Rhetorical Analysis Essay
Competency #2: Critical Thinking & Creativity
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What's a "Rhetorical Analysis Essay"?
What's a "Rhetorical Analysis Essay"?
This essay is a formal examination of how a writer moves an audience. Your success depends on your ability to look past what a writer is saying to explain how they are saying it. In an effective essay, you identify the author's specific strategies, provide evidence from the text, and write insightful commentary that links those strategies to the author’s purpose.
In other words...
Analyze how an author writes rather than what they are saying.
Instead of agreeing or disagreeing with the author, you explain the specific choices, strategies, and tools the author used to persuade, move, or inform their audience.
Think of it like: Taking a clock apart to show someone exactly how the gears work together to tell time.
AI IS NOT AN ACCEPTABLE TOOL FOR THIS WRITING TASK.
As you craft and draft your essay, evidence of your authenticity and originality is reflected in:
Handwritten reader's responses and writing prompt responses contained in your Reader's & Writer's Notebook.
Personal annotations of identified texts.
Handwritten outline (when required).
Google Doc history.
Securly classroom history.
NOTE: This essay may be invalidated if you do not provide evidence of authenticity and originality, as indicated in these directions. You will have to start all over again - new prompt, new critical lens, new outline.
Rhetorical Analysis: Single Paragraph
Rhetorical Analysis: Single Paragraph
A single rhetorical analysis paragraph needs to be dense and efficient, responding to an identified text (literary work, article, speech, non-print text, etc, ). It follows a specific "Claim-Evidence-Commentary" cycle.
American Experience/CP English 11: Single Paragraph
American Experience/CP English 11: Single Paragraph
Topic Sentence (Claim): State your main point using key words from the prompt.
Evidence: Use a passage from the text. Use smooth transitions and include a proper citation.
Commentary: Explain the quote. Discuss what the passage means and how it proves your claim. This is the longest part of your paragraph.
Conclusion: Zoom out. Explain how your commentary connects to the overall theme or big picture of the whole text.
AP English Language & Composition: Single Paragraph
AP English Language & Composition: Single Paragraph
The Topic Sentence (Claim): Identify one specific rhetorical choice the author makes and what they are trying to achieve with it.
The Evidence: Provide a short, integrated quote or a specific paraphrase of that choice.
The Commentary: Explain how this choice affects the audience. This should be the longest part of the paragraph.
The Concluding Sentence: Tie this specific choice back to the author’s main purpose.
Rhetorical Analysis: Multi-Paragraph
Rhetorical Analysis: Multi-Paragraph
A full essay allows you to follow an author's line of reasoning from start to finish. Incorporating the "Claim-Evidence-Commentary" cycle, it is organized by sections of the text or major rhetorical moves, rather than a specific number of paragraphs.
American Experience/CP English 11: Multi-Paragraph
American Experience/CP English 11: Multi-Paragraph
The Introduction
The Introduction
Context (The Setup): Paint a picture for your reader before stating your thesis. Use the 5 Ws to explain the background of the text.
Who (Speaker): State the author’s name and their role or reputation.
What (Text): Identify what kind of text it is and its main topic.
When & Where (Setting): Describe the time, place, and the event that triggered the writing.
To Whom (Audience): Identify exactly who is reading or listening, including their mindset.
Why (Purpose): Explain the spark—what change does the author want to see happen?
When you combine these pieces, they flow together to create a professional, context-rich introduction that leads directly into your thesis (in red).
In 1776, as the Continental Congress prepared to declare independence in Philadelphia, Abigail Adams wrote a private letter to her husband, John Adams. Because she recognized the rare opportunity to restructure American society, Adams highlights the hypocrisy of male-only liberty and warns of a future female rebellion to argue that the new government must 'remember the ladies' and protect women from the absolute power of men.
The "Body": Exploring "Rhetorical Shifts"
The "Body": Exploring "Rhetorical Shifts"
Rhetorical Shifts: Start a new paragraph every time the author switches to a new section, strategy, or focus in the text.
Topic Sentence (Claim): Identify one specific choice the author makes in this section and explain what they want to achieve.
Evidence: Embed a short quote or specific paraphrase that shows that choice in action.
Commentary: Analyze the psychological effect. Explain exactly how this choice changes the audience's thoughts or feelings. This must be the longest part of your paragraph.
The Conclusion
The Conclusion
The Big Picture: Review the text as a whole. Explain how all of the author's choices worked together.
The "So What?": Wrap up your analysis. Briefly explain why this writing was effective for its specific audience and time period.
AP English Language & Composition: Multi-Paragraph
AP English Language & Composition: Multi-Paragraph
The Introduction
The Introduction
Before you state your thesis, you must explain the context of the writing. Use the "Who, What, When, Where, and Why" to paint a picture for your reader.
"Who" (The Speaker)
"Who" (The Speaker)
Don't just give a name. Explain the speaker's role or reputation.
Example: Abigail Adams, a politically sharp mother and wife to a future president...
"What" (The Text/Subject)
"What" (The Text/Subject)
Identify the medium and the main topic.
Example: ...writes a private letter regarding the formation of a new American government...
"When & Where" (The Occasion/Context)
"When & Where" (The Occasion/Context)
Describe the setting and the specific event that triggered the writing.
Example: ...sent from her home in Braintree, Massachusetts, in 1776, as the Continental Congress prepared to declare independence from Britain.
"To Whom" (The Audience)
"To Whom" (The Audience)
Identify the specific person or group being addressed and their power or mindset.
Example: ...addressing her husband, John Adams, who was a key decision-maker in the new nation's laws.
"Why" (The Exigence/Purpose)
"Why" (The Exigence/Purpose)
Explain the "spark"—what does the author want to happen as a result of this text?
Example: ...to urge the founding fathers to grant women legal rights and protections in the new code of laws.
When you combine these pieces, they flow together to create a professional, context-rich introduction that leads directly into your thesis (in red).
In 1776, as the Continental Congress prepared to declare independence in Philadelphia, Abigail Adams wrote a private letter to her husband, John Adams. Because she recognized the rare opportunity to restructure American society, Adams highlights the hypocrisy of male-only liberty and warns of a future female rebellion to argue that the new government must 'remember the ladies' and protect women from the absolute power of men.
The "Body": Exploring "Rhetorical Shifts"
The "Body": Exploring "Rhetorical Shifts"
Instead of sticking to a fixed number of body paragraphs, create a new body paragraph for every one of the major shifts or strategies the author uses.
For every body paragraph, use the Claim-Evidence-Commentary model:.
The Claim (Topic Sentence): Identify one specific rhetorical choice the author makes in that section and state what they are trying to achieve with it.
The Evidence: Provide a short, integrated quote/passage or a specific paraphrase that shows the author making that choice.
The Commentary: Explain how/why this choice affects the audience's thoughts or feelings. This is the analysis of the "psychological effect" and should be the longest part of your paragraph.
The Conclusion
The Conclusion
Explain how the author’s strategies worked together as a whole.
Briefly mention why the speech or text was effective for its specific audience and time.
Scoring Rubric
Scoring Rubric
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