1. RHETORICAL ANALYSIS
THIS IS HOW WE DO

2. Use of language to achieve a purpose
WHAT IS RHETORIC?
Use of language to achieve a purpose

3. THINking rhetorically
WRITER – “USER”
purpose
audience
message W T R
READER – “RECEIVER”
understanding
connection
perception
TEXT – “VEHICLE”
say?
mean?
matter?

4. YOUr “JOB” in writing rhetorical analysis
TO DECONSTRUCT THE TEXT IN QUESTION AND EXPLAIN TO YOUR READER HOW THE AUTHOR HAS DONE WHATEVER HE/SHE DID & IF IT WAS EFFECTIVE OR HOW IT WAS EFFECTIVE IN ACHIEVING PURPOSE.

5. READ LIKE A WRITER APPEALS CONTEXTUAL UNDERSTANDING
Tools At Your disposal
READ LIKE A WRITER APPEALS CONTEXTUAL UNDERSTANDING

6. READ LIKE A WRITER
USE TECHNIQUES YOU KNOW TO NOTICE THINGS ABOUT THE TEXT ITSELF – the word choice, conventions, organization, analogies, imagery, choices the writer makes.

7. Appeals + KAIROS LOGOS - EVIDENCE Be right ETHOS - CREDIBILITY
Be decent
ETHOS - CREDIBILITY
Be charming
PATHOS - EMOTION

8. CONTEXT
So what is context? The interrelated background conditions and details surrounding the author, the reader, and the text itself. It includes prior knowledge of and influences on both the reader and the writer. (Like “the Force” it surrounds us and binds us together . . .)

9. Literary analysis vs. rhetorical analysis
Text only (and its context)
Find a message/point
Find evidence & support your claim
Go beyond the text
Consider the author & the HOW
LIT. ANALYSIS
RHET. ANALYSIS

10. THE ASSIGNMENT:
Choose a text for analysis – be sure to know who WROTE it/should be the artist (or one of them if in a group)
Rap/hip-hop song or other music that is word-filled and text-rich
Listen to it – LOTS of times – *watch the video if you want
Print out the lyrics – get really familiar with them
Be sure to pick a text that “says something” – something meaningful NOT just something obscene
Consider what it MEANS
Consider HOW the author uses RHETORIC to achieve a purpose (what is that purpose?) – to do something.
Use the TOOLS at your disposal to deconstruct the writing to better explain its existence – its reason for being
WRITE IT UP

11. Other items to note:
Write in present tense (as you do about lit. – it happens anew each time)
You will need to use MLA citation to cite quotes you use from the text itself
You will have to include quotes
See MLA review handout
Keep song citation simple – by artist/author in-text and according to the format on Purdue OWL for works cited - *YES, you’ll need a works cited page
You will need to provide the lyrics to the song you choose (in addition to your paper)
NO, it doesn’t count as a page of your paper.
You can copy and paste, be sure to put the title and author at the top
Optionally, you might provide a link to the video version of the song (if there is one) *We might include these in blogposts later this semester if time allows