What is a Rhetorical Analysis Essay?
A rhetorical essay analyzes different parts of a literary work, a book, a drama, speech, or any other writing piece. Such essays focus mainly on non-fiction work and analyze it critically.
Rhetorical writing is a system of breaking down the written text into its many parts.
But before you begin to write and analyze any written text, you must critically think about the elements of the text. That requires critical thinking and examining the words used in a given text and how they influence the reader.
Did the author succeed in delivering his message? If so, what elements contributed to that success? If the intended communication lacked in any way, how did the language fall short of its intended purpose?
Examine the techniques used by the author and their effect upon the reader.
Writing a rhetorical essay requires a high degree of literacy and the ability to analyze the use of language. It also requires an awareness of the subject matter topics being discussed in the original piece, which you are reviewing.
Rhetorical Analysis Strategies for Persuasion
There are three different persuasive methods used to support the arguments made in the essay. For a greater effect, use a combination of ethos, pathos, and logos.
| Rhetorical Analysis Strategy | Explanation |
| Ethos – Relying on the author’s personal experience. | Ethos is a Greek word that means character. It focuses on the authority and the credibility of the person. For example, in advertisements, celebrities are shown using the product as they appeal to the people. |
| Pathos – Use of feelings to arouse emotions among the readers. | Pathos is a persuasion method that gets the reader to feel the emotion instead of thinking about something. It is used to trigger the audience’s emotions. |
| Logos – Use of rational and logical approach with facts, statistics, and strong arguments to convince the readers. | An essay using reasoning and logic to persuade the readers appeals to logos. |
Rhetorical Analysis Essay Outline
'How to create a rhetorical analysis essay outline?’
Like other essays, a rhetorical essay also has five paragraphs. Here is how you can write each paragraph.
Writing the Introductory Paragraph
‘How do you start a rhetorical analysis introduction?’
The introduction is an important part of any essay. It acts as a roadmap and sets the tone of the entire paper. To start a rhetorical analysis essay introduction, discuss the main ideas, goals, and purpose of the essay.
Also, include the rhetorical techniques you will use to define and analyze different concepts and ideas.
Add a Concise and Relevant Thesis Statement
‘What is a thesis statement in a rhetorical analysis essay?’
A good and engaging thesis statement will not only inform the readers about what will be discussed in the essay but will also inform them about the main idea and theme of the essay.
For a powerful thesis statement, it is important that you keep it brief and as direct as possible.
Writing the Body Paragraphs
The body is the flesh and blood that make up the entire essay. It comprises important information and arguments and answers several questions.
‘How do you start a rhetorical analysis body paragraph?’
Divide each body paragraph according to different ideas and identify the ethos, pathos, and logos in work. Each paragraph must have just one claim and evidence to support it. Talking about ethos, pathos, and logos are the cornerstones of any rhetorical analysis essay.
A rhetorical analysis essay example using ethos, pathos, and logos will help you understand how to write this type of essay.
Writing the Concluding Paragraph
‘What should the conclusion of a rhetorical analysis look like?’
To conclude a rhetorical analysis essay, summarize the main ideas and arguments mentioned throughout the essay and restate your thesis statement. Don’t forget to provide your opinion about whether or not the original text was effective.
If you need more information, go through a detailed guide about writing a rhetorical analysis essay outline.
How to Write a Rhetorical Analysis Essay Step by Step?
When you encounter something for the first time, it’s natural that you do not know anything about it. You may feel overwhelmed, but it’s completely okay. It happens, and it will settle down once you are familiar with the task at hand.
Making a rhetorical analysis essay outline involves the following sections and steps.
1. Understand Your Topic
To write a rhetorical analysis essay, you need to understand the topic and the work that you are considering. As a writer, your job is to research and analyze it from a different perspective. Then add your own explanation to it.
For the readers, it is important to reveal the rhetorical aspects of the topic and analyze them from different angles.
Something that makes literature, fiction, and nonfiction interesting is that it is usually open-ended. You can use your judgment to form the meaning of it. However, be careful that whatever you say is backed with reason and proper proof.
Instead of taking on the topic as a whole, break it into bits and pieces and deal with each section separately. Once you have divided your topic into parts, determine the relationship between different parts. Also, check how they influence the work as a whole.
A tricky part about writing rhetorical essays is choosing the right topic. If your professor was kind enough to assign a topic, you’re good to go. If not, you can head on to our essay topic generator and find compelling topics.
2. Collect Information
The next step when writing a rhetorical essay is to gather all the necessary information.
Answering these questions will provide the essential guidelines to follow as you begin your composition:
- What is the author’s goal in presenting the text?
- What are the primary ideas highlighted by the writer in the text?
- Which issue is raised by the author?
- Who is the author(s) of the text under analysis?
- What is the target audience of the author (location, age, gender)?
- How is the essential theme reflected in the text?
- Has the author successfully managed to convey the message?
- Which methods were utilized by the author to communicate the objectives?
3. Create the Rhetorical Analysis Essay Outline
Just like any other academic essay, rhetorical analysis essay structure also has an introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion.
Making an outline before writing your essay is an integral part of writing an essay. Without a strong and functional outline, you will not be able to write a good and ‘read-worthy essay. Therefore, before you start with your essay, it is important and necessary to make an outline.
4. Write the First Draft
Once you are done with choosing the topic and collecting the details, write the first draft of your essay. At this point, you should focus on getting your ideas and thoughts on paper only; perfection will come later.
5. Revise and Finalize the Draft
Go through the entire essay carefully and revise it properly. Make a checklist and make sure that your essay has everything listed in that checklist.
Many students make the mistake of submitting their essays without careful revision and proofreading. This could cost them their grade.
Following these steps, you will be able to write and submit a top essay and earn the grade of your dreams.
Rhetorical Analysis Essay Examples
Want to understand the basics of how to work with a rhetorical analysis essay? The following examples will help you with it.
Examples are great when you do not have time for extensive learning and want to learn something in less time.
For more detailed examples, visit our rhetorical examples blog.
Rhetorical Analysis Essay Topics
Here is our list of the top 10 rhetorical analysis topics to assist you in making the right choice.
- Rhetorical Analysis of "Pride And Prejudice"
- Rhetorical Analysis of “The Fault in Our Stars”
- "The Odyssey" And "Beowulf"
- The symbolism of Bullfighting In “The Sun Also Rises” by Ernest Hemingway
- Rhetorical Analysis of Presidential Sports Encomia
- Rhetorical Analysis of Symbolic Power of Sports
- Rhetorical Analysis of the use of steroids
- Rhetorical Analysis of the Commercials and the Media“Electronic Media and Culture” Rhetorical AnalysisEnvironment and Consumerism Analysis
Rhetorical Analysis Essay Tips
Here are some tips that will help you write better rhetorical analysis essays.
- Don’t focus on proving your point; rather, analyze the text.
- If given a choice, choose a topic that you are confident about.
- Write your essay in the present tense.
- Create an outline beforehand and stay close to it.
- Use credible sources from the text and other credible sources.
- Use correct transitions.
- Avoid jargon and overly difficult language.
- Use appropriate vocabulary and make sure that you do not use overly informal language in it.
- Recheck the paper once you are done writing.
- Edit and fix the mistakes.
Following these tips will help you plan and write your rhetorical analysis essay easily and in less time.
Find the Right Professional Help!
Looking for professional essay writing service? The writing professionals at 5StarEssays.com are here to help you with your essays and other kinds of assignments.
When you work with us, you’re always guaranteed 100% original research and error-free original writing.
Feel free to contact us in case of any queries or questions - because we are here for you!
