The Rhetorical Analysis Essay

1. The Rhetorical Analysis Essay

2. Task • Unlike argument or synthesis, this is not a debate paper. • Task of the essay is to analyze the methods employs in his writing to convey his attitude, his opinion, or his conviction about some topic. • You must talk about how the author’s argument is created. What tools do they use to gain their reader’s agreement?

3. Task, cont. • You are NOT being asked to write a movie review: “Twain wrote really well and that held my attention.” • The test makers wouldn’t have you evaluate an essay if it was poorly written. • Something holding your interest is not an insightful comment, much less astute analysis.

4. Some Things NOT to Do • Don’t use the author’s first name • Discourteous, sloppy, and unscholarly • Use the full name the first time you mention them, then the last name after that • Avoid fancy language (be direct and clear) • Bad: “The aphoristic asyndeton parallelism of the third sentence provided a syncretistic introduction for his thoughts.” • Better: “The simple and direct diction of the third sentence provided an effective preface to the complex ideas that were to follow.”

5. Some Things NOT to Do • Do NOT summarize the author’s essay. You must discuss strategies the author uses!!!

6. What You NEED to Do • “Discuss the author’s attitude toward bear baiting and the strategies the author employed to achieve his purpose.” • Read to determine the author’s attitude • Identify techniques he used to develop his argument

7. Rhetorical Strategies • Diction • Word choice • Negative or positive • Don’t say “The author uses diction to convey his meaning.” That is like saying “The wind blows wind to make wind.”

8. Rhetorical Strategies • Syntax • Short sentences are almost always abrupt, intense, and confrontational. They force a sudden stop in thinking. • Long sentences are more thoughtful and permit reflection. • Parallel syntax functions like a train gathering steam. It convinces by overwhelming the reader syntactically.

9. Rhetorical Strategies • Syntax, cont. • Rhetorical questions manipulate you to provide the answer the author wants you to accept. They are never meant as a genuine question, but are always coercive. • Repetition within a piece is meant to provide emphasis. Reptition provides emphasis. Emphasis.

10. Rhetorical Strategies • Figures of speech • Metaphor --Allusion • Simile --Apostrophe • Symbol --Pun • Personification --Paradox • Hyperbole --Oxymoron

11. Rhetorical Strategies • Figures of speech • Look for patterns. • Is the passage heavy with metaphors and similes? • You can write an entire paragraph of analysis on a particularly powerful metaphor, symbol, or allusion. • Are their certain kinds of symbols operating?

12. Rhetorical Strategies • College Board expects you to be familiar with… • Greek Mythology • Judeo-Christian religious tradition • Main works of Western thought

13. Rhetorical Strategies • Rhetoric • PELIDS • Pathos • Ethos • Logos • Inductive • Deductive • Syllogism