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How to Write a Rhetorical Analysis | Key Concepts & Examples

Published on August 28, 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on July 23, 2023.

A rhetorical analysis is a type of essay  that looks at a text in terms of rhetoric. This means it is less concerned with what the author is saying than with how they say it: their goals, techniques, and appeals to the audience.

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Table of contents

Key concepts in rhetoric, analyzing the text, introducing your rhetorical analysis, the body: doing the analysis, concluding a rhetorical analysis, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about rhetorical analysis.

Rhetoric, the art of effective speaking and writing, is a subject that trains you to look at texts, arguments and speeches in terms of how they are designed to persuade the audience. This section introduces a few of the key concepts of this field.

Appeals: Logos, ethos, pathos

Appeals are how the author convinces their audience. Three central appeals are discussed in rhetoric, established by the philosopher Aristotle and sometimes called the rhetorical triangle: logos, ethos, and pathos.

Logos , or the logical appeal, refers to the use of reasoned argument to persuade. This is the dominant approach in academic writing , where arguments are built up using reasoning and evidence.

Ethos , or the ethical appeal, involves the author presenting themselves as an authority on their subject. For example, someone making a moral argument might highlight their own morally admirable behavior; someone speaking about a technical subject might present themselves as an expert by mentioning their qualifications.

Pathos , or the pathetic appeal, evokes the audience’s emotions. This might involve speaking in a passionate way, employing vivid imagery, or trying to provoke anger, sympathy, or any other emotional response in the audience.

These three appeals are all treated as integral parts of rhetoric, and a given author may combine all three of them to convince their audience.

Text and context

In rhetoric, a text is not necessarily a piece of writing (though it may be this). A text is whatever piece of communication you are analyzing. This could be, for example, a speech, an advertisement, or a satirical image.

In these cases, your analysis would focus on more than just language—you might look at visual or sonic elements of the text too.

The context is everything surrounding the text: Who is the author (or speaker, designer, etc.)? Who is their (intended or actual) audience? When and where was the text produced, and for what purpose?

Looking at the context can help to inform your rhetorical analysis. For example, Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech has universal power, but the context of the civil rights movement is an important part of understanding why.

Claims, supports, and warrants

A piece of rhetoric is always making some sort of argument, whether it’s a very clearly defined and logical one (e.g. in a philosophy essay) or one that the reader has to infer (e.g. in a satirical article). These arguments are built up with claims, supports, and warrants.

A claim is the fact or idea the author wants to convince the reader of. An argument might center on a single claim, or be built up out of many. Claims are usually explicitly stated, but they may also just be implied in some kinds of text.

The author uses supports to back up each claim they make. These might range from hard evidence to emotional appeals—anything that is used to convince the reader to accept a claim.

The warrant is the logic or assumption that connects a support with a claim. Outside of quite formal argumentation, the warrant is often unstated—the author assumes their audience will understand the connection without it. But that doesn’t mean you can’t still explore the implicit warrant in these cases.

For example, look at the following statement:

We can see a claim and a support here, but the warrant is implicit. Here, the warrant is the assumption that more likeable candidates would have inspired greater turnout. We might be more or less convinced by the argument depending on whether we think this is a fair assumption.

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Rhetorical analysis isn’t a matter of choosing concepts in advance and applying them to a text. Instead, it starts with looking at the text in detail and asking the appropriate questions about how it works:

• What is the author’s purpose?
• Do they focus closely on their key claims, or do they discuss various topics?
• What tone do they take—angry or sympathetic? Personal or authoritative? Formal or informal?
• Who seems to be the intended audience? Is this audience likely to be successfully reached and convinced?
• What kinds of evidence are presented?

By asking these questions, you’ll discover the various rhetorical devices the text uses. Don’t feel that you have to cram in every rhetorical term you know—focus on those that are most important to the text.

The following sections show how to write the different parts of a rhetorical analysis.

Like all essays, a rhetorical analysis begins with an introduction . The introduction tells readers what text you’ll be discussing, provides relevant background information, and presents your thesis statement .

Hover over different parts of the example below to see how an introduction works.

Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech is widely regarded as one of the most important pieces of oratory in American history. Delivered in 1963 to thousands of civil rights activists outside the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., the speech has come to symbolize the spirit of the civil rights movement and even to function as a major part of the American national myth. This rhetorical analysis argues that King’s assumption of the prophetic voice, amplified by the historic size of his audience, creates a powerful sense of ethos that has retained its inspirational power over the years.

The body of your rhetorical analysis is where you’ll tackle the text directly. It’s often divided into three paragraphs, although it may be more in a longer essay.

Each paragraph should focus on a different element of the text, and they should all contribute to your overall argument for your thesis statement.

Hover over the example to explore how a typical body paragraph is constructed.

King’s speech is infused with prophetic language throughout. Even before the famous “dream” part of the speech, King’s language consistently strikes a prophetic tone. He refers to the Lincoln Memorial as a “hallowed spot” and speaks of rising “from the dark and desolate valley of segregation” to “make justice a reality for all of God’s children.” The assumption of this prophetic voice constitutes the text’s strongest ethical appeal; after linking himself with political figures like Lincoln and the Founding Fathers, King’s ethos adopts a distinctly religious tone, recalling Biblical prophets and preachers of change from across history. This adds significant force to his words; standing before an audience of hundreds of thousands, he states not just what the future should be, but what it will be: “The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.” This warning is almost apocalyptic in tone, though it concludes with the positive image of the “bright day of justice.” The power of King’s rhetoric thus stems not only from the pathos of his vision of a brighter future, but from the ethos of the prophetic voice he adopts in expressing this vision.

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The conclusion of a rhetorical analysis wraps up the essay by restating the main argument and showing how it has been developed by your analysis. It may also try to link the text, and your analysis of it, with broader concerns.

Explore the example below to get a sense of the conclusion.

It is clear from this analysis that the effectiveness of King’s rhetoric stems less from the pathetic appeal of his utopian “dream” than it does from the ethos he carefully constructs to give force to his statements. By framing contemporary upheavals as part of a prophecy whose fulfillment will result in the better future he imagines, King ensures not only the effectiveness of his words in the moment but their continuing resonance today. Even if we have not yet achieved King’s dream, we cannot deny the role his words played in setting us on the path toward it.

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The goal of a rhetorical analysis is to explain the effect a piece of writing or oratory has on its audience, how successful it is, and the devices and appeals it uses to achieve its goals.

Unlike a standard argumentative essay , it’s less about taking a position on the arguments presented, and more about exploring how they are constructed.

The term “text” in a rhetorical analysis essay refers to whatever object you’re analyzing. It’s frequently a piece of writing or a speech, but it doesn’t have to be. For example, you could also treat an advertisement or political cartoon as a text.

Logos appeals to the audience’s reason, building up logical arguments . Ethos appeals to the speaker’s status or authority, making the audience more likely to trust them. Pathos appeals to the emotions, trying to make the audience feel angry or sympathetic, for example.

Collectively, these three appeals are sometimes called the rhetorical triangle . They are central to rhetorical analysis , though a piece of rhetoric might not necessarily use all of them.

In rhetorical analysis , a claim is something the author wants the audience to believe. A support is the evidence or appeal they use to convince the reader to believe the claim. A warrant is the (often implicit) assumption that links the support with the claim.

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How to Write a Rhetorical Analysis Essay

• 3-minute read
• 22nd August 2023

A rhetorical analysis essay is a type of academic writing that analyzes how authors use language, persuasion techniques , and other rhetorical strategies to communicate with their audience. In this post, we’ll review how to write a rhetorical analysis essay, including:

• Understanding the assignment guidelines
• Introducing your essay topic
• Examining the rhetorical strategies
• Summarizing your main points

Keep reading for a step-by-step guide to rhetorical analysis.

What Is a Rhetorical Strategy?

A rhetorical strategy is a deliberate approach or technique a writer uses to convey a message and/or persuade the audience. A rhetorical strategy typically involves using language, sentence structure, and tone/style to influence the audience to think a certain way or understand a specific point of view. Rhetorical strategies are especially common in advertisements, speeches, and political writing, but you can also find them in many other types of literature.

1.   Understanding the Assignment Guidelines

Before you begin your rhetorical analysis essay, make sure you understand the assignment and guidelines. Typically, when writing a rhetorical analysis, you should approach the text objectively, focusing on the techniques the author uses rather than expressing your own opinions about the topic or summarizing the content. Thus, it’s essential to discuss the rhetorical methods used and then back up your analysis with evidence and quotations from the text.

2.   Introducing Your Essay Topic

Introduce your essay by providing some context about the text you’re analyzing. Give a brief overview of the author, intended audience, and purpose of the writing. You should also clearly state your thesis , which is your main point or argument about how and why the author uses rhetorical strategies. Try to avoid going into detail on any points or diving into specific examples – the introduction should be concise, and you’ll be providing a much more in-depth analysis later in the text.

3.   Examining the Rhetorical Strategies

In the body paragraphs, analyze the rhetorical strategies the author uses. Here are some common rhetorical strategies to include in your discussion:

●  Ethos : Establishing trust between the writer and the audience by appealing to credibility and ethics

●  Pathos : Appealing to the audience’s emotions and values

●  Logos : Employing logic, reason, and evidence to appeal to the reader

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●  Diction : Deliberately choosing specific language and vocabulary

●  Syntax : Structuring and arranging sentences in certain ways

●  Tone : Conveying attitude or mood in certain ways

●  Literary Devices : Using metaphors, similes, analogies , repetition, etc.

Keep in mind that for a rhetorical analysis essay, you’re not usually required to find examples of all of the above rhetorical strategies. But for each one you do analyze, consider how it contributes to the author’s purpose, how it influences the audience, and what emotions or thoughts it could evoke in the reader.

4.   Summarizing Your Main Points

In your conclusion , sum up the main points of your analysis and restate your thesis. Without introducing any new points (such as topics or ideas you haven’t already covered in the main body of your essay), summarize the overall impact that the author’s rhetorical strategies likely had on their intended audience.

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How to Write a Rhetorical Analysis Essay–Examples & Template

What is a Rhetorical Analysis Essay?

A rhetorical analysis essay is, as the name suggests, an analysis of someone else’s writing (or speech, or advert, or even cartoon) and how they use not only words but also rhetorical techniques to influence their audience in a certain way. A rhetorical analysis is less interested in what the author is saying and more in how they present it, what effect this has on their readers, whether they achieve their goals, and what approach they use to get there. 

Its structure is similar to that of most essays: An Introduction presents your thesis, a Body analyzes the text you have chosen, breaks it down into sections and explains how arguments have been constructed and how each part persuades, informs, or entertains the reader, and a Conclusion section sums up your evaluation. 

Note that your personal opinion on the matter is not relevant for your analysis and that you don’t state anywhere in your essay whether you agree or disagree with the stance the author takes.

In the following, we will define the key rhetorical concepts you need to write a good rhetorical analysis and give you some practical tips on where to start.

Key Rhetorical Concepts

Your goal when writing a rhetorical analysis is to think about and then carefully describe how the author has designed their text so that it has the intended effect on their audience. To do that, you need to consider a number of key rhetorical strategies: Rhetorical appeals (“Ethos”, “Logos”, and “Pathos”), context, as well as claims, supports, and warrants.

Ethos, Logos, and Pathos were introduced by Aristotle, way back in the 4th century BC, as the main ways in which language can be used to persuade an audience. They still represent the basis of any rhetorical analysis and are often referred to as the “rhetorical triangle”. 

These and other rhetorical techniques can all be combined to create the intended effect, and your job as the one analyzing a text is to break the writer’s arguments down and identify the concepts they are based on.

Rhetorical Appeals

Rhetorical appeal #1: ethos.

Ethos refers to the reputation or authority of the writer regarding the topic of their essay or speech and to how they use this to appeal to their audience. Just like we are more likely to buy a product from a brand or vendor we have confidence in than one we don’t know or have reason to distrust, Ethos-driven texts or speeches rely on the reputation of the author to persuade the reader or listener. When you analyze an essay, you should therefore look at how the writer establishes Ethos through rhetorical devices.

Does the author present themselves as an authority on their subject? If so, how? 

Do they highlight how impeccable their own behavior is to make a moral argument? 

Do they present themselves as an expert by listing their qualifications or experience to convince the reader of their opinion on something?

Rhetorical appeal #2: Pathos

The purpose of Pathos-driven rhetoric is to appeal to the reader’s emotions. A common example of pathos as a rhetorical means is adverts by charities that try to make you donate money to a “good cause”. To evoke the intended emotions in the reader, an author may use passionate language, tell personal stories, and employ vivid imagery so that the reader can imagine themselves in a certain situation and feel empathy with or anger towards others.

Rhetorical appeal #3: Logos

Logos, the “logical” appeal, uses reason to persuade. Reason and logic, supported by data, evidence, clearly defined methodology, and well-constructed arguments, are what most academic writing is based on. Emotions, those of the researcher/writer as well as those of the reader, should stay out of such academic texts, as should anyone’s reputation, beliefs, or personal opinions. 

Text and Context

To analyze a piece of writing, a speech, an advertisement, or even a satirical drawing, you need to look beyond the piece of communication and take the context in which it was created and/or published into account. 

Who is the person who wrote the text/drew the cartoon/designed the ad..? What audience are they trying to reach? Where was the piece published and what was happening there around that time? 

A political speech, for example, can be powerful even when read decades later, but the historical context surrounding it is an important aspect of the effect it was intended to have. 

Claims, Supports, and Warrants

To make any kind of argument, a writer needs to put forward specific claims, support them with data or evidence or even a moral or emotional appeal, and connect the dots logically so that the reader can follow along and agree with the points made.

The connections between statements, so-called “warrants”, follow logical reasoning but are not always clearly stated—the author simply assumes the reader understands the underlying logic, whether they present it “explicitly” or “implicitly”. Implicit warrants are commonly used in advertisements where seemingly happy people use certain products, wear certain clothes, accessories, or perfumes, or live certain lifestyles – with the connotation that, first, the product/perfume/lifestyle is what makes that person happy and, second, the reader wants to be as happy as the person in the ad. Some warrants are never clearly stated, and your job when writing a rhetorical analysis essay is therefore to identify them and bring them to light, to evaluate their validity, their effect on the reader, and the use of such means by the writer/creator. 

What are the Five Rhetorical Situations?

A “rhetorical situation” refers to the circumstance behind a text or other piece of communication that arises from a given context. It explains why a rhetorical piece was created, what its purpose is, and how it was constructed to achieve its aims.

Rhetorical situations can be classified into the following five categories:

Asking such questions when you analyze a text will help you identify all the aspects that play a role in the effect it has on its audience, and will allow you to evaluate whether it achieved its aims or where it may have failed to do so.

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Outline

Analyzing someone else’s work can seem like a big task, but as with every assignment or writing endeavor, you can break it down into smaller, well-defined steps that give you a practical structure to follow. 

To give you an example of how the different parts of your text may look when it’s finished, we will provide you with some excerpts from this rhetorical analysis essay example (which even includes helpful comments) published on the Online Writing Lab website of Excelsior University in Albany, NY. The text that this essay analyzes is this article on why one should or shouldn’t buy an Ipad. If you want more examples so that you can build your own rhetorical analysis template, have a look at this essay on Nabokov’s Lolita and the one provided here about the “Shitty First Drafts” chapter of Anne Lamott’s writing instruction book “Bird by Bird”.

Analyzing the Text

When writing a rhetorical analysis, you don’t choose the concepts or key points you think are relevant or want to address. Rather, you carefully read the text several times asking yourself questions like those listed in the last section on rhetorical situations to identify how the text “works” and how it was written to achieve that effect.

Start with focusing on the author : What do you think was their purpose for writing the text? Do they make one principal claim and then elaborate on that? Or do they discuss different topics? 

Then look at what audience they are talking to: Do they want to make a group of people take some action? Vote for someone? Donate money to a good cause? Who are these people? Is the text reaching this specific audience? Why or why not?

What tone is the author using to address their audience? Are they trying to evoke sympathy? Stir up anger? Are they writing from a personal perspective? Are they painting themselves as an authority on the topic? Are they using academic or informal language?

How does the author support their claims ? What kind of evidence are they presenting? Are they providing explicit or implicit warrants? Are these warrants valid or problematic? Is the provided evidence convincing?  

Asking yourself such questions will help you identify what rhetorical devices a text uses and how well they are put together to achieve a certain aim. Remember, your own opinion and whether you agree with the author are not the point of a rhetorical analysis essay – your task is simply to take the text apart and evaluate it.

If you are still confused about how to write a rhetorical analysis essay, just follow the steps outlined below to write the different parts of your rhetorical analysis: As every other essay, it consists of an Introduction , a Body (the actual analysis), and a Conclusion .

Rhetorical Analysis Introduction

The Introduction section briefly presents the topic of the essay you are analyzing, the author, their main claims, a short summary of the work by you, and your thesis statement . 

Tell the reader what the text you are going to analyze represents (e.g., historically) or why it is relevant (e.g., because it has become some kind of reference for how something is done). Describe what the author claims, asserts, or implies and what techniques they use to make their argument and persuade their audience. Finish off with your thesis statement that prepares the reader for what you are going to present in the next section – do you think that the author’s assumptions/claims/arguments were presented in a logical/appealing/powerful way and reached their audience as intended?

Have a look at an excerpt from the sample essay linked above to see what a rhetorical analysis introduction can look like. See how it introduces the author and article , the context in which it originally appeared , the main claims the author makes , and how this first paragraph ends in a clear thesis statement that the essay will then elaborate on in the following Body section:

Cory Doctorow ’s article on BoingBoing is an older review of the iPad , one of Apple’s most famous products. At the time of this article, however, the iPad was simply the latest Apple product to hit the market and was not yet so popular. Doctorow’s entire career has been entrenched in and around technology. He got his start as a CD-ROM programmer and is now a successful blogger and author. He is currently the co-editor of the BoingBoing blog on which this article was posted. One of his main points in this article comes from Doctorow’s passionate advocacy of free digital media sharing. He argues that the iPad is just another way for established technology companies to control our technological freedom and creativity . In “ Why I Won’t Buy an iPad (and Think You Shouldn’t, Either) ” published on Boing Boing in April of 2010, Cory Doctorow successfully uses his experience with technology, facts about the company Apple, and appeals to consumer needs to convince potential iPad buyers that Apple and its products, specifically the iPad, limit the digital rights of those who use them by controlling and mainstreaming the content that can be used and created on the device . 

Doing the Rhetorical Analysis

The main part of your analysis is the Body , where you dissect the text in detail. Explain what methods the author uses to inform, entertain, and/or persuade the audience. Use Aristotle’s rhetorical triangle and the other key concepts we introduced above. Use quotations from the essay to demonstrate what you mean. Work out why the writer used a certain approach and evaluate (and again, demonstrate using the text itself) how successful they were. Evaluate the effect of each rhetorical technique you identify on the audience and judge whether the effect is in line with the author’s intentions.

To make it easy for the reader to follow your thought process, divide this part of your essay into paragraphs that each focus on one strategy or one concept , and make sure they are all necessary and contribute to the development of your argument(s).

One paragraph of this section of your essay could, for example, look like this:

One example of Doctorow’s position is his comparison of Apple’s iStore to Wal-Mart. This is an appeal to the consumer’s logic—or an appeal to logos. Doctorow wants the reader to take his comparison and consider how an all-powerful corporation like the iStore will affect them. An iPad will only allow for apps and programs purchased through the iStore to be run on it; therefore, a customer must not only purchase an iPad but also any programs he or she wishes to use. Customers cannot create their own programs or modify the hardware in any way. 

As you can see, the author of this sample essay identifies and then explains to the reader how Doctorow uses the concept of Logos to appeal to his readers – not just by pointing out that he does it but by dissecting how it is done.

Rhetorical Analysis Conclusion

The conclusion section of your analysis should restate your main arguments and emphasize once more whether you think the author achieved their goal. Note that this is not the place to introduce new information—only rely on the points you have discussed in the body of your essay. End with a statement that sums up the impact the text has on its audience and maybe society as a whole:

Overall, Doctorow makes a good argument about why there are potentially many better things to drop a great deal of money on instead of the iPad. He gives some valuable information and facts that consumers should take into consideration before going out to purchase the new device. He clearly uses rhetorical tools to help make his case, and, overall, he is effective as a writer, even if, ultimately, he was ineffective in convincing the world not to buy an iPad . 

Frequently Asked Questions about Rhetorical Analysis Essays 

What is a rhetorical analysis essay.

A rhetorical analysis dissects a text or another piece of communication to work out and explain how it impacts its audience, how successfully it achieves its aims, and what rhetorical devices it uses to do that. 

While argumentative essays usually take a stance on a certain topic and argue for it, a rhetorical analysis identifies how someone else constructs their arguments and supports their claims.

What is the correct rhetorical analysis essay format?

Like most other essays, a rhetorical analysis contains an Introduction that presents the thesis statement, a Body that analyzes the piece of communication, explains how arguments have been constructed, and illustrates how each part persuades, informs, or entertains the reader, and a Conclusion section that summarizes the results of the analysis. 

What is the “rhetorical triangle”?

The rhetorical triangle was introduced by Aristotle as the main ways in which language can be used to persuade an audience: Logos appeals to the audience’s reason, Ethos to the writer’s status or authority, and Pathos to the reader’s emotions. Logos, Ethos, and Pathos can all be combined to create the intended effect, and your job as the one analyzing a text is to break the writer’s arguments down and identify what specific concepts each is based on.

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What Is a Rhetorical Analysis and How to Write a Great One

By Helly Douglas

Do you have to write a rhetorical analysis essay? Fear not! We’re here to explain exactly what rhetorical analysis means, how you should structure your essay, and give you some essential “dos and don’ts.”

What is a Rhetorical Analysis Essay?

How do you write a rhetorical analysis, what are the three rhetorical strategies, what are the five rhetorical situations, how to plan a rhetorical analysis essay, creating a rhetorical analysis essay, examples of great rhetorical analysis essays, final thoughts.

A rhetorical analysis essay studies how writers and speakers have used words to influence their audience. Think less about the words the author has used and more about the techniques they employ, their goals, and the effect this has on the audience.

In your analysis essay, you break a piece of text (including cartoons, adverts, and speeches) into sections and explain how each part works to persuade, inform, or entertain. You’ll explore the effectiveness of the techniques used, how the argument has been constructed, and give examples from the text.

A strong rhetorical analysis evaluates a text rather than just describes the techniques used. You don’t include whether you personally agree or disagree with the argument.

Structure a rhetorical analysis in the same way as most other types of academic essays . You’ll have an introduction to present your thesis, a main body where you analyze the text, which then leads to a conclusion.

Think about how the writer (also known as a rhetor) considers the situation that frames their communication:

• Topic: the overall purpose of the rhetoric
• Audience: this includes primary, secondary, and tertiary audiences
• Purpose: there are often more than one to consider
• Context and culture: the wider situation within which the rhetoric is placed

Back in the 4th century BC, Aristotle was talking about how language can be used as a means of persuasion. He described three principal forms —Ethos, Logos, and Pathos—often referred to as the Rhetorical Triangle . These persuasive techniques are still used today.

Rhetorical Strategy 1: Ethos

Are you more likely to buy a car from an established company that’s been an important part of your community for 50 years, or someone new who just started their business?

Reputation matters. Ethos explores how the character, disposition, and fundamental values of the author create appeal, along with their expertise and knowledge in the subject area.

Aristotle breaks ethos down into three further categories:

• Phronesis: skills and practical wisdom
• Arete: virtue
• Eunoia: goodwill towards the audience

Ethos-driven speeches and text rely on the reputation of the author. In your analysis, you can look at how the writer establishes ethos through both direct and indirect means.

Rhetorical Strategy 2: Pathos

Pathos-driven rhetoric hooks into our emotions. You’ll often see it used in advertisements, particularly by charities wanting you to donate money towards an appeal.

Common use of pathos includes:

• Vivid description so the reader can imagine themselves in the situation
• Personal stories to create feelings of empathy
• Emotional vocabulary that evokes a response

By using pathos to make the audience feel a particular emotion, the author can persuade them that the argument they’re making is compelling.

Rhetorical Strategy 3: Logos

Logos uses logic or reason. It’s commonly used in academic writing when arguments are created using evidence and reasoning rather than an emotional response. It’s constructed in a step-by-step approach that builds methodically to create a powerful effect upon the reader.

Rhetoric can use any one of these three techniques, but effective arguments often appeal to all three elements.

The rhetorical situation explains the circumstances behind and around a piece of rhetoric. It helps you think about why a text exists, its purpose, and how it’s carried out.

The rhetorical situations are:

• 1) Purpose: Why is this being written? (It could be trying to inform, persuade, instruct, or entertain.)
• 2) Audience: Which groups or individuals will read and take action (or have done so in the past)?
• 3) Genre: What type of writing is this?
• 4) Stance: What is the tone of the text? What position are they taking?
• 5) Media/Visuals: What means of communication are used?

Understanding and analyzing the rhetorical situation is essential for building a strong essay. Also think about any rhetoric restraints on the text, such as beliefs, attitudes, and traditions that could affect the author's decisions.

Before leaping into your essay, it’s worth taking time to explore the text at a deeper level and considering the rhetorical situations we looked at before. Throw away your assumptions and use these simple questions to help you unpick how and why the text is having an effect on the audience.

1: What is the Rhetorical Situation?

• Why is there a need or opportunity for persuasion?
• How do words and references help you identify the time and location?
• What are the rhetoric restraints?
• What historical occasions would lead to this text being created?

2: Who is the Author?

• How do they position themselves as an expert worth listening to?
• What is their ethos?
• Do they have a reputation that gives them authority?
• What is their intention?
• What values or customs do they have?

3: Who is it Written For?

• Who is the intended audience?
• How is this appealing to this particular audience?
• Who are the possible secondary and tertiary audiences?

4: What is the Central Idea?

• Can you summarize the key point of this rhetoric?
• What arguments are used?
• How has it developed a line of reasoning?

5: How is it Structured?

• What structure is used?
• How is the content arranged within the structure?

6: What Form is Used?

• Does this follow a specific literary genre?
• What type of style and tone is used, and why is this?
• Does the form used complement the content?
• What effect could this form have on the audience?

7: Is the Rhetoric Effective?

• Does the content fulfil the author’s intentions?
• Does the message effectively fit the audience, location, and time period?

Once you’ve fully explored the text, you’ll have a better understanding of the impact it’s having on the audience and feel more confident about writing your essay outline.

A great essay starts with an interesting topic. Choose carefully so you’re personally invested in the subject and familiar with it rather than just following trending topics. There are lots of great ideas on this blog post by My Perfect Words if you need some inspiration. Take some time to do background research to ensure your topic offers good analysis opportunities.

Remember to check the information given to you by your professor so you follow their preferred style guidelines. This outline example gives you a general idea of a format to follow, but there will likely be specific requests about layout and content in your course handbook. It’s always worth asking your institution if you’re unsure.

Make notes for each section of your essay before you write. This makes it easy for you to write a well-structured text that flows naturally to a conclusion. You will develop each note into a paragraph. Look at this example by College Essay for useful ideas about the structure.

1: Introduction

This is a short, informative section that shows you understand the purpose of the text. It tempts the reader to find out more by mentioning what will come in the main body of your essay.

• Name the author of the text and the title of their work followed by the date in parentheses
• Use a verb to describe what the author does, e.g. “implies,” “asserts,” or “claims”
• Briefly summarize the text in your own words
• Mention the persuasive techniques used by the rhetor and its effect

Create a thesis statement to come at the end of your introduction.

After your introduction, move on to your critical analysis. This is the principal part of your essay.

• Explain the methods used by the author to inform, entertain, and/or persuade the audience using Aristotle's rhetorical triangle
• Use quotations to prove the statements you make
• Explain why the writer used this approach and how successful it is
• Consider how it makes the audience feel and react

Make each strategy a new paragraph rather than cramming them together, and always use proper citations. Check back to your course handbook if you’re unsure which citation style is preferred.

3: Conclusion

Your conclusion should summarize the points you’ve made in the main body of your essay. While you will draw the points together, this is not the place to introduce new information you’ve not previously mentioned.

Use your last sentence to share a powerful concluding statement that talks about the impact the text has on the audience(s) and wider society. How have its strategies helped to shape history?

Before You Submit

Poor spelling and grammatical errors ruin a great essay. Use ProWritingAid to check through your finished essay before you submit. It will pick up all the minor errors you’ve missed and help you give your essay a final polish. Look at this useful ProWritingAid webinar for further ideas to help you significantly improve your essays. Sign up for a free trial today and start editing your essays!

You’ll find countless examples of rhetorical analysis online, but they range widely in quality. Your institution may have example essays they can share with you to show you exactly what they’re looking for.

The following links should give you a good starting point if you’re looking for ideas:

Pearson Canada has a range of good examples. Look at how embedded quotations are used to prove the points being made. The end questions help you unpick how successful each essay is.

Excelsior College has an excellent sample essay complete with useful comments highlighting the techniques used.

Brighton Online has a selection of interesting essays to look at. In this specific example, consider how wider reading has deepened the exploration of the text.

Writing a rhetorical analysis essay can seem daunting, but spending significant time deeply analyzing the text before you write will make it far more achievable and result in a better-quality essay overall.

It can take some time to write a good essay. Aim to complete it well before the deadline so you don’t feel rushed. Use ProWritingAid’s comprehensive checks to find any errors and make changes to improve readability. Then you’ll be ready to submit your finished essay, knowing it’s as good as you can possibly make it.

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Helly Douglas

Helly Douglas is a UK writer and teacher, specialising in education, children, and parenting. She loves making the complex seem simple through blogs, articles, and curriculum content. You can check out her work at hellydouglas.com or connect on Twitter @hellydouglas. When she’s not writing, you will find her in a classroom, being a mum or battling against the wilderness of her garden—the garden is winning!

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How to Write a Rhetorical Analysis

Last Updated: August 8, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Megan Morgan, PhD . Megan Morgan is a Graduate Program Academic Advisor in the School of Public & International Affairs at the University of Georgia. She earned her PhD in English from the University of Georgia in 2015. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 1,381,080 times.

A rhetorical analysis can be written about other texts, television shows, films, collections of artwork, or a variety of other communicative mediums that attempt to make a statement to an intended audience. In order to write a rhetorical analysis, you need to be able to determine how the creator of the original work attempts to make his or her argument. You can also include information about whether or not that argument is successful. To learn more about the right way to write a rhetorical analysis, continue reading.

Gathering Information

• The speaker refers to the first and last name of the writer. If the writer has any credentials that lend to his or her authority on the matter at hand, you should also briefly consider those. Note that if the narrator is different from the writer, though, it could also refer to the narrator.
• The occasion mostly refers to the type of text and the context under which the text was written. For instance, there is a big difference between an essay written for a scholarly conference and a letter written to an associate in the field.
• The audience is who the text was written for. This is related to the occasion, since the occasion can include details about the audience. In the example above, the audience would be a conference of scholars versus an associate in the field.
• The purpose refers to what the writer wants to accomplish in the text. It usually includes selling a product or point of view.
• The subject is simply the topic the writer discusses in the text.

• Ethos, or ethical appeals, rely on the writer's credibility and character in the garnering of approval. Mentions of a writer's character or qualifications usually qualify as ethos. For instance, if a family therapist with 20 years of practice writes an article on improving familial relations, mention of that experience would be using ethos. Despite their name, these appeals don't have anything to do with "ethics" as we usually think of them.
• Logos, or logical appeals, use reason to make an argument. Most academic discourse should make heavy use of logos. A writer who supports an argument with evidence, data, and undeniable facts uses logos.
• Pathos, or pathetic appeals, seek to evoke emotion in order to gain approval. These emotions can include anything from sympathy and anger to the desire for love. If an article about violent crime provides personal, human details about victims of violent crime, the writer is likely using pathos.

• Analogies and figurative language, including metaphors and similes, demonstrate an idea through comparison.
• Repetition of a certain point or idea is used to make that point seem more memorable.
• Imagery often affects pathos. The image of a starving child in a low income country can be a powerful way of evoking compassion or anger.
• Diction refers to word choice. Emotionally-charged words have greater impact, and rhythmic word patterns can establish a theme more effectively.
• Tone essentially means mood or attitude. A sarcastic essay is vastly different from a scientific one, but depending on the situation, either tone could be effective.
• Addressing the opposition demonstrates that the writer is not afraid of the opposing viewpoint. It also allows the writer to strengthen his or her own argument by cutting down the opposing one. This is especially powerful when the author contrasts a strong viewpoint he or she holds with a weak viewpoint on the opposing side.

• Ask yourself how the rhetorical strategies of appeals and style help the author achieve his or her purpose. Determine if any of these strategies fail and hurt the author instead of helping.
• Speculate on why the author may have chosen those rhetorical strategies for that audience and that occasion. Determine if the choice of strategies may have differed for a different audience or occasion.
• Remember that in a rhetorical analysis, you do not need to agree with the argument being presented. Your task is to analyze how well the author uses the appeals to present her or his argument.

Writing the Introduction

• By letting the reader know that your paper is a rhetorical analysis, you let him or her know exactly what to expect. If you do not let the reader know this information beforehand, he or she may expect to read an evaluative argument instead.
• Do not simply state, "This paper is a rhetorical analysis." Weave the information into the introduction as naturally as possible.
• Note that this may not be necessary if you are writing a rhetorical analysis for an assignment that specifically calls for a rhetorical analysis.

• The introduction is a good place to give a quick summary of the document. Keep it quick, though. Save the majority of the details for your body paragraphs, since most of the details will be used in defending your analysis.

• You do not necessarily need to mention these details in this order. Include the details in a matter that makes sense and flows naturally within your introductory paragraph.

• Try stating which rhetorical techniques the writer uses in order to move people toward his or her desired purpose. Analyze how well these techniques accomplish this goal.
• Consider narrowing the focus of your essay. Choose one or two design aspects that are complex enough to spend an entire essay analyzing.
• Think about making an original argument. If your analysis leads you to make a certain argument about the text, focus your thesis and essay around that argument and provide support for it throughout the body of your paper.
• Try to focus on using words such as "effective" or "ineffective" when composing your thesis, rather than "good" or "bad." You want to avoid seeming like you are passing value judgments.

Writing the Body

• The order of logos, ethos, and pathos is not necessarily set in stone. If you intend to focus on one more than the other two, you could briefly cover the two lesser appeals in the first two sections before elaborating on the third in greater detail toward the middle and end of the paper.
• For logos, identify at least one major claim and evaluate the document's use of objective evidence.
• For ethos, analyze how the writer or speaker uses his or her status as an "expert" to enhance credibility.
• For pathos, analyze any details that alter the way that the viewer or reader may feel about the subject at hand. Also analyze any imagery used to appeal to aesthetic senses, and determine how effective these elements are.
• Wrap things up by discussing the consequences and overall impact of these three appeals.

• Start from the beginning of the document and work your way through to the end. Present details about the document and your analysis of those details in the order the original document presents them in.
• The writer of the original document likely organized the information carefully and purposefully. By addressing the document in this order, your analysis is more likely to make more coherent sense by the end of your paper.

• Evidence often include a great deal of direct quotation and paraphrasing.
• Point to spots in which the author mentioned his or her credentials to explain ethos. Identify emotional images or words with strong emotional connotations as ways of supporting claims to pathos. Mention specific data and facts used in analysis involving logos.

• Avoid use of the first-person words "I" and "we." Stick to the more objective third-person.

Writing the Conclusion

• When restating your thesis, you should be able to quickly analyze how the original author's purpose comes together.
• When restating your thesis, try to bring more sophistication or depth to it than you had in the beginning. What can the audience now understand about your thesis that they would not have without reading your analysis?

• Keep this information brief. You spent an entire essay supporting your thesis, so these restatements of your main ideas should only serve as summaries of your support.

• Indicate what that research must entail and how it would help.
• Also state why the subject matter is important enough to continue researching and how it has significance to the real world.

Writing Help

Community Q&A

• Avoid the use of "In conclusion..." While many writers may be taught to end conclusion paragraphs with this phrase as they first learn to write essays, you should never include this phrase in an essay written at a higher academic level. This phrase and the information that usually follows it is empty information that only serves to clutter up your final paragraph. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
• Do not introduce any new information in your conclusion. Summarize the important details of the essay. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
• Do not argue in an analysis. Focus on the "how" they made their point, not if it's good or not. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

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• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/academic_writing/establishing_arguments/rhetorical_strategies.html
• ↑ https://courses.lumenlearning.com/englishcomp1/chapter/text-an-overview-of-the-rhetorical-modes/
• ↑ https://oer.pressbooks.pub/informedarguments/chapter/rhetorical-modes-of-writing/
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/visual_rhetoric/analyzing_visual_documents/organizing_your_analysis.html
• ↑ https://www.pfw.edu/offices/learning-support/documents/WriteARhetoricalAnalysis.pdf

About This Article

To write a rhetorical analysis, start by determining what the author of the work you're analyzing is trying to argue. Then, ask yourself if they succeeded in making their argument. Whether you think they did or didn't, include quotes and specific examples in your analysis to back up your opinion. When you're writing your analysis, use the third-person to appear objective as opposed to using "I" or "we." Also, make sure you include the author's name, profession, and purpose for writing the text at the beginning of your analysis to give reader's some context. To learn different ways to structure your rhetorical analysis from our English Ph.D. co-author, keep reading! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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How to write a rhetorical analysis

What is a rhetorical analysis?

What are the key concepts of a rhetorical analysis, rhetorical situation, claims, supports, and warrants.

• Step 1: Plan and prepare
• Step 2: Write your introduction
• Step 3: Write the body
• Step 4: Write your conclusion

Frequently Asked Questions about rhetorical analysis

Related articles.

Rhetoric is the art of persuasion and aims to study writers’ or speakers' techniques to inform, persuade, or motivate their audience. Thus, a rhetorical analysis aims to explore the goals and motivations of an author, the techniques they’ve used to reach their audience, and how successful these techniques were.

This will generally involve analyzing a specific text and considering the following aspects to connect the rhetorical situation to the text:

• Does the author successfully support the thesis or claims made in the text? Here, you’ll analyze whether the author holds to their argument consistently throughout the text or whether they wander off-topic at some point.
• Does the author use evidence effectively considering the text’s intended audience? Here, you’ll consider the evidence used by the author to support their claims and whether the evidence resonates with the intended audience.
• What rhetorical strategies the author uses to achieve their goals. Here, you’ll consider the word choices by the author and whether these word choices align with their agenda for the text.
• The tone of the piece. Here, you’ll consider the tone used by the author in writing the piece by looking at specific words and aspects that set the tone.
• Whether the author is objective or trying to convince the audience of a particular viewpoint. When it comes to objectivity, you’ll consider whether the author is objective or holds a particular viewpoint they want to convince the audience of. If they are, you’ll also consider whether their persuasion interferes with how the text is read and understood.
• Does the author correctly identify the intended audience? It’s important to consider whether the author correctly writes the text for the intended audience and what assumptions the author makes about the audience.
• Does the text make sense? Here, you’ll consider whether the author effectively reasons, based on the evidence, to arrive at the text’s conclusion.
• Does the author try to appeal to the audience’s emotions? You’ll need to consider whether the author uses any words, ideas, or techniques to appeal to the audience’s emotions.
• Can the author be believed? Finally, you’ll consider whether the audience will accept the arguments and ideas of the author and why.

Summing up, unlike summaries that focus on what an author said, a rhetorical analysis focuses on how it’s said, and it doesn’t rely on an analysis of whether the author was right or wrong but rather how they made their case to arrive at their conclusions.

Although rhetorical analysis is most used by academics as part of scholarly work, it can be used to analyze any text including speeches, novels, television shows or films, advertisements, or cartoons.

Now that we’ve seen what rhetorical analysis is, let’s consider some of its key concepts .

Any rhetorical analysis starts with the rhetorical situation which identifies the relationships between the different elements of the text. These elements include the audience, author or writer, the author’s purpose, the delivery method or medium, and the content:

• Audience: The audience is simply the readers of a specific piece of text or content or printed material. For speeches or other mediums like film and video, the audience would be the listeners or viewers. Depending on the specific piece of text or the author’s perception, the audience might be real, imagined, or invoked. With a real audience, the author writes to the people actually reading or listening to the content while, for an imaginary audience, the author writes to an audience they imagine would read the content. Similarly, for an invoked audience, the author writes explicitly to a specific audience.
• Author or writer: The author or writer, also commonly referred to as the rhetor in the context of rhetorical analysis, is the person or the group of persons who authored the text or content.
• The author’s purpose: The author’s purpose is the author’s reason for communicating to the audience. In other words, the author’s purpose encompasses what the author expects or intends to achieve with the text or content.
• Alphabetic text includes essays, editorials, articles, speeches, and other written pieces.
• Imaging includes website and magazine advertisements, TV commercials, and the like.
• Audio includes speeches, website advertisements, radio or tv commercials, or podcasts.
• Context: The context of the text or content considers the time, place, and circumstances surrounding the delivery of the text to its audience. With respect to context, it might often also be helpful to analyze the text in a different context to determine its impact on a different audience and in different circumstances.

An author will use claims, supports, and warrants to build the case around their argument, irrespective of whether the argument is logical and clearly defined or needs to be inferred by the audience:

• Claim: The claim is the main idea or opinion of an argument that the author must prove to the intended audience. In other words, the claim is the fact or facts the author wants to convince the audience of. Claims are usually explicitly stated but can, depending on the specific piece of content or text, be implied from the content. Although these claims could be anything and an argument may be based on a single or several claims, the key is that these claims should be debatable.
• Support: The supports are used by the author to back up the claims they make in their argument. These supports can include anything from fact-based, objective evidence to subjective emotional appeals and personal experiences used by the author to convince the audience of a specific claim. Either way, the stronger and more reliable the supports, the more likely the audience will be to accept the claim.
• Warrant: The warrants are the logic and assumptions that connect the supports to the claims. In other words, they’re the assumptions that make the initial claim possible. The warrant is often unstated, and the author assumes that the audience will be able to understand the connection between the claims and supports. In turn, this is based on the author’s assumption that they share a set of values and beliefs with the audience that will make them understand the connection mentioned above. Conversely, if the audience doesn’t share these beliefs and values with the author, the argument will not be that effective.

Appeals are used by authors to convince their audience and, as such, are an integral part of the rhetoric and are often referred to as the rhetorical triangle. As a result, an author may combine all three appeals to convince their audience:

• Ethos: Ethos represents the authority or credibility of the author. To be successful, the author needs to convince the audience of their authority or credibility through the language and delivery techniques they use. This will, for example, be the case where an author writing on a technical subject positions themselves as an expert or authority by referring to their qualifications or experience.
• Logos: Logos refers to the reasoned argument the author uses to persuade their audience. In other words, it refers to the reasons or evidence the author proffers in substantiation of their claims and can include facts, statistics, and other forms of evidence. For this reason, logos is also the dominant approach in academic writing where authors present and build up arguments using reasoning and evidence.
• Pathos: Through pathos, also referred to as the pathetic appeal, the author attempts to evoke the audience’s emotions through the use of, for instance, passionate language, vivid imagery, anger, sympathy, or any other emotional response.

To write a rhetorical analysis, you need to follow the steps below:

With a rhetorical analysis, you don’t choose concepts in advance and apply them to a specific text or piece of content. Rather, you’ll have to analyze the text to identify the separate components and plan and prepare your analysis accordingly.

Here, it might be helpful to use the SOAPSTone technique to identify the components of the work. SOAPSTone is a common acronym in analysis and represents the:

• Speaker . Here, you’ll identify the author or the narrator delivering the content to the audience.
• Occasion . With the occasion, you’ll identify when and where the story takes place and what the surrounding context is.
• Audience . Here, you’ll identify who the audience or intended audience is.
• Purpose . With the purpose, you’ll need to identify the reason behind the text or what the author wants to achieve with their writing.
• Subject . You’ll also need to identify the subject matter or topic of the text.
• Tone . The tone identifies the author’s feelings towards the subject matter or topic.

Apart from gathering the information and analyzing the components mentioned above, you’ll also need to examine the appeals the author uses in writing the text and attempting to persuade the audience of their argument. Moreover, you’ll need to identify elements like word choice, word order, repetition, analogies, and imagery the writer uses to get a reaction from the audience.

Once you’ve gathered the information and examined the appeals and strategies used by the author as mentioned above, you’ll need to answer some questions relating to the information you’ve collected from the text. The answers to these questions will help you determine the reasons for the choices the author made and how well these choices support the overall argument.

Here, some of the questions you’ll ask include:

• What was the author’s intention?
• Who was the intended audience?
• What is the author’s argument?
• What strategies does the author use to build their argument and why do they use those strategies?
• What appeals the author uses to convince and persuade the audience?
• What effect the text has on the audience?

Keep in mind that these are just some of the questions you’ll ask, and depending on the specific text, there might be others.

Once you’ve done your preparation, you can start writing the rhetorical analysis. It will start off with an introduction which is a clear and concise paragraph that shows you understand the purpose of the text and gives more information about the author and the relevance of the text.

The introduction also summarizes the text and the main ideas you’ll discuss in your analysis. Most importantly, however, is your thesis statement . This statement should be one sentence at the end of the introduction that summarizes your argument and tempts your audience to read on and find out more about it.

After your introduction, you can proceed with the body of your analysis. Here, you’ll write at least three paragraphs that explain the strategies and techniques used by the author to convince and persuade the audience, the reasons why the writer used this approach, and why it’s either successful or unsuccessful.

You can structure the body of your analysis in several ways. For example, you can deal with every strategy the author uses in a new paragraph, but you can also structure the body around the specific appeals the author used or chronologically.

No matter how you structure the body and your paragraphs, it’s important to remember that you support each one of your arguments with facts, data, examples, or quotes and that, at the end of every paragraph, you tie the topic back to your original thesis.

Finally, you’ll write the conclusion of your rhetorical analysis. Here, you’ll repeat your thesis statement and summarize the points you’ve made in the body of your analysis. Ultimately, the goal of the conclusion is to pull the points of your analysis together so you should be careful to not raise any new issues in your conclusion.

After you’ve finished your conclusion, you’ll end your analysis with a powerful concluding statement of why your argument matters and an invitation to conduct more research if needed.

A rhetorical analysis aims to explore the goals and motivations of an author, the techniques they’ve used to reach their audience, and how successful these techniques were. Although rhetorical analysis is most used by academics as part of scholarly work, it can be used to analyze any text including speeches, novels, television shows or films, advertisements, or cartoons.

The steps to write a rhetorical analysis include:

Your rhetorical analysis introduction is a clear and concise paragraph that shows you understand the purpose of the text and gives more information about the author and the relevance of the text. The introduction also summarizes the text and the main ideas you’ll discuss in your analysis.

Ethos represents the authority or credibility of the author. To be successful, the author needs to convince the audience of their authority or credibility through the language and delivery techniques they use. This will, for example, be the case where an author writing on a technical subject positions themselves as an expert or authority by referring to their qualifications or experience.

Appeals are used by authors to convince their audience and, as such, are an integral part of the rhetoric and are often referred to as the rhetorical triangle. The 3 types of appeals are ethos, logos, and pathos.

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Rhetorical Analysis

Almost every text makes an argument. Rhetorical analysis is the process of evaluating elements of a text and determining how those elements impact the success or failure of that argument. Often rhetorical analyses address written arguments, but visual, oral, or other kinds of “texts” can also be analyzed. 

Rhetorical Features—What to Analyze

Asking the right questions about how a text is constructed will help you determine the focus of your rhetorical analysis. A good rhetorical analysis does not try to address every element of a text; discuss just those aspects with the greatest [positive or negative] impact on the text’s effectiveness. 

The Rhetorical Situation

Remember that no text exists in a vacuum. The rhetorical situation of a text refers to the context in which it is written and read, the audience to whom it is directed, and the purpose of the writer. 

The Rhetorical Appeals

A writer makes many strategic decisions when attempting to persuade an audience. Considering the following rhetorical appeals will help you understand some of these strategies and their effect on an argument. Generally, writers should incorporate a variety of different rhetorical appeals rather than relying on only one kind. 

Ethos (appeal to the writer’s credibility)

• What is the writer’s purpose (to argue, explain, teach, defend, call to action, etc.)?
• Do you trust the writer? Why?
• Is the writer an authority on the subject? What credentials does the writer have?
• Does the writer address other viewpoints?
• How does the writer’s word choice or tone affect how you view the writer?

Pathos (appeal to emotion or to an audience’s values or beliefs)

• Who is the target audience for the argument?
• How is the writer trying to make the audience feel (i.e., sad, happy, angry, guilty)?
• Is the writer making any assumptions about the background, knowledge, values, etc. of the audience?

Logos (appeal to logic)

• Is the writer’s evidence relevant to the purpose of the argument? Is the evidence current (if applicable)? Does the writer use a variety of sources to support the argument?
• What kind of evidence is used (i.e., expert testimony, statistics, proven facts)?
• Do the writer’s points build logically upon each other?
• Where in the text is the main argument stated? How does that placement affect the success of the argument?
• Does the writer’s thesis make that purpose clear?

Kairos (appeal to timeliness)

• When was the argument originally presented?
• Where was the argument originally presented?
• What circumstances may have motivated the argument?
• Does the particular time or situation in which this text is written make it more compelling or persuasive?
• What would an audience at this particular time understand about this argument?

Writing a Rhetorical Analysis Essay

No matter the kind of text you are analyzing, remember that the text’s subject matter is never the focus of a rhetorical analysis. The most common error writers make when writing rhetorical analyses is to address the topic or opinion expressed by an author instead of focusing on how that author constructs an argument.

You must read and study a text critically in order to distinguish its rhetorical elements and strategies from its content or message. By identifying and understanding how audiences are persuaded, you become more proficient at constructing your own arguments and in resisting faulty arguments made by others.

A thesis for a rhetorical analysis does not address the content of the writer’s argument. Instead, the thesis should be a statement about specific rhetorical strategies the writer uses and whether or not they make a convincing argument.

Incorrect: Smith’s editorial promotes the establishment of more green space in the Atlanta area through the planting of more trees along major roads.

This statement is summarizing the meaning and purpose of Smith’s writing rather than making an argument about how – and how effectively – Smith presents and defends his position.

Correct: Through the use of vivid description and testimony from affected citizens, Smith makes a powerful argument for establishing more green space in the Atlanta area.

Correct: Although Smith’s editorial includes vivid descriptions of the destruction of green space in the Atlanta area, his argument will not convince his readers because his claim is not backed up with factual evidence.

These statements are both focused on how Smith argues, and both make a claim about the effectiveness of his argument that can be defended throughout the paper with examples from Smith’s text.

Introduction

The introduction should name the author and the title of the work you are analyzing. Providing any relevant background information about the text and state your thesis (see above). Resist the urge to delve into the topic of the text and stay focused on the rhetorical strategies being used.

Summary of argument

Include a short summary of the argument you are analyzing so readers not familiar with the text can understand your claims and have context for the examples you provide.

The body of your essay discusses and evaluates the rhetorical strategies (elements of the rhetorical situation and rhetorical appeals – see above) that make the argument effective or not. Be certain to provide specific examples from the text for each strategy you discuss and focus on those strategies that are most important to the text you are analyzing. Your essay should follow a logical organization plan that your reader can easily follow.

Go beyond restating your thesis; comment on the effect or significance of the entire essay. Make a statement about how important rhetorical strategies are in determining the effectiveness of an argument or text.

Analyzing Visual Arguments

The same rhetorical elements and appeals used to analyze written texts also apply to visual arguments. Additionally, analyzing a visual text requires an understanding of how design elements work together to create certain persuasive effects (or not). Consider how elements such as image selection, color, use of space, graphics, layout, or typeface influence an audience’s reaction to the argument that the visual was designed to convey.

This material was developed by the KSU Writing Center and is licensed under a  Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License . All materials created by the KSU Writing Center are free to use and can be adopted, remixed, and shared at will as long as the materials are attributed. Please keep this information on materials you adapt or adopt for attribution purposes. 

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Writers Workshop

Rhetorical Analysis

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.

To write a rhetorical analysis, you’ll first break down the rhetorical situation and analyze the author’s rhetorical strategies.

Rhetorical Situation

The rhetorical situation is the communicative context of a text, which includes:

Audience : The specific or intended audience of a text.

Author/speaker/writer : The person or group of people who composed the text.

Purpose : To inform, persuade, entertain; what the author wants the audience to believe, know, feel, or do.

Exigence : The text’s reason for being, such as an event, situation, or position within an ongoing debate that the writer is responding to.

Message : The content of the text, the key point(s) the author is communicating to the audience.

Medium and genre : The delivery method, which includes broadly and narrowly defined categories of communication such as:

• Alphabetic text (newspaper editorials, peer-reviewed academic articles, magazine feature essays),
• Images (advertisements, photographs),
• Sound (speeches, radio commercials, songs),
• Multimodal texts (YouTube videos, performances, graphic novels).

Rhetorical Strategies

After breaking down the rhetorical situation, you need to analyze how the author uses rhetorical techniques to convey the message. As you analyze the text, consider:

• How effectively does the author use the ethos appeal to accomplish their intended purpose? In other words, how does the author convince the audience of their credibility, authority, or trustworthiness? What qualifications do they have to address this topic? How does the author demonstrate shared values with the audience?
• How effectively does the author use the pathos appeal to accomplish their intended purpose? In other words, how does the author evoke emotions of pity, sympathy, anger, courage, happiness, sorrow, etc. in the audience? How does the author establish a bond with the audience? What kinds of images, colors, words, sounds does the author use to evoke these feelings?
• How effectively does the author use the logos appeal to accomplish their intended purpose? What evidence and types of reasoning does the author use? How does the author arrange their ideas or order their main points? Does the author use repetition, inductive logic, or deductive logic? Does the author refer to precedents? Address alternative arguments or viewpoints?

Writing a Thesis for Your Rhetorical Analysis

After you’ve analyzed the rhetorical situation and rhetorical strategies, you’ll need to create a thesis for your rhetorical analysis. Often, the thesis statement will assess the author’s effectiveness in accomplishing their purpose with the intended audience through the use of rhetorical strategies.

You might adapt a template like this one: “In [text], [author] effectively convinces [audience] of [message] by [rhetorical strategies].”

Here’s an example: The webpage “Rhetorical Analysis,” written by the Writers Workshop, effectively informs students about how to write a rhetorical analysis by breaking down the elements of the rhetorical situation in an easy-to-read list, posing a series of questions about rhetorical strategies, and capitalizing on the Workshop’s ethos as the campus writing center.

Related Links

Understanding Assignments

Reading Scholarly Sources

Integrating Sources

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How to Write a Rhetorical Analysis: Tips, Guidelines, and Rhetorical Analysis Examples

A rhetorical analysis essay is one of the different types of academic essays written for a specific audience. This essay examines the intentions and techniques of the author and promotes critical thinking.

This article explains how to write a rhetorical analysis and identifies some fundamental rhetorical principles while giving you rhetorical analysis examples to aid your writing process.

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What is a rhetorical analysis.

In rhetorical analysis, a text is examined from the perspective of rhetoric. Therefore, the essay is less concerned with what the author says and more concerned with how they say it. It focuses on their goals, strategies, and audience appeals.

A rhetorical analysis follows the same format as other essays, including an introduction that states the thesis, a body that analyzes the text in detail, and a conclusion that summarizes the main points and wraps up the essay.

What Are the 4 Features of a Rhetorical Analysis?

• Rhetorical appeals. Authors use rhetorical appeals to persuade their audience in a rhetorical analysis essay. The three major rhetorical appeals are logos, also known as the logic appeal, ethos, also known as the ethical appeal, and pathos, also known as the pathetic appeal. Aristotle developed rhetorical appeals, also known as the rhetorical triangle.
• Text. Any piece of communication you are studying is known as a text. A speech, an advertisement, or a satirical image could all be examples of this type of communication. Most of the time, your analysis would include more than just language. You could also look at the text’s visual or auditive aspects.
• Context. The rhetorical analysis takes into account the author, the intended or actual audience, the time and place of the work, and the reason for its creation. Your rhetorical analysis can be strengthened by considering the context.
• Claims, supports, and warrants. There are always arguments in rhetorical analysis essays, and these arguments are based on claims, supports, and warrants. A claim is a fact or idea the author intends to convince the audience of support is the evidence used to support a claim, and the warrant is the logic or assumption supporting the claim.

How to Write a Rhetorical Analysis: Beginning and Ending

How you begin and end your entire essay will determine whether it is accepted by the audience or not. To write an effective rhetorical analysis essay, you need to pay attention to every detail. The following is a detailed description of how to begin and end a strong rhetorical essay.

How to Begin a Rhetorical Analysis

A rhetorical analysis, like any other essay, begins with an introduction. The introductory paragraph informs readers about the literature for discussion, gives significant background information, and provides your thesis statement in an objective tone.

In your paper, your argument begins with the first few words. As a result, your introduction should provide context that allows the reader to see the importance of your argument. Always begin your rhetorical analysis essay by providing factual data that leads smoothly into your argument.

How to End a Rhetorical Analysis

Your conclusion should explain your primary argument briefly. It should then apply your argument to a higher level, explaining why it is essential and what it implies in practice.

The conclusion of a rhetorical analysis summarizes the essay by demonstrating its production process through your analysis. Your conclusion may also attempt to link the text and your study of it to more significant issues.

How to Write a Rhetorical Analysis: 5 More Useful Tips

Collate Information

When writing a rhetorical analysis, ensure that you gather accurate facts using the SOAPSTone technique to identify the components of the work and arrange your analysis and essay outline.

SOAPSTone is a literary analysis acronym that stands for speaker, occasion, audience, purpose, subject, and tone. When you collate accurate information, you set the foundation for a strong essay.

Study the Appeals

A writer uses appeals, also known as persuasive strategies, to generate specific responses from their audience. The three appeals include ethos appeals, logos appeals, and pathos appeals.

The appeal to ethos involves ethical appeals, such as emphasizing one’s qualifications, that build the writer’s credibility. Logos refers to logical appeals such as evidence and statistics, which writers use to make an argument. Pathos appeals include personal and relatable data about a subject that provokes an emotional appeal in the audience.

Determine Style Choices and Details

Style choices and details are tools the writer can use to generate a specific emotion from the reader. Word choice, word order, tone, repetition, imagery, analogies, and figurative language are examples of these tools.

Build an Analysis

When building an analysis, ask yourself about the information you’ve gathered. Your responses will assist you in determining the reasons for the writer’s selections and how well they support the argument of the writer.

Consider the intended audience, the author’s intentions, the argument, the writer’s rhetorical strategy, the appeals the writer uses, and the effect the essay has on the reader.

Write the Body Text

Include at least three body paragraphs that provide evidence for your thesis when writing the body of your essay. Each paragraph should cover a new, well-defined topic. You could divide your body paragraphs based on the appeals, chronologically, and by techniques.

Each paragraph should contain facts and quotes rather than opinions, emotions, and rhetorical devices. You should also pay careful attention to grammar to ensure that your rhetorical analysis essay does not contain grammatical errors.

Rhetorical Analysis Examples to Help You Make an Effective Argument

A rhetorical analysis seeks to understand how an author communicates their message to a specific audience by studying their intentions, explaining the tactics or tools they use, and analyzing their effectiveness. Below are examples of rhetorical analysis.

Rhetorical Analysis Example 1: Visual Rhetorical Analysis Essay

An essay that uses visual rhetorical analysis examines how images and pictures convey messages and influence the audience. Visual rhetorical analysis papers are typically for commercials and so they are useful if you want to break into a field such as digital marketing .

Baker College provides a sample visual rhetorical essay to assist students in understanding its writing process. They break it down piece by piece to make learning and writing easier and more understandable.

Rhetorical Analysis Example 2: AP Language Rhetorical Analysis Essay

Writing a rhetorical analysis for an AP language and composition course can be challenging. As a result, it is critical to compose it appropriately if you want to get top grades. To write a successful and winning essay, make sure you grasp the prompt, follow the format, and use rhetorical components to form an argument.

Texas A&M provides a rhetorical analysis example guide for their students to break down the proper composition using easy-to-understand instructions.

How to Use Rhetorical Analysis Examples to Write Your Own

If you examine different examples of rhetorical analysis essays, you will be able to use different rhetorical techniques in writing your own. You will also be able to give a critical analysis of subjects and present a strong academic paper .

How to Write a Rhetorical Analysis FAQ

When writing a rhetorical analysis, you should address the goal or purpose of the essay; arguments, evidence, and strategies used, and why; examples of these arguments, evidence, and strategies, and your explanation of why they worked or did not work.

When selecting a topic for a rhetorical essay, consider one that interests you. It should also provide sufficient information for you to reference in your essay. Famous poetry, speeches, movies, art, and literature are popular topics to choose from.

To develop an argument about communication, a brief rhetorical analysis evaluates all parts of the rhetorical situation, including the audience, purpose, medium, and context in which it was made and presented.

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The five central elements of rhetorical analysis are the text, the author, the audience, the purpose(s), and the setting.

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How to Write the AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Essay (With Example)

November 27, 2023

Feeling intimidated by the AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Essay? We’re here to help demystify. Whether you’re cramming for the AP Lang exam right now or planning to take the test down the road, we’ve got crucial rubric information, helpful tips, and an essay example to prepare you for the big day. This post will cover 1) What is the AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Essay? 2) AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Rubric 3) AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis: Sample Prompt 4) AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example 5)AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example: Why It Works

What is the AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Essay?

The AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Essay is one of three essays included in the written portion of the AP English Exam. The full AP English Exam is 3 hours and 15 minutes long, with the first 60 minutes dedicated to multiple-choice questions. Once you complete the multiple-choice section, you move on to three equally weighted essays that ask you to synthesize, analyze, and interpret texts and develop well-reasoned arguments. The three essays include:

Synthesis essay: You’ll review various pieces of evidence and then write an essay that synthesizes (aka combines and interprets) the evidence and presents a clear argument. Read our write up on How to Write the AP Lang Synthesis Essay here.

Argumentative essay: You’ll take a stance on a specific topic and argue your case.

Rhetorical essay: You’ll read a provided passage, then analyze the author’s rhetorical choices and develop an argument that explains why the author made those rhetorical choices.

AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Rubric

The AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Essay is graded on just 3 rubric categories: Thesis, Evidence and Commentary, and Sophistication . At a glance, the rubric categories may seem vague, but AP exam graders are actually looking for very particular things in each category. We’ll break it down with dos and don’ts for each rubric category:

Thesis (0-1 point)

There’s nothing nebulous when it comes to grading AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Essay thesis. You either have one or you don’t. Including a thesis gets you one point closer to a high score and leaving it out means you miss out on one crucial point. So, what makes a thesis that counts?

• Make sure your thesis argues something about the author’s rhetorical choices. Making an argument means taking a risk and offering your own interpretation of the provided text. This is an argument that someone else might disagree with.
• A good test to see if you have a thesis that makes an argument. In your head, add the phrase “I think that…” to the beginning of your thesis. If what follows doesn’t logically flow after that phrase (aka if what follows isn’t something you and only you think), it’s likely you’re not making an argument.
• Avoid a thesis that merely restates the prompt.
• Avoid a thesis that summarizes the text but does not make an argument.

Evidence and Commentary (0-4 points)

This rubric category is graded on a scale of 0-4 where 4 is the highest grade. Per the AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis rubric, to get a 4, you’ll want to:

• Include lots of specific evidence from the text. There is no set golden number of quotes to include, but you’ll want to make sure you’re incorporating more than a couple pieces of evidence that support your argument about the author’s rhetorical choices.
• Make sure you include more than one type of evidence, too. Let’s say you’re working on your essay and have gathered examples of alliteration to include as supporting evidence. That’s just one type of rhetorical choice, and it’s hard to make a credible argument if you’re only looking at one type of evidence. To fix that issue, reread the text again looking for patterns in word choice and syntax, meaningful figurative language and imagery, literary devices, and other rhetorical choices, looking for additional types of evidence to support your argument.
• After you include evidence, offer your own interpretation and explain how this evidence proves the point you make in your thesis.
• Don’t summarize or speak generally about the author and the text. Everything you write must be backed up with evidence.
• Don’t let quotes speak for themselves. After every piece of evidence you include, make sure to explain your interpretation. Also, connect the evidence to your overarching argument.

Sophistication (0-1 point)

In this case, sophistication isn’t about how many fancy vocabulary words or how many semicolons you use. According to College Board , one point can be awarded to AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis essays that “demonstrate sophistication of thought and/or a complex understanding of the rhetorical situation” in any of these three ways:

• Explaining the significance or relevance of the writer’s rhetorical choices.
• Explaining the purpose or function of the passage’s complexities or tensions.
• Employing a style that is consistently vivid and persuasive.

Note that you don’t have to achieve all three to earn your sophistication point. A good way to think of this rubric category is to consider it a bonus point that you can earn for going above and beyond in depth of analysis or by writing an especially persuasive, clear, and well-structured essay. In order to earn this point, you’ll need to first do a good job with your thesis, evidence, and commentary.

• Focus on nailing an argumentative thesis and multiple types of evidence. Getting these fundamentals of your essay right will set you up for achieving depth of analysis.
• Explain how each piece of evidence connects to your thesis.
• Spend a minute outlining your essay before you begin to ensure your essay flows in a clear and cohesive way.
• Steer clear of generalizations about the author or text.
• Don’t include arguments you can’t prove with evidence from the text.
• Avoid complex sentences and fancy vocabulary words unless you use them often. Long, clunky sentences with imprecisely used words are hard to follow.

AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis: Sample Prompt

The sample prompt below is published online by College Board and is a real example from the 2021 AP Exam. The prompt provides background context, essay instructions, and the text you need to analyze. For sake of space, we’ve included the text as an image you can click to read. After the prompt, we provide a sample high scoring essay and then explain why this AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis essay example works.

Suggested time—40 minutes.

(This question counts as one-third of the total essay section score.)

On February 27, 2013, while in office, former president Barack Obama delivered the following address dedicating the Rosa Parks statue in the National Statuary Hall of the United States Capitol building. Rosa Parks was an African American civil rights activist who was arrested in 1955 for refusing to give up her seat on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Read the passage carefully. Write an essay that analyzes the rhetorical choices Obama makes to convey his message.

In your response you should do the following:

• Respond to the prompt with a thesis that analyzes the writer’s rhetorical choices.
• Select and use evidence to support your line of reasoning.
• Explain how the evidence supports your line of reasoning.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the rhetorical situation.
• Use appropriate grammar and punctuation in communicating your argument.

AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example

In his speech delivered in 2013 at the dedication of Rosa Park’s statue, President Barack Obama acknowledges everything that Parks’ activism made possible in the United States. Telling the story of Parks’ life and achievements, Obama highlights the fact that Parks was a regular person whose actions accomplished enormous change during the civil rights era. Through the use of diction that portrays Parks as quiet and demure, long lists that emphasize the extent of her impacts, and Biblical references, Obama suggests that all of us are capable of achieving greater good, just as Parks did.

Although it might be a surprising way to start to his dedication, Obama begins his speech by telling us who Parks was not: “Rosa Parks held no elected office. She possessed no fortune” he explains in lines 1-2. Later, when he tells the story of the bus driver who threatened to have Parks arrested when she refused to get off the bus, he explains that Parks “simply replied, ‘You may do that’” (lines 22-23). Right away, he establishes that Parks was a regular person who did not hold a seat of power. Her protest on the bus was not part of a larger plan, it was a simple response. By emphasizing that Parks was not powerful, wealthy, or loud spoken, he implies that Parks’ style of activism is an everyday practice that all of us can aspire to.

AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example (Continued)

Even though Obama portrays Parks as a demure person whose protest came “simply” and naturally, he shows the importance of her activism through long lists of ripple effects. When Parks challenged her arrest, Obama explains, Martin Luther King, Jr. stood with her and “so did thousands of Montgomery, Alabama commuters” (lines 27-28). They began a boycott that included “teachers and laborers, clergy and domestics, through rain and cold and sweltering heat, day after day, week after week, month after month, walking miles if they had to…” (lines 28-31). In this section of the speech, Obama’s sentences grow longer and he uses lists to show that Parks’ small action impacted and inspired many others to fight for change. Further, listing out how many days, weeks, and months the boycott lasted shows how Parks’ single act of protest sparked a much longer push for change.

To further illustrate Parks’ impact, Obama incorporates Biblical references that emphasize the importance of “that single moment on the bus” (lines 57-58). In lines 33-35, Obama explains that Parks and the other protestors are “driven by a solemn determination to affirm their God-given dignity” and he also compares their victory to the fall the “ancient walls of Jericho” (line 43). By of including these Biblical references, Obama suggests that Parks’ action on the bus did more than correct personal or political wrongs; it also corrected moral and spiritual wrongs. Although Parks had no political power or fortune, she was able to restore a moral balance in our world.

Toward the end of the speech, Obama states that change happens “not mainly through the exploits of the famous and the powerful, but through the countless acts of often anonymous courage and kindness” (lines 78-81). Through carefully chosen diction that portrays her as a quiet, regular person and through lists and Biblical references that highlight the huge impacts of her action, Obama illustrates exactly this point. He wants us to see that, just like Parks, the small and meek can change the world for the better.

AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example: Why It Works

We would give the AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis essay above a score of 6 out of 6 because it fully satisfies the essay’s 3 rubric categories: Thesis, Evidence and Commentary, and Sophistication . Let’s break down what this student did:

The thesis of this essay appears in the last line of the first paragraph:

“ Through the use of diction that portrays Parks as quiet and demure, long lists that emphasize the extent of her impacts, and Biblical references, Obama suggests that all of us are capable of achieving greater good, just as Parks did .”

This student’s thesis works because they make a clear argument about Obama’s rhetorical choices. They 1) list the rhetorical choices that will be analyzed in the rest of the essay (the italicized text above) and 2) include an argument someone else might disagree with (the bolded text above).

Evidence and Commentary:

This student includes substantial evidence and commentary. Things they do right, per the AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis rubric:

• They include lots of specific evidence from the text in the form of quotes.
• They incorporate 3 different types of evidence (diction, long lists, Biblical references).
• After including evidence, they offer an interpretation of what the evidence means and explain how the evidence contributes to their overarching argument (aka their thesis).

Sophistication

This essay achieves sophistication according to the AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis essay rubric in a few key ways:

• This student provides an introduction that flows naturally into the topic their essay will discuss. Before they get to their thesis, they tell us that Obama portrays Parks as a “regular person” setting up their main argument: Obama wants all regular people to aspire to do good in the world just as Rosa Parks did.
• They organize evidence and commentary in a clear and cohesive way. Each body paragraph focuses on just one type of evidence.
• They explain how their evidence is significant. In the final sentence of each body paragraph, they draw a connection back to the overarching argument presented in the thesis.
• All their evidence supports the argument presented in their thesis. There is no extraneous evidence or misleading detail.
• They consider nuances in the text. Rather than taking the text at face value, they consider what Obama’s rhetorical choices imply and offer their own unique interpretation of those implications.
• In their final paragraph, they come full circle, reiterate their thesis, and explain what Obama’s rhetorical choices communicate to readers.
• Their sentences are clear and easy to read. There are no grammar errors or misused words.

AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Essay—More Resources

Looking for more tips to help your master your AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Essay? Brush up on 20 Rhetorical Devices High School Students Should Know and read our Tips for Improving Reading Comprehension . If you’re ready to start studying for another part of the AP English Exam, find more expert tips in our How to Write the AP Lang Synthesis blog post.

Considering what other AP classes to take? Read up on the Hardest AP Classes .

• High School Success

Christina Wood

Christina Wood holds a BA in Literature & Writing from UC San Diego, an MFA in Creative Writing from Washington University in St. Louis, and is currently a Doctoral Candidate in English at the University of Georgia, where she teaches creative writing and first-year composition courses. Christina has published fiction and nonfiction in numerous publications, including The Paris Review , McSweeney’s , Granta , Virginia Quarterly Review , The Sewanee Review , Mississippi Review , and Puerto del Sol , among others. Her story “The Astronaut” won the 2018 Shirley Jackson Award for short fiction and received a “Distinguished Stories” mention in the 2019 Best American Short Stories anthology.

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Ethos, Pathos, and Logos - Structure, Usage & Examples

Staring at a blank page, unsure how to begin your rhetorical analysis essay? You're not alone. Many students struggle with the first step: creating an outline. 

Without a clear plan, your essay can quickly become disorganized. But don't worry, we're here to help. 

In this blog, we'll show you how to craft a solid rhetorical analysis essay outline. By the end, you'll know exactly how to structure your outline. 

Keep reading to tackle those blank pages with confidence!

• 1. What Is A Rhetorical Analysis Essay?
• 2. Why Create a Rhetorical Analysis Essay Outline?
• 3. Components of a Rhetorical Analysis Outline
• 4. Steps to Create a Rhetorical Analysis Essay Outline
• 5. Rhetorical Analysis Essay Outline Examples

What Is A Rhetorical Analysis Essay?

A rhetorical analysis essay is a type of analytical essay that examines how an author uses language and persuasion to get their message across.

It involves analyzing speeches or essays to understand how authors use strategies within the rhetorical triangle to influence their intended audience. These techniques usually involve logical appeal, moral argument, and vivid imagery that appeals to the listener. 

Key Elements to Analyze

In a rhetorical analysis essay, you would be analyzing the text keeping these key rhetorical concepts in mind:

• Ethos: This concerns the credibility of the author or speaker.
• Logos: This focuses on the logical aspects of the argument.
• Pathos: Pathos explores the emotional appeal of the discourse.
• Style and Tone: This involves analyzing the author's writing style and the overall tone of the text.
• Context: Looks at the historical, cultural, and social background of the text.

These elements provide a structured approach to rhetorical analysis, revealing how effective communication is achieved.

Why Create a Rhetorical Analysis Essay Outline?

Writing a rhetorical analysis essay requires a writer to draft a structured piece of writing. 

Apart from conducting a strong analysis, a rhetorical analysis essay depends on how perfectly the essay outline is drafted. 

An outline organizes the raw information and makes it understandable for the readers. It serves as your compass, ensuring you stay on course throughout the rhetoric essay. It helps you structure your ideas and arguments, adding clarity to your essay writing process. 

Moreover, an outline works as a checklist for your essay. It assures you that nothing important is missed in the content.

Components of a Rhetorical Analysis Outline

Now that we've explored why creating an essay outline is essential, it's important to explore the different components of a rhetorical analysis outline. 

Here’s a detailed rhetorical analysis essay outline:

Each element plays a crucial role in crafting a well-structured and persuasive analysis, so let's explore them in detail:

Introduction

The introduction of your rhetorical analysis essay serves as the gateway to your analysis. It's where you captivate your reader's interest, provide essential background information, and present your thesis statement. 

Here are the elements typically included in an introduction paragraph:

• Hook The " hook " is a sentence or two designed to grab the reader's attention. It could be a thought-provoking quote, a surprising fact, or a compelling question. The purpose is to make your reader interested in what you're about to discuss—how an author uses rhetorical devices.
• Background Information After the hook, provide some context. Here, you briefly introduce the text you're analyzing, the author or speaker, and the overall topic. It's like giving your reader a map to navigate through your analysis.
• Thesis Statement The thesis statement is the main argument, your "claim." This concise sentence outlines what you'll be analyzing and what your main points will be. Your thesis should tell the reader what to expect in your analysis.

The body of your essay is where you dissect the author's persuasive techniques and reveal their impact on the audience. It contains sections dedicated to each rhetorical strategy you're examining. 

In these sections, you'll explain the strategies, provide evidence from the text, and offer your insightful analysis of their effectiveness. 

Section for Each Rhetorical Strategy

In the body paragraphs , you'll have sections dedicated to each rhetorical strategy you're analyzing. These sections each will focus on a different aspect of the text. For each strategy, you'll do three things:

• Explanation of the Strategy Start by explaining what the rhetorical technique is. Define it clearly for your reader. This is like providing a dictionary definition.
• Examples from the Text Next, provide examples from the text you're analyzing. These are specific quotes or passages where the author or speaker uses the strategy you're discussing. It's like showing your reader the evidence.
• Analysis of the Effectiveness Finally, analyze how effective the strategy is. This is where you dive deep into the text and explain how and why the strategy persuades the audience. 

The conclusion should leave your readers with a sense of closure and a clear understanding of your analysis. 

You don't introduce new information or arguments in this section; instead, you tie everything together. Here are the three essential elements of an impactful essay conclusion:

• Restate Thesis Start by restating your thesis to remind readers of your main argument. Repeating your main argument clearly helps the reader tie in all they have read in your essay.
• Summarize Main Points Summarize the main points from each section of your analysis. This serves as a reminder of the highlights of your arguments made throughout the essay.
• Final Thoughts Conclude by sharing your thoughts on how the author's strategies affect the audience and the text's broader importance. Encourage readers to consider these strategies' impact and the text's relevance.

This structure in your rhetorical analysis outline ensures that your analysis is clear, well-organized, and persuasive. Each component plays a crucial role in guiding your reader through your analysis.

Steps to Create a Rhetorical Analysis Essay Outline

Creating an essay outline is a crucial step in organizing your thoughts and effectively analyzing a piece of rhetoric. Here’s how to write an rhetorical analysis essay outline:

Step 1 - Choose the Text

Select the piece of rhetoric that you will be analyzing. It could be a speech, a written essay, an advertisement, a political campaign, or any other form of communication.

Step 2 - Identify Rhetorical Devices and Rhetorical Appeals

Look for rhetorical devices such as metaphor, simile, analogy, hyperbole, and alliteration. Analyze how these devices contribute to the message. Identify any repetition, parallelism, or rhetorical questions used in the text.

Moreover, look for common rhetorical appeals i,e., ethos, pathos, and logos .

Step 3 -  Analyze Appeals and Strategies in Each Section

For each argument, dedicate a body paragraph that will analyze how the author/speaker uses ethos, pathos, and logos.

Note the specific rhetorical devices used in each section and their impact.

Step 4 -  Consider the Effect on the Audience

While outlining the last body paragraph, add points that analyze how the appeals are intended to affect the audience.

Consider whether the author/speaker is trying to persuade, inform, entertain, or provoke a specific emotional response. Include specific examples and quotations from the text to support your analysis.

Step 5 -  Filter Out Extra Information

It's important to know what parts of the arguments should be included and which should be filtered out. 

After having a sketch of the introduction and body paragraphs, remove any information that might feel irrelevant.

Step 6 -  Conclude and Summarize

For the ending, make sure to restate your thesis statement. Include points that directly support your arguments and sum up your analysis.

These steps help you plan your essay for a well-structured, clear, and cohesive essay.

Here's a sample rhetorical analysis essay outline template that analyzes ethos, pathos and logos :

Here’s a practice outline:

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Outline Fill In The Blanks

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Outline Examples

Here are some rhetorical analysis essay outline pdf that you can use as reference outlines:

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Outline Ethos Pathos Logos

Visual Rhetorical Analysis Essay Outline

Comparative Rhetorical Analysis Essay Outline

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Introduction Outline

AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Essay Outline Examples

Writing a rhetorical analysis essay is a common requirement for AP English and Composition students. It helps structure your thoughts and ensures a coherent argument. 

Here are some examples for help:

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Structure AP Lang

AP English Rhetorical Analysis Essay Outline

AP Language and Composition Rhetorical Analysis Essay Outline

Need more help getting started? Check out these expert rhetorical analysis essay examples to get inspired!

In conclusion, you've got the tools and examples you need to ace your rhetorical analysis essay. The steps we've gone through provide a strong starting point for your academic journey into analyzing persuasive writing. 

But if you ever hit a wall or need help with tight deadlines, don't forget our experts are here to lend a helping hand. Our essay writing service for college has helped lots of students like you get top-notch essays.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How do you write a rhetorical analysis outline.

To write a rhetorical analysis outline, start by identifying the main components: introduction, summary of the text, analysis of rhetorical strategies, and conclusion. Outline each section with key points, such as the author’s purpose, audience, and the effectiveness of rhetorical devices used.

What are the 5 points of a rhetorical analysis?

The five key points of a rhetorical analysis are: 

1) Purpose: What is the author trying to achieve?  2) Audience: Who is the intended audience?  3) Context: What is the situation or background?  4) Ethos, Pathos, Logos: How are credibility, emotion, and logic used?  5) Effectiveness: How successful is the author in achieving their purpose?

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Organizing Your Analysis

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There is no one perfect way to organize a rhetorical analysis essay. In fact, writers should always be a bit leery of plug-in formulas that offer a perfect essay format. Remember, organization itself is not the enemy, only organization without considering the specific demands of your particular writing task. That said, here are some general tips for plotting out the overall form of your essay.

Introduction

Like any rhetorical analysis essay, an essay analyzing a visual document should quickly set the stage for what you’re doing. Try to cover the following concerns in the initial paragraphs:

• Make sure to let the reader know you’re performing a rhetorical analysis. Otherwise, they may expect you to take positions or make an evaluative argument that may not be coming.
• Clearly state what the document under consideration is and possibly give some pertinent background information about its history or development. The intro can be a good place for a quick, narrative summary of the document. The key word here is “quick, for you may be dealing with something large (for example, an entire episode of a cartoon like the Simpsons). Save more in-depth descriptions for your body paragraph analysis.
• If you’re dealing with a smaller document (like a photograph or an advertisement), and copyright allows, the introduction or first page is a good place to integrate it into your page.
• Give a basic run down of the rhetorical situation surrounding the document: the author, the audience, the purpose, the context, etc.

Thesis Statements and Focus

Many authors struggle with thesis statements or controlling ideas in regards to rhetorical analysis essays. There may be a temptation to think that merely announcing the text as a rhetorical analysis is purpose enough. However, especially depending on your essay’s length, your reader may need a more direct and clear statement of your intentions. Below are a few examples.

1. Clearly narrow the focus of what your essay will cover. Ask yourself if one or two design aspects of the document is interesting and complex enough to warrant a full analytical treatment.

The website for Amazon.com provides an excellent example of alignment and proximity to assist its visitors in navigating a potentially large and confusing amount of information.

2. Since visual documents often seek to move people towards a certain action (buying a product, attending an event, expressing a sentiment), an essay may analyze the rhetorical techniques used to accomplish this purpose. The thesis statement should reflect this goal.

The call-out flyer for the Purdue Rowing Team uses a mixture of dynamic imagery and tantalizing promises to create interest in potential, new members.

3. Rhetorical analysis can also easily lead to making original arguments. Performing the analysis may lead you to an argument; or vice versa, you may start with an argument and search for proof that supports it.

A close analysis of the female body images in the July 2007 issue of Cosmopolitan magazine reveals contradictions between the articles’ calls for self-esteem and the advertisements’ unrealistic, beauty demands.

These are merely suggestions. The best measure for what your focus and thesis statement should be the document itself and the demands of your writing situation. Remember that the main thrust of your thesis statement should be on how the document creates meaning and accomplishes its purposes. The OWl has additional information on writing thesis statements.

Analysis Order (Body Paragraphs)

Depending on the genre and size of the document under analysis, there are a number of logical ways to organize your body paragraphs. Below are a few possible options. Which ever you choose, the goal of your body paragraphs is to present parts of the document, give an extended analysis of how that part functions, and suggest how the part ties into a larger point (your thesis statement or goal).

Chronological

This is the most straight-forward approach, but it can also be effective if done for a reason (as opposed to not being able to think of another way). For example, if you are analyzing a photo essay on the web or in a booklet, a chronological treatment allows you to present your insights in the same order that a viewer of the document experiences those images. It is likely that the images have been put in that order and juxtaposed for a reason, so this line of analysis can be easily integrated into the essay.

Be careful using chronological ordering when dealing with a document that contains a narrative (i.e. a television show or music video). Focusing on the chronological could easily lead you to plot summary which is not the point of a rhetorical analysis.

A spatial ordering covers the parts of a document in the order the eye is likely to scan them. This is different than chronological order, for that is dictated by pages or screens where spatial order concerns order amongst a single page or plane. There are no unwavering guidelines for this, but you can use the following general guidelines.

• Left to right and top to down is still the normal reading and scanning pattern for English-speaking countries.
• The eye will naturally look for centers. This may be the technical center of the page or the center of the largest item on the page.
• Lines are often used to provide directions and paths for the eye to follow.
• Research has shown that on web pages, the eye tends to linger in the top left quadrant before moving left to right. Only after spending a considerable amount of time on the top, visible portion of the page will they then scroll down.

Persuasive Appeals

The classic, rhetorical appeals are logos, pathos, and ethos. These concepts roughly correspond to the logic, emotion, and character of the document’s attempt to persuade. You can find more information on these concepts elsewhere on the OWL. Once you understand these devices, you could potentially order your essay by analyzing the document’s use of logos, ethos, and pathos in different sections.

The conclusion of a rhetorical analysis essay may not operate too differently from the conclusion of any other kind of essay. Still, many writers struggle with what a conclusion should or should not do. You can find tips elsewhere on the OWL on writing conclusions. In short, however, you should restate your main ideas and explain why they are important; restate your thesis; and outline further research or work you believe should be completed to further your efforts.

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How to Write a Rhetorical Analysis: A Step-by-Step Guide

by  Antony W

June 8, 2024

If you’re looking for a guide on how to write a rhetorical analysis the right way, this article is for you.

Journalists and reporters love to throw the word 'rhetoric' around, as in 'political rhetoric' and 'empty rhetoric. The word serves their purpose quite well because its dictionary meaning is 'the art of effective persuasive writing or speaking.'

In this case, rhetorical analysis is the study of how effectively a writer or speaker communicates and how they use various techniques and tools to accomplish it.

As a student in the arts, literature, history, and other similar disciplines, you will be called to write a rhetorical analysis essay on works, mostly nonfiction publications.

This article will take you on a step-by-step journey through the exciting world of rhetorical analysis, what form your assignment should take, and how you can ensure that your own writing passes the threshold of great rhetoric.

What Is a Rhetorical Analysis

Given that rhetoric is the study of how writers use words to influence an audience, a rhetorical analysis is a detailed breakdown of how a writer achieves his goal in a written work.

Specifically, it is an essay that breaks down such a work into parts and shows each plays a part individually and in the whole to bring about the intended effect.

Even though we refer to nonfiction works, any type of communication can be subjected to this form of analysis.

A politician's speech might be weighed based on how effectively he manages to rouse his audience. A video or piece of art might be analyzed based on how the creator managed to express their intended message.

For the sake of simplicity, let us retain the word ‘writer’ to refer to the person whose work is under rhetorical scrutiny. You can remain the student, and we will limit ourselves to purely nonfiction written work.

Most rhetorical analysis essays are a few pages long of mostly unstructured work, following the flow of ideas as you (the one analyzing) sees fit.

Just as you are analyzing how another writer is effectively communicating, you are also striving to pass on your own ideas successfully.

What a rhetorical analysis is not: it is not a summary of a published work.

You are not seeking to reword the work, not summarize the message for readers. You will not put so much emphasis on what the work has to say as in how it says it.

It is not an easy task to break down a full-length book, journal, article, or other publication into its various literary devices without first having a working strategy. 

 If you would prefer to have expert writers and acclaimed academicians help you complete your rhetorical analysis assignment, get in touch with the team at Help for Assessments.

Parts of a Rhetorical Analysis

Credit: Open English SLCC

Like most other essays, a rhetorical analysis essay is made up of three parts: an introduction , body, and conclusion.

However, these will not be of much help if you have no previous experience. The logical parts of such an essay are much more useful.

1. Thesis/Claim

A rhetorical analysis essay rests on a few major arguments you make based on what your opinion regarding the work is.

Each of these arguments is part of your thesis statement and should come from your strongest claims about the work.

Your thesis statement argues the most important rhetorical features in the work. You can write one or several statements, each one expressing a major point.

Remember to make the thesis statement debatable, specific, and be ready to back it up later in the text with a lot of evidence.

You will essentially be explaining and expounding your thesis statements later in the text.

One approach is to give your whole argument upfront in the thesis statements and then explain them later in the text. This is your claim you will be talking about, not what the author claims in the text.

We can take the example of Horace Miner's article titled Body Rituals Among the Nacirema. To start with, you might summarize your argument thus:

"The article uses sociological imagination to distance the reader with what he considers an inferior culture to effectively deliver the message before he realizes that he is the subject. It also uses a didactic tone to give credibility and emphasis on his message, while infusing an objectivity that would otherwise not be present given the sensitive nature of the topic ... "

The author(s) of the text are in control of what the flow of the text is, what the reader sees, and the overall outcome of the work.

Thus, you should think about discussing the author’s motivation for writing the word, what their goal is, and what their qualifications are.

Talking about the writer establishes what is referred to as the rhetorical situation.

Answer the following questions to help you figure out what you need to mention.

• Who is the writer?
• What issue are they addressing?
• What is their purpose for creating the work? Is it to raise awareness? To critique? Defend? Is it to persuade or dissuade?
• How does the writer go about achieving this purpose? Is it satirical? Humorous?
• What figures of speech does he use?
• What effect does the chosen form have on the entire work?

For example, in the work Body Rituals Among the Nacirema, you might say about the author:

“Horace Miner uses cryptic language to conceal the fact that the culture he is actually talking about is the American one. He makes the reader assume moral superiority in judging what he considers an inferior culture, only to reveal in the end that the subject under scrutiny is himself. In the work, he seeks to address America’s obsession with cosmetic beauty at any cost, even their own health. He does this subtly by using … “

3. Audience

If writing is a performance, the reader is the audience you have to think about to make your communication effective.

The author had to think about who was going to read his work, who it was meant to influence, and what pressure points he would manipulate to deliver the message. 

You can talk about how the writer's strategies influence the audience and help to bring the message home. How do his techniques appeal to the reader?

As it is, look through the writer's lens and share their angle of view to effectively dissect, describe, and critique their approach.

4. Summary of The Text

In as much as the main goal is to describe and analyze how the work puts its message across, the message itself is important for the reader to understand what you are talking about.

The essay is not meant to be abstract but rather practical and with a hands-on approach.

The summary also gives the context of the work. Use your own words to tell what you believe to be the main message of the work, taking care to remain as brief as possible.

Break the message into parts and tell what each part is conveying.

In this section, you should also use descriptive words like metaphor, analogy, common ground, metonymy, euphemism, foreshadowing, among other literary devices.

You will likely have learned these already in class, and this is a chance to prove to your instructor that you were listening.

Taking Miner’s example again, you might have a few statements such as:

The author uses common ground to place himself and the author or a superior level, thus creating engagement to help the reader identify with his message, before finally revealing that he was, in fact, analyzing himself.

This is where you back up your claims/thesis statements with arguments and facts from the text. This is done through emotional appeals, quoting or paraphrasing the text, evidence from other sources and texts, among others.

The goal is to make the appeal as solid and credible as possible.

One of the most important forms of support comes in three forms of claims called pathos, ethos, and logos.

We shall take a deeper look at each and what they entail, but for now, remember that support for the statements takes a structured form.

This support comes in the body of the essay. You will be writing it in paragraphs beginning with a strong topic sentence , then followed by a few explanatory or expository sentences.

Each paragraph will be describing one form of stylistic choice used in the text. The entire support section should flow logically and the arguments link into each other.

A rhetorical analysis isn’t usually long, a few pages at most. Most instructors will have you write about five pages or so.

As such, there is no need for sub-sections in the body. The support sets the stage for the final part; the warrant.

A  warrant in rhetoric writing is the connection between the claim and the arguments made in the text.

It is usually an assumed kind of support or belief, inference, experience, or value that ties the writer to the assumption they share with the audience.

If this belief were wrong, the entire argument would be wrong and out of place.

In our example text, Miner assumes that other Americans share the same superiority complex with him and will thus assume an elevated state, a moral pedestal, as they read the article.

If this were a wrong assumption, his techniques would daily dramatically.

The Rhetorical Triangle: Ethos, Pathos, and Logos

The support in a rhetorical analysis essay is dynamic and each part relies on the others to stand.

The three major parts mentioned: ethos, pathos, and logos, form a kind of rhetorical triangle where this relationship is apparent.

A final look at these three devices, also called claims, will help you craft an A-grade essay.

Ethos refers to the author’s authority or credibility as established in the essay.

Thus, an ethical appeal uses the writer’s own credibility, expertise, knowledge, or other position of higher regard compared to his audience to give importance to the work.

This position of importance can be achieved in different ways.

Some authors prefer to negotiate with the audience beforehand, others set forth their credibility with convincing arguments, while others prefer to set up a different persona in the text to assume this authoritarian position to invoke ethos.

• What can you say about the author based on the text only?
• How does the author establish credibility in the text?
• What qualifies the author to write with authority on the subject?

Pathos, as in the word pathetic, refers to an emotional appeal to the audience’s feelings.

Here, the writer would be looking to evoke pity, angler, sympathy, tenderness, sorrow, or any other emotion to elicit a reaction or achieve a goal.

Advertisements and political propaganda do this to great effect.

Pathos is also a valid appeal in academic work, but it must be backed by a lot of facts and hard evidence.

Otherwise, a work rich in pathos but lacking in either ethos or logos is empty and risks polarizing the audience or losing them completely.

As you might guess, logos is the same word used in 'logic.' it involves a practical appeal or demonstration to the mind and intellect of the audience.

Using facts, figures, and fact-based evidence, the writer seeks to draw connections that the audience is meant to see as logical arguments.

Logos is a major device used in scholarly work.

Scientific minds rely on hard evidence and logical facts to prove a point, but it would be unappealing unless it was garnished skillfully with a bit of pathos.

As the rhetorical triangle shows, the three major parts are fully co-dependent. However, a few others are also worth a mention:

Kairos means 'right time.' The most effective writers build the tempo up to the time when they can deliver the main argument.

If it were given too early or too late, it would not have the effect desired and might even be detrimental to the work.

Thus, a good writer knows how to time their acts perfectly. That is kairos in action.

Stasis means 'resting place.'

A writer may move the arguments away from his main idea in such a way that they seem to differ, but will actually rest on one firm point that seems irrefutable.

Such is the mark of a skilled writer, and this common point or foundation is what is called stasis.

Remember to include a ‘Works Cited’ section at the end of your essay.

It will be your bibliography of both the text under analysis and any other sources you have relied on during in the essay. Use an approved citation style for this section.

How to Write a Good Rhetorical Analysis Step-by-Step

Rhetorical essays are typically unstructured, at least not in the way that other assignments can be.

The way to approach them if you want to write an excellent essay is through a planned logical approach. Here is one way to go about it:

1. Pre-writing

The first part, one that you will include in the essay, is a general explanation of what you think the work is about.

Start with a broad approach and talk about the impression the work has had on you.

However, remember that you will later have to defend each of these opinions.

2. Breakdown

Pick out the major strategies or techniques that the writer uses to bring his message home.

They will be techniques you have already covered in your schoolwork, so be lookout as you are reading the work.

3. Craft Your Thesis Statement

Write down a few sentences explaining what the major strategies used in the text are.

As you do, note down the textual evidence you will use to support them.

Remember that you should also be doing this as you read through the work, preferably on a notepad for future reference.

4. Write the Draft

Make sure that you have your thesis statements put down and polished because there will be little room to change them later.

Then write as if you are trying to debate or convince your colleagues regarding the literary devices and techniques in use.

5. Edit and Proofread Your Work

Go through your work once or thrice to make sure that there is a natural flow of ideas. Of course, there should be no grammatical errors in the work. 

About the author 

Antony W is a professional writer and coach at Help for Assessment. He spends countless hours every day researching and writing great content filled with expert advice on how to write engaging essays, research papers, and assignments.

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Master the art of crafting an impactful rhetorical essay to captivate your readers.

When it comes to expressing one’s thoughts and opinions, the art of rhetoric plays a crucial role. Whether it be through verbal communication or the written word, the power of persuasive language has the ability to sway hearts and minds, making it a powerful tool in any communicator’s arsenal. In this article, we will delve deep into the world of crafting a rhetorical essay, a form of composition that requires careful analysis, insightful interpretation, and skillful persuasion. By following a thoughtful and systematic approach, you will be able to effectively convey your message and leave a lasting impact on your audience.

Understanding the Nature of a Rhetorical Essay

An essay of rhetorical nature seeks to analyze and evaluate how the author uses various rhetorical appeals and strategies to effectively communicate their message. By dissecting the text, the writer aims to identify the key components that contribute to the overall persuasiveness of the composition. This could involve examining the author’s use of ethos, pathos, and logos, as well as the rhetorical devices employed, such as metaphor, irony, or repetition. Through a close examination of these elements, the writer can gain a deeper understanding of how they contribute to the audience’s perception and interpretation of the text.

The Importance of Pre-Writing

Before diving into the actual writing process, it is important to engage in thorough pre-writing activities. This includes reading and analyzing the text, identifying the author’s intended audience, and understanding the context in which the composition was created. By doing so, you will be able to gather the necessary information and develop a clear understanding of the rhetorical strategies employed by the author. This will also help you establish your own stance and create a solid foundation for your essay.

Understanding the purpose of a rhetorical essay

Exploring the true essence and objective of a rhetorical essay is vital for any aspiring writer. This type of essay delves into the art of persuasion, dissecting various techniques used to convince an audience of a particular point of view or argument. More than just presenting facts, a rhetorical essay aims to evoke emotions, challenge preconceived notions, and provoke critical thinking in its readers.

Unlike other forms of writing, a rhetorical essay allows the writer to express their opinions and beliefs openly. It serves as a platform for individuals to analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of rhetorical strategies employed by speakers or authors in order to sway an audience. By carefully examining language choices, logical reasoning, and appeals to ethos, pathos, and logos, the writer can gain a deeper understanding of the intended message and effectively convey their own interpretations.

Moreover, a rhetorical essay acts as a tool for students and scholars to enhance their analytical skills. It encourages them to critically analyze texts and speeches to uncover the underlying motives, biases, and strategies used. By closely studying the rhetoric employed in various forms of communication, writers can sharpen their ability to identify persuasive techniques and employ them effectively in their own writing.

• Recognize the goals and intentions of the speaker or author.
• Analyze the rhetorical strategies employed to convey meaning.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of those strategies in achieving the intended purpose.
• Develop and present a well-structured argument based on the analysis.

In conclusion, understanding the purpose of a rhetorical essay goes beyond examining the surface-level techniques and strategies employed by speakers or authors. It involves delving deep into the art of persuasion, exploring the intended message, and honing one’s analytical skills. By becoming proficient in this form of writing, individuals can effectively engage and persuade their audience while developing their own critical thinking abilities.

Analyzing the rhetorical situation

When it comes to dissecting a rhetorical piece of writing, one of the first steps is to analyze the rhetorical situation. This involves examining the various elements that make up the context in which the text was produced, such as the audience, the purpose, and the speaker. By understanding these components, one can gain valuable insights into the persuasive techniques and strategies employed in the text.

Identifying the audience: The audience refers to the group of people for whom the text is intended. This could be a specific demographic, such as young adults or professionals in a particular field, or a broader general audience. Understanding the intended audience helps to determine the tone, language, and arguments used in the text.

Clarifying the purpose: Every piece of writing has a purpose, and analyzing the rhetorical situation involves determining what that purpose is. The purpose could be to inform, to persuade, to entertain, or a combination of these. By identifying the underlying purpose, one can better understand the rhetorical choices made by the author.

Evaluating the speaker: The speaker, or author, of a text plays a significant role in shaping its rhetorical elements. Analyzing the rhetorical situation involves considering the credibility, expertise, and biases of the speaker. By evaluating the speaker, one can assess their authority and understand how it impacts the persuasive power of the text.

Examining the context: Context refers to the broader circumstances surrounding the creation of the text. This includes factors such as the historical, social, and cultural background in which the text was produced. Analyzing the context helps to uncover the motivations behind the text and provides a deeper understanding of its rhetorical strategies.

By analyzing the rhetorical situation, readers can gain a comprehensive understanding of the persuasive techniques used in a text. This knowledge allows for a more critical and informed interpretation, enabling readers to engage with the piece on a deeper level.

Identifying the rhetoric elements

When analyzing a piece of writing from a rhetorical perspective, it is essential to be able to identify the various elements of rhetoric that are present. These elements encompass the strategies and techniques used by the writer to persuade and influence the audience. By understanding and recognizing these elements, readers can gain a deeper appreciation for the art of rhetoric and the effectiveness of the writer’s message.

One key element to look for is the use of ethos, which refers to the credibility and ethical appeal of the writer. This can be observed through the author’s use of personal anecdotes, expert testimonials, or the establishment of their own expertise on the subject. The presence of ethos can lend credibility to the writer’s argument and make the audience more likely to trust their perspective.

Another important rhetorical element to consider is pathos, which refers to the emotional appeal of the writing. This can be achieved through the use of vivid language, anecdotes that tug at the reader’s heartstrings, or appeals to their values and emotions. By appealing to the reader’s emotions, the writer can evoke empathy and create a lasting impact on the audience.

Additionally, the use of logos, or logical appeal, is another element to be aware of. This can be observed through the writer’s use of evidence, reasoning, and logical arguments to support their claims. By presenting a well-reasoned and logical argument, the writer can convince the audience of the validity of their perspective and sway their opinions.

Furthermore, the consideration of tone is crucial when identifying rhetoric elements. Tone refers to the author’s attitude and approach towards the subject matter and the audience. By analyzing the tone of the writing, readers can gain insight into the writer’s intentions and how they are attempting to persuade the audience.

Finally, an important rhetorical element is the use of rhetorical devices such as repetition, rhetorical questions, parallelism, and figurative language. These devices can add emphasis, create a memorable impact, and enhance the overall persuasive effect of the writing. Recognizing these devices allows readers to appreciate the skill and craftsmanship employed by the writer.

In summary, identifying the rhetoric elements within a piece of writing involves recognizing the use of ethos, pathos, logos, tone, and rhetorical devices. By analyzing these elements, readers can gain a deeper understanding of the writer’s persuasive techniques and the effectiveness of their argument. Being able to identify these elements is essential in appreciating the art of rhetoric and becoming a more critical and discerning reader.

Developing a thesis statement

Creating a strong and effective thesis statement is a crucial step in writing a successful essay. It serves as the foundation for your entire argument and guides the reader’s understanding of your main points. In this section, we will discuss the process of developing a thesis statement that encapsulates the central idea of your essay.

When crafting a thesis statement, it is essential to clearly articulate the main argument or claim you will be making in your essay. This statement should be concise, specific, and thought-provoking, setting the tone for the rest of your paper. The thesis should also be debatable, meaning there should be room for disagreement and a potential counter-argument.

To develop a strong thesis statement, start by identifying your topic or subject matter. What is the main focus of your essay? Once you have a clear understanding of your subject, think about the main point or argument you want to make. Consider the evidence and arguments you will present throughout your essay to support this main point.

Next, condense your main argument into a single, clear sentence. This thesis statement should be direct and assertive, expressing your overall stance on the topic. Avoid vague and general statements that lack specificity. Instead, aim for a thesis that is concise and impactful.

Additionally, your thesis statement should be compelling and engaging. It should grab the reader’s attention and make them interested in reading further. Consider incorporating strong language, rhetorical devices, or compelling evidence to make your thesis statement more persuasive and memorable.

Finally, it is important to revisit and revise your thesis statement as you progress in your essay writing process. As you gather more information and refine your arguments, your thesis statement may evolve or change altogether. Be open to reevaluating and adapting your thesis statement to best reflect the content and direction of your essay.

In conclusion, developing a well-crafted thesis statement is a vital component of writing a rhetorical essay. It serves as the foundation for your argument and sets the tone for the rest of your paper. By following these steps and continually revisiting and refining your thesis statement, you will create a strong and impactful essay.

Organizing your essay outline

Structuring your essay is a crucial step in the writing process, as it helps to ensure clarity and cohesiveness in your argument. In this section, we will explore effective strategies for organizing your essay outline, enabling you to present your rhetorical analysis in a logical and persuasive manner.

Begin by identifying the key elements of the text you will be analyzing. Look for the main thesis or argument, as well as any supporting evidence or rhetorical devices employed by the author. Once you have a clear understanding of these elements, you can start crafting your essay outline.

A strong introduction is essential to grab the reader’s attention and provide context for your analysis. Use a compelling opening statement or anecdote to engage the audience, and briefly outline the main points you will cover in your essay. Remember to include a clear thesis statement that articulates your overall interpretation of the text.

Next, divide the body of your essay into distinct sections, each focusing on a specific rhetorical device or strategy used by the author. Consider organizing your analysis chronologically, examining how the author introduces and develops their argument over the course of the text. Alternatively, you can organize your essay thematically, grouping together examples and evidence that support specific ideas or themes.

Within each section, provide a clear topic sentence that introduces the rhetorical device you will be discussing. Follow this with detailed analysis and examples, using quotes from the text to support your points. Be sure to explain how each rhetorical device contributes to the overall effectiveness of the author’s argument.

Finally, conclude your essay by summarizing your main points and offering a final analysis of the text. Restate your thesis in a fresh way, and consider the broader implications of the author’s rhetorical choices. What message or impact do they have on the audience? What can we learn from the author’s techniques? End your essay with a thought-provoking statement or question that encourages further reflection.

By organizing your essay outline in a clear and logical manner, you can effectively convey your analysis and persuade your audience of your interpretation. Remember to revise and refine your outline as you go, ensuring that each section flows seamlessly into the next. With a well-structured essay outline, you will be well-equipped to write a compelling rhetorical analysis.

Using effective rhetorical strategies

Mastering the art of persuasive writing involves implementing a variety of powerful rhetorical strategies that can captivate your audience and convey your message with clarity and impact. By skillfully using these strategies, you can enhance the effectiveness of your writing and persuade your readers to see things from your perspective.

Rhetorical strategies are techniques used to persuade or influence an audience. They involve the skillful use of language, structure, and appeals to emotions, logic, and ethics. These strategies can be used in various forms of writing, including speeches, essays, and advertisements, to effectively communicate your message and convince your audience of your viewpoint.

One effective rhetorical strategy is the use of rhetorical questions. By asking thought-provoking questions, you can engage your audience and encourage them to consider your ideas. Rhetorical questions are not meant to be answered, but rather to stimulate reflection and provoke thinking.

Another powerful strategy is the use of logical appeal, also known as logos. This involves presenting a logical argument supported by evidence, facts, and reasoning. By employing logical appeal, you can convince your audience through sound and rational arguments that are difficult to dispute.

Emotional appeal, or pathos, is another strategy that can be highly effective in persuading your audience. By appealing to their emotions, you can evoke empathy, sympathy, or even anger, motivating them to take action or change their viewpoint. Personal anecdotes, vivid imagery, and touching stories are all effective tools in creating emotional appeal.

The use of ethical appeal, or ethos, is also crucial in persuasive writing. It involves establishing credibility and trust with your audience by presenting yourself as knowledgeable, reliable, and trustworthy. By demonstrating your expertise and integrity, you can gain the confidence of your readers and make your argument more convincing.

By utilizing these effective rhetorical strategies, you can effectively communicate your ideas and persuade your readers to engage with and accept your message. Remember to use these strategies strategically and analytically assess their effectiveness for each specific rhetorical situation.

Revising and editing your essay

Once you have completed the initial draft of your rhetorical analysis, it is crucial to revise and edit your essay to ensure clarity and coherence in your arguments. This stage of the writing process involves reviewing your work to identify any areas that require improvement or further development.

During the revision process, focus on examining the overall structure and flow of your essay. Consider whether your introduction effectively captures the reader’s attention and provides a clear thesis statement that sets the tone for the rest of the essay. Additionally, evaluate the development of your arguments in each paragraph and the effectiveness of your transitions between ideas.

When revising, pay close attention to the clarity and precision of your language. Eliminate any unnecessary jargon or technical terms that may confuse your audience. Instead, strive for clear and concise language that is accessible to a wide range of readers. Make sure your arguments are supported by evidence and examples, and that your analysis is thorough and well-reasoned.

Editing is an essential step in the writing process that involves checking for grammatical errors, typos, and inconsistencies in your essay. Carefully proofread your work for spelling and punctuation mistakes, and ensure that your writing adheres to the appropriate style guide. It can be helpful to read your essay aloud or have someone else review it to catch any errors that may have been overlooked.

Lastly, consider the overall effectiveness of your rhetorical analysis. Reflect on whether your essay successfully persuades your audience and achieves its intended purpose. Consider seeking feedback from others to gain different perspectives and to further improve your essay.

By revising and editing your essay, you can refine your arguments, improve the clarity of your language, and enhance the overall impact of your rhetorical analysis.

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How to start a rhetorical analysis: expert tips.

Rhetorical analysis assignments are becoming very popular in universities and colleges. In most cases, teachers ask students to analyze the rhetoric of an article, book, artwork, or other works. However, most students get stuck even before starting, which brings about one crucial question, “How do you start a rhetorical paper?”

What is a Rhetorical Paper?

Before we can look at how to begin a rhetorical analysis, it is important to understand what “rhetoric” means. Rhetoric is a form of language that targets stirring emotions and feelings with a targeted audience. Unlike logic that targets to convince the reader about a certain subject using facts, rhetoric uses emotional appeal.

A rhetorical analysis is a form of persuasive writing that captures the fundamentals of a literary piece to determine if the author successfully persuaded the audience/ readers.

How to Start a Rhetorical Analysis: Understand the Rhetorical Analysis Prompt

When working on how to write a rhetorical paper, it is important to appreciate that the process starts well before you sit down to craft the introduction. So, start by looking at the rhetorical analysis prompt, and understand what your teacher wants.

Then, go ahead and evaluate how effectively the author put across his/her points. Pay close attention to the application of rhetorical persuasion techniques, including the following:

• Ethos: This refers to the credibility of the author, and you should seek to answer the question, “Is the author credible?”
• Pathos: Pathos is the emotional side of an argument. When writing a rhetorical analysis, you check whether the author was appealing to the targeted readers. Did the author assist readers in relating with his/her thoughts?
• Logos: Unlike pathos and ethos, logos involve analyzing how the author uses evidence to support his/her core arguments.

How to Start a Rhetorical Analysis Introduction

The introduction of a rhetoric essay has a huge impact on the success of your work. In the introduction, you have the opportunity to not only expose your readers to the subject of the paper but also demonstrate why the work warrants a rhetorical analysis. Here is a demonstration of how to write the introduction like a professional.

• Step One: Start the Introduction with a Captivating Hook Statement

Like other types of essays, the first sentence of your paper should be a captivating hook statement. Make sure that the hook reflects your topic and further corresponds to the audience of the paper. For example, a joke will not be okay as a hook when analyzing an article focusing on a serious health issue such as COVID-19. This type of hook sentence would work perfectly for papers on funny moments, such as comic books or the life of animals in the jungle. Other examples of hooks that you can use are literary quotes, questions, or metaphors. See an example of a hook statement below:

“ A woman’s work is never done: many American women grow up with this saying and feel it to be true.”

• Step Two: Bring Out the Background of Your Essay

Once you have provided the reader with a hook statement, you need to move a step further and capture a short background or context. The background should delve deeper into the selected topic to show why it is important and make the reader interested. It also helps to provide a transition from the hook to the thesis of the rhetorical analysis. Remember to keep the background as short as possible, preferably one-two sentences. See the example below:

“ One such woman, author Jessica Grosse, wrote “Cleaning: The Final Feminist Frontier,” published in 2013 in the New Republic, and she argues that while the men in our lives recently started taking on more of the childcare and cooking, cleaning still falls unfairly on women.”

• Step Three: Write Your Rhetorical Thesis

In addition to a good hook, your paper also needs a good rhetorical thesis. This is a short argument or standpoint which you want to prove. So, here is a demonstration of how to write a thesis for a rhetorical analysis paper. Suppose your target is analyzing a novel; in such a case, your thesis would be the personal interpretation of the piece. Therefore, craft a thesis to prove your argument to the reader.

To make your thesis more impressive, it is paramount to stay as objective as possible. You might want to check another how to start a rhetorical analysis example to get a clearer picture of how to craft a good thesis. Here is an example of a good thesis:

“ Grose begins building her credibility with personal facts and reputable sources, citing convincing facts and statistics, and successfully employing emotional appeals; however, towards the end of the article, her attempts to appeal to readers’ emotions weaken her credibility and ultimately, her argument.

Special Tips to make Your Rhetorical Paper Introduction Excellent

• Start by carefully reading the prompt for the assignment and understanding your teacher’s requirements.
• Read another rhetorical paper sample, especially one that was done by an expert, to see how different aspects of the introduction are created.
• Make sure to also check other rhetorical analysis thesis examples. Then, work on crafting a better thesis for your rhetorical paper.
• Look at the rhetorical paper introduction as part of the entire paper and not in isolation. For example, does the thesis of the paper manifest itself throughout the write-up?
• Work on your rhetorical analysis early. Waiting until the last minute is likely to make you miss important points.
• Note that writing a great introduction to rhetorical analysis is only the first step. You also need to learn how to write a rhetorical paper to make the entire paper good. So, ensure to pick the best points and write them professionally.
• Read through the introduction severally to ensure it is free from grammatical errors and flows well with the rest of the paper.

Get Help With Rhetorical Analysis Today!

If you want to make your rhetorical analysis outstanding and get a good grade, it must be carefully done, from the introduction to the end. In this post, we have demonstrated how to set up a rhetorical introduction like a pro. Although you can work on the introduction at the beginning of the paper, which is okay, it would be better to ask professional writers to do it for you.

Rhetorical Analysis Sample Essay

Harriet Clark

Ms. Rebecca Winter

13 Feb. 2015

Not Quite a Clean Sweep: Rhetorical Strategies in

Grose's "Cleaning: The Final Feminist Frontier”

A woman’s work is never done: many American women grow up with this saying and feel it to be true. 1 One such woman, author Jessica Grose, wrote “Cleaning: The Final Feminist Frontier,” published in 2013 in the New Republic, 2 and she argues that while the men recently started taking on more of the childcare and cooking, cleaning still falls unfairly on women. 3 Grose begins building her credibility with personal facts and reputable sources, citing convincing facts and statistics, and successfully employing emotional appeals; however, toward the end of the article, her attempts to appeal to readers’ emotions weaken her credibility and ultimately, her argument. 4

In her article, Grose first sets the stage by describing a specific scenario of house-cleaning with her husband after being shut in during Hurricane Sandy, and then she outlines the uneven distribution of cleaning work in her marriage and draws a comparison to the larger feminist issue of who does the cleaning in a relationship. Grose continues by discussing some of the reasons that men do not contribute to cleaning: the praise for a clean house goes to the woman; advertising and media praise men’s cooking and childcare, but not cleaning; and lastly, it is just not fun. Possible solutions to the problem, Grose suggests, include making a chart of who does which chores, dividing up tasks based on skill and ability, accepting a dirtier home, and making cleaning more fun with gadgets. 5

Throughout her piece, Grose uses many strong sources that strengthen her credibility and appeal to ethos, as well as build her argument. 6 These sources include, “sociologists Judith Treas and Tsui-o Tai,” “a 2008 study from the University of New Hampshire,” and “P&G North America Fabric Care Brand Manager, Matthew Krehbiel” (qtd. in Grose). 7 Citing these sources boosts Grose’s credibility by showing that she has done her homework and has provided facts and statistics, as well as expert opinions to support her claim. She also uses personal examples from her own home life to introduce and support the issue, which shows that she has a personal stake in and first-hand experience with the problem. 8

Adding to her ethos appeals, Grose uses strong appeals to logos, with many facts and statistics and logical progressions of ideas. 9 She points out facts about her marriage and the distribution of household chores: “My husband and I both work. We split midnight baby feedings ...but ... he will admit that he’s never cleaned the bathroom, that I do the dishes nine times out of ten, and that he barely knows how the washer and dryer work in the apartment we’ve lived in for over eight months.” 10 These facts introduce and support the idea that Grose does more household chores than her husband. Grose continues with many statistics:

[A]bout 55 percent of American mothers employed full time do some housework on an average day, while only 18 percent of employed fathers do. ... [W]orking women with children are still doing a week and a half more of “second shift” work each year than their male partners. ... Even in the famously gender-neutral Sweden, women do 45 minutes more housework a day than their male partners. 11

These statistics are a few of many that logically support her claim that it is a substantial and real problem that men do not do their fair share of the chores. The details and numbers build an appeal to logos and impress upon the reader that this is a problem worth discussing. 12

Along with strong logos appeals, Grose effectively makes appeals to pathos in the beginning and middle sections. 13 Her introduction is full of emotionally-charged words and phrases that create a sympathetic image; Grose notes that she “was eight months pregnant” and her husband found it difficult to “fight with a massively pregnant person.” 14 The image she evokes of the challenges and vulnerabilities of being so pregnant, as well as the high emotions a woman feels at that time effectively introduce the argument and its seriousness. Her goal is to make the reader feel sympathy for her. Adding to this idea are words and phrases such as, “insisted,” “argued,” “not fun,” “sucks” “headachey,” “be judged,” “be shunned” (Grose). All of these words evoke negative emotions about cleaning, which makes the reader sympathize with women who feel “judged” and shunned”—very negative feelings. Another feeling Grose reinforces with her word choice is the concept of fairness: “fair share,” “a week and a half more of ‘second shift’ work,” “more housework,” “more gendered and less frequent.” These words help establish the unfairness that exists when women do all of the cleaning, and they are an appeal to pathos, or the readers’ feelings of frustration and anger with injustice. 15

However, the end of the article lacks the same level of effectiveness in the appeals to ethos. 16 For example, Grose notes that when men do housework, they are considered to be “’enacting “small instances of gender heroism,” or ‘SIGH’s’—which, barf.” 17 The usage of the word “barf” is jarring to the reader; unprofessional and immature, it is a shift from the researched, intelligent voice she has established and the reader is less likely to take the author seriously. This damages the strength of her credibility and her argument. 18

Additionally, her last statement in the article refers to her husband in a way that weakens the argument. 19 While returning to the introduction’s hook in the conclusion is a frequently-used strategy, Grose chooses to return to her discussion of her husband in a humorous way: Grose discusses solutions, and says there is “a huge, untapped market ... for toilet-scrubbing iPods. I bet my husband would buy one.” 20 Returning to her own marriage and husband is an appeal to ethos or personal credibility, and while that works well in the introduction, in the conclusion, it lacks the strength and seriousness that the topic deserves and was given earlier in the article. 21

Though Grose begins the essay by effectively persuading her readers of the unfair distribution of home-maintenance cleaning labor, she loses her power in the end, where she most needs to drive home her argument. Readers can see the problem exists in both her marriage and throughout the world; however, her shift to humor and sarcasm makes the reader not take the problem as seriously in the end. 22 Grose could have more seriously driven home the point that a woman’s work could be done: by a man. 23

Works Cited

Grose, Jessica. “Cleaning: The Final Feminist Frontier.” New Republic. The New Republic, 19 Mar. 2013. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.

• Article author's claim or purpose
• Summary of the article's main point in the second paragraph (could also be in the introduction)
• Third paragraph begins with a transition and topic sentence that reflects the first topic in the thesis
• Quotes illustrate how the author uses appeals to ethos
• Analysis explains how the quotes show the effective use of ethos as noted in the thesis
• Transition and topic sentence about the second point from the thesis
• Quote that illustrates appeals to logos
• Analysis explains how the quotes show the effective use of logos, as noted in the thesis
• Transition and topic sentence about the third point from the thesis
• Quotes that illustrate appeals to pathos
• Analysis explains how the quotes show the effective use of pathos, as noted in the thesis
• Transition and topic sentence about fourth point from the thesis
• Quote illustrates how the author uses appeal to ethos
• Analysis explains how quote supports thesis
• Transition and topic sentence about fourth point from thesis
• Conclusion returns to the ideas in the thesis and further develops them
• Last sentence returns to the hook in the introduction

Learn more about the " Rhetorical Analysis Graphic Organizer ."

Learn more about " Pathos, Logos, and Ethos ."

4 Ways to Teach the Rhetorical Modes

Rhetorical modes. Modes of discourse. Writing genres. These terms are often interchangeable and refer to four main categories—narration, description, argumentation/persuasion, and exposition.

Argumentation and persuasion, at least for the AP English Language & Composition course, is a stand-alone set of modes, one that must be taught explicitly and with depth. On the exam students will write at least two persuasive essays (arguably three since even rhetorical analysis sets up a thesis) and analyze them as well on the multiple-choice section. The passage for the rhetorical analysis essay may be a persuasive piece itself. In short, argumentation and persuasion get their own big, big slice of the AP Lang pie.

Narration and description are their own categories as well and are often the most fun to write and most difficult to analyze. Their theses are usually more subtle, thus making them a challenge for less experienced readers and writers.

Exposition is a strange one. It breaks out into comparison-contrast, extended definition, classification and division, cause and effect, and process analysis. In AP world, I think of these as mini modes, frames that students may analyze on the exam but that they will not likely be asked to produce. Students should learn to write in these modes anyway. What better way to wrap your head around a concept than to produce within that framework?

But we’re not done with exposition. Add within that broader mode rhetorical analysis and literary analysis, the big dogs of any English/Language Arts curriculum. I handle those separately and extensively.

So how in the world do we get all this in? There are several ways to go about it. In an earlier blog post, 5 Approaches to Rhetorical Analysis , I discuss analysis itself, but there’s more to the modes than just picking them apart. Students should be able to recognize them, break them down, and write within them. Here are several ways to manage all of that.

Method 1: Isolate the instruction for each rhetorical mode.

If you’ve been following me for a while, you know that I’m a pretty linear thinker, so this method works well for me. I stop the world, teach the content and skills, and move on to the next mode. My thinking on this has evolved a bit, and here’s the latest iteration: For each mode, I have the following elements in my tool box:

• A straightforward handout
• A graphic organizer
• A list of simple prompts
• A rubric to set up expectations
• A set of model essays (also known as mentor texts )
• A tips sheet for the analysis of essays within that mode

Want a sampler of my rhetorical mode materials? Click here to drop me your email address here and get an eight-page freebie.

In short, students learn about the mode, write in the mode, and then learn to analyze more complex texts written in that mode. Along the way, I also address the use of the mode as both rhetorical strategy and a rhetorical device (think macro versus micro ). I recently published a resource that helps teachers walk through this process. Check out 7 Rhetorical Modes.

Method 2: Put the lion’s share of the research and planning on students.

Through a rhetorical mode group project , students take ownership of the learning. Though still isolated, this method introduces students to each mode in a more cursory way that sets them up for teacher-led direct instruction later.

Here’s how it works: A team of three or four students is assigned one of seven modes (skip argumentation and persuasion for this project). The team is responsible for researching the mode, developing a handout, choosing two models for the class to read, creating a short reading assessment so that students are held accountable for the reading, and teaching the class about the mode. The group creates a prompt and assigns it to the class, and students produce an essay that then goes to the teacher for evaluation. I used this approach for years, and students enjoyed it for several reasons. It gives them a break from me, they are more engaged in the instruction, and they get to create six to seven creative pieces. (I allow them to choose which six essays to write, and they create a portfolio of for me.)

Method 3: Weave all the modes into one unit on a longer work.

In this day of teaching excerpts and pieces of longer works for fear of running out of time, boring our students, or NOT preparing them for short-passage end-of-course assessments, we are missing out on an opportunity to weave in all the skills we need to teach. (A friend of mine blogged about this very thing. Check out Room 213’s post about the dangers of not teaching longer works. )

We really can use novels, long essays, essay collections and other extensive works to get in all the content and skills we need to teach.

Here’s what it might look like: Within a longer work of creative nonfiction like The Things They Carried or an essay collection like In Search of Our Mother’s Gardens , incorporate instruction in all the modes. One chapter or essay might use narration beautifully as a strategy or device, so that’s a perfect time to talk about that mode, practice analyzing a piece in that mode, and write in that mode.

Method 4: Weave the modes into themed or chronological units.

If your preferred method of instruction is more holistic, you have your work cut out for you in terms of making sure you get it all in. I envision it as something like this: Within a unit on war, incorporate essays from two different rhetorical modes (or modes of discourse). It is here that students learn the elements of those two modes, learn to analyze them, and learn to write in them. Including argumentation and persuasion and rhetorical analysis, you might have nine modes to address, so the planning of four or five thematic units should include all the modes.

There we have it: Four ways to teach the rhetorical modes.

Want a free mini unit on one of the modes? Grab this descriptive mode pack.

I’m a recovering high school English teacher and curriculum specialist with a passion for helping teachers leave school at school. I create engaging, rigorous curriculum resources for secondary ELA professionals, and I facilitate workshops to help those teachers implement the materials effectively.

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Justice Department Sues RealPage for Algorithmic Pricing Scheme that Harms Millions of American Renters

The Justice Department, together with the Attorneys General of North Carolina, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Minnesota, Oregon, Tennessee, and Washington, filed a civil antitrust lawsuit today against RealPage Inc. for its unlawful scheme to decrease competition among landlords in apartment pricing and to monopolize the market for commercial revenue management software that landlords use to price apartments. RealPage’s alleged conduct deprives renters of the benefits of competition on apartment leasing terms and harms millions of Americans. The lawsuit was filed today in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina and alleges that RealPage violated Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act.

The complaint  alleges that RealPage contracts with competing landlords who agree to share with RealPage nonpublic, competitively sensitive information about their apartment rental rates and other lease terms to train and run RealPage’s algorithmic pricing software. This software then generates recommendations, including on apartment rental pricing and other terms, for participating landlords based on their and their rivals’ competitively sensitive information. The complaint further alleges that in a free market, these landlords would otherwise be competing independently to attract renters based on pricing, discounts, concessions, lease terms, and other dimensions of apartment leasing. RealPage also uses this scheme and its substantial data trove to maintain a monopoly in the market for commercial revenue management software. The complaint seeks to end RealPage’s illegal conduct and restore competition for the benefit of renters in states across the country.

“Americans should not have to pay more in rent because a company has found a new way to scheme with landlords to break the law,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “We allege that RealPage’s pricing algorithm enables landlords to share confidential, competitively sensitive information and align their rents. Using software as the sharing mechanism does not immunize this scheme from Sherman Act liability, and the Justice Department will continue to aggressively enforce the antitrust laws and protect the American people from those who violate them.”

“Today’s complaint against RealPage illustrates our corporate enforcement strategy in action. We identify the most serious wrongdoers, whether individuals or companies, and focus our full energy on holding them accountable,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. “By feeding sensitive data into a sophisticated algorithm powered by artificial intelligence, RealPage has found a modern way to violate a century-old law through systematic coordination of rental housing prices — undermining competition and fairness for consumers in the process. Training a machine to break the law is still breaking the law. Today’s action makes clear that we will use all our legal tools to ensure accountability for technology-fueled anticompetitive conduct.” 

“RealPage’s egregious, anticompetitive conduct allows landlords to undermine fair pricing and limit housing options while stifling necessary competition,” said Acting Associate Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer. “The Department remains committed to rooting out illegal schemes and practices aimed at empowering corporate interests at the expense of consumers.” 

“As Americans struggle to afford housing, RealPage is making it easier for landlords to coordinate to increase rents,” said Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “Today, we filed an antitrust suit against RealPage to make housing more affordable for millions of people across the country. Competition – not RealPage – should determine what Americans pay to rent their homes.”

The complaint cites internal documents and sworn testimony from RealPage and commercial landlords that make plain RealPage’s and landlords’ objective to maximize rental pricing and profitability at the expense of renters. For example:

• RealPage acknowledged that its software is aimed at maximizing prices for landlords, referring to its products as “driving every possible opportunity to increase price,” “avoid[ing] the race to the bottom in down markets,” and “a rising tide raises all ships.”
• A RealPage executive observed that its products help landlords avoid competing on the merits, noting that “there is greater good in everybody succeeding versus essentially trying to compete against one another in a way that actually keeps the entire industry down.”
• A RealPage executive explained to a landlord that using competitor data can help identify situations where the landlord “may have a $50 increase instead of a $10 increase for the day.”
• Another landlord commented about RealPage’s product, “I always liked this product because your algorithm uses proprietary data from other subscribers to suggest rents and term. That’s classic price fixing…”

The complaint alleges that RealPage’s agreements and conduct harm the competitive process in local rental markets for multi-family dwellings across the United States. Armed with competing landlords’ data, RealPage also encourages loyalty to the algorithm’s recommendations through, among other measures, “auto accept” functionality and pricing advisors who monitor landlords’ compliance. As a result, RealPage’s software tends to maximize price increases, minimize price decreases, and maximize landlords’ pricing power. RealPage also trained landlords to limit concessions (e.g., free month(s) of rent) and other discounts to renters. The complaint also cites internal documents from RealPage and landlords touting the fact that landlords have responded by reducing renter concessions.

The complaint separately alleges that RealPage has unlawfully maintained its monopoly over commercial revenue management software for multi-family dwellings in the United States, in which RealPage commands approximately 80% market share. Landlords agree to share their competitively sensitive data with RealPage in return for pricing recommendations and decisions that are the result of combining and analyzing competitors’ sensitive data. This creates a self-reinforcing feedback loop that strengthens RealPage’s grip on the market and makes it harder for honest businesses to compete on the merits.

RealPage Inc., is a property management software company headquartered in Richardson, Texas.

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‘In Pursuit’: The Power of Epistemic Humility

Elizabeth H. Bradley and Jonathon S. Kahn ask if the breakdown of dialogue on campus is in part a reflection of how we teach.

By  Elizabeth H. Bradley and Jonathon S. Kahn

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A new academic year is set to begin after what was one of the most tumultuous years on college campuses since the Vietnam War–era protests. Depending on one’s perspective, higher education institutions have emerged as sites of protest against a disturbing foreign conflict rife with humanitarian crises; they have been dangerous hotbeds of radicalism threatening Jewish community members; or they have been testing grounds for the limits of free speech in the 21st century. From our vantage point, as the president and a faculty member at a small liberal arts college, all can be true, and it is precisely the legitimacy of multiple perspectives that has made life on campus this past year so difficult and demanding.

We can’t sugarcoat it, because we live it: The breakdown of dialogue on college campuses is real. The irony that liberal arts institutions of higher education are struggling to navigate diverse perspectives is not lost on us. Institutions of higher education insist that navigating differences is core to their work. Mission statements aplenty claim that being able to engage multiple viewpoints represents a central educational value. That so many colleges and universities are grappling with their most basic and central educational commitments should give pause.

It pushes us to ask a question that has largely gone unasked: Is a breakdown in how we now educate partially to blame for the current breakdown on campuses? In other words, is it us?

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Current tumult has obscured a crucial organizing tenet of higher education: to be always in pursuit of greater understanding. It is cliché, perhaps. But in these toughest of days, we found ourselves thinking about the deeper implications of being “in pursuit.” To pursue understanding is to conceive of knowledge building as requiring continuous seeking, revising and questioning. Such an approach to learning is desperately needed today not only because it fosters curiosity (which it does) but also because it staves off absolutist impulses to deride and silence others’ views, impulses we have seen firsthand.

Consider, for example, a tremendously difficult class one of us co-taught on the history of blackface performances and minstrel practices during the early part of the 20th century at what was then our all-women’s college. Since the course dealt with deeply racist practices, the understandable desire to singularly condemn the college’s history was palpable. Indeed, at the start of the class, many students, most of whom were white, described their motivations for taking the class primarily in terms of exposing the college’s racist past. “Critique” was the language they spoke, which they took to mean uncovering the college’s blameworthy history, denouncing the practices they were studying and confirming their own absolutes about race and hypocrisy at elite institutions more broadly. They described their attachment to the institution as tenuous. It was clear that, to their thinking, college was a place to have an educational experience and receive a degree, while the notion that they might develop a sense of fidelity or obligation to a college with a racist history, or develop a complex understanding of a condemned practice, was an anathema.

But something different happened. What unfolded over the course of the semester was an exercise in the pursuit of understanding. If the students began the course convinced about the racist motivations of their counterparts in the early 20th century, their research complicated those assumptions. They learned that all-women performances of blackface at that time were quite rare, and so what was happening on campus then represented something distinct. Their inquiries led them to consider the transition from 19th-century Victorian models of white womanhood to newer formulations in the early 20th century that came to be known as first-wave feminism. They began to ask: Is it possible that these blackface performances contributed to this transition? Did commitments to feminism and gender equality at that time actually reinforce persistent racial inequalities? How is it possible that these young women could have genuinely believed they were pursuing a form of self-liberation through racist tropes and performances?

Their answers to these questions went in many directions, and none of them excused the racism of this time. But instead of vilifying these earlier students and refusing to understand perspectives different from their own, our students began to see their predecessors as flawed and complicated with multiple motivations; these included a daring to do what men were doing in an attempt to articulate their own desires for equality. Again, our students did not excuse these practices or the women who participated in them as much as they began to understand their behavior as sitting in a complex network of forces, a condition that may very well mark the human experience. Crucially in the final sets of class meetings, the students began to wonder about themselves as similarly flawed and circumscribed by social forces of which they may not be fully aware.

The effects of this insight on the students’ relationships to the institution were significant. They began to see the college in the early 20th century as a context in which young white women, many of whom were from the middle classes, were struggling to craft a self during a tumultuous time of changing norms. The parallels became obvious. The students began to understand that they too sit in cross-pressured contexts in which they are haltingly and fallibly trying to make sense of themselves in their own turbulent times.

We do not want to overstate the effects of the class; however, the experience gave students a profound encounter with the power of epistemic humility, an acknowledgement of the necessity of curiosity, nuance, uncertainty and multiple perspectives needed for building knowledge. That encounter expanded the students’ capacity to understand—and even have empathy for—a broader range of experiences and perspectives, a necessary condition for engaging the pluralism possible on a college campus.

The question facing higher education today is how to build these types of experiences. The good news is that this doesn’t require fancy lab equipment or other expensive infrastructure. It does require three basic elements—instructors committed to giving their students an experience of novel inquiry, primary sources and time. When faculty make clear that the entire purpose of the class is for students to figure out what they think, students begin to understand the power of question asking. From there, any question—from the teacher, their classmates and themselves—feels exploratory and enticing.

Primary sources—original documents or images—are vital because they cry out for multiple interpretations, functioning like a ball-and-socket joint around which students’ thoughts, ideas and questions can begin to turn. Critically, all this takes time. Students need time to trust that the instructor genuinely wants them to go on a journey of their own. And the meanings of images and texts surface slowly, yielding only to the student’s patience and persistence to ask questions from multiple perspectives.

At the end of the 19th century, William James insisted that education required “the habit of always seeing an alternative, of not taking the usual for granted, of making conventionalities fluid again, of imagining foreign states of mind.” In the 20th century, W. E. B. Du Bois worried about the dangers of education reinforcing “the overwhelming sense of the I, and the consequent forgetting of the Thou.” And in the 21st century, the feminist literary theorist Rita Felski asks , “Why—even as we extol multiplicity, difference, hybridity … are we so hyperarticulate about our adversaries?”

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All three circle around the same idea. To be always in the pursuit of greater understanding is to confess that we have more to learn. It is to conceive of education as a process of relationship building between our own perspectives and experiences not our own. Without this, our relationships with those with different experiences risk becoming brittle and unsustainable. Unable to contain a community’s multitudes, we resort to excising—canceling—those whom we cannot countenance. The pursuit of understanding requires the opposite.

Today’s campuses need to develop and be given greater latitude for this version of learning. We know from experience that this process is messy, and we need to allow for that messiness, knowing that exploration, mistakes and missteps are all part of learning. We must resist the temptation to drop the “in pursuit” and focus only on the “understanding,” as if learning amounts to nothing more than the dogmatic piling up of facts.

The pursuit of understanding emphasizes the dynamics of learning, which necessarily expands our abilities to comprehend a broad range of perspectives and experiences. Most importantly, the pursuit of understanding pushes us to ask what sort of human each of us wants to be in relation to others. Our future together relies on being forever in pursuit.

Elizabeth H. Bradley is the president of Vassar College and a professor of science, technology and society, and of political science. She is deeply engaged with research on the performance and quality of higher education institutions in the U.S. Jonathon S. Kahn is a professor of religion and the former director of engaged pluralism at Vassar College. He works at the intersection of race, religious ethics and politics.

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‘I Am the Only Person Stupid Enough to Speak After Michelle Obama’

So said former President Barack Obama after his wife electrified the Democratic National Convention. The delegates loved him, but they really loved her.

Former President Barack Obama at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Known as one of the most eloquent orators of the modern era, he had never before faced the challenge he confronted Tuesday night. Credit... Kent Nishimura for The New York Times

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By Peter Baker

Reporting from inside the United Center in Chicago

• Aug. 21, 2024

Whoever set the schedule for the second night of the Democratic National Convention certainly did Barack Obama no favors. As the former president admitted when he took the stage on Tuesday night, “I am the only person stupid enough to speak after Michelle Obama.”

Not to say that the Democrats gathered in the United Center in Chicago were unappreciative of their onetime favorite son. Mr. Obama delivered the kind of rousing yes-we-can speech that 20 years ago vaulted him from obscurity toward the White House. But following Mrs. Obama? He has demonstrated better judgment.

The his-and-hers marquee convention speeches by the 44th president of the United States and the former first lady fired up the partisan crowd. Speaking back-to-back over the course of an hour, the Obamas reminded Democrats of a past era of hope and change while electrifying a convention after a ceremonial roll call nominated Vice President Kamala Harris for president and Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota for vice president.

But while the delegates loved Mr. Obama, they really loved Mrs. Obama . From the minute she entered to Stevie Wonder to the end when she introduced her husband, she had the hall wrapped in her hand. No wonder Mr. Obama did not want to go next. No wonder former President Donald J. Trump over the years has repeatedly expressed a feverish worry that the Democrats would turn to Mrs. Obama as their next nominee in some kind of bizarre conspiratorial plot.

From the stage at the United Center on Tuesday, Mrs. Obama eviscerated Mr. Trump as a product of “the affirmative action of generational wealth” who nonetheless enjoyed the “grace of failing forward” while moaning that he was somehow a victim. She described him as a racist and misogynist who exploited fears and lies, a huckster and a hatemonger still playing “the same old con game” on America.

“If we bankrupt a business or choke in a crisis, we don’t get a second, third or fourth chance,” she said. “If things don’t go our way, we don’t have the luxury of whining or cheating others to get further ahead. No. We don’t get to change the rules so we always win. If we see a mountain in front of us, we don’t expect there to be an escalator waiting to take us to the top.”

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