W RITING THE R HETORICAL A NALYSIS

W HERE SHOULD I START ? Identify: Speaker Audience Purpose Rhetorical Strategies used to achieve purpose

H OW DO I WRITE AN INTRO PARAGRAPH ? Put SOAPS in your introduction and follow this format: 1. Speaker, Occasion, and Subject (Writer’s credentials), (writer’s first and last name) in his/her (type of text), (title of text), (strong verb) (writer’s subject). 2. Purpose (Writer’s last name)’s purpose is to (what the writer does in the text). 3. Audience He/she adopts a[n] (adjective describing attitude) tone in order to (verb phrase describing what the writer wants readers to do/ think) in his/her (intended audience).

E XAMPLE I NTRO Novelist, Amy Tan, in her narrative essay, “Fish Cheeks,” recounts an embarrassing Christmas Eve dinner when she was 14 years old. Tan’s purpose is to convey the idea that, at fourteen, she wasn’t able to recognize the love her mother had for her or the sacrifices she made. She adopts a sentimental tone in order to appeal to similar feelings and experiences in her adult readers.

I MMATURE P APERS 5 paragraph format Intro 3 body paragraphs Conclusion The writer wants his audience to think he’s right. To do this, he uses diction, detail, and figurative language. The writer uses diction when… The writer uses detail when… The writer uses figurative language when… In conclusion, by using diction, detail and figurative language the writer convinces the audience to think he’s right.

T HE OLD WAY … TS=mention the strategy TE=Quote example of the strategy CM=Explain TE=Quote example of the strategy CM=Explain

H OW DO I KNOW WHAT TO FOCUS ON FOR A BODY PARAGRAPH ? Divide the text based on the author’s main points. When writing an analysis, it is crucial that you work chronologically through the text. Sometimes this means that you will discuss each paragraph (one at a time), and sometimes this means that you will divide the text into sections and discuss the beginning, middle, and end of the text. Whether you discuss each paragraph or each section depends on the length and organization of the text itself.

B ASIC R ULE FOR RA BODY PARAGRAPH 1. Identify a choice made by the author. 2. Explain why the choice was made 3. Indicate HOW the reader should respond.

W HICH ONE IS BETTER ? The speaker uses repetition and refutation. He states, “He says he loves his little red children.”…….Another example of repetition is when he says “Brothers.” The speaker contrasts the idea of a father figure with the tyranny of Andrew Jackson’s policy by repeating the phrase, “He says he loves his little red children.”………Speckled Snake continues his contrast by…..

B ODY P ARAGRAPHS Stick to chunk structure TS=Identify the section and main idea of that section TE=Strategy used/Choice made Direct Quote Paraphrase Ask yourself: Do you need to say the term? CM=Why was the choice made?/What does the strategy do? CM=How should the reader respond? TE=Another strategy used/choice made to achieve THIS purpose CM=Why was the choice made?/What does the strategy do? CM=How should the reader respond?

T OPIC SENTENCE IN DEPTH (Writer’s last name) (transition word) his/her (type of text) by (strong verb) that (main idea of this section of the text). Regain begins his tribute to the Challenger astronauts by acknowledging that the shuttle accident has appropriately postponed his planned State of the Union address and by expressing the depth of this and his wife’s personal grief.

L ET ’ S TRY IT ….

W HAT ARE THE RHETORICAL STRATEGIES ? ANYTHING the writer does that has the potential to change the thoughts or feelings of his audience… Figurative language Appeals Repetition…

W HERE DO I BEGIN FOR BODY PARAGRAPHS ? Make a list of what the writer WANTS Then make a connection of HOW the writer expresses these wants (strategies used/choices made. Diction/Tone Verbal Irony

A SSIGNMENT 1-B ELLWORK After your papers have been returned, read over the Chief Speckled Snake speech. Underline the claims he makes in this speech. Claims=Belief statements, points of argument

A SSIGNMENT 2 Now make a list of his claims (a.k.a. belief statements, a.k.a. what he wants his audience to know) (These are your body paragraphs). Then, next to each claim, write one or two strategies he uses to prove that claim. (These are your TE)

A SSIGNMENT 3 (H OMEWORK ) 1. Write a one paragraph reflection about how you ORIGINALLY wrote this essay. What was easy/hard? What did you understand/not understand? How did you organize your paper? Etc. 2. Using the template from your handout, re-write your intro paragraph for this essay. 3. Using your newfound knowledge of writing a rhetorical analysis body paragraph, select one of your body paragraphs and re-write it following the new structure. Please label each section. I prefer this to be typed; however, handwritten in blue or black ink (double- spaced) will be accepted.