Rhetorical Analysis
A Rhetorical Analysis (example found on page 117 of Practical Argument) dissects a specific text and offers insight into its theme, style, and structure. This genre of writing demonstrates the critical understanding and assessment of any text. It requires the reader/writer to retrace the argument of the author. In a Rhetorical Analysis, the reader/writer needs to:
• Offer insight regarding the author herself/himself and the context
- Is there background, expertise, demographic information or bias that is essential to analyzing the argument?
- What historical, social, or political issues situate the text?
• Offer analysis as to the author's purpose and topic- what is the goal of her/his writing?
- What is the thesis?
- Identify what appeals are used to advance the author's purpose
• Address the likely audience of the text, using textual evidence
- For example, does the author use graphs and statistics that require sophisticated comprehension? Their audience is then most likely an academic one in the field of study in question.
• Acknowledge and analyze the structure and style of the text at hand
- Is the article a book chapter, or a newspaper article, or something else? These genres have specific conventions/rules that should be acknowledged.
- Review the stylistic techniques egsimile, metaphor, allusion, parallelism, repetition, rhetorical question
- Does the author use refutation effectively?
• Assess the essay - how well does the author achieve the goal he/she argues in the thesis?
Please note: For each key point you identify, provide an I-Q-E-C sequence. (See "Using Source Materials Effectively" PP.)
Length: 3 pages
Citations: Proper MLA style is required, including a Works Cited page for the text analyzed.