6 Steps Writing a Rhetorical Analysis Essay Effectively

Rhetorical analysis - ooh, that sounds heavy.

Let’s first understand what a rhetorical analysis essay is. The word ‘rhetoric’ refers to the study of words writers use to communicate and influence their readers. Rhetorical analysis is nothing but analyzing a writer’s writing.

More than writing about whether you agree with the writer’s arguments, this essay asks you to dive deep into how the writer has chosen to write. It’s about dissecting the piece to determine the writing techniques used to deliver the main point or message.

This might sound stressful and confusing, but that’s what we’re here for - to break down the steps to writing a rhetorical analysis essay and help you put together an impressive, high-scoring paper.

How to Approach a Rhetorical Analysis Essay

Before jumping straight into the steps to writing a rhetorical analysis essay, it’s essential to understand how to approach such an essay and the factors you need to consider to do justice to it.

This is where the SOAPSTone strategy comes into the picture. It stands for Speaker, Occasion, Audience, Purpose, Subject, and Tone. Following this strategy helps you plan the essay and approach it organizationally.

Read on to know what each of these crucial elements constitutes and the questions you need to answer while writing a rhetorical analysis essay.

Speaker

‘Speaker’ refers to the person telling the story. Don’t mistake the author and speaker to be the same voice. In many instances, the author may choose to tell the story from the main character or the narrator’s point of view.

Questions to ask: Who is the speaker? Are the author and speaker the same? What do you know about the speaker? What assumptions can you make about him/her?

Occasion

‘Occasion’ refers to the setting or context of the piece of writing. While analyzing ‘occasion,’ there is two ways to look at it - micro and macro view. Micro is about understanding where the writing was set, while macro is about considering when the author wrote it and what the environment was like.

Questions to ask: What is the time and place of the text? What era is it set in? What are the historical events that took place then? What details are mentioned about the social or political climate? How does the environment influence the text?

Audience

As the name suggests, ‘audience’ asks you to consider who the text is directed to. The audience of a text can range from a particular person to a group of people.

Questions to ask: Who is the audience? Does the speaker define the audience? What do you know about the audience? What assumptions can you make? Why was the text written for that specific audience?

Purpose

Establishing the purpose means analyzing why the author has written that piece of text and understanding the message he/she wants to deliver through it.

Questions to ask: What is the purpose of the author? Has he/she made the purpose or goal of writing clear? How does the author choose to convey the main message? How does the text make you feel? What is the effect the author intends to have on his/her readers?

Subject

‘Subject’ is the underlying message or the main topic of the text - you should be able to explain that in a few words.

Questions to ask: What is the main idea or topic? What does the author reveal about the subject? What is the underlying message? When is the issue revealed? How does the author present the subject?

Tone

‘Tone’ refers to the attitude of the author, which is usually reflected in the choice of words, imagery, sentence structure, and other literary devices he/she uses.

Questions to ask: What words does the author use? What is the author’s attitude towards the readers and subject? What is the author’s point of view? What emotions are you left with after reading the text? What are the literary tools the author uses to set the tone?

Here’s a video by Snap Language which articulates how you can accurately interpret the author’s tone

6 Simple Steps to Write an Effective Rhetorical Analysis Essay

Once you have analyzed each of the above elements, gathered the answers, and made your notes, it gets easier to begin the writing process.

So, let’s get started. Here’s how you can write an effective rhetorical analysis essay in six simple steps.

Determine the Persuasion Strategy

According to Aristotle, any spoken or written communication that intends to persuade the audience contains three elements - ethos, pathos, and logos.

It’s important to be aware of these modes of persuasion because it aids in the analysis and helps identify the rhetorical appeals the author uses to convince the audience:

Ethos appeals to ethics and is used to convince the reader of the author’s credibility. An author would use this mode to justify his/her stance and exhibit how moral or reliable he/she is:

E.g., “I am confident that you gentlemen will review without passion the evidence you have heard, come to a decision, and restore this defendant to his family. In the name of God, do your duty.” - To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee.

Pathos appeals to emotions and is meant to evoke an emotional response in the reader:

E.g., “He had meant the best in the world, and been treated like a dog—like a very dog. She would be sorry someday—maybe when it was too late. Ah, if he could only die temporarily!” - The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Mark Twain.

Logos appeals to logic and aims to convince the reader through logical reasoning and facts:

E.g., “Crafty men condemn studies, simple men admire them, and wise men use them; for they teach not their use; but that is wisdom without them, and above them, won by observation.” - Of Studies, Francis Bacon.

Do note that the author can use more than one mode of persuasion in the text. While explaining your analysis, you need to point out which ones the author used while explaining the reasons behind them and determining if he/she was influential in persuading.

Actively Read Multiple Times

The first critical step to writing a rhetorical analysis essay is actively reading the text you’re analyzing thoroughly because all the research you need to do and the answers you want to lie there.

The best way to read is to go paragraph-wise, have the list of SOAPSTone questions by your side and answer them as you go. Don’t rely on one or two readings - you should give it multiple reads to analyze it effectively.

Remember - you are reading to analyze and evaluate, which means digging deep, making notes, focusing on the author’s writing techniques, and taking note of patterns if any.

Formulate a Clear Thesis Statement

Just like other academic essays, even a rhetorical analysis essay requires a well-defined thesis statement. This statement should reflect your stance or interpretation of the text. You need to essentially answer how effective the writer was in convincing the readers and/or meeting his/her goal.

Your thesis statement needs to be included towards the end of the introductory paragraph but it’s a good idea to start by crafting the thesis statement because that’s what forms the skeleton of your paper and gives your writing direction.

Make sure you write an arguable and precise thesis statement which you will need to justify and prove in the following paragraphs with evidence and examples from the text.

Watch this interesting video by Cruz Medina on formulating a thesis statement for rhetorical analysis essays

Create an Outline

Making an outline of the essay before writing is integral. It ensures your arguments flow logically and you don’t miss out on anything. So, spend some time putting together the outline and jotting down your points in the respective sections.

Here are the three main sections of a rhetorical analysis essay

Introduction

The introductory paragraph needs to begin with introducing the text you’re analyzing and details on the author. It’s a good idea to include a crisp summary, just in case, your instructor is unaware of what it’s about.

You should then mention the modes of persuasion used by the author and touch upon the SOAPStone elements in the text. This paragraph needs to define your purpose of analysis and end with a thesis statement.

Body

Being the majority of the paper, it’s in this section where you need to justify your arguments with the help of examples. In the body paragraphs, you need to elaborate on the persuasion appeals and comprehensively analyze the literary devices, methods, and strategies used by the writer.

It’s a good idea to devote one paragraph to each mode of persuasion. Remember to use a lot of quotes and excerpts to support your arguments.

Here’s a helpful tip - go in chronological order while writing the essay. That way, you can present your insights as they appear in the original text.

Conclusion

The concluding paragraph needs to tie everything together. Don’t just repeat your thesis - rephrase it to reinstate the point you’re trying to make. You can also end with how the writer’s work has impacted the audience or society.

Use the Appropriate Writing Style

Apart from the rhetorical strategies you need to use, it’s essential to stay true to grammar rules and use the right words to create an exciting read.

Maintain an objective tone in your writing, write in the third person and stick to the present tense. Don’t make the mistake of being overly critical without proper reasoning. Ensure you analyze the text and give enough supporting evidence instead of summarizing or merely stating your point of view.

Edit and Proofread your Work

Lastly, don’t forget to edit and proofread your work before submitting it. You need to ensure you’re submitting an error and plagiarism-free paper.

So, please give it a few reads to see whether you’ve covered all the points, not made any silly mistakes and that your paper flows logically.

9 Mistakes to Avoid Writing a Rhetorical Analysis Essay

Now that you know how to approach a rhetorical analysis essay, let’s look at the nine common mistakes students make while writing such an essay.

Neglecting the thesis statement

Your rhetorical analysis essay's thesis statement plays a crucial role and should be stated clearly at the end of your introduction paragraph.

All the arguments and claims made in the essay to prove a point should eventually tie everything back to the thesis statement.

Neglecting to add your thesis statement as the main argument in the introduction and the entire essay will make your readers lose the point of reading the essay and the will to understand what your paper is all about.

Moreover, there would be no firm statement to tie all your claims and arguments back to while writing your analysis essay.

Crafting a complex essay

Sometimes students fall into the trap of creating complicated structures for their essays, thinking that the complexity will bring them the applause they deserve.

This is incorrect because your analysis essay is required to be simple and easy to understand so that the readers can digest and decipher the content of the essay without any problems. It is expected for the students to present the message of the rhetorical essay in a clear and easy-to-read format.

To avoid making this error:

• restrict extra phrases, words, and other fluff that can confuse your readers;
• adhere to the main points and arguments of the essay;
• avoid straying into too many topics and multiple viewpoints;
• create a clear, well-structured outline for the construction of the essay.

Avoid extreme views or opinions

Avoid writing your rhetorical analysis essays using extreme terms and controversial opinions when opposing views are being analyzed.

This harsh language and expressions can immediately put off your readers and showcase the writer as attacking the opposite side instead of valuing the opposing arguments' ideas and not being able to partake in a healthy, well-thought-out debate.

Getting your readers to understand your arguments without any complication will require the writer to add simple, well-researched points that engage with the ideas and the thought process involved in the difference of opinions for both sides of the essay.

Incorrect formatting

An essay is not always about the content. No matter how much you work on the content, if the formatting of your essay is not correct, it can bring down the entire quality of your essay and make you look unprofessional. There are also a few ways you can avoid incorrect formatting:

• choose a consistent and proper format and style of writing;
• be careful about font size, page numbers, margins, and line spacing.

Additionally, it is crucial to know how to format and cite your resources and evidence. This way, your readers can easily refer to the indented resources without having to repeatedly go back to the essay’s bibliography to find a specific source for a particular statement.

Unable to answer key questions

An analysis essay aims to dive deep into crucial questions raised while brainstorming about the basic ideas that involved the main argument. This is then used to write the thesis statement correctly and understand the aim of the essay.

Finally, these fundamental questions should be analyzed thoroughly to craft a clear and specific essay.

Sometimes the writer forgets to adhere to the main questions and delves into other issues. That is why you must disclose your thought process behind the central theme and the key questions.

No transitions between paragraphs

Each paragraph in a rhetorical analysis essay is separate and has its arguments and claims.

These essays should be formatted in such a way as well, but that does not necessarily mean that these paragraphs should sound like two different essays or have no connection and transitions between the two sections.

Make sure to frame your essay in a coherent, flowing manner that gives your readers smoother readability. In addition to that, use transition words or phrases such as:

• on the contrary
• however
• furthermore
• besides
• similarly
• above all
• at any rate
• therefore
• for this purpose
• in particular
• and more

Grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors

The primary thing to avoid when writing a rhetorical analysis essay or any other academic paper is having minimal to no grammar or punctuation, or spelling mistakes.

Think about it: you research for days and craft a thorough rhetorical essay only to fail because it is riddled with spelling and multiple grammatical errors.

Additionally, when professors see these errors in your essay right at the beginning, they no longer need to read the rest of your essay or have any interest in reading the content that makes up your paper. Thus, your essay gets sidelined, and your effort is failed.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is a strict no when writing your essays and other academic papers. Citing someone else’s work as your own is not only cheating. Still, it is also very unethical, and no teachers or professors would allow a student to write a plagiarized essay or request good grades for plagiarized work.

It's advisable to:

• never use an exact quotation in your essay and make it seem like your own sentence;
• always cite your sources and links;
• make sure to use the idea behind the writing and not the exact sentences;
• cite your work from primary or secondary sources like scientific papers, works of literature, and other notable reading materials;
• follow the correct format for citing your sources.

Conclusion

We understand how taxing this assignment can turn out to be because it requires you to write impeccably and wholly understand rhetorical strategies, literary devices, and other writing techniques.

So, follow these six steps to writing a rhetorical analysis essay, avoid the common mistakes, and you’re sure to get the scores you desire!

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