A rhetorical essay is a type of essay that is focused on how an author expresses himself.
You need to concentrate on the author’s style rather than what he/she is saying. So, the techniques and goals of the authors are way more critical in this type of essay.
The structure is quite similar to other types of essays. Typically, it starts with an introduction and ends with a conclusion.
Step 1: Key points of rhetoric
Rhetoric refers to the skill of effective writing and speaking. In rhetoric, we look at the motives of the author rather than the content.
How did the author design the text to persuade the reader? This is the right approach to rhetorical analysis.
Logos, ethos, and pathos
Logos simply refers to using logical reasoning. It is quite common in academic essays. Ethos, on the other hand, is all about ethics. In this appeal, an author should be the authority.
Ethos example
An author of an information technology book is likely to present himself as the authority of information technologies.Pathos example
Authoritative presidents could be a great example of the Pathos Appeal as they tend to trigger masses of people by highlighting their nationalistic feelings.The context of the text
- You may need to analyze images and sonic elements
- The speaker (author, designer), the intent, setting, and time of the source is as significant as the text itself.
- After all, the context is essential.
Example
Say you’re analyzing Mustafa Kemal Ataturk's speech in Samsun, 1919. If you do prior research on how the Turkish people suffered from never-ending battles, you’ll have a better understanding of the whole speech. So, you can quickly analyze his rhetoric and the audience’s response.Step 2: Gathering information
Rhetorical analysis is different from other types of essays. That is, it doesn’t rely on applying prior academic concepts or tactics. Instead, your work starts with analyzing the source text. So, your best concept is generally the source text.
- Look for the author’s purpose.
- Is there a single and main argument or multiple arguments?
- Understand the tone of the author, whether formal, first-person, authoritative, sympathetic, etc.
- Define the target audience.
- Try to find logical or emotional evidence in the text.
Step 3: Write an introduction
Like other types of essays, you should begin with an introduction that includes a context, background, and strong thesis statement.
- The intention of your paper
- A brief statement on the occasion, speaker, audience, subject, and purpose
- Thesis statement
Rhetorical analysis essay introduction example
A woman’s work is never done: many American women grow up with this saying and feel it to be true. Hook: You try to get your reader’s attention with a memorable opening sentence. One such woman, author Jessica Grose, wrote “Cleaning: The Final Feminist Frontier,” published in 2013 in the New Republic, and she argues that while the men in our lives recently started taking on more of the childcare and cooking, cleaning still falls unfairly on women. Context: You provide some background regarding your author and source text. Grose begins building her credibility with personal facts and reputable sources, citing convincing facts and statistics, and successfully employing emotional appeals. Author’s purpose: You highlight the purpose of the author to inform your reader. However, toward the end of the article, her attempts to appeal to readers’ emotions weaken her credibility and, ultimately, her argument. Thesis statement: You state your central argument based on your rhetorical analysis of the source text.
Step 4: Write body paragraphs
A typical rhetorical analysis essay is 5 paragraphs long. So, you have 3 paragraphs to discuss your findings in detail. However, it can still be longer in some cases.
Don’t forget to focus on different aspects in each body paragraph. Also, all three-paragraph should contribute to your overall topic and thesis statement.
- Logos, ethos, and pathos sections, where you analyze different aspects of the author
- Chronological order with right headings and capitalization, as well as analysis of the source text
- Plenty of evidence (paraphrasing, quotation in APA or MLA)
- Objective tone (avoid first-person words)
Rhetorical analysis essay body example
Along with strong logos appeals, Grose effectively makes appeals to pathos in the beginning and middle sections. Topic sentence: What will the paragraph be about? Her introduction is full of emotionally-charged words and phrases that create a sympathetic image; Grose notes that she “was eight months pregnant” and her husband found it difficult to “fight with a massively pregnant person.” The image she evokes of the challenges and vulnerabilities of being so pregnant, as well as the high emotions a woman feels at that time effectively introduce the argument and its seriousness. Her goal is to make the reader feel sympathy for her. Adding to this idea are words and phrases such as, “insisted,” “argued,” “not fun,” “sucks” “headachey,” “be judged,” “be shunned” (Grose). All of these words evoke negative emotions about cleaning, which makes the reader sympathize with women who feel “judged” and shunned”—very negative feelings. Another feeling Grose reinforces with her word choice is the concept of fairness: “fair share,” “a week and a half more of ‘second shift’ work,” “more housework,” “more gendered and less frequent.” Evidence and analysis: You evaluate the rhetoric of the author with evidence. However, toward the end of the article, her attempts to appeal to readers’ emotions weaken her credibility and, ultimately, her argument. Conclusion sentence: This part summarizes the analysis.
Step 5: Write a conclusion
Typically, a conclusion is where you wrap up your arguments and summarize your essay. It shouldn’t be more than 10% of your total word count. Most importantly, don’t present any new information or argument when writing a conclusion.
- Restatement of your thesis statement
- Restatement and the synthesis of arguments
- A probable need for further research
Below, you’ll see an example of a rhetorical analysis conclusion:
Rhetorical analysis essay conclusion example
Though Grose begins the essay by effectively persuading her readers of the unfair distribution of home-maintenance cleaning labor, she loses her power in the end, where she most needs to drive home her argument. Summary: You briefly summarize the main arguments in yur essay. Readers can see the problem exists in both her marriage and throughout the world; however, her shift to humor and sarcasm makes the reader not take the problem as seriously in the end. Importance: You broaden the perspectives of your analysis. Grose could have more seriously driven home the point that a woman’s work could be done: by a man. Conclusion sentence: You present a strong and memorable closing statement that links to your hook and thesis.
Step 6: Proofread, tips, and warnings
When you finish writing your rhetorical analysis essay, don’t forget to proofread your paper for common mistakes, as well as grammar (active and passive voice, verb tenses, etc.) and punctuation mistakes.
- Starting your conclusion with phrases like “in conclusion, to sum up, etc.” is a rookie mistake. Try finding more complex and professional sentences that imply the ending rather than directly stating it.
- Don’t include any new information or evidence in your conclusion. This is very important, even worse than a rookie mistake.
- When you analyze the rheotoric, focus on how the author makes his point. The aim of rhetorical analysis is “how” (the process of communication) rather than “why”.
Frequently Asked Questions
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