Rhetorical Analysis
"Rhetorical analysis can be empowering. It can help you develop a repertoire of strategies for engaging with the world on your terms, even as it helps you understand how to respond when others try to set up the encounter on their terms." (Ryder)
Because the study of rhetoric has (and not just in my opinion!) significant value, and because we often best deepen our understandings of complex ideas by doing, the academic essay genre of rhetorical analysis will be our first big project.
Learning about how rhetoric works on us as readers—and writing about that learning as an opportunity to put it and the five canons into further action—will be challenging and, hopefully, fruitful.
A successful rhetorical analysis starts with invention and brainstorming about the text in question. Try applying key rhetorical terms in this primer like purpose, audience, kairos, and appeals to get a picture of how a writer or speaker is engaging in rhetorical strategies—and consider the Five Canons of the writing process, particularly arrangement, style & tone, and delivery. You might also like to explore the acronym-based SOAPSTone, which uses slightly different terms to examine the same overall rhetorical picture. (see below)
Work Cited
Ryder, Phyllis Mentzell. "Rhetorical Analysis in the Real World: A Useful Thinking Tool." Writing Commons: The encyclopedia for writers, researchers, and knowledge workers. https://writingcommons.org/article/rhetorical-analysis-in-the-real-world-a-useful-thinking-tool/. Accessed 18 Aug. 2022.
Want more?
this handout from North Carolina State University's Academic Success Center includes tips on what not to do in a rhetorical analysis; especially useful is the discussion of the distinction between summary and analysis, with examplesthis clearly organized, detailed chapter from Elizabeth Browning's open textbook Let's Get Writing takes a deeper dive into the concept of rhetorical analysis as well as excellent strategies and examples for better understanding the rhetorical appealsextension of rhetorical analysis (using some different names) in easy acronym form (with visual!)an extended reflection from Phyllis Mentzel Ryder on the value of rhetorical analysis for the so-called "real world": "Rhetorical analysis seems like one of those types of writing that people do only in school. And while I concede that many assignments don’t have a counterpart outside of the classroom, I don’t think rhetorical analysis is 'merely academic.'"