Rhetorical Analysis Guidelines, Criteria, and Expectations
Assignment: Your assignment is to discuss the rhetorical effectiveness of a text. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate your awareness and understanding of rhetorical knowledge and how it functions within genres and texts. For this assignment, you will rely on the classical rhetorical appeals for your theoretical frame (logos, ethos, and pathos), as well as the other key concepts that we have discussed so far in class (audience, genre, discourse communities and conventions, exigence, etc.) Your paper should follow these criteria:
• Approximately 3-5 full pages, double-spaced, 12-point font (standard one-inch margins)
• MLA in-text citation and formatting
Context/Purpose: As we have discussed in class, a rhetorical analysis examines and explains how texts are constructed to evaluate their effectiveness for a given audience. This means that while your analysis will certainly discuss the ideas (content or topics) in the texts that you choose, your main concern is how the purpose and message of the text are presented and constructed to appeal to the targeted audience and the implications thereof. In constructing a rhetorical analysis, the writer (that’s you!) identifies and critically analyzes the rhetorical strategies the author/writer uses to comment on the effectiveness and/or significance of the text. Consider both the context and the audience while developing your rhetorical analysis draft:
• Start with a brief discussion of the subject/topic that the text focuses on. Include the title of the piece, the genre type, and the author (or authors) in the introduction.
• Identify the thesis/purpose, either implied or stated, in the text.
• Who is the intended audience and how do they fit into a specific community of readers? Considering this, what may the audience know, want to know, and why? How might this information presented be used by its audience?
• What is the purpose of the information presented in the genres? (inform, persuade, entertain, etc.)
Style/Conclusion: Your analysis should move beyond the mechanics of rhetorical analysis; the purpose of your analysis in your text (essay) should be guided by a particular “so what?” question. That is, your rhetorical analysis should reveal some kind of significance for your readers (what does your rhetorical analysis reveal, for example, about the topic area the text is written about or the community of authors/readers for the topic?). While reading and analyzing the works of others you will have to pay close attention to how they formulated their own writing using rhetorical appeals. The way you structure your analysis and transition will make your writing more credible and establish a purpose; however, it will also help with your conclusion:
• How the information is shaped by the genre? (Consider the limitations/freedoms of space, time, layout, audience, and so on.)
• How does the structure facilitate the purpose of the information in the genre?
• How formal/informal is the language? What specialized vocabulary is being used?
• Which genre was more effective in conveying its message? Why?
• Offer a final comment on the impact of genres on discourse.
Rhetorical Issues: Ethos, Pathos, and Logos: Keep in mind that your analysis may find that some rhetorical strategies are used more heavily than others depending on the text and genre. Do not try to give equal weight to every strategy used in your analysis. Instead, choose a few key strategies to zoom in on your analysis (or one key passage that exemplifies several strategies). Also, keep in mind how these rhetorical strategies overlap in texts. For example, how might tone (pathos) assist—or detract from—an author’s credibility (ethos)? As noted above, some contextual issues to consider in your analysis include the writer’s purpose, the intended audience, and the genre or type of texts you are analyzing. Addressing all of these features in light of logos, ethos, and/or pathos strategies will assist in developing your overall analysis. Remember to look at ethos, pathos, and logos in weighs where you are observing the context, purpose, and audience of what you are both reading and writing:
• How does each genre help to establish the information’s credibility? Is it effective?
• How does each genre help to evoke an emotional response from the audience? Which emotions? Why?
• What types of evidence are used to support the claims of the information in the genres? Is it appropriate? Why or why not?
