Writing a Rhetorical Analysis Essay

A rhetorical essay is a piece of academic writing in which a writer should analyze a specific text in terms of its rhetorical meaning. Being assigned this task, analyzing the meaning of arguments an author provides is not required. What is more important is that these arguments are delivered.

In a rhetorical essay, special attention is given to the techniques with which the text is delivered, the purpose of writing, and the success of influencing the audience. Thus, when writing such essays, you will focus more on literary devices, text rhythm, and the visual side of the text. And we will help you with that. So please read our article below to prepare for writing a rhetorical essay. 

What Is a Rhetorical Analysis?

A rhetorical essay is a type of essay that indicates the author’s expertise in making an impact on the audience with the help of different techniques. The goal of rhetorical analysis is to analyze the creator’s success in delivering the message. Simply put, you should estimate the writer’s text and how he writes it. The Context of the piece of writing becomes less important than how it is written. 

You can conduct rhetorical analysis on different kinds of texts:

• A piece of literature
• Someone’s speech
• An article
• An ad
• A political cartoon
• A show or play

Unless your teacher or professor already chooses the piece of writing, you can choose any text you are eager to dig into in your rhetorical essay. 

How to Write a Rhetorical Analysis Essay: Main Points to Remember

In a structured rhetorical essay, there are some new points you, as a writer, should be acquainted with. These concepts will help you to analyze the text correctly. 

The Rhetorical Triangle

Also known as appeals, these points are used to build a strategy to convince and persuade people. They are also used to cause a specific reaction from the audience. Here they are.

Logos

It would be best if you used logical appeal when you want to convince the reader strongly. It can be any data, statistics, or facts that will serve as solid evidence.

Pathos

Pathos appeal stands for evoking emotions. When using this instrument, a writer can create emotional contact with the reader by describing the scenes in a very realistic way or sharing intimate details. 

Ethos

This part of the rhetorical triangle is responsible for demonstrating the author’s credibility. For example, if the text is devoted to a medical issue, the author can increase credibility by mentioning that the author is a doctor. 

Text

A text itself is not necessarily crucial for a rhetorical analysis essay. Moreover, you can choose text that has fewer words or even an image. The most important element you would care about in your rhetorical analysis is the visual side of the text.

The same goes for the Context of the text. You wouldn’t think about the plot or the characters. Instead, you would analyze it from the point of the audience’s perspective. What is the target audience for this text? How would they react to that piece of writing? Or what is the purpose of the text? These and other questions will help to build a thorough rhetorical analysis. 

Other Instruments

Even though in a rhetorical essay, you don’t have to create arguments and counterarguments to support an idea, you still have to use specific instruments to make your analysis sound professional and reasonable. Here these instruments are. 

Claims

A claim is an idea or an argument in which you state the main points of your analysis. For example, there might be a single claim in a rhetorical essay or some of them. 

Supports

These are the instruments that support your claim. They refer to evidence or solid facts that convince the readers. The support can also be emotional. 

Warrants

A warrant works as a connector between your claim and the support. Therefore, it might be somewhat visible or not visible.

How to Start a Rhetorical Analysis Essay?

In the rhetorical essay writing process, it is important to start writing with text analysis. Moreover, you will not even be able to write anything until you go through the text and analyze it from the rhetorical perspective. So what is the purpose of writing this kind of text? What is the overall impression of reading this piece of writing? Is the author empathetic with its readers? Asking multiple questions will help you understand the text you are dealing with for writing your rhetorical essay. 

How to Write a Rhetorical Essay: Tips and Advice

In this section, you will find out how to organize your rhetorical essay writing to achieve the maximum result. 

• Do your research. Before you go to actual writing, you have to analyze your text. For that purpose, you can use the SOAPSTone technique for Speaker, Occasion, Audience, Purpose, Subject, and Tone aspects. This will help you to get the complete information. 
• Decide on the appeals. Think over the appeals that you will use in your rhetorical essay. 
• Go on with the introduction. The introductory paragraph in the rhetorical essay is the same as in other essays. This is where you have to put your thesis statement. 
• Create your rhetorical analysis body. Traditionally, it takes three paragraphs to analyze the text thoroughly. And you should focus on one detail in one paragraph accordingly. 
• Conclude your analysis. In the conclusion of the rhetorical essay, you must sum up that you discovered your argument. 
• Proofread and edit the final draft. Double-check your essay for any misspellings or other mistakes.

Write Rhetorical Analysis Essay: Final Words

A rhetorical essay is a unique piece of writing that has the purpose of describing the way of the author’s writing. And this guide will be of much help for you to write your rhetorical essay excellently. 

FAQ

How to start a rhetorical analysis essay?

In the rhetorical essay, the very first step belongs to the text analysis. So before you start writing an initial draft, you have to choose a piece of writing and analyze it. Then, when you ask yourself different questions, you will be ready to start a rhetorical essay. 

How long should a rhetorical analysis essay be?

There is no ideal rhetorical essay length. It depends on how deeply you wish to reveal your topic. Also, there might be length requirements from your school or college which you should obey.

How to structure a rhetorical analysis essay?

Make sure to include the following structural parts in your rhetorical essay:

• Introduction
• Three or more body paragraphs
• Conclusion

How to write a good rhetorical analysis essay?

An excellent rhetorical essay shows the purpose of the author’s writing, demonstrates the apples, consists of claims, supports, and warrants, and describes the techniques the creator used. 

How to conclude a rhetorical analysis essay?

There is nothing exceptional in rhetorical essay writing. As in other types of essays, you must summarize your writing by linking to your thesis statement. In addition, you should support your claims, so the readers get your idea as logically finished.