Writing a Rhetorical Analysis Start writing your introduction • Introduce the title of the article you are analyzing, when the article was written, and who wrote it. • Summarize the cultural/ historical background information about the article to provide context for your readers. • Identify who you think the target audience is for the article you are analyzing. The article you are looking at should give you some pretty clues about who the audience is. • States your thesis clearly. The thesis includes the rhetorical tools that you will analyze and the effects these tools have on the audience, and whether or not you think the article was effective and why. Introduction • In 1999, the Senate Committee on the Judiciary (SCJ) composed an article entitled, “Children, Violence, and the Media: A Report for Parents and Policy Makers.” The Senators wrote this article after a series of school shootings in Kentucky and Colorado. The Senate had responded to the violence by creating amendments to the Judiciary Act of 1992. This article was addressed to the American public following the ratification of the amendment; it explicitly stated the effects of violent depictions in the media and argued that American parents should “shield their children [from the] harmful depictions [of the media]” (SCJ 84). The authors of the argument wrote with the assumption that the common American parent wishes to raise his/her children in an environment free of violence. Through the artful use of plural pronouns, imagery, and irony, the authors skillfully induce emotional responses. The authors then expertly utilize a series of logical appeals to their audience to support these emotional claims; enthymemes, statistics, and direct quotes are used to convince parents that action must be taken on their part. • In 1999, the Senate Committee on the Judiciary (SCJ) composed an article entitled, “Children, Violence, and the Media: A Report for Parents and Policy Makers.” The Senators wrote this article after a series of school shootings in Kentucky and Colorado. The Senate had responded to the violence by creating amendments to the Judiciary Act of 1992. This article was addressed to the American public following the ratification of the amendment; it explicitly stated the effects of violent depictions in the media and argued that American parents should “shield their children [from the] harmful depictions [of the media]” (SCJ 84). The authors of the argument wrote with the assumption that the common American parent wishes to raise his/her children in an environment free of violence. Through the artful use of plural pronouns, imagery, and irony, the authors skillfully induce emotional responses. The authors then expertly utilize a series of logical appeals to their audience to support these emotional claims; enthymemes, statistics, and direct quotes are used to convince parents that action must be taken on their part. • The author introduces the name of the article she is analyzing, when the article was written, and who wrote it. The author gives the cultural/ historical background information to provide context for the article. The author provides a brief analysis about the audience—who they are and what some of their underlying assumptions may be. The author states her thesis clearly. The thesis includes the rhetorical tools that she will analyze and the effects these tools have on the audience, and the overall effectiveness of the article. Rhetorical tools and rhetorical appeals (notice that the author doesn’t say that “the article uses appeals to ethos, logos, or pathos”; rather she describes how tools create appeals) • • • • Thesis • Through the artful use of plural pronouns, imagery, and irony, the authors skillfully induce emotional responses. The authors then expertly utilize a series of logical appeals to their audience to support these emotional claims; enthymemes, statistics, and direct quotes are used to convince parents that action must be taken on their part. Another model of how to construct a thesis ______1_______ is an effective argument [or ineffective] argument to convince ______2_____ to ____3______ because it uses ____4___, _____5_____, ____6____ to create _______7_____. •1 = Title of article being analyzed •2 = Audience (e.g., fundamentalist Christians; journalism students and faculty) •3 = Goal or purpose of the article being analyzed •4 = Rhetorical tool #1 •5 = Rhetorical tool #2 •6 = Rhetorical tool #3 •7 = Appeal or effect Example of a thesis • “Swimming Against the Tide” is an effective argument to convince journalism students and faculty to work for more diversity in journalism because it uses biblical and historical allusions, vivid metaphors, and distinctive diction to create a feeling of urgency and outrage. Write your own thesis ______1_______ is an effective argument [or ineffective] argument to convince ______2_____ to ____3______ because it uses ____4___, _____5_____, ____6____ to create _______7_____. •1 = Title of article being analyzed •2 = Audience (e.g., fundamentalist Christians; journalism students and faculty) •3 = Goal or purpose of the article being analyzed •4 = Rhetorical tool #1 •5 = Rhetorical tool #2 •6 = Rhetorical tool #3 •7 = Appeal or effect Body Paragraph • The authors then go on to use irony in order to convince the audience that they as parents must be the ones to provide safety for their children against the violence found in the media. An appeal to responsibility is made when the authors state, “Behind the façade of our material comfort, we find a national tragedy: America’s children are killing and harming each other” (SCJ 75). The authors show the irony of the situation, and the intended claim is easy to understand. Even though America is moving forward economically, child violence is still increasing. Stating that children are harming each other would be particularly touching to an audience of parents. Most American parents feel the responsibility to provide their children with the best luxuries they can afford. The authors show through irony that although American parents may be providing the necessary commodities to keep their children in “material comfort,” they may not be providing them safety from child violence. Hence, parents are provoked to think of their own children and what they can do to keep them safe from the harm the media may cause them. • The authors then go on to use irony in order to convince the audience that they as parents must be the ones to provide safety for their children against the violence found in the media. An appeal to responsibility is made when the authors state, “Behind the façade of our material comfort, we find a national tragedy: America’s children are killing and harming each other” (SCJ 75). The authors show the irony of the situation, and the intended claim is easy to understand. Even though America is moving forward economically, child violence is still increasing. Stating that children are harming each other would be particularly touching to an audience of parents. Most American parents feel the responsibility to provide their children with the best luxuries they can afford. The authors show through irony that although American parents may be providing the necessary commodities to keep their children in “material comfort,” they may not be providing them safety from child violence. Hence, parents are provoked to think of their own children and what they can do to keep them safe from the harm the media may cause them. • • • • Topic Sentence (this includes the rhetorical tool that is going to be analyzed) Introduction to the quote (don’t just “pop and drop” quotes—preface them) Example from the text (specific, powerful, direct quotes are usually very powerful, although occasionally you may have to paraphrase or summarize an extended example) Analysis of the example (notice that the author doesn’t rely on summary to really delve into the details of the text) Begin writing a body paragraph • Topic sentence (includes the rhetorical tool you are evaluating) • Example from the text • Analysis—what are the effects of the rhetorical tool on the audience? What kind of appeals does this tool create? Really dive into the language.
