Who or what is the writer, audience, message, purpose, and context that comprise this rhetorical situation?

What provoked or inspired the writer to develop this text?

What is the writer’s purpose for developing this text?

How does the writer consider the rhetorical situation when crafting their message?

What perspectives on the subject might the audience have due to their shared and/or individual beliefs, values, needs, and backgrounds?

How do the writer’s choices in the text reflect both the constraints and the available means of persuasion within the context?

How do the writer’s rhetorical choices in the introduction and/or conclusion not only reflect their purpose and context but also address the intended audience’s needs and perspective on the subject?

How does the writer anticipate and address the audience’s values, beliefs, needs, and background, particularly as they relate to the subject of the argument?

How do the writer’s rhetorical choices achieve their purpose and relate to the audience’s emotions and values?

In their argument, how does the writer seek to persuade or motivate action though appeals—the modes of persuasion?

How does the writer make comparisons (e.g., similes, metaphors, analogies, or anecdotes) in order to relate to the audience and advance the writer’s purposes?

How does the writer’s choices in diction and syntax influence how the audience perceives the writer and the degree to which an audience may accept the writer’s argument?

How does the writer’s word choice reflect their biases and possibly affect their credibility with a particular audience?

How does the writer tailor the evidence, organization, and language of their argument in consideration of both the context of the rhetorical situation and the intended audience’s perspectives on the subject and the audience’s needs?

What claim does the writer attempt to defend, and how does that claim convey the writer’s position on the subject?

Where in the text does the writer establish a claim?

How does the writer use particular sentences and words to establish a claim?

What kind of evidence (e.g., facts, anecdotes, analogies, statistics, examples, details, illustrations, expert opinions, personal observations, personal experiences, testimony, or experiments) does the writer use to defend their claim?

How does the writer’s choice of evidence reflect the rhetorical situation and advance their purposes?

What is the function (e.g., to illustrate, to clarify, to set a mood, to provide an example, to associate, to amplify or qualify a point) of particular evidence in the writer’s argument, and how do they convey that function?

How does the writer’s commentary establish a logical relationship between evidence and the claim it supports?

How and why does the writer consider, explain, and integrate others’ arguments into their own argument?

How does the writer acknowledge others’ intellectual property in their argument?

How does a writer’s consideration of a source’s credibility or reliability and the use of that source in the writer’s argument affect both the writer’s credibility and their argument’s persuasiveness?

What claim are you attempting to defend, and how does that claim convey your position on the subject?

Where in your argument might you establish a claim?

How might you use particular sentences and words to establish a claim?

What kind of evidence (e.g., facts, anecdotes, analogies, statistics, examples, details, illustrations, expert opinions, personal observations, personal experiences, testimony, or experiments) might you use to defend your claim?

How does your choice of evidence reflect the rhetorical situation and advance your purposes?

What is the function (e.g., to illustrate, to clarify, to set a mood, to provide an example, to associate, to amplify or qualify a point) of particular evidence in your argument, and how do you convey that function?

How does your commentary establish a logical relationship between evidence and the claim it supports?

How and why might you consider, explain, and integrate others’ arguments into your own argument?

How might you acknowledge others’ intellectual property in your argument?

How might your consideration of a source’s credibility or reliability and the use of that source in your argument affect both your credibility and your argument’s persuasiveness?