Tips on Writing Rhetorical Analysis
Identify the main point, idea or purpose, state it clearly!!
e.g Thoreau encourages the reader to live life with passion.
Do not use information from the prompt to pad your first paragraph!
Avoid summarizing!!
Do not use useless phases like:
...keeps the reader's interest
...uses good syntax
...to keep your attention
...uses excellent rhetorical strategies
For every strategy mentioned, give an example (short quotes or implicit examples)
e.g. Oats uses savage imagery such as "stalks," "killing," "crunching," to introduce her theme.
Connect every strategy to the author's idea or main point
e.g. Oats uses violent imagery such as "crunching," "bites," and splitting," in order to foreshadow her point at the end that people shouldn't take life for granted but live in
appreciation realizing life is fleeting.
or
e.g. Words such as "bite," "killing," and "splitting" foreshadow the intensity of her purpose.
Avoid Passive Voice!
Keep in Mind tone is the unifying emotional content of a piece of writing.
Tone is one of the most common terms used in rhetorical analysis. Often it is the most difficult concept to apprehend and analyze.
Here are a list of words which essayists use to describe various kinds and shades of tone:
The writer or narrator:
evokes, elicits, manipulates, consoles, alludes to, twists, ignites, suggests, encourages, hints at, creates, depicts, conveys, juxtaposes, portrays, differentiates, maintains, implies, connotes, explains, elucidates, emphasizes, enunciates, clarifies, repudiates, refutes, tackles, compares, shifts, changes, invokes, alters, describes, paints, delineates, produces, explores, masters, transcends, enhances, reveals, asserts, inspires, dispels, constrains, construe, solidifies, stirs..
With so many choices why use these weak overused words- uses, utilizes, shows
Some common types of tone:
playful, solemn, sincere, ironic, sarcastic, satiric, cynical, informative, humorous, witty, educated, scientific
Some Tools Writers Use to Achieve Tone:
imagery. syntax, diction, comic details, facts, symbols, irony, foreshadowing, narration, description