College Prep Writing
Rhetorical Analysis
According the Merriam’s Webster’s Dictionary:
rhetoric Pronunciation: 're-toe-rik Function: noun
1 : the art of speaking or writing effectively: as b : the study of writing or speaking as a means of
communication or persuasion
Rhetorical Analysis: Critical Writing
When you write a rhetorical analysis, all you're really doing is putting onto paper the strategies you
discovered/ideas you came up with when reading the text critically. Rhetorical analysis may be applied to
virtually any text or image--a speech, an essay, an advertisement, a poem, a photograph, a web page, even a
bumper sticker. When applied to a literary work, rhetorical analysis regards the work not as an aesthetic object
but as an artistically structured instrument for communication. As Edward P.J. Corbett has observed, rhetorical
analysis "is more interested in a literary work for what it does than for what it is." Remember that you do
not have to cover all of these aspects when writing a formal rhetorical analysis.
Note the following conventions of rhetorical analysis:
1. Analyze a text in the simple present tense.
2. Enclose essay titles in quotes.
3. Refer to yourself as "the reader" or "the audience."
4. Support your claims with textual evidence (direct quotations and paraphrases) using Modern Language
Association (MLA) format.
Guidelines for Rhetorical Analysis
TITLE:
The title of the essay is the first point of contact with the reader. What sort of title would describe the paper and
distinguish it from other papers written on the same essay?
Example: "Political Spin"
(from sample) “A Rhetorical Analysis of the Letter from George Bush to Saddam"
INTRODUCTION: Detailing the Rhetorical Situation
EXAMPLE:
Amy Tan’s article titled “Fish Cheeks,” printed on November 23, 2012, recounts an embarrassing Christmas
Eve dinner when she was 14 years old. Tan’s purpose is to convey the idea that, at fourteen, she was not able to
recognize the love her mother had for her or the sacrifices she made. Tan writes, "You want to be the same as
American girls on the outside." She handed me an early gift. It was a miniskirt in beige tweed. "But inside you
must always be Chinese. You must be proud you are different. Your only shame is to have shame" (10). She
adopts a sentimental tone in order to appeal to similar feelings and experiences in her adult readers. Tan’s
overall persuasive and emotional cry for freedom from her mother was uniquely intriguing and gripping at the
same moment.
BODY: Discussing the content of the text
Paragraph 2-Mode of Logic, explanation of choice, quote, explanation of how the quote relates to the mode of
logic, and type of writing style used most predominately and how it relates to the author’s persuasiveness.
Paragraph 3- Mode of Logic continued and remainder types of writing style used and how they relate to the
author’s persuasiveness, quotes, explanations of how the quotes relate to the mode of logic.
Paragraph 4- Logical Fallacies effect on persuasiveness, Strengths of argument with example/intext citation,
Common ground addressed with effect on persuasiveness.
CONCLUSION: Summarizing the Rhetorical Analysis
Toward ANALYSIS, you need to begin to incorporate strong verbs into your writing when discussing the
writer’s rhetorical choices. Below is a list of verbs that are considered weak because they imply summary and a
list of verbs that are considered strong because they imply analysis. Strive to use the stronger verbs in your
essays to help push yourself away from summary and toward analysis: “The writer flatters…” NOT “The writer
says…”
WEAK VERBS (Summary)
says
relates
goes on to say
tells
this quote shows
explains
states
shows
STRONG VERBS (Analysis)
implies trivializes
flatters
qualifies
processes describes
suggests denigrates
lionizes
dismisses
analyzes
questions
compares vilifies
praises
supports
enumerates contrasts
emphasizes demonizes
establishes admonishes
expounds
argues
defines
ridicules
minimizes narrates
lists
warns
Powerful and meaningful verbs to use in your analyses:
Alternatives to “show”
Acknowledge
Characterize
Describe
Determine
Address
Claim
Consider
Differentiate
Analyze
Clarify
Construct
Disagree
Imply
Convince
Critique
Declare
Discard
Minimize
Apply
Capitalize
Contradict
Discover
Implicate
Argue
Correct
Create
Discuss
Merge
Assert
Compare
Deduce
Dismiss
Measure
Augment
Complicate
Defend
Distinguish Modify
Broaden
Confine
Demonstrate
Duplicate
Implement
Calculate
Connect
Deny
Elaborate
Improve
Emphasize
Persist
Testify
Omit
Include
Employ
Point out
Terminate
Generalize
Monitor
Enable
Predict
Translate
Support
Impair
Engage
Present
Theorize
Simulate
Manipulate
Enhance
Probe
Sustain
Suggest
Incorporate
Establish
Produce
Suspend
Solve
Necessitate
Evaluate
Possess
Undermine
Shape
Illustrate
Exacerbate
Promote
Vary
Separate
Manifest
Examine
Prove
Tailor
Revise
Indicate
Exclude
Provide
Validate
Reveal
Negate
Exhibit
Qualify
Retrieve
Resolve
Illuminate
Expand
Quantify
View
Represent
Maintain
Explain
Question
Summarize
Report
Induce
Exploit
Propose
Specify
Repair
Nullify
Express
Realize
Understand
Remove
Identify
Extend
Recommend
Unify
Rely
Loosen
Facilitate
Reconstruct
Utilize
Relate
Locate
Feature
Redefine
Structure
Reject
Obscure
Forecast
Reduce
Vindicate
Regard
Hypothesize
Formulate
Refer
Yield
Refute
Initiate
Fracture
Reference
Signify
Reflect
Inquire
Definition
Modes of Logic:
Logos
Ethos
Pathos
Kairos
Logical Fallacy:
Tone:
Voice
Pedantic
Pacing
Didactic
Diction:
Persuade
Entertain
Information
Formal Language
Informal Language
Example
Syntax:
Simple Sentence
Compound Sentence
Complex Sentence
Compound-Complex Sentence
Punctuation:
Ellipses
Semicolon
Colon
Dash
Asyndeton