1. How is the argument delivered and is it successful?
RHETORICAL ANALYSIS
How is the argument delivered and is it successful?

2. Rhetorical Analysis
Rhetoric: the art of speaking or writing to communicate effectively or persuasively; the skill in delivering a message through a given medium (nonfiction, fiction, film, image, cartoon, speech (oration), television, etc.)
Analysis: picking apart the pieces of a whole to unveil its elements; identification of specific parts that work together to create a whole

3. How does the writer connect with the audience?

4. Audience
Does the writer connect with the reader/audience?
How?

5. Audience
Does the writer alienate a specific audience?
Who?
How?

6. Audience What assumptions does the writer make about the audience?
How do they affect the argument and its delivery?

7. How does the writer establish trust with the audience?
CREDIBILITY (ETHOS)
How does the writer establish trust with the audience?

8. Credibility (Ethos) Does the writer make himself/herself trustworthy?
How?

9. Credibility (Ethos)
Is the writer an expert on the subject? Knowledgeable about the subject?
An authority?
How does the audience know?

10. Credibility (Ethos)
Does the writer establish credibility with meticulous research and references?
Is credibility reached with use of logic?
(Many rhetorical devices are used simultaneously)

11. Credibility (Ethos)
Is word choice responsible and void of a heated tone?
Is it pretentious?
Is it overly informal?
Is it sarcastic?
Passive?
Satiric?
How does the overall word choice and tone affect the audience’s reception of the argument?

12. MORAL AND ETHICAL CREDIBILITY (ETHOS)
How does the writer connect to the audience’s ethical or moral beliefs?

13. Ethos (Values)
What values, morals, or ethics does the intended audience possess?

14. Ethos (Values) What values, morals, or ethics does the writer rely on?
How?

15. How does the writer appeal to the audience’s emotions?
PATHOS
How does the writer appeal to the audience’s emotions?

16. Pathos (Emotional Appeal)
What emotions does the writer evoke in the audience?
How does this affect the audience’s reception of the argument?

17. Pathos (Emotional Appeal)
Are there any fallacies?
Is there a legitimate connection between the emotional appeals and the claim?

18. LOGOS
What facts, evidence, reason does the writer use to deliver a convincing argument?

19. Logos (Logical Appeal)
Is the claim plausible?
Are there good reasons for it?
Are there enough reasons for it?

20. Logos (Logical Appeal)
Is the evidence accurate and convincing?
Are the sources and data credible?

21. What stylistic choices does the writer make to enhance the argument?
STYLE
What stylistic choices does the writer make to enhance the argument?

22. Style Diction (word choice) Tone (per word choice)
Syntax (choices in sentence lengths and structure—short, choppy sentences to deliver emphatic, powerful convictions? Or long, fluid sentences to deliver a controlled, thoughtful, complex concept?)
Repetition
Parallel structure (repeated phrases or sentence structures)
Sounds (rhyme assonance, or alliteration)
Imagery (often shapes pathos)

23. Rhetorical Analysis Looking at the elements that make up the argument
NOT AN AGREEMENT OR DISAGREEMENT WITH THE ARGUMENT
ONLY an examination of the parts and how they affect the overall success or failure of the argument

24. RHETORICAL ANALYSIS
How do all the components contribute to the argument’s success or failure?