In this post, we’ll go through the definition of rhetorical analysis and provide a step-by-step method complete with an outline, guidelines, and examples. However, if you would rather bypass all of this and have one of our experts assist you, please contact our top essay writing service by clicking the button below.

What Is a Rhetorical Analysis Essay, and How Do I Write One?

As you may be aware, certain literary works are written with the sole intent of persuading readers of the author’s views and point of view. There are a range of tactics and literary and rhetorical devices that authors use to achieve this purpose, and this is precisely what you will encounter while writing your rhetorical analysis essay.

So, what exactly does a rhetorical analysis entail? A rhetorical analysis, in a nutshell, is the process of determining how effective an author was in persuading, informing, or entertaining their audience. There are dozens of writing strategies for analyzing modern and historical literature, but you must identify the author’s writing style and point of view in any rhetorical analysis essay. This necessitates an examination of the author’s persuasion techniques (words and phrases created by the author) and their effectiveness in persuading readers.

Prompt for a Rhetorical Analysis Essay

What purpose does rhetorical analysis serve? Students are typically given specific prompts that explain the goal of the work and define the areas to pay attention to when given this type of task.

How to Write an Article Review

Your article’s format should always follow your professor’s citation style requirements. If you’re not sure, ask for clarification on the suggested format and several other guidelines so that you can properly structure an article review.

What Is the Appropriate Number of Publications to Review?

• What style of citation should you use for your publications (MLA, APA, ASA, Chicago, etc.)?
• What should the length of your review be?
• Should your project include a summary, critique, or personal opinion?
• Is there a theme or primary point that needs to be highlighted in the articles?
• Is there anything you need to know about your instructor’s background?

You can begin writing your homework once you have the answers to these questions. The two most frequent citation styles are MLA and APA, thus examples of both are provided below.

The APA Format is a style of writing that was developed by the American Psychological Association

Academic publications, periodicals, and websites are the most common places to find articles. If you’re writing an APA article review, you’ll need to provide bibliographical entries for the sources you used:

• Web: A.A [first and middle initials], Author [last name] (Year, Month Date of Publication). Title. Link was used to get this information.
  Author [last name], A.A [first and middle initials].
• Journal: (Year of Publication) Title of the publication. pp.-pp., Periodical Title, Volume(Issue), pp.-pp., Periodical Title, Volume(Issue), pp.-pp
• Newspaper: Author [last name], A.A [first and middle initials], A.A [first and middle initials], A.A [first and middle initials], A.A [ (Date of Publication, Year, Month) Title of the publication. xx-xx, xx-xx, xx-xx, xx-xx, xx-xx, xx-xx

“On the allocated text, write a 2-3 page rhetorical analysis essay. You will be required to perform the following tasks: (1) describe the main argument/claim/purpose of the text, and (2) explain how this argument was constructed.”

Consider how the author employs: while you read the prescribed content.

Various rhetorical techniques (pathos, ethos, logos)
To defend their primary beliefs, they use logic, evidence, and examples.
Elements of persuasion or style”

The major goal of this job, as you can see from the challenge, is to define, analyze, and debate the most important rhetorical features of the provided text.
Strategies for Rhetorical Analysis

There are three universal persuasive techniques, commonly known as rhetorical strategies. To complete the work, you must have a thorough understanding of these tactics and how to apply them.

What are the three rhetorical tactics, then? Let’s define each and examine their important characteristics in more detail:

Ethos

In a literary text, the ethos rhetorical device establishes the author’s trustworthiness. Simply put, the effective application of this method aids readers in determining whether or not a particular author can be trusted on a given topic. The author’s skill, knowledge, and moral competence for a given subject define his or her credibility. There are three types of ethos, according to Aristotle: arete (virtue, benevolence), phronesis (useful abilities and wisdom), and eunoia (joy) (goodwill towards the audience).

For example, when a book’s author is a well-known specialist in a certain field, or when a product is sold by a well-known individual, ethos is used to persuade.

Pathos

This Greek word translates to “experience,” “suffering,” or “feeling,” and is one of the three ways of persuasion that authors might employ to appeal to their readers’ emotions, according to the pathos literary definition. In a nutshell, the main purpose of this method is to elicit particular emotions in their audience (e.g., happiness, sympathy, sadness, rage, compassion, etc.) in order to persuade them of something. The primary purpose is to enable readers to connect with the author’s personality and thoughts.

Pathos is commonly used in rhetoric in the following ways:

Storytelling; metaphors; personal anecdotes, and other techniques

For instance, when you see an advertising that depicts unhappy, loveless animals and urges you to donate money to an animal shelter or adopt an animal, that is a clear example of emotional appeal in persuasion.

Logos

This word translates from Greek as “ground,” “plea,” “reason,” “opinion,” and so on, according to the logos literary definition. Unlike ethos or pathos, which rely on credibility or emotions, the logos rhetorical device is employed to persuade readers through critical thinking, facts, numbers, and statistics, as well as other indisputable evidence.

For example, when a literary piece’s author makes a claim and backs it up with facts, that’s a logo.

In creating a rhetorical analysis essay, these three strategies: logos, ethos, and pathos are crucial. The better you grasp them, the easier it will be to figure out how well the author of the assigned work used them. Let’s look at how to get started now.

Topics in Rhetorical Analysis

A student must first choose an engaging topic before writing an effective rhetorical analysis essay. Here are some helpful hints for selecting a topic that will captivate your audience:

Concentrate on your passions. The key to producing a high-quality paper is to choose a topic that you are passionate about. Many students make the blunder of choosing topics that are promising and popular but uninteresting to them. A strategy like this can make rhetorical writing even more difficult. The writing procedure will become lot more enjoyable and uncomplicated if you decide to deliberate your interests and write about something that truly engages you.

Choose a topic that you’re familiar with. Another useful tip is to select a subject that shows your expertise. Even before you start writing, choosing something completely new to you can get you stuck.

Keep in mind that this academic assignment demands you to do a thorough examination of an author’s writing and evidence-gathering method, and the more familiar you are with a subject, the easier the analysis will be.

Do some preliminary research. When selecting a topic, make sure it has a large enough scope and sufficient material to allow you to perform your research and writing. As a result, doing some background study before deciding on a topic is critical. You can do this by making a list of things that pique your interest. Then, take your time to investigate the available material on the chosen topics and choose one that is not only interesting but also allows for good investigation and analysis. When completing background research, make sure to take notes on the most relevant parts of the topic. These notes will be useful in the future.

Seek advice from your instructor. If you’ve already outlined the most intriguing topics and conducted background study on them but are still undecided, it’s a good idea to get advice from your instructor. Request that your instructor check over your list and recommend the best subject for you.

You should be able to identify a topic that is both engaging and promising if you follow the guidelines outlined above. Let’s have a look at a selection of good rhetorical analysis subjects to get you started:

1. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby”
2. The “I Have a Dream” Speech by Martin Luther King, Jr.
3. Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird”
4. Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” Symbolism
5. Mark Twain’s “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”
6. In the “Harry Potter” Series, Symbolism Is Used
7. O’Henry’s “Witches Loaves”

8. Chuck Palahniuk’s “Fight Club” Main Themes
9. Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”
10. Chief Joseph’s “Surrender Speech”

Step-by-Step Instructions for Writing a Rhetorical Analysis

Step 1: Read the text and analyze it.
Reading and analyzing the prescribed text is the first step in writing a rhetorical analysis essay. As you begin reading, make a list of important details that will aid in the analyzing process.

Step 2: Determine the author’s tactics.
Here are some questions to think about as you read and try to answer later in your analysis:

Who was the author’s intended audience, and who was the author’s intended audience?
What was the point of creating the speech/project in the first place?
Is there any significance or link between the setting and the main message(s)? If that’s the case, why did the author chose that particular setting?

It will be easier to assess the author’s techniques after you begin writing if you keep these questions in mind. At the very least, these questions will provide you with a framework to work with and will aid in your understanding of the author’s persuasion techniques.

Step 3: Look for the author’s persuasion techniques.
As Aristotle put it, the materials for persuasion are divided into three categories: ethos, pathos, and logos.

Example

“Thousands of years of history have taught us that war never changes,”

Here are some rhetorical analysis essay ideas to consider if you need to come up with your own.

Atlas’s discourse Ayn Rand shrugged.
Persuasion techniques utilized in Queen Elizabeth I’s “Speech to the Troops at Tilbury”
Robert Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken” is examined.
Samuel L. Jackson’s monologue in Pulp Fiction uses rhetorical tactics.

Let’s move on to the outline now that you know what to look for.
Outline for a Rhetorical Essay

A student must have a thorough understanding of rhetorical techniques and methods in order to create an excellent paper. Additionally, you must be able to recognize and assess their utilization in specific literary works. When analyzing a text, correct structure is also important—a good rhetorical analysis essay should be well-structured and ordered.

Keep in mind that structuring your rhetorical analysis essay is not the most significant consideration; the most important consideration is ensuring that you fulfill the unique needs of your writing work. As a result, following any traditional essay structure isn’t required; there are a variety of approaches to start your rhetorical analysis outline appropriately.

If you think it’ll be easier for you to stick to your professor’s structure. You can always employ the 5-6 paragraphing style if they don’t supply a required structure for your essay. Here’s what we recommend for your outline:

Before you start writing your outline, make sure you read, evaluate, and take notes.
In your outline, write the key ideas of your essay and support them with proof.
Make a thesis statement that summarizes your primary ideas while also addressing the author’s intent.

The writing will be easier if you have the major ideas to support your thesis and proof to back them up in your outline. You may also use our rhetorical analysis essay outline template to help you write your paper more effectively. Keep in mind that the intro-body-conclusion structure remains constant.
Introduction

The best strategy to gain the reader’s trust in a rhetorical analysis essay is to demonstrate that you’ve read and fully comprehended the prescribed content. Make the introduction brief and informative while writing it.

To begin, summarize in your own words the portion you’ll include in your essay; this will demonstrate to the reader that you grasp the text’s core idea.

After that, you might briefly discuss the author’s persuasive styles and their impact.

Finally, turn your point of view into a well-crafted thesis statement. It should answer the questions of “who,” “what,” “how,” and “why.” The thesis statement for your rhetorical analysis is normally found towards the end of your opening paragraph.

Remember that your introduction is your opportunity to pique the reader’s interest in the topics you’ll discuss later in the text.

Conclusion

Finish your essay after you’ve written your extensive, well-cited body paragraphs. Summarize what you’ve already discussed, like you would in most other types of essays. Discuss how the author’s words have influenced the audience’s perceptions or if they have had a significant impact on society.

You might include a powerful concluding remark in the final sentence of your rhetorical analysis conclusion that highlights the relevance of the author’s writing or how its tactics have helped shape history.

Author’s name, an appositive phrase about the author and their genre to establish credibility and authority, and the title of their work (followed by the date in parenthesis); a rhetorically accurate verb (such as “assert,” “argue,” “suggest,” “imply,” “claim,” etc. ); and a THAT clause containing the work’s major assertion (thesis statement).

“Martin Luther King Jr., one of America’s most well-known campaigners and public figures, and a leader of the civil rights movement, contends in his most famous speech, “I Have a Dream” (1963), that racism should be abolished in the United States.”

An explanation, usually in chronological order, of how the author develops and/or supports the argument.

“Martin Luther King Jr. develops and supports his ideas in his address by referencing significant documents in American history, such as the Declaration of Independence, the Emancipation Proclamation, and the United States Constitution. He also references to historical events such as the end of slavery and cites Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.”

The author’s apparent objective is stated, followed by the phrase “in order.”

“In the speech, the author advocates for civil rights in order to raise awareness of the situation and end racial discrimination.”

A description of the intended audience as well as the author’s relationship with them.

“The speech is designed for a vast audience, essentially the entire American nation, and the author builds an equal relationship among the entire audience by declaring that we are all “God’s children,” as an example.

2. The first paragraph of the body:

“(author’s last name) begins with/by…(make your claim about the method you perceive working—address the purpose/prompt)” is the topic sentence/transition.

“King starts with a forceful declaration about the end of slavery,” for example.

Give a concrete example to back up your claim: To back up your point, provide EXPLICIT textual support woven into your remarks. Discuss all of the tactics utilized in the first section in detail, with text to back you up.

“Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation,” he adds, adding that the event “came as a glad daybreak to end the long night of their (slaves) captivity.”

Discussion of how the following examples support the concept: Relate your method to your main claim/thesis/purpose.

“In making this message, King used a variety of tactics, including voice merging, prophetic voice, and dynamic spectacle to convey the urgency of the situation.”

2. Second Body Paragraph:

“After (an concept), the author moves on to (another idea)” is the topic sentence/transition. To demonstrate how the techniques build on each other, connect an idea from the last sentence of the previous paragraph to the first statement of this one.

“After underlining the iconic aspect of the abolition of slavery, King counters, “But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free,” to draw attention to the problem that still exists.”

Give instances to back up your claim.

“One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still severely hampered by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination,” for example, “King expands his idea by presenting real-world instances that substantiate his claim.” He emphasizes African Americans’ lack of economic and civil rights – “the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity” – and the injustice of discrimination: “the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land.”

The following is a discussion of how the example supports the concept: Relate the strategy to your core argument, thesis, or goal. ‍‍

“Finally, with a remark – “And so we’ve come here today to portray a shameful position,” the author employs pathos to appeal to the audience’s feelings.”

Follow These Writing Guidelines

Identify:

Persuasion techniques used by the author (examples of ethos, logos, & pathos)
The writing style (formal or informal English; specific terms, logical flow, spelling/punctuation) that was employed.
The original target demographic (business people, professors, etc.)
The author’s selected tone (which might range from urgent/casual to humorous/sarcastic)

Determine the passage’s purpose: Learn why the author used the persuasive strategies, writing style, and tone with the intended audience that he did.

How do the rhetorical techniques aid the writer in achieving the passage’s principal goal?

Why did the author pick these techniques to persuade the intended audience on that particular occasion?
Concentrate your summary on the author’s literary techniques and persuasive strategies.

Rhetorical Analysis: How to Improve It

Here are seven measures to aid you with proofreading and editing, both of which can have a significant impact on the quality of your work.

1. Grammatical rules

Always double-check your writing for spelling and punctuation issues, and avoid abbreviations.
Plagiarism is number two.

In all types of educational institutions, this is a punishable offense.

Make sure to properly cite anything you use as a source.
To ensure that you haven’t plagiarized anything in your coursework, you can utilize an online plagiarism checker like Copyscape or Grammarly.

3. Extensive vocabulary

Using a variety of words will demonstrate that you have a thorough comprehension of the paragraph under consideration. Use a thesaurus to expand your vocabulary while studying for better results.
4. Consistency

Transitions between paragraphs are always beneficial. Don’t hop around from one statement to the next. Instead, use fluid transitions to guide the reader through your writing.
5. Use the present tense when writing.

To avoid confusion for your readers, write in the present tense; this keeps your paper simple and easy to follow.
6. Give an answer to the text

Write your work as if you’re responding to the passage while studying it. A rhetorical analysis paper is similar to a text reflection. Analyze the writer’s rhetorical technique, but be natural in your analysis and share your own thoughts and opinions.
7. Choose a Title That Is Appropriate

It is important to make a good first impression. Make an eye-catching title that stands out from the crowd. Make sure the title is appropriate for the work you’re doing.