Rhetorical Precis

Sentence #1

  • Identifies essay’s author and title, article’s date in ( )s

  • Uses some form of the verb “says'“ (claims, asserts, suggests, argues, etc) followed by “that” and the essay’s thesis (paraphrased or quoted directly)

ex:

- Malala Yousafzai in her “Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech” (2014) claims that education should be a global priority.

Sentence #2

  • Describes the author’s support for the thesis,

  • Claims usually in chronological order

  • Have as many claims as the speech/article/nonfiction offers in your sentence

ex:

- This thesis is supported through Yousafzai’s symbolic acceptance for all children who want an education, explanation that terrorist groups are threatened by education, access to it varies depending upon physical location, and offers hope for children’s education (specifically secondary) in the future.

In her speech she says something along the lines of “This award isn’t for me, it’s for those children without a voice/millions without a proper education” SYMBOLIC!!!

Sentence #3

  • Analyzes the author’s purpose using an “in order to” statement

  • Author’s point (in order to) have this impact

ex:

- Yousafzai emphasizes the importance of education in order to encourage and empower audience members to increase educational opportunities in their home countries and abroad.

Sentence #4

  • describes the essay’s intended audience and the relationship the author establishes with the audience

  • Tone is established as a result of this relationship

ex:

- In her speech, Yousafzai addresses individuals of influence, such as political and social leaders, as “brothers and sisters” and “fellow children” which establishes a cooperative and welcoming tone.

Closed Thesis - Just in case

  • Be extremely clear and cap off the precis with a closed thesis

  • You thesis, then, should explicitly state the author’s name, the author’s message, and the specific 2-4 rhetorical strategies you intended to examine in your essay

ex:

- Yousafzai underlines the importance of access to high quality education for all children through the use of repetition, allusions, rhetorical question, and anecdotes

END OF PRECIS!!!

Rhetorical Analysis - Body and Conclusion

Making a Claim

  • Claim (what is the author doing?)

  • The first sentence of your body paragraph(s) should make a claim about the strategy used ALWAYS REFER TO THE MESSAGE AND STRATEGIES YOU USED IN YOUR INTRODUCTION

Choosing Evidence

  • Evidence (how is the author doing it?)

  • Select specific textual evidence and connect it to your claim

ex:

- The words “blank,” “blank,” and “blank” to serve to (restate claim)

OR

- The structure in which he “state the structure” using specific details serves to (restate claim)

Analysis and line of reasoning

  • Analyzing is NOT summarizing

  • Find the message, purpose, or development of an argument

  • Claims, evidence, and commentary work together in the service of the argument

  • AUDIENCE (who are they? why should they care? how would they react?)

Providing Commentary

  • Commentary (what does it do?)

  • Several sentences, the bulk of your body paragraph

  • Explain the textual example in relation to the specific strategy and your initial claim

  • Consider providing more textual evidence of the strategy to advance your claim

  • Connect your claim about the strategy back to the author’s purpose as discussed in your introduction/thesis

(There is no good “formula” for this part)

Conclusion

  • “So what?”

  • Consider creating your conclusion in one or two of the following ways;

  1. Recapping your analytical points

  2. Emphasizing your line of reasoning

  3. Identifying a meaning implied by the argument

  4. *Explaining the rhetorical situation in more detail*

*4 is your best bet*

  • The conclusion is also arguably where you may be able to get the sophistication point if you do one or both of the following:

  1. Explain the significance or relevance of the writer’s rhetorical choices (given the rhetorical situation)

  2. Explaining a purpose or function of the passage’s complexities or tensions