RHETORICAL ANALYSIS

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF RHETORICAL ANALYSIS? The purpose of rhetorical analysis is to determine how an author uses language to create meaning, develop his or her purpose(s) and/or produce particular effects.

STEP 1: DECONSTRUCT THE PROMPT  What is the context?  What is the time period?  What is the topic?  Who is the author?  What is my purpose for analysis?  What is the mode of writing?  Is there a universal subject present?

WRITING MODES AND RHETORICAL STRATEGIES Narrative  Point of view  Structure  Figurative devices  Diction Expository  Organization  Development  Diction  Figurative language  Syntax

WRITING MODES AND RHETORICAL STRATEGIES Argument  Appeals  Logic  Opposing View  Syntax  Diction Satire  Irony  Purpose  Hyperbole  Understatement  Incongruence

STEP 2: READ (WITH A PEN)  What am I looking for as I read?  Author’s purpose(s) and overall meaning(s)  Use of rhetoric  Repetition/parallelism/juxtaposition  Shifts (tone, organization, idea, focus)  Noteworthy diction  Figurative language, symbolism  Allusions

CAUTION!  Understanding the author’s meaning/purpose is ESSENTIAL and the fundamental goal!  Who cares if you can find rhetorical “stuff” but do not know how it contributes to the meaning of the piece?

STEP 3: ARTICULATE MEANING  What is the purpose of the piece?  What is the universal subject?  What is this piece really about? What is the abstract noun—the bigger idea—on which this piece is touching?  What is the answer to what the prompt is asking me to analyze?  What in this passage is affecting this universal subject?

STEP 4: REVIEW THE RHETORICAL STRATEGIES YOU ANNOTATED  What is the mode of writing?  The mode of writing hints to the rhetorical strategies used.

WRITING MODES AND RHETORICAL STRATEGIES Narrative  Point of view  Structure  Figurative devices  Diction Expository  Organization  Development  Diction  Figurative language  Syntax

WRITING MODES AND RHETORICAL STRATEGIES Argument  Appeals  Logic  Opposing View  Syntax  Diction Satire  Irony  Purpose  Hyperbole  Understatement  Incongruence

STEP 5: ANALYZE  If you are talking about what the text says, you are summarizing.  If you are talking about how the text makes meaning, you are analyzing.

ANALYSIS: PURPOSE  When discussing purpose, consider the following questions:  Why does this writer choose this particular strategy to create his or her message?  How does the writer use this strategy to make meaning?  Why does the writer use this particular strategy and this particular example?

ANALYSIS: EFFECT  When discussing effect, consider the following: Because the writer used this rhetorical strategy, how/why does the use influence one or more of the following:  Speaker  Reader  Message  Tone  Purpose

STEP 6: IDENTIFY SHIFTS/CONTRASTS Signals of a shift:  Transitions (e.g., but, yet, nevertheless, however, although, therefore.)  Punctuation (dashes, periods, colons)  Paragraph divisions  Changes in sentence length/structure

WRITING A THESIS STATEMENT

PARTS OF THE THESIS STATEMENT  TOPIC  CLAIM (VERB)  DIRECTION  QUALIFIER  UNIVERSAL IDEA

TOPIC  The TOPIC reveals the context of the thesis—the text(s) analyzed.  Example Gary Soto’s autobiographical essay

CLAIM (VERB)  The CLAIM explains the text’s connection to the rhetorical strategies.  For practice, uses is a good place to start.  Try synonyms and substitutes for uses  Example Gary Soto’s autobiographical essay uses

DIRECTION  The DIRECTION tells how the text arrives at the universal idea.  DIRECTION = rhetorical strategies  Example Gary Soto’s autobiographical essay uses diction, allusions, and imagery

QUALIFIER  The QUALIFIER links the directions to the purpose of analysis and universal truth.  “to prove that”  Try to choose an academic verb that best describes the what the directions are doing to the purpose of analysis and universal truth.  Example: Gary Soto’s autobiographical essay uses diction, allusions, and imagery to prove that

UNIVERSAL TRUTH  The UNIVERSAL TRUTH is the larger idea, message, or purpose at work in the text.  The UNIVERSAL TRUTH should reveal meaning about the UNIVERSAL SUBJECT (abstract noun).  Example: Gary Soto’s autobiographical essay uses diction, allusions, and imagery to prove that guilt seems to haunt those who sin.

GOING TO THE NEXT LEVEL Adding Variety and Complexity to a Thesis Statement

STEP 1: MODIFIED DIRECTIONS  For each direction, add an adjective that best describes the text’s use of that direction.  Example Gary Soto’s autobiographical essay uses simplistic diction, Biblical allusions, and contrasting imagery to prove that guilt seems to haunt those who sin.

STEP 2: ADD THE SHIFT/CONTRAST  Reveal the shift/contrast that occurs within the text (especially the shift/contrast in the universal idea.  Example Gary Soto’s autobiographical essay, in which the focus shifts from innocence to experience, uses simplistic diction, Biblical allusions, and contrasting imagery to prove that guilt seems to haunt those who sin.

STEP 3: ADDING TEXT WORDS/PHRASES FOR INTEREST  Choose a few words or phrases from the text that allude to or somehow reinforce the universal idea.  Add these words/phrases to the thesis statement for effect.

STEP 3: ADDING TEXT WORDS/PHRASES FOR INTEREST  Example Gary Soto’s autobiographical essay, in which he shifts from innocence to experience, uses simplistic diction, Biblical allusions, and contrasting imagery to prove that “sweet, gold-colored, sticky” guilt seems to haunt those who sin with “faraway messages” of blame.

STEP 4: RE-ARRANGE THE PIECES!  Take all the thesis statement parts, and re-arrange them to create sentence variety.  Example: To prove that “sweet, gold-colored, sticky” guilt seems to haunt those who sin with “faraway messages” of blame, Gary Soto’s autobiographical essay uses simplistic diction, Biblical allusions, and contrasting imagery while shifting the focus from Soto’s innocence to experience.

CREATING TOPIC SENTENCES

THE ELEMENTS OF THE TOPIC SENTENCE  Topic  Direction  Claim  Universal Idea * These elements should seem similar to the thesis components (but now with a twist)!

STEP 1: BEGIN WITH A SOLID THESIS. Gary Soto’s autobiographical essay, in which he shifts from innocence to experience, uses simplistic diction, Biblical allusions, and contrasting imagery to prove that “sweet, gold- colored, sticky” guilt seems to haunt those who sin with “faraway messages” of blame.

STEP 2: BORROW THE “TOPICS” FROM THE THESIS’S DIRECTIONS Thesis Gary Soto’s autobiographical essay, in which he shifts from innocence to experience, uses simplistic diction, Biblical allusions, and contrasting imagery to prove that “sweet, gold-colored, sticky” guilt seems to haunt those who sin with “faraway messages” of blame. Topic Sentence Topic: Biblical allusions (This is the first direction.)

STEP 3: ADD THE DIRECTION(S) The “directions” of the topic sentence are the examples you will use as evidence. Soto’s Biblical allusions, such as the squirrel nailing itself to the tree and Adam and Eve and the apple,... *Use two directions.

STEP 4: ADD THE CLAIM Choose an appropriate verb that links what the directions do in relation to the universal idea. Soto’s Biblical allusions, such as the squirrel nailing itself to the tree and Adam and Eve and the apple, underscore

STEP 5: ADD THE UNIVERSAL IDEA (AGAIN) Add the universal idea to the topic sentence. CAUTION: To keep the universal idea from becoming redundant throughout the essay, develop synonyms. Soto’s Biblical allusions, such as the squirrel nailing itself to the tree and Adam and Eve sinning because of the apple, underscore the disgrace associated with sin..

STEP 6: WRITE THE BODY PARAGRAPH  Topic Sentence  Evidence (Example) #1  Commentary  Purpose  Effect  Evidence (Example) #2  Commentary  Purpose  Effect  Clincher Sentence

A NOTE ABOUT COMMENTARY  If you are talking about what the text says, you are summarizing.  If you are talking about how the text makes meaning, you are analyzing.

COMMENTARY: PURPOSE  When discussing purpose, consider the following questions:  Why does this writer choose this particular strategy to create his or her message?  How does the writer use this strategy to make meaning?  Why does the writer use this particular strategy and this particular example?

COMMENTARY: EFFECT  When discussing effect, consider the following: Because the writer used this rhetorical strategy, how/why does the use influence one or more of the following:  Speaker  Reader  Message  Tone  Purpose