This helpful guide will provide detailed information on how to write a rhetorical analysis essay by meeting all the classic requirements and writing standards. We shall focus on structure, narrowing things down, creating a strong thesis statement, and editing to perfection. Remember to double-check your grading rubric to see if specific elements must be included as you compare things to our template.
Analysis essay definition
Although rhetorical analysis sounds overly challenging, this type of writing stands for situations when you must analyze an argument made by another person to deliver your message. Remember that a rhetorical assignment is not a summary because your purpose is to analyze another individual’s work. A rhetorical essay can deal with artwork, TV shows, radio plays, and written content. To create a strong rhetorical essay, you must understand the objectives of another person who composed the original work.
A rhetorical analysis requires you to analyze a piece of writing or a speech into smaller chunks. You have to examine it and determine what goals have been set by the original author. There is also a persuasive element as you address your audience. To write a rhetorical analysis this way means clarifying the speaker’s intention and analyzing all the techniques used. It also means that you have to show whether an argument made has been clear and accessible or whether it’s not the case based on your analysis.
The most challenging part is properly structuring your thoughts and ideas by following a strict outline, as shown below. Before you start writing, think about reading, analyzing, and writing first. The analysis happens as you do the reading, meaning you must take notes. As a way to analyze the content, you must determine the following:
- Speaker or author of the content.
- The target audience must be addressed.
- The intention of the writer (rhetoric and style).
- The methods that have been used to present one’s work.
When you have all these points covered, you must brainstorm all your ideas and notes to develop suitable content for your writing. The trick is to see how exactly the author tries to persuade their audience. Once you achieve the same goal and explain things as you learn how to write a rhetorical essay, your work has been done right. Speaking of convincing your readers, there are at least three methods to consider:
- Appealing to emotions: you must capture human emotions using descriptive words and literary devices. You can achieve that by turning to the use of the five senses. This way, your reader will automatically appear in the situation and can establish an emotional connection.
- Appealing to ethics: it deals with the morally right or wrong behaviors that are expected in our society. You can use an ethical approach to convince your audience. It means dealing with social norms and various deviations. It helps to persuade your readers as they see your opinion and proper analysis.
- Appealing to critical thinking: it stands for logic and reasoning. When using this technique, you must provide solid reasons that support your arguments. Show confidence and motivate your readers to think and do analytical work.
The basic structure and sample outline
The most challenging aspect is learning what is expected to include in a rhetorical essay paper. It is what makes outline writing so important as it will determine how your essay sounds. While the classic rhetorical analysis essay outline should include “introduction – body – conclusion” parts, you must allocate content for every relevant part. Follow these tips both for preparation and writing tips:
Identifying the audience.
You must see whom the author is targeting to know the original content’s main intentions. Pay attention to the essay’s tone, which will help you identify the purpose. The tone will also help to learn the paper’s intention as it shows the attitude. If the paper strives for motivation, you can apply the same tone to achieve this goal as you write.
Identify the setting with relevant limitations.
It stands for circumstances that describe the author and their skills. To provide analysis, you must understand the limitations and the settings where the narration takes place. It reflects numerous aspects and helps to tell scholarly content from a non-scholarly one.
The purpose.
It is the main thesis statement and an argument of the author. You must identify the purpose as it will be your main rhetorical analysis paper assumption.
The styles applied
The styles will help you to understand a certain methodology and intentions of the author. Since many writers are not direct in their content, they apply various styles to create specific impressions. The styles include the use of figurative language, metaphors, and comparisons. Repetition is another approach that can be used as it helps the audience to remember and understand the most complex points. If the content allows, it is also possible to use imagery to stimulate emotions and addiction, as the choice of words always plays a crucial role!
Analytical work
When you do the reading, you must take notes and gather relevant information before you organize every point to convince your readers. Once you implement all the information above, it will help you to save time and write flawlessly.
This way, we can come up with the following rhetorical analysis template:
1. Introduction (rhetorical précis):
a) Name of the author.
b) Argumentation and the genre.
c) Explanation of how the author develops their arguments chronologically.
d) Main thesis offered by the author.
e) Target audience estimation where you provide a purpose of rhetorical analysis.
2. Body Paragraph 1:
a) Topic sentence: “Author begins with…”
b) Specific examples to support one’s claim.
c) Discussion regarding how the strategies used relate to practice.
3. Body Paragraph 2:
a) After that, the author moves to…
b) Examples to support your claim.
c) Explanation of the author’s methodology.
4. Body Paragraph 3 (last one):
a) In conclusion, the author…
b) Closing thoughts and at least one example.
c) Discussion regarding how well the author has coped with examples.
5. Conclusion
a) Thesis restatement.
b) Reflection on ideas and summary.
c) Limitations and flaws.
d) Closing thoughts and recommendations.
How to compose a rhetorical analysis thesis statement?
A thesis statement (it can be made by the original author and by you as a student) should come after the introduction part and represent one or two sentences. The main argument should reflect the intention of the writing or a claim you make. A thesis statement also transitions from the introduction to your body parts in an essay. If you want to write a good rhetorical analysis, your thesis must be the essence of your methodology and follow these three main elements:
- Avoid the phrases like “I believe that” or “The main intention of the essay is to…“. The trick is to present your thesis in unique terms that reflect the subject. Let your readers become inspired by your thesis and read further to see why you think so or maintain a certain claim. You can introduce a certain question or highlight a point to motivate your readers to look for answers in the body parts.
- Your thesis must be brief! Avoid lengthy descriptions; you must go straight to the point and focus on clarity. As a rule, your rhetorical analysis thesis should be one sentence or have two sentences where one serves as a brief explanation.
- Create suspense. While it will depend on the type of work, creating suspense can help your readers dig deeper and read on. Do not give away the intention of your writing right away in your rhetorical analysis essay introduction, as it will make things less interesting. Get creative and inspire your readers for analysis. Raise the anticipation and work hard by making your thesis strong.
Step-by-step writing guide
As we have already outlined the main points, here are some further recommendations and a step-by-step guide on how to write a strong rhetorical essay in six steps:
Step 1: Significance of rhetorical essay topics
When you are asked to write a rhetorical paper, you may have to choose a specific topic and content, which is essential to consider before you start. It may be writing about a book, a movie, an event that has taken place locally, or a speech that has been delivered. Focus on the communication platform and take notes as you determine the target audience. Once you identify communication settings, you can analyze the writing and narrow things down. Choose a topic that will be easy to deal with as you provide analysis and meet the requirements.
Step 2: Write a rhetorical analysis introduction
Provide a strong introduction with a hook sentence that will inspire your readers. Your readers will see this first, so introduce the subject as you talk about the author and the content you are dealing with. State your purpose in the introduction regardless of your rhetorical analysis format offered. Let your reader know that you focus on rhetoric. Talk about the reasoning, author’s ideas, and lead things to the thesis statement.
Step 3: Learning how to write a body for a rhetorical paper
It is where the majority of your work takes place. The key is to organize every point correctly by focusing on the author’s thoughts and your analysis. Think about adding more examples to support your claims. The best way to do that is to introduce an idea first, then support it with sufficient evidence by adding your analytical part. It is also important to remain objective by allowing your tone to be within the scope of your thesis.
Step 4: Rhetorical paper conclusion
The rhetorical analysis conclusion is where you sum things up and prepare your target audience for the final words and the main points learned. Restate your thesis statement by focusing on the main arguments. Persuade your reader that all the points have been covered and recommend further research work if and when necessary. Talk about existing limitations and showcase the best statements made by the author.
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Step 5: Editing and proofreading
Start with the editing by checking citations and quotations if you have used any. Once done, focus on grammar, spelling, logic, and formatting according to your outline and the grading rubric. Writing a rhetorical analysis essay, it is recommended to proofread things aloud to ensure that nothing has been missed.
Step 6: Formatting and checking your grading rubric.
Before submitting your rhetorical analysis essay, check your formatting style to ensure all the headers are there. Also, take advantage of an opportunity to review your grading rubric again, just in case!
Helpful rhetorical essay examples
In conclusion, take your time to look at various examples of rhetorical papers and template samples. It will help you to add more value to your writing and see how things are done in practice. You will also advance your grammar by checking specific examples and can compare things to your existing template. Next, you will boost your vocabulary and see how to improve your narrative style. Looking through examples will help you develop coherence and improve your writing workflow. Here are some rhetorical analysis essays samples worth checking:
- Rhetorical analysis essay example by St. Louis Community College (MLA style).
- Rhetorical analysis essay sample with revision comments by the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching by the University of Michigan.
- Rhetorical analysis essay: Ethos, Pathos, and Logos by California State East Bay University.
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