Rhetorical Analysis Essay
Outline
I. Introduction
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Introduce your topic or subject of analysis.
Make evident your purpose.
Engage your reader.
Remember this is primarily an objective
analysis.
II. The Rhetorical Situation
• What is the issue? (It may help to state it as a yes-no question,
even if the answer is not ultimately yes or no.)
• What's the context?
• Who is making the argument?
-What are their credentials?
- Do any biases seem evident?
• Who seems to be their targeted audience?
• What is their MAIN point or thesis?
• What KIND of argument is being presented?
-Is their argument one of policy, evaluation, or substantiation
(to strengthen a view)?
-This question is linked to another one: what is their purpose?
• How is the argument structured?
• What are the argument's assumptions?
III. The Appeals
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ETHOS
How would you describe the writer's character?
-What sort of PERSON is projected?
What are his/her CREDENTIALS?
Does this person show GOOD WILL, RESPECT FOR
OPPOSING VIEWS, HUMILITY, LIKEABILITY?
What is the author's toward his or her material?
-What is his or her tone of voice (about the topic and
audience)?
-How would you describe this person’s style and
approach?
-What is their way of thinking?
III. The Appeals
LOGOS
• Describe in detail the work's logos: the argument’s
logical reasoning and evidence.
• What claims are being made in support of the thesis?
• How are those claims being supported? What KINDS
of evidence are presented?
-data (facts, statistics, studies)
-personal experience (interviews, letters, diaries,
memos, field work);
-secondary sources (newspapers, magazines, books)
-common sense and humor may be a type of
"evidence".
***In each case above, provide specific examples***
III. The Appeals
PATHOS
• What SPECIFIC emotions does the argument evoke?
-What is it the writer mostly wants you to feel? Pity?
Horror? Fear? Sadness? Joy? Anxiety? Awe? Sympathy?
• How does the author evoke those emotions?
-Positive and negative diction (refers to one specific
emotionally charged word that has meaning beyond the
text)?
-Facts?
-Visual effects?
-Interviews with victims?
-What specific appeals tend to arouse emotion in the
piece?
IV. Opposing Views
• Does the work acknowledge opposing claims and
evidence?
-Does it do so fairly and with good will?
-Does it do so thoroughly?
• Does the work refute those opposing claims and
evidence? If so, how?
V. Strengths and Weaknesses
• Can you identify any reasoning errors (name
calling, avoiding the issue, conflict of interest,
etc.)?
• Try not to spend too much time on this.
-a rhetorical analysis is meant to be an
examination of an argument—not necessarily
an evaluation.
VI. Conclusion
• This can be brief, and might actually be folded
into version of the intro.
-Wrap things up and remember to avoid
turning your paper into a summary.
Tips and Reminders
• Don’t forget transitions (sequence) between
your paragraphs and between segments of
your paper.
-They help your reader follow your thinking.
• Edit for clarity and proofread for mechanical
errors.
• Use complex sentences.
• Use you bookmark for effective verbs.