goals, describing the techniques or tools used and providing examples of those techniques, and analyzing the effectiveness of those techniques.
For this assignment, you will complete a rhetorical analysis on a text of your choosing. The text can be related to your academic goals, family life, personal passions, or career/job.
Engaging and Thoughtful Title that speaks to the piece itself
Beginning Includes (2-4 paragraphs)
explanation of rhetoric and the “rhetorical situation” of the text
Context: the when & where of its publication; the historical & social background of the text
Audience: the “who” the text is intended for (target audience and secondary audiences)
Purpose: the intended message, or goal, of the text (to inform, to persuade, to compare, to take action, a combination of things, etc.)
explanation Aristotelian appeals
explanation of ethos, pathos, logos, and kairos
Middle Includes (3-8 paragraphs)
Analysis of Aristotelian rhetorical appeals
ethos, pathos, logos
Analysis of Appeals Must Include:
at minimum one example for each to be analyzed
Description of the appeal found in the text
Evidence of the appeal from the text in whatever form makes the most sense: direct quotes, image, sound bite, etc.
Explanation of how the appeal affects the audience and/or the purpose of the text
Ending Includes (2-3 paragraphs(
explanation of writer’s final opinion on whether or not the text is effective, not effective, or a mixture of both when it comes to communicating its message, the purpose, to its audience based on analysis of appeals
