Rhetorical AnalysisA Rhetorical Analysis (example found on page 117 of Practical Argument) dissects a specifictext and offers insight into its theme, style, and structure. This genre of writing demonstrates thecritical understanding and assessment of any text. It requires the reader/writer to retrace theargument of the author. In a Rhetorical Analysis, the reader/writer needs to: Offer insight regarding the author herself/himself and the context Is there background, expertise, demographic information or bias that is essential to
analyzing the argument? What historical, social, or political issues situate the text? Offer analysis as to the author’s purpose and topic– what is the goal of her/his writing? What is the thesis? Identify what appeals are used to advance the author’s purpose Address the likely audience of the text, using textual evidence For example, does the author use graphs and statistics that require sophisticatedcomprehension? Their audience is then most likely an academic one in the field of
study in question.
Acknowledge and analyze the structure and style of the text at hand Is the article a book chapter, or a newspaper article, or something else? Thesegenres have specific conventions/rules that should be acknowledged. Review the stylistic techniques eg simile, metaphor, allusion, parallelism,
repetition, rhetorical question Does the author use refutation effectively? Assess the essay – how well does the author achieve the goal he/she argues in the thesis?Please note: For each key point you identify, provide an I-Q-E-C sequence. (See “Using SourceMaterials Effectively” PP.)Length: 3 pages
Due Date: March 1st Citations: Proper MLA style is required, including a Works Cited page for the text analyzed
