AP Lang - Rhetorical Analysis

Rhetoric :: art of speaking/writing effectively, use of figures of speech and other compositional techniques, communicate message and evoke response from readers.

Message :: information, argument, reasons, evidence, data, structure

Audience :: beliefs, values, knowledge, experience

Communicator :: ethos, authority, correctness, appearance

all interconnected^^

be aware of interaction between purpose, expectation, conventions and resources of language

rhetorical analysis questions:

1. what is being said?
2. to whom?
3. how is it being said?
4. why is it being said?

How to Analyze rhetorically:

• the what
  • purpose
  • informative purpose :: casts primary emphasis on the message (textbook, manual)
  • persuasive purpose :: emphasizes the audience, because the desires end is the effect of the text on the audience (speeches, ads, sermons)
  • expressive purpose: :: emphasizes the speakers own thoughts (diary, rants)
  • literary purposes :: call for specific attention to language as an aesthetic medium (fiction, poem)
  • DON’T exist in isolation
• the how
  • strategies on how you achieve the purpose
  • devices
  • syntax
• It is NOT
  • restating the point
  • summarizing
  • stating your own opinion
  • listing rhetorical devises
• focus on what happens behind the scenes of arguments and comment of specific features

Space Cat

understanding what matters in text (SPACE)

specific features that enrich text (CAT)

@@S - speaker@@

• Who wrote this?
• what do we know about them
• does meaning change because of speaker
• do they seem knowledgeable

@@P - purpose@@

• what is the speaker trying to accomplish
• message ≠ purpose
• what are they doing for the audience

@@A - audience@@

• who is the audience
• what does the speaker assume about the audience
• how might the audience perceive the authors intentions

@@C - context@@

• what was going on in the world when this was published
• how would this be perceived in other time periods
• what social, political or economic issues are raised

@@E - exigence@@

• why is the message important
• what is the catalyst for the text

@@C - choices@@

• how are they enriching writing
• ask why
• syntax/imagery

@@A - appeals@@

• appeals to ethics/credibility (expertise)
• appeals to emotion (anecdotes)
• appeals to logic/reason (data)

@@T - tone@@

• speakers attitude
• how can we tell
• does the tone shift
• how does it affect the message

Rhetorical Choices vs devices

Choices :: verbs that express what a speaker/writer is doing

• ex. call to action, comparison, justifies

devices :: noun that expresses what a writer is using

• ex. the writer uses ==== to express %%___%%

  (==device==) (%%choice%%)

• choice creates appeal/tone

• analyze choice to introduce

instead of writing:

the author uses tone. INSTEAD → the writer sarcastically criticizes..