WRITING A RHETORICAL
ANALYSIS
Mrs. Suerth
English II PAP
WHAT EXACTLY IS RHETORICAL ANALYSIS?
• What is the difference between a rhetorical analysis and a persuasive
essay?
• In a persuasive essay, you write your OWN thoughts from your own
point of view in order to persuade your audience (and hopefully you
are using rhetorical techniques).
• In a rhetorical analysis, you are analyzing someone else’s persuasive
techniques by examining the rhetorical devices THEY have used to
convey their point of view.
WHY SHOULD I CARE?
• If you plan to take AP English III, ie. AP Language, next
year, you will have to write THREE of these in a span of
120 minutes.
WHY SHOULD I CARE?
• The analysis of rhetoric used by
others, whether it is in a speech,
writing, or other means of
communication, helps you recognize
when you are being persuaded,
manipulated, and makes you a more
savvy consumer of information.
(Think about how the commoners in
Julius Caesar were so easily
manipulated by the rhetorical
techniques used in Antony’s funeral
speech…you don’t want to be like
them!)
HOW DO I WRITE A
RHETORICAL
ANALYSIS?
You have learned about rhetorical
techniques this year, and we have
reviewed different strategies used
by writers to convey their point of
view. In a rhetorical analysis, you
just have to put all that together to
analyze someone else’s work.
Here is an easy acronym that will
help you get started:
SOAPSTone!
My, what a pretty
countertop!
NO, NO, NO, NOT THAT
SOAPSTONE!
SOAPSTone refers to:
Speaker, Occasion, Audience,
Purpose, Subject, and Tone
WHAT IS SOAPSTONE?
• Speaker: The voice that tells the story
• Occasion: The time and the place of the piece; the context that prompted the writing.
• Audience: The group of readers to whom this piece is directed
• Purpose: The reason behind the text
• Subject: The topic of the piece of writing
• Tone: The attitude of the author
SPEAKER
• While reading the text, ask yourself this major question: WHO IS SPEAKING?
• Don’t confuse the author with the speaker. They are two different voices;
sometimes two different personas. For example, Shakespeare is the author of
the play Julius Caesar, but the speaker is Antony trying to influence the
commoners to revolt against Brutus and the rest of the conspirators.
• Ask yourself: What’s the point of a speaker? Why do we care who is
speaking? How does it influence the text? How does it influence the reader?
• Who is speaking to the reader? Is it an economist? A fashion guru? A teacher?
A lawmaker?
OCCASION
• While reading, it’s important to determine WHAT EVENT INFLUENCED THE
TEXT. (Obviously, in Julius Caesar, it’s Caesar’s murder when referencing
Antony’s speech)
• Why do we write? Why does it matter? Do we just write about anything and
everything, or are we influenced to write?
• Ask yourself: Why is this person writing this text now? What major event or
occurrence inspired this piece of writing?
• Are they writing in response to a new law? An ongoing war? A celebrity
mishap? A major world crisis?
AUDIENCE
• While reading the text, it is important to determine WHO THE AUDIENCE IS.
• Don’t think an article on the health risks of elementary school cafeteria food
is an article for just anyone. Who could an article like that be targeting?
• Ask yourself: Who is the intended audience for this text? Why write to this
specific audience? Why cant a piece of writing be meant for EVERYBODY?
• Is the audience the financial experts of the business world? Stay-at-home
mothers? College students? Athletes?
PURPOSE
• While reading the text, it is necessary to understand the PURPOSE OF
THE TEXT.
• Ask yourself: What’s the purpose of the writing? What is it intended to
do? What is the speaker hoping to achieve? Is there a goal?
• Are they trying to influence consumers to buy a certain product? Vote
for a specific politician? Save their money by investing? Send their kids
to private school?
SUBJECT
• While reading the text, determine the SUBJECT OF THE TEXT.
• Ask yourself: What is this piece of writing about? What topic(s) does it
concern? Why does it matter?
• Are they writing about the war in Iraq? A new law that just passed? A
hot, new celebrity?
TONE
• While reading the text, one of the most important questions
is WHAT’S THE TONE OF THE TEXT?
• How is the author saying what he’s saying? What is his
attitude towards the subject? Towards the audience?
• Is he angry? Biased? Persuasive? Neutral?
THE ANALYSIS PARAGRAPH
• An analysis paragraph must prove something by using the text as
evidence.
• Follow the specific paragraph outline if you want to write an
outstanding paragraph.
• DO’s and DON’TS:
• DO state your point in the topic sentence
• DON’T forget to provide the WHY and HOW SO?
• DO cite your evidence
• DON’T use a quote without explaining its significance
• DO follow the paragraph outline
AN OUTLINE OF AN ANALYSIS BODY
PARAGRAPH
• Topic Sentence (TS): One sentence that states your point; it
states what you’re trying to prove.
• Setup (S): Sets up the context for your first piece of evidence
from the source (quote).
• Evidence(E #1): Your first piece of evidence; a quote from
the source.
• Commentary (CM): Three to five sentences that explains
the significance of the quote. How does it help prove your
point? THIS SHOULD NOT INCLUDE A SUMMARY OF YOUR
QUOTE. You are assuming your audience can read..duh!
• Conclusive Sentence (CS): One sentence that wraps up
your paragraph.
RHETORICAL ANALYSIS
ESSAY STRUCTURE
Your essay should include an INTRODUCTION, with a
brief summary of the material/source that you are
analyzing, followed by your THESIS sentence outlining
your main points you will make in your analysis.
BODY PARAGRAPHS
• Your essay should include THREE body paragraphs.
• For each body paragraph, you will need to include the
following:
• Topic sentence, setup for your evidence, evidence (quote
from source), analysis/commentary, and a concluding
sentence.
• Remember to address SOAPSTone in your body paragraphs.
CONCLUSION
• A conclusion, which restates the thesis sentence and
leaves the reader with a final thought about your
essay.
• Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Don’t be afraid of the words “rhetorical analysis.” Your
writing follows the SAME FORMAT that you know and love; your AUTHOR’S PURPOSE
is simply to analyze for rhetorical techniques.
YOU’VE GOT THIS, Y’ALL!