1. Chapter 4: Writing a Rhetorical Analysis ENG 113: Composition I

2. Reputation of “Rhetoric”  “That speech was nothing but rhetoric!”  Negative connotations  Speech consists of nothing but empty phrases  Content is calculated to confuse and/or manipulate

3. Rhetoric in Composition  Rhetoric has a different meaning when applied to argument  Rhetoric refers to how various elements work together to form a convincing and persuasive argument  In a rhetorical analysis you:  Systematically examine the strategies a writer employs to achieve his or her purpose  Explain how these strategies work together to create an effective (or ineffective) argument

4. Elements of a Rhetorical Analysis  The Rhetorical Situation  The Writer’s Means of Persuasion  The Rhetorical Strategies used by the Writer

5. Five Elements of the Rhetorical Situation  The Writer  The Writer’s Purpose  The Writer’s Audience  The Topic  The Context

6. Analyzing the Rhetorical Situation  By analyzing the Rhetorical Situation, you can:  Determine why the author made the choices he or she did  Identify how these choices affect the argument.

7. The Writer  What is the author’s background?  Education  Experience  Race  Gender  Political Beliefs  Religion  Age  And more…  How does the writer’s background affect the content of the argument?  What preconceptions about the subject does the writer seem to have?

8. The Writer’s Purpose  The Writer’s Purpose is what the writer hopes to achieve with his or her argument  Ask: Why did the author write this argument?  Questions for Analyzing the Author’s Purpose  Does the writer state his or her purpose directly, or is the purpose implied?  Is the writer’s purpose simply to convince or to encourage action?  Does the writer rely primarily on logic (logos) or on emotion (pathos)?  Does the writer have a hidden agenda?

9. The Writer’s Audience  Who is the writer’s intended audience?  Does the writer see the audience as informed and uninformed?  Does the writer see the audience as hostile, friendly, or neutral?  What values does the writer think the audience holds?  What does the writer seem to assume about the audience’s background?  On what points do the writer and audience agree? On what points do they disagree?

10. The Topic  What is the topic of the argument?  Is the topic broad or narrow?  Is the argument sufficiently well developed for the topic?  Why did the author decide to writer about this particular topic?  Has the writer developed the topic fully enough?

11. The Context  Context is the situation that creates the need for the argument  Includes social, historical, economic, political, and cultural events  Set the stage for the argument  Play a part in the argument itself  Questions for Analyzing the Context  What situation (or situations) set the stage for the argument?  What social, economic, political, and cultural events triggered the argument?  What historical references situate this argument in a particular place or time?

12. Means of Persuasion  Three Means of Persuasion  Logos – Logic  Pathos – Emotion  Ethos – Authority  Rhetorical Triangle – represents how these three appeals come into play within an argument  Use depends on the Rhetorical Situation  An Argument can use more than one appeal  How does the author use the means of persuasion in the argument?

13. The Writer’s Rhetorical Strategies  Thesis – the position that the argument supports  What is the essay’s thesis?  Why does the writer state the thesis the way he or she does?  At what point in the argument is the thesis stated?  What effect does this placement have?  Organization – how the writer arranges ideas  How does the structure of the essay effect the argument?  Is the essay clear? Logical? Effective?  Where does the writer refute opposing viewpoints?  Evidence – facts, observations, expert opinion, and more used to support the thesis and convince the audience  What types of evidence is presented?  How is the evidence organized?  Is the evidence effective or ineffective in supporting the thesis?

14. The Writer’s Rhetorical Strategies Continued  Stylistic Techniques – used to make arguments more memorable and more convincing  Simile – a figure of speech that compares two unlike things using the word like or as  Metaphor – a comparison in which two dissimilar things are compared without the word like or as  Allusion – a reference within a work to a person, literary or biblical text, or historical event in order to enlarge the context of the situation being written about  Parallelism – the use of similar grammatical structures to emphasize related ideas, makes a passage easier to follow  Repetition – involves repeating a word or phrase for emphasis, clarity, or emotional impact  Rhetorical Question – a question that is asked to encourage readers to reflect on an issue, not to elicit a reply

15. The Writer’s Rhetorical Strategies Continued  There are also many other Rhetorical Strategies not listed in the textbook  The Writer’s Voice  Present/Distant  Use of “I”  Tone  Serious/Humorous  Stance  Strong/Weak  And many, many more!  Writers choose the Rhetorical Strategies that they believe will best communicate their purpose to their audience

16. Assessing the Argument  No rhetorical analysis of an argument would be complete without an assessment of its effectiveness  Do the rhetorical strategies used by the author create a clear and persuasive argument? Do they fall short?  Assessing an argument includes:  An overview of the overall argument’s effectiveness  A discussion of the effectiveness of the various rhetorical strategies

17. Preparing to Write a Rhetorical Analysis  As you read, ask the following questions:  Who is the writer? Is there anything in the writer’s background that might influence what is (or is not) included in the argument?  What is the writer’s purpose? What does the writer hope to achieve?  What topic has the writer decided to write about? How broad is the topic?  What situation created the need for the argument?  At what points in the argument does the writer appeal to logic? To emotion? How does the writer try to establish his or her credibility?

18. Preparing to Write a Rhetorical Analysis Continued  As you read, ask the following questions, continued:  What is the argument’s thesis? Where is it stated? Why there?  How does the writer organize the argument? How effective is this arrangement of ideas?  What evidence does the writer use to support the argument? Does the writer use enough evidence?  Does the writer use similes, metaphors, and allusions?  Does the writer use parallelism, repetition, and rhetorical questions?  What is your overall assessment of the argument?