Rhetorical Analysis An Introduction to Introductions

Why the Intro Is So Critical…..  Along with the title, it’s the first words that your audience reads.  It sets the tone for your essay.  It proposes a “map” for your reader to follow.

A Paradoxical or Intriguing Statement  "A picture tells a thousand words" is a saying that applies to the newspaper industry but which also applies to people. The picture created by a person's actions tells us a thousand words about him or her and goes much farther than words do in telling us about a person's true thoughts and feelings. Several examples from literature and history demonstrate this point.  When Kate Chopin's novel The Awakening was published in 1899, critics condemned the book as immoral. One typical critic, writing in the Providence Journal, feared that the novel might "fall into the hands of youth, leading them to dwell on things that only matured persons can understand, and promoting unholy imaginations and unclean desires" (150). A reviewer in the St. Louis Post- Dispatch wrote that "there is much that is very improper in it, not to say positively unseemly."

An Arresting Statistic or Shocking Statement  Nearly two hundred citizens were arrested as witches during the Salem witch scare of Eventually nineteen were hanged, and another was pressed to death (Marks 65).  The pentagon has twice as many bathrooms as are necessary. The famous government building was constructed in the 1940s, when segregation laws required that separate bathrooms be installed for people of African descent. This building isn’t the only American icon that harkens back to this embarrassing and hurtful time in our history. Across the United States there are many examples of leftover laws and customs that reflect the racism that once permeated American society.

A Quotation or Literary Allusion  Someone once asked Edison, “How can you feel good about your work, having failed nine-hundred and ninety-nine times to make a light bulb?" To this Edison replied, "I have not failed so many times, I have merely learned nine-hundred and ninety-nine ways not to make a light bulb. Why did Edison react this way? Because he knew that mistakes are always experiences that lead to learning and growth."  Hillary Rodham Clinton once said that “There cannot be true democracy unless women's voices are heard.” In 2006, when Nancy Pelosi became the nation’s first female Speaker of the House, one woman’s voice rang out clear. With this development, democracy grew to its truest level ever in terms of women’s equality. The historical event also paved the way for Senator Clinton as she warmed her own vocal chords in preparation for a presidential race.

A Relevant Story, Joke, or Anecdote  Under the constitution all men, and women, are created equal. Unfortunately what the constitution reads and what the general population practices in every day society, particularly Southern society, conflict greatly. Most people have a predilection for how they feel towards other people and how they must act, depending on social ranking in the ever-present caste system. The predetermined preference is one that is instilled in humans from the day they are born and it is extremely difficult to shake a person of these beliefs. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, this very caste system is clearly depicted through the eyes of a young girl and raises the question of how willing, or not so willing, people are to accept change or differences in one another. By examining...

A Description, Often Used for Emotional Appeal  One person can make a significance difference in the world by standing alone to do what is right and just. Yet fighting against the power of “mob mentality” to stand up for social justice is particularly difficult when it involves challenging neighbors, friends, and even one’s own family. Harper Lee examines the strengths and weaknesses of the 1930’s justice system in her tragic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird as one man, Atticus Finch, is challenged by his own racist community. Seen through the eyes of a child, the reader witnesses Atticus trying to defend Tom Robinson, an innocent client wrongly accused of raping a white girl. Amid the imperfections of the court system...  Sleepy Maycomb, like other Southern towns, suffers considerably during the Great Depression. Poverty reaches from the privileged families, like the Finches, to the Negroes and “white trash” Ewells, who live on the outskirts of town. Harper Lee paints a vivid picture of life in this humid Alabama town where tempers and bigotry explode into conflict.

A Factual Statement or Summary of Who-What-When-Where-and-Why  In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare's tragedy of `star-crossed lovers' destroyed by the blood feud between their two families, the minor characters..  In the early 1990s a newly independent Ukraine, seeking to revive and reform its troubled economy, embarked on a major privatization effort. The effort largely failed.

An Analogy or Contrast  "To climb a mountain a person must struggle and strain. And this is the case with any worthwhile goal..."

A Personal Experience  When I trained for my first marathon it was difficult and often painful. But I wanted to have the accomplishment of running 26.2 miles so I did it anyway. To make progress in life requires sacrifice.

A Statement of a Problem or a Popular Misconception  Americans too often take their rights for granted. We hardly ever stop to think about all of the hard work that was involved in gaining the rights we enjoy under the Constitution. This Constitution was not ratified overnight. It took many years and a great amount of persuasion through a document called the Federalist papers to get the states to accept the Constitution.

A Rhetorical Question  How is it possible that as late as the mid-twentieth century in the United States, "the land of the free," riders on public buses were segregated by race? How is it possible that even today there are segregated social events, schools and towns, no longer segregated by law but with effects just as real and damaging?

Student Examples  Paper #1 Paper #1  Paper #2 Paper #2  Paper #3 Paper #3  Paper #4 Paper #4

Now, pick one and TRY it!  A paradoxical or intriguing statement  An arresting statistic or shocking statement  A quotation or literary allusion  A relevant story, joke, or anecdote  A description, often used for emotional appeal  A factual statement or a summary of who-what- where-when-and-why  An analogy or contrast  A personal experience  Statement of a problem or a popular misconception  A Rhetorical Question

Now, pick ANOTHER and TRY it!  A paradoxical or intriguing statement  An arresting statistic or shocking statement  A quotation or literary allusion  A relevant story, joke, or anecdote  A description, often used for emotional appeal  A factual statement or a summary of who-what- where-when-and-why  An analogy or contrast  A personal experience  Statement of a problem or a popular misconception  A Rhetorical Question

Now, pick A THIRD ONE and TRY it!  A paradoxical or intriguing statement  An arresting statistic or shocking statement  A quotation or literary allusion  A relevant story, joke, or anecdote  A description, often used for emotional appeal  A factual statement or a summary of who-what- where-when-and-why  An analogy or contrast  A personal experience  Statement of a problem or a popular misconception  A Rhetorical Question