How to Write a Rhetorical Analysis Essay Step by Step
Knowing how to write a rhetorical analysis essay step by step is essential in enhancing your writing and communication skills. With knowledge in writing rhetorical analysis essays, there is no doubt that you can always craft any kind of academic paper. In this section, we will give you some of the best guidelines and even examples to enable you master the art of writing outstanding rhetorical analysis essays easily and fast.
In order for you to effectively know how to write a rhetorical analysis essay step by step, it is important that you first define what a rhetorical analysis essay is. This is because; it always much easier working on papers that you are conversant with unlike those which you do not.
A Rhetorical analysis essay is an academic paper that requires you as the writer, to give a detailed explanation of the various elements of rhetoric that have been used in a particular piece of work. Further, you will also be expected to show how those techniques have been used by the author in conveying his information or ideas to the audience.
Guidelines on how to write a rhetorical analysis essay
Writing a good rhetorical analysis essay requires you to be attentive to details and have the instincts for seeing beyond the text. Simply follow the guidelines outlined below to easily find out how to write a rhetorical analysis essay step by step.
Determine the purpose of the author
Since you will be analyzing a piece of work done by another person, it is important to establish their goals. This will assist you in gaining a deeper understanding of the piece, thereby creating a good rhetorical analysis essay.
Consider the audience
You should also get to know the particular audience that was targeted with the said piece of work. With this, you will be able to tell why the author used certain words or elements of rhetoric in crafting the piece. Besides, it will also enable you to know how to structure your essay.
Identify the rhetoric strategies used in the piece of work
In every work, whether a document, painting, film or any other, the author always has an aim, target audience and plans on how to pass his message. These plans basically refer to the strategies used by author in communicating to the audience.
Since the analysis will be based on the elements of rhetoric used by the author, you should be careful when going through the piece of work to note down the most important ones. The techniques may not necessarily be used in a particular section of the work but throughout so you should read the whole piece of work.
It is also important that you establish the occasion when the work was used or published since it may have a great impact on the basis of your analysis.
How to write a rhetorical analysis essay step by step
In order for you to deliver a rhetorical analysis essay that is compelling and unique, there are some basic rules to be followed. It is advisable that you first create a draft outlining the arguments that you intend to present in the essay. Besides, you also need to create a catchy title for your analysis.
The following procedures will offer you detailed illustrations on how to write a rhetorical analysis essay step by step.
Writing the introduction
The general rule in crafting the introduction to a rhetorical analysis essay is that it should be brief. It is recommended that you take the SOAPS approach in writing. This approach entails revealing the subject of the piece to be analyzed, occasion of presentation or publication, its target audience, purpose and speaker.
You can begin writing the essay by giving background information that will make the readers to see the relevance of your analysis. You can then move on to state the speaker or author, occasion and subject of the work in that order.
The next step in writing the intro is stating the main goal of the author or speaker in the given piece of work.
You should also give a statement describing the tone or feeling adopted by the author or speaker in ensuring that the message is effectively passed to the audience.
The thesis statement for your analysis essay should come between the introduction and the other parts of the paper. It should clearly point out the key argument that you wish to present in the analysis.
The body paragraphs
This is where you have to give a detailed explanation showing that you have properly understood the piece of work under analysis. The body paragraphs should also vividly reveal the importance of your analysis.
Every paragraph should have its own topic sentence. Take time to comprehensively handle a given technique using relevant statements and examples before moving onto another.
Knowing how to write a rhetorical analysis essay step by step requires more than just having the ability to identify rhetoric techniques in a piece of work. In writing the body paragraphs, you will need to give the exact words or phrases of rhetoric as used in the speech or document.
After stating the selected rhetoric technique, clearly define it and also give an explanation of how the author or speaker has applied it in achieving the desired goals.
Your points or ideas should be presented in a particular format to make the essay easy to read and understand. For instance, you can choose to discuss instances of pathos, ethos and logos in that order.
The body paragraphs can also be arranged in chronological order, meaning that you will discuss the rhetoric techniques in the sequence that they appear in the given piece of work.
At the end of every paragraph, you have to make sure that the topic sentence is linked to the thesis statement to enhance cohesion in the analysis.
Conclusion
The ending paragraph of the analysis essay should also be brief just like the introduction. However, it should restate the main argument of the essay. Besides, you also need to point out to the readers, the importance of the analysis, its meaning in the real world and any future developments to look out for.
Examples of Rhetorical Analysis Essays
The following sample papers have been written by professionals and can also assist you on how to write a rhetorical analysis essay step by step.
Example 1
Rhetorical Analysis of Cory Doctrow’s ‘’Why I Won’t Buy an iPad (and Think You should not, Either)
‘’Cory Doctrow’s article on BoingBoing is an older review of the iPad, one of the most famous products manufactured by Apple. At the time of this article’s publication, the iPad was the latest Apple product in the market although its popularity had not yet grown. Doctrow’s entire career has been focussed on technology, starting off as a CD-ROM programmer to an accomplished blogger and author. Currently, he is the editor of BoingBoing, the blog on which the article was published. One of the key points he addresses in the article is derived from his advocacy for free sharing of digital media. He argues that the iPad is just another avenue for the developed technological organizations to curtail our creativity and technological freedom…’’
Read the whole sample here.
Example 2
Video Game Violence
‘’Video Game Violence Law Poses Questions,’’ is an editorial published in the V Planet magazine. The author of this controversial issue, Vance Velez opposes the Washington law involving particular forms of video game violence, which is about to be passed in the Legislature. He successfully convinces his audience that the law limits the rights of the people and hints that the masses should take a stand against it. His audience is comprised of people who favor the Washington law, concerned parents and adult video gamers that oppose the Washington law who according to him are 18 years and above…’’ Find the whole essay here.
Example 3
Not Quite a Clean Sweep: Rhetorical Strategies in Grose’s ‘’Cleaning: The Final Feminist Frontier’’
‘’A woman’s work is never done; many American women grew up with this statement and think that it is true. One of such women, author Jessica Grose, wrote ‘’Cleaning: The Final Feminist Frontier,’’ published in 2013 in the New Republic. She raises the argument that while the men in our lives recently began taking duties like childcare and cooking, cleaning still unfairly falls under the docket of women. Grose starts building her credibility with personal facts and reputable sources, revealing convincing facts and statistics, and effectively using emotional appeals. However, towards the conclusion of the article, her credibility is weakened by the attempts to appeal to the emotions of readers, thereby tainting her argument…’’
Find the rest of this sample paper at stlcc.edu.
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References
http://writingcenter.tamu.edu/Students/Handouts-Guides/Guides-%28What-Are-You-Writing-%29/Academic-Writing/Analysis/Rhetorical-Analysis
http://www.franklin.kyschools.us/Downloads/How%20to%20write%20a%20rhetorical%20analysis%20essay.pdf
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CDIQFjAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fremonths.org%2Fourpages%2Fauto%2F2006%2F8%2F20%2F1156050858242%2FSOAPS%2520strategy.doc&ei=M_qTVavrHPCQ7Aa8_ra4Aw&usg=AFQjCNGZwrsS0zFtvSsqzXJQSd1Ia6OzfA&sig2=f7nCHnk2brjAlVF7ZfmJ_g&bvm=bv.96952980,d.ZGU