The speaker refers to the first and last name of the writer. If the writer has any credentials that lend to his or her authority on the matter at hand, you should also briefly consider those. Note that if the narrator is different from the writer, though, it could also refer to the narrator. The occasion mostly refers to the type of text and the context under which the text was written. For instance, there is a big difference between an essay written for a scholarly conference and a letter written to an associate in the field. The audience is who the text was written for. This is related to the occasion, since the occasion can include details about the audience. In the example above, the audience would be a conference of scholars versus an associate in the field. The purpose refers to what the writer wants to accomplish in the text. It usually includes selling a product or point of view. The subject is simply the topic the writer discusses in the text.
Ethos, or ethical appeals, rely on the writer’s credibility and character in the garnering of approval. Mentions of a writer’s character or qualifications usually qualify as ethos. For instance, if a family therapist with 20 years of practice writes an article on improving familial relations, mention of that experience would be using ethos. Despite their name, these appeals don’t have anything to do with “ethics” as we usually think of them. Logos, or logical appeals, use reason to make an argument. Most academic discourse should make heavy use of logos. A writer who supports an argument with evidence, data, and undeniable facts uses logos. Pathos, or pathetic appeals, seek to evoke emotion in order to gain approval. These emotions can include anything from sympathy and anger to the desire for love. If an article about violent crime provides personal, human details about victims of violent crime, the writer is likely using pathos.
Analogies and figurative language, including metaphors and similes, demonstrate an idea through comparison. Repetition of a certain point or idea is used to make that point seem more memorable. Imagery often affects pathos. The image of a starving child in a third-world country can be a powerful way of evoking compassion or anger. Diction refers to word choice. Emotionally-charged words have greater impact, and rhythmic word patterns can establish a theme more effectively. Tone essentially means mood or attitude. A sarcastic essay is vastly different from a scientific one, but depending on the situation, either tone could be effective. Addressing the opposition demonstrates that the writer is not afraid of the opposing viewpoint. It also allows the writer to strengthen his or her own argument by cutting down the opposing one. This is especially powerful when the author contrasts a strong viewpoint he or she holds with a weak viewpoint on the opposing side.
Ask yourself how the rhetorical strategies of appeals and style help the author achieve his or her purpose. Determine if any of these strategies fail and hurt the author instead of helping. Speculate on why the author may have chosen those rhetorical strategies for that audience and that occasion. Determine if the choice of strategies may have differed for a different audience or occasion. Remember that in a rhetorical analysis, you do not need to agree with the argument being presented. Your task is to analyze how well the author uses the appeals to present her or his argument.
By letting the reader know that your paper is a rhetorical analysis, you let him or her know exactly what to expect. If you do not let the reader know this information beforehand, he or she may expect to read an evaluative argument instead. Do not simply state, “This paper is a rhetorical analysis. " Weave the information into the introduction as naturally as possible. Note that this may not be necessary if you are writing a rhetorical analysis for an assignment that specifically calls for a rhetorical analysis.
The introduction is a good place to give a quick summary of the document. Keep it quick, though. Save the majority of the details for your body paragraphs, since most of the details will be used in defending your analysis.
You do not necessarily need to mention these details in this order. Include the details in a matter that makes sense and flows naturally within your introductory paragraph.
Try stating which rhetorical techniques the writer uses in order to move people toward his or her desired purpose. Analyze how well these techniques accomplish this goal. Consider narrowing the focus of your essay. Choose one or two design aspects that are complex enough to spend an entire essay analyzing. Think about making an original argument. If your analysis leads you to make a certain argument about the text, focus your thesis and essay around that argument and provide support for it throughout the body of your paper. Try to focus on using words such as “effective” or “ineffective” when composing your thesis, rather than “good” or “bad. " You want to avoid seeming like you are passing value judgments.
The order of logos, ethos, and pathos is not necessarily set in stone. If you intend to focus on one more than the other two, you could briefly cover the two lesser appeals in the first two sections before elaborating on the third in greater detail toward the middle and end of the paper. For logos, identify at least one major claim and evaluate the document’s use of objective evidence. For ethos, analyze how the writer or speaker uses his or her status as an “expert” to enhance credibility. For pathos, analyze any details that alter the way that the viewer or reader may feel about the subject at hand. Also analyze any imagery used to appeal to aesthetic senses, and determine how effective these elements are. Wrap things up by discussing the consequences and overall impact of these three appeals.
Start from the beginning of the document and work your way through to the end. Present details about the document and your analysis of those details in the order the original document presents them in. The writer of the original document likely organized the information carefully and purposefully. By addressing the document in this order, your analysis is more likely to make more coherent sense by the end of your paper.
Evidence often include a great deal of direct quotation and paraphrasing. Point to spots in which the author mentioned his or her credentials to explain ethos. Identify emotional images or words with strong emotional connotations as ways of supporting claims to pathos. Mention specific data and facts used in analysis involving logos.
Avoid use of the first-person words “I” and “we. " Stick to the more objective third-person.
When restating your thesis, you should be able to quickly analyze how the original author’s purpose comes together. When restating your thesis, try to bring more sophistication or depth to it than you had in the beginning. What can the audience now understand about your thesis that they would not have without reading your analysis?
Keep this information brief. You spent an entire essay supporting your thesis, so these restatements of your main ideas should only serve as summaries of your support.
Indicate what that research must entail and how it would help. Also state why the subject matter is important enough to continue researching and how it has significance to the real world.
