Writing a Rhetorical Analysis

The first step is to fin" rel="nofollow">ind somethin" rel="nofollow">ing you'd like to write about. Appropriate topics might in" rel="nofollow">include: • a verbal, written, or visual argument that evokes a personal reaction in" rel="nofollow">in you. This might be somethin" rel="nofollow">ing you've read in" rel="nofollow">in another class, somethin" rel="nofollow">ing you saw on the news, or somethin" rel="nofollow">ing you came across the Internet. • a current event or subject that you want to learn more about • a text that you feel has been misread or misin" rel="nofollow">interpreted For this lesson, view this sample search from a student who has an in" rel="nofollow">interest in" rel="nofollow">in video games. She knows that she wants to do her research project on these texts, but is not sure where to focus. From ENG101, she remembers that the Rio Library subscribes to the Opposin" rel="nofollow">ing Viewpoin" rel="nofollow">ints database. Watch a video of her search. She fin" rel="nofollow">inds a wealth of resources on Opposin" rel="nofollow">ing Viewpoin" rel="nofollow">ints, and after readin" rel="nofollow">ing for a while, she chooses one article to analyze and plans to use evidence from an opposin" rel="nofollow">ing viewpoin" rel="nofollow">int as well as her own experience with playin" rel="nofollow">ing the titles mentioned, as evidence. Your search might look differently, but the goal is to save time in" rel="nofollow">in order to do it well. Once you have your object of analysis and have done some research to help fin" rel="nofollow">ind evidence, you will want to focus your efforts: • READ your text carefully, and at least a couple of times to ensure that you fully understand what you have read. Can you see the author's thesis? • Next, start to analyze the features of the text you're analyzin" rel="nofollow">ing. Keep the followin" rel="nofollow">ing questions in" rel="nofollow">in min" rel="nofollow">ind as you read: 1 Who is the author? Does s/he have credibility to discuss the topic? Is there apparent bias? Is an in" rel="nofollow">institution sponsorin" rel="nofollow">ing him/her, and if so, what does that in" rel="nofollow">institution represent? 2 What is the thesis, and what is the overall argument the author presents? 3 What did the author choose to study? Why? 4 What is the writer's purpose? To in" rel="nofollow">inform? To persuade? To criticize? 5 Who is the author's in" rel="nofollow">intended audience? Does s/he appeal to a resistant audience? A Neutral audience? Or is s/he "preachin" rel="nofollow">ing to the choir?" 6 What appeal(s) are applied (ethos, pathos, logos, or a combin" rel="nofollow">ination)? 7 How does the writer arrange his or her ideas? Does the author use in" rel="nofollow">inductive or deductive reasonin" rel="nofollow">ing in" rel="nofollow">in structurin" rel="nofollow">ing the argument? 8 Did you note any fallacies as you read? Is so, which ones? 9 How does the writer use diction? (Word choice, arrangement, accuracy, is it formal, in" rel="nofollow">informal? Technical versus slang?) 10 Does the writer use dialogue? Quotations? Statistics? Why? 11 What have others said about this text? Some databases like Opposin" rel="nofollow">ing Viewpoin" rel="nofollow">ints will automatically share related articles. If you fin" rel="nofollow">ind an article onlin" rel="nofollow">ine, you can search for more in" rel="nofollow">information (for example, the student with an in" rel="nofollow">interest in" rel="nofollow">in video games might search Video Game Violence Reactions). Please note: If your essay just answers these questions, it will not get a good grade! These questions are designed to be a guide for note takin" rel="nofollow">ing! Not every question will apply to every analysis, and you may fin" rel="nofollow">ind other appropriate questions to ask that are specific to your selection. Focusin" rel="nofollow">ing Your Essay Now that you have your subject of analysis (your text), have done some background research, and have analyzed your text, it's time to write your thesis. Here's the trick: It does not matter whether you agree or disagree with the message in" rel="nofollow">in your text... your thesis should focus on its strategy. • Focus on rhetorical features: "The article titled 'Video Games Violence is Overblown' in" rel="nofollow">initially attracts an audience through its use of logos, but when the facts turn to editorial rantin" rel="nofollow">ing, the argument degrades to a mess of fallacies in" rel="nofollow">includin" rel="nofollow">ing ad homin" rel="nofollow">inem attacks again" rel="nofollow">inst video game producers that render the overall argument in" rel="nofollow">ineffective." • Focus on in" rel="nofollow">interaction of elements: "The ad makes impressive use of visual appeals to pathos by rallyin" rel="nofollow">ing the audience to come together usin" rel="nofollow">ing a sympathetic image, by creatin" rel="nofollow">ing a strong taglin" rel="nofollow">ine that is easy to remember, by craftin" rel="nofollow">ing in" rel="nofollow">inspirin" rel="nofollow">ing verbiage, and by providin" rel="nofollow">ing resources to take further action." • Focus on audience: "While some would argue that a segment found on Fox News' YouTube channel would show bias again" rel="nofollow">inst Democrats, this particular segment does an impressive job of reachin" rel="nofollow">ing out to a resistant audience by statin" rel="nofollow">ing statistics (in" rel="nofollow">includin" rel="nofollow">ing statistics that make the Republican side look bad), usin" rel="nofollow">ing impartial language, and avoidin" rel="nofollow">ing headlin" rel="nofollow">ines or imagery that could be seen as 'attackin" rel="nofollow">ing' the opposin" rel="nofollow">ing view." This can be a tricky step, so make sure to save time to draft and revise accordin" rel="nofollow">ingly to make sure your thesis matches what you truly wish to argue. Organizin" rel="nofollow">ing the Essay After identifyin" rel="nofollow">ing your thesis, look back at the notes you took on your text. Try to arrange the key ideas in" rel="nofollow">in a logical way, followin" rel="nofollow">ing the support structure in" rel="nofollow">in your thesis. You may fin" rel="nofollow">ind that some of the observations you noticed at first are less important. It is ok to toss thin" rel="nofollow">ings aside to keep focused. A sample outlin" rel="nofollow">ine might look like this: • Introduction (lays the foundation for readers who might not be familiar with what you're analyzin" rel="nofollow">ing) Summarize the text bein" rel="nofollow">ing critiqued Discuss the author and their background (if appropriate) Present your thesis • Body paragraphs (dig in" rel="nofollow">into the rhetorical features present in" rel="nofollow">in the text) Discuss issues related to the audience and the appeals Discuss specific elements that relate back to the poin" rel="nofollow">ints about the audience Discuss what others have said about the text • Conclusion • MLA Formatted Works Cited Page The shape of the essay will evolve dependin" rel="nofollow">ing on the text you select. Thin" rel="nofollow">inkin" rel="nofollow">ing back to the sample essays, each took a different path to meet the goal, but they all had certain" rel="nofollow">in elements in" rel="nofollow">in common. See the list for guidelin" rel="nofollow">ines: • Make sure to logically transition between ideas. • Stay on topic and let your thesis be your guide. • Each paragraph should have a strong topic sentence to ease transition between elements. • Avoid summary in" rel="nofollow">in favor of clear, specific examples. • Make sure to cite all sources in" rel="nofollow">in MLA format. Don't hurt your own ethos as a writer... Proofread, proofread, proofread! • You should not in" rel="nofollow">include more than one in" rel="nofollow">in-text citation per paragraph, and the conclusion should contain" rel="nofollow">in no citations. In addition, only one short quote and one long quote are allowed per essay. • The essay should be 4-5 pages (not countin" rel="nofollow">ing the cover sheet) in" rel="nofollow">in MLA style. You will be required to cite at least two sources for this essay (the text you're analyzin" rel="nofollow">ing and at least one source.