Writing an Introduction to your Rhetorical Analysis 

On the evening of September 11, 2001, President George W. Bush delivered an address that would come to define a nation’s response to one of its most tragic moments. In the wake of the devastating terrorist attacks, Bush’s speech aimed to comfort the American people, assert national strength, and unify the country in the face of unprecedented crisis. Throughout his address, Bush employed a range of rhetorical strategies to achieve these goals, using ethos to establish credibility and reassurance, pathos to invoke a sense of shared grief and resilience, and anaphora to emphasize the unity and determination of the American people. 

Example Structure of an Intro:

1. Context: Brief background of the speech or text (who, what, when, where, why).

2. Identification of the Text: What text/speech is being analyzed?

3. Purpose: What is the speaker’s purpose in delivering the message?

4. Thesis: A concise thesis identifying the three rhetorical strategies you will analyze.