ENGL 1001 Chapter : Rhetorical Analysis Assignment Prompt 1
Rhetorical Analysis
Rough Draft Due Friday October 18th
Final Draft Due Friday November 1st
1200 Word Minimum
In this paper, you will be analyzing the rhetorical argument of a text related to your
topic. The text can be visual or written: advertisements (print, web, TV, radio), public
service announcements, opinion pieces from newspapers, political commercials, songs,
music videos, documentaries, billboards, speeches, articles, etc. You can pick any text as
long as it is closely related to your topic and it is making an argument that you can
analyze.
In addition to being well written and organized, the most successful responses to this
assignment will do the following (these are not listed in order):
• Describe the rhetorical situation (purpose and original target audience)
surrounding the text under analysis and accurately summarize the
argument presented in the text.
• Include a clear and precise thesis statement (an analytical claim with
reasons about how the text works)
• Explain and analyze how the author builds and presents his/her argument.
• Explain and analyze how the author connects with (or fails to connect with)
the audience.
• Demonstrate a sophisticated understanding of how the rhetorical triangle
is working in the text.
Tips for Doing a Rhetorical Analysis
• The first thing to do is read and study the text under analysis. Based on your
reading, you must pinpoint the argument in the text; in other words, you have to
decide what you think the author is trying to persuade the audience to think or
do.
• Then, try to develop an interesting and specific claim about the text itself. You are
not entering into this conversation via your viewpoint on the writer’s argument.
Instead you are thinking about how the text is working, what types of appeals it
relies on, what types of language it uses, how it establishes logos, ethos, and
pathos, and the ways it engages with the issue at hand. In short, you’ll need to be
rhetorical and not political as you work out your analysis.
• Next, identify those places in the text that speak directly to your thesis. What
parts of the essay make you argue what you’re arguing in your analysis? How and
why did they make you come to your claim or conclusion? At this point you might
also want to think about organization. How might you best incorporate these
points into your rhetorical analysis? In what order should they go?
• Then, start writing. In a formal essay, you’ll probably begin with an engaging
introduction that also includes your very specific thesis statement. (For example,
Document Summary
In this paper, you will be analyzing the rhetorical argument of a text related to your topic. The text can be visual or written: advertisements (print, web, tv, radio), public service announcements, opinion pieces from newspapers, political commercials, songs, music videos, documentaries, billboards, speeches, articles, etc. You can pick any text as long as it is closely related to your topic and it is making an argument that you can analyze. Tips for doing a rhetorical analysis: the first thing to do is read and study the text under analysis. You are not entering into this conversation via your viewpoint on the writer"s argument. In short, you"ll need to be rhetorical and not political as you work out your analysis: next, identify those places in the text that speak directly to your thesis. At this point you might also want to think about organization. In what order should they go: then, start writing.
