Rhetorical Analysis

What you’ll learn to do: identify and apply different types of analytic processes

You will be facing many analytical writing tasks during your time at college, regardless of your major or field. Analysis is a function of mature critical thinking. In fact, analysis is a component of almost all academic and professional writing tasks. You will encounter various synonyms for analysis in assignment descriptions including interpretation, inquiry, or evaluation. All of these terms denote the same skill: “to break down or investigate.”

One of the best ways to improve your own argumentative writing is by analyzing the work of others. This allows you to see what strategies and structures are effective, what doesn’t work, and why. By understanding the choices other writers make, you can make more intentional decisions in your own writing. This shift—from writing by instinct to writing with purpose—helps you create arguments that are clear, persuasive, and impactful.

The Importance of Rhetoric

While mastering rhetoric takes time, understanding its basics can make you a stronger, more adaptable writer from the start.

Key Takeaway: Rhetoric

Rhetoric is the art of effective and persuasive communication, shaping how we write and speak in different situations.

Every time you write or speak, you’re navigating a unique rhetorical situation. To be effective, you need to consider your audience, purpose, and voice. Strong writing isn’t just about expressing ideas—it’s about persuading your audience to think in a certain way or act in response to an issue. Addressing the “so what?” of your argument helps ensure your writing has impact.

Many students jump straight into writing after skimming an assignment, but writing rhetorically and with intention means analyzing the writing assignment (or rhetorical situation) first. Taking time to consider the rhetorical situation before drafting will help you make strategic choices in the research and writing process, leading to clearer, more persuasive communication.

Rhetorical Analysis

Key Takeaway: Rhetorical Analysis

Take a look at the following definition of rhetorical analysis:

Rhetorical analysis shows how the words, phrases, images, gestures, performances, texts, films, etc. that people use to communicate work, how well they work, and how the artifacts, as discourse, inform and instruct, entertain and arouse, and convince and persuade the audience; as such, discourse includes the possibility of morally improving the reader, the viewer, and the listener.[1]

Basically, when you conduct a rhetorical analysis, you’re examining the way authors (or speakers) communicate their message. This means you can conduct a rhetorical analysis of any act of communication. Naturally, this makes rhetorical analysis one of the most common types of analysis you will perform at the college level.

As a part of thinking rhetorically about an argument, your professor may ask you to write a formal or informal rhetorical analysis essay. Rhetorical analysis is about “digging in” and exploring the strategies and writing style of a particular piece. Rhetorical analysis can be tricky because, chances are, you haven’t done a lot of rhetorical analysis in the past.

To add to this trickiness, you can write a rhetorical analysis of any piece of information, not just an essay. You may be asked to write a rhetorical analysis of an advertisement, an image, or a commercial.

When you analyze a work rhetorically, you explore the following concepts in a piece:

  • Audience
  • Purpose
  • Style or Tone
  • Supporting Appeals and Claims: Ethos, Pathos, and Logos
    • Ethos – an appeal to ethical considerations. Is the author credible and knowledgeable? Are the actions or understandings that they are calling for ethical?
    • Pathos – an appeal to emotions. Is the author trying to evoke strong feelings for or against something?
    • Logos – an appeal to rational, logical understanding. Is the author using facts and “hard” research to present a case? Is the argument coherent and cohesive?
    • Note that these three rhetorical modes are closely interrelated. Consider that a strong logical appeal will often convince us that a writer is ethical and diligent in his analysis, whereas an emotional appeal that seems manipulative or a weak substitute for a substantive argument may undermine a writer’s ethos, that is, his credibility.

In a rhetorical analysis, you will think about the decisions that the author has made regarding the supporting appeals, style, tone, purpose, and audience, considering whether these decisions are effective or ineffective.

  1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhetorical_criticism ↵