Wingate Rhetorical Analysis

Rhetorical Analysis

It's not what you say, it's HOW you say it!!!

​I CAN...

• determine the author's purpose of a piece.

• understand that how the author chooses to organize and present his ideas greatly impacts and supports the purpose of the piece.

​The difference between a Literary Analysis and a Rhetorical Analysis is...

• Literary analysis often concerns the ideas and themes in work.

• Rhetorical analysis is a way to examine other aspects: the elements involved, the techniques used, the context for the writing, and the author's overall stance.

​So, let's focus on rhetorical analysis...

​Rhetorical Analysis Introduction

All authors write for a purpose.

An author’s purpose may be to persuade, inform, entertain (easy as PIE), or some combination of reasons. Analyzing how an author achieves that purpose through the use of language, or rhetoric, is called a rhetorical analysis.

​
How do you complete a Rhetorical Analysis?

When you complete a rhetorical analysis, you will identify one or more rhetorical strategies the author uses and explore the possible effects those strategies have on the reader. To do this, you will need to provide examples and evidence of rhetorical devices (such as repetition, allusion, or analogy) and rhetorical appeals (logos, pathos, or ethos) from the text. These examples and evidence can be used to evaluate how effectively an author achieves his or her purpose.

Multiple Choice

Information that appeals to the reader's emotions is

• ethos

• pathos

• logos

Multiple Choice

Information that appeals to the reader's credibility is...

• ethos

• pathos

• logos

Multiple Choice

Information that appeals to logic is...

• ethos

• pathos

• logos

So, which is it???

Practice labeling the appeal on the next three slides as an appeal to ethos, pathos, or logos.

Multiple Choice

"Research compiled by analysts from NASA, as well as organizations from five other nations with space programs, suggests that a moon colony is viable with international support."

This is an example of which type of rhetorical device?

• ethos

• pathos

• logos

Multiple Choice

A teenager tries to convince his parents to buy him a new car by saying if they cared about their child's safety they'd upgrade him.

• ethos

• pathos

• logos

Multiple Choice

9 out of 10 dentists recommend Crest toothpaste.

• ethos

• pathos

• logos

​
Vocabulary

• purpose - the reason for or goal of doing something

• rhetoric - the art of speaking and writing persuasively

• rhetorical analysis - analyzing how an author achieves his or her purpose through the use of rhetoric

​
In order to complete an effective rhetorical analysis, do the following:

• Determine the author’s purpose

• Identify the author’s central argument or idea in the text

• Identify rhetorical appeals, or types of persuasion - logos, ethos, pathos

​Some rhetorical devices that authors use to strengthen their arguments include:

1. simile/metaphor-comparison between two different things that resemble each other in at least one way

2. allusions-short, informal reference to a significant person, place, event or idea

3. irony-using words to express something other than, especially the opposite of, the literal meaning

4. sarcasm-the use of irony to mock or ridicule someone

5. repetition-using the same word or group of words

6. rhetorical question-using a thought-provoking question asked for effect with no answer expected

7. parallelism-crafting sentences so that items are placed in comparable grammatical structures

Answer the questions on the following slides to determine the type of rhetorical strategy used by the author.

Multiple Choice

Excerpt from Alice in Wonderland

“Take some more tea,” the March Hare said to Alice, very earnestly.

“I’ve had nothing yet, “ Alice replied in an offended tone, “so I can’t take any more.”

“You mean you can’t take less,” said the Hatter: “it’s very easy to take more than nothing.”

“Nobody asked your opinion,” said Alice.

“Who’s making personal remarks now?” the Hatter asked triumphantly.

What rhetorical device is included in the excerpt above? Focus on the section that is italicized and underlined.

• allusion

• rhetorical question

• parallelism

• simile

Multiple Choice

"And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting"

• allusion

• metaphor

• repetition

• logos

Multiple Choice

"I can’t get changed that quickly, I’m not Superman!”

• simile

• rhetorical question

• irony

• allusion

Multiple Choice

"Like father, like son"

• repetition

• pathos

• parallelism

• allusion

​Now, think about these rhetorical techniques as you read Patrick Henry's speech, "Give Me Liberty, or Give Me Death!" in Common Lit.