Module 2 - Week 3The Rhetorical Analysis Essay & SEE paragraph

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The Standard Essay

Standard American academic essays begin with an introductory paragraph, which includes a hook and provides a thesis statement. Background – author presents background information, and historical information, to help readers understand the issue. This information may include personal stories essential to the argument.

The body paragraphs begin with topic sentences, the supporting points relate to the thesis, and then unfold with supporting details to provide evidence for those points. Lines of Argument—refers to the use of logical, ethical, and emotional appeals used to support the author’s reasoning. Alternative Arguments—writer presents opposing views and the advantages and disadvantages of these views.

The concluding paragraph reinforces and summarizes the thesis and main points addressed in the essay. The conclusion may leave the reader with a final thought, ask the reader to consider future ramifications of the information, and provide a call to action.

The Rhetorical Analysis Essay - Purpose and Structure

“The purpose of a rhetorical analysis is to lead readers [usually an academic audience] through a careful examination of the text to some kind of interpretation or reasoned judgement…” (Bullock, Brody, & Weinberg 49)

Introduction – Attention Grabber, Speaker, Subject, Purpose and Audience

A writer will often begin a text with an introductory technique that hooks the reader’s attention. The introduction will also contains the author’s main claim. Some texts call the main claim a “thesis” and supporting reasons “supporting claims.” It is the same idea. It can also include ethical appeals – showing common interests or values with the audience. A writer can continue working to align himself/herself with the audience throughout an argument, but this is especially important as an introductory element. You introduce the subject in a thoughtful and interesting manner.

Make sure to name the author, their credentials, title of the text, publication date, the author’s topic and stance. Include background information that describes the author’s purpose, their “persuasive intentions” (Lunsford, Ruszkiewicz 90), the style in which the message is conveyed to the intended audience, and the techniques used to convince the audience. The thesis statement could center around an evaluative claim about the effectiveness of the work.

Body

The body paragraphs contain a detailed analysis of how the argument works, evidence for every part of the analysis and explanation of how the rhetorical strategies help to or hinder the writer from achieving their purpose and reaching the audience. Make sure to discuss the text in the order the author presented their points.

Each Body Paragraph Should Utilize the SEE Structure

Statement: Identify rhetorical strategies, patterns, techniques, styles used in that section
Evidence: Include exact quotes from the text that illustrate the strategies
Evaluation: Provide an assessment of how the strategies help to or hinder the writer from achieve their purpose and reach the audience:

Example See Paragraph: Schwartz opens the article with an emotional appeal and anecdote about the benefits of periodic vacations from work. (Statement) He explains that during the first few weeks of his summer vacation he didn’t do anything except spend time with family. He described that, “Each day, I felt a little more rejuvenated, much the way you sense your strength returning after an illness.” (para. 3) Deeper into his story, Schwartz found himself drawn back to thinking about work and, “. . . I had time to truly reflect and think strategically rather than tactically.” (para. 5) (Evidence) The time away provided a reset physically and mentally, and he was able to focus on returning to work with more drive and purpose. The use of this story supports his theory that time away from work benefits employers with refreshed, happier employees. (Evaluation)

Conclusion – An author might summarize main points in conclusion, but will most often save one of their best reasons and/or evidence for last. They may try to leave readers with a strong image in their minds. Depending on their purpose (do they want readers to understand, to agree, or act?), the conclusion might be a call to action – or a plea for readers to think carefully. Ethical and emotional appeals are often strong in conclusions – but there are no hard rules on this. An author might pose a solution to the controversy (or a small part of it) in this section of the argument. The concluding paragraph is your opportunity to sum up the main points about the author’s argument and illustrate the importance of the patterns and techniques you analyzed in the work. Remind your readers of the context of the argument and restate your thesis using a different form of the original statement.

Rhetorical Analysis: Persuasive Appeals

Everything’s an Argument Chapters 2, 3, & 4

Once you have gathered information about the author, their credentials, and their purpose for writing, you are ready to begin examining the strategies the author used to appeal to the intended audience.

Rhetorical Appeals: Ethos, Pathos, Logos

Writers use rhetorical appeals to get a point across and to influence their readers. There are three main appeals- pathos, ethos, and logos. Pathos appeals are emotional appeals meant to persuade an audience by appealing to their emotions. Many political and social debates are centered around “passionate claims”. In current society, logos (logical) appeals are highly valued. Logos appeals utilize sound reasoning and often cite statistics, case studies, and research. The ethos appeal is an appeal to ethics. This appeal points to the writer’s credibility and credentials. A solid argument will generally include various appeals within its text, sometimes even within the same paragraph.

Emotional appeals (Pathos)

Building Bridges: Authors address emotionally sensitive topics “to connect with readers and assure them that they understand their experiences or ‘feel their pain’”. Example: “The first time I opened Peter Singer’s Animal Liberation, I was dining alone at the Palm, trying to enjoy a rib-eye steak cooked medium rare. “ Michael Pollan, “An Animal’s Place” (Lunsford, Ruszkiewicz, & Walters 33-34)
Analogies and Metaphors: Analogies, metaphors, and other figures of speech make a text more interesting and allow an author to make an emotional connection by tapping into emotions already felt by readers. Example: The skies of his future began to darken. (Darkness is a threat; therefore, this implies that the coming times are going to be hard for him.)
Similes: Similes make a description more vivid or memorable and establish a certain characteristic or emotional quality of the thing described. Example: “Watching the performance was like watching grass grow.”
Humor – Humor can be either an emotional or a logical strategy, depending on content. Personal experience can lend credibility (ethical appeal) too. Humor in writing evokes emotions such as joy and surprise, and often triggers secondary emotions such as calmness and friendship. If an audience is laughing, they are having fun. If they are having fun, they are happy to paying attention to the key points in the argument. As an added boost, humor helps an author develop a rapport with the audience.
Anecdotes: Stories are often the quickest path to the greatest emotional connection with an audience. Carefully crafted stories allow the writer to evoke a wide range of emotions.

Logical appeals (Logos)

When used correctly, logical appeal contains the following elements

Strong, clear claims • Reasonable qualifiers for claims • Warrants that are valid • Clear reasons for claims • Strong evidence (facts, statistics, personal experience, expert authority, interviews, observations, anecdotes) •Acknowledgement of the opposition
If –Then Statements: these statements are used with solid supporting evidence. For example, a speaker could argue that if a state raises the legal driving age to 18, fewer teen-related accidents and deaths will result. The speaker could then point out the obvious – fewer teens driving should mean fewer teens causing accidents – and also use statistics to support the statement.

Inductive reasoning: reasoning through specific examples/evidence to prove a general claim. The evidence given can be facts, statistics, expert opinion, anecdotes, personal testimony or other type of examples, including hypothetical examples. Some evidence is stronger or more convincing than others. Ask yourself: are the examples strong enough to convince and sufficient in number? Do the facts come from a credible source? Are sources cited?
Deductive reasoning: reasoning from truths or beliefs commonly held by the audience. (EX: Advertisements are misleading. The Verizon commercials are ads, so the Verizon commercial is misleading.
Using history or past experience to support a position or explain a concept
Addressing the opposition: Does the author anticipate objections and refute them? Acknowledge differing or opposing opinions?
Analogy: Using a metaphor to explain a concept
Compare/contrast: explaining by comparing a concept to one that is more familiar to readers. The purpose of the comparison will vary. Evaluate them individually.
Are there any logical fallacies?

Ethical appeals (Ethos)

Credibility:How does the author make himself/herself believable?
- Personal experience, research in the field, Titles (Phd., President of the United States)
- Reliance on the expertise of others: expert testimony, experiments, studies
- Dedication to the subject, thoroughness, sound reasoning, good support
- Goodwill towards audience: Does the author show that he/she has the audience’s best interests in mind? How does he/she establish and maintain a rapport with the audience?
Values: Sharing beliefs, values, cultural background and/or interests with the audience to establish rapport. An ethical appeal used to convince will appeal to moral/cultural values held by the audience ie. “family values.” Ethical appeals may stress individual commitment or group relations as the key to ethical behavior. (Ex. We must all work together to stop________ OR “Only you can prevent forest fires.”) Often an ethical appeal can be mixed up with an emotional appeal because appealing to our values often creates an emotional reaction.

Learning Outcomes

essay styles: analysis
rhetoric and reasoning: analyzing style in various texts; identifying and applying claims, supporting reasons, evidence, assumptions, and counterarguments; recognizing, analyzing, and applying ethos, logos, and pathos; identifying and avoiding logical fallacies; synthesizing of information from sources and writer’s own experience and ideas; and evaluating texts.
the writing process: invention techniques; identifying audience and purpose; thesis development; drafting: organization: outlining; organizational patterns that may include: comparison and contrast; cause and effect; classification; argument; essay development: introduction techniques; paragraph development; conclusion techniques; revision: peer review; revising for: purpose and audience; thesis and support; coherence and organization; language.