Rhetorical Analysis Essay Tips

What will be your line of reasoning?

• Each part of your LOR will be how the author accomplishes each part of their LOR

• Author: Prisons are bad because they are cruel and profit-based

• Yours: The author uses strategy 1 and strategy 2 in order to convince their audience that prisons are cruel and profit-based

Intro Format

• Hook: Imagery or a broad, entertaining statement (In the United States, Democracy is a value at the center of its culture)

• Bridge: Relate the hook to the context

• Context: Introduce the author and the issue at hand

• Thesis: Author, 3 strategies, the purpose that is formed with them and the audience, and the author’s LOR

  • Smith uses guided reasoning with repetition, an appeal to pathos with melancholy diction, and deductive reasoning in order to convince an inexperienced audience of young diplomats that child labor is necessary as it promotes strong work ethic early on and relieves adults.

  • In the bodies you’ll be proving in each step of your LOR how these strategies specifically prove each component of the author’s own LOR

  • Bolded are going to be part of your topic sentences (the third will be a continuation of one of them, whichever category the quotes fit into)

Body format

• Topic Sentence (strat + part of LOR it achieves)

• SPA

  • Strategy (specific example)

  • How it connects to overall purpose

  • Audience (anywhere after the example, how the audience is swayed by the example/strat towards the purpose + any smoke/oxygen

    • purpose can also be general concepts that can lead the audience to the purpose

  • Hettinger analysis = Verb + how it affects the audience + how it demonstrates purpose

• Transition

• SPA

  • Author uses sorrowful phrases such as “the gloom and sorrow of the adult worker’s day”

  • By illustrating the average adult worker as painfully affected by his work, Smith invokes sympathy among his young audience that will err towards respecting their elders (oxygen), thus moving them towards the purpose that child labor relieves adult workers.

• Closing + connection to topic

• Never forget to mention the audience and specifically explain how the evidence ties to the part of your thesis (topic sentence)

Don’t forget to use…

special punctuation + at least one semicolon!

If you struggle to make use of 2 independent clauses, don’t worry as long as you have two somewhat related clauses you’re fine for now

Topic sentences

• Transition from the previous paragraph that establishes the flow of the LOR

• Quick reference to part of overall purpose

• Specific strategy

• “Having connected child labor to honor and respect, Smith then attempts to glorify it as a contributor to work ethic by using deductive reasoning through a definition of what it means to raise a child.” (notice how strategy is more explained here)

When writing body paragraphs (extremely important)

• Don’t always follow the formula (by using (x), having done, etc.) it could actually hurt your timing

• Remember, short sentences can work if they are impactful enough

• (strategy section for deduction). Since the instilling of a strong work ethic is a supposedly quintessential part of raising a child, Smith pushes his audience (who may still be childless at their age) to consider the benefits child labor would have towards developing their character, thus bringing them closer to Smith’s argument that this form of labor can be a beneficial part of their childhood. Good parents give their child strong lessons; a lesson which a young audience would be especially desperate to accept.

  • The underlined is the “trick analysis” in which you may be tempted to think you’ve connected to the thesis, but you’re only half way there

  • The bold is the final, true connection to the part of the LOR, even bringing in punctuation, a strong short sentence, and the audience

  • Notice the lack of “by using strategy…” and “which demonstrates…”

Before starting the essay….

READ THE PROMPT

• closed prompts require you to frame your LOR around it, but don’t just restate it.

  • what does the author say about kansan values

  • “author uses……to convince audience that kansans are a strong-willed, determined people due to their traditional values and care for each other.”

Conclusion

Summarize the broader argument, where the author failed or succeeded, how is it relevant in the modern day

Do this ONLY IF the body is solid, this is extra

What 3 things should you do before writing?

In no more than 10 minutes…

• read and understand article

• Extract purpose, 3 components (claims) of an overall LOR

• 3 strategies for each part of the LOR and 2 evidence for each one (6 total)

When forming your purpose and reading the prompt…

• Yes, consider what the prompt says directly, open or closed, etc. but…

• READ the WHOLE prompt! This includes that prelude before the actual prompt which can reveal possible conflict/what the author’s main debate is

  • “At a time when Northerners were debating allowing African-Americans into the army…” —> This implies that while yes, the author is trying to invoke this idea of Toussaint’s exceptionalism, it’s actually just his message whose main goal to convince the audience that African Americans are strong fighters too and etc.

• Especially for this case, know the difference between message and purpose, and make sure you’re not mistakenly using this message without a purpose, otherwise it’s like the author is making this grandiose point for no reason