# data[].attributes.body
Early Dismissal

# data[].attributes.headline
Essay Prompt & Rhetorical Analysis How-to

# data[].attributes.subject
Essay Prompt & Rhetorical Analysis How-to

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A rhetorical analysis is a type of essay that looks at a text in terms of rhetoric. This means it is less concerned with what the author is saying than with how they say it: their goals, techniques, and appeals to the audience.

A rhetorical analysis is structured similarly to other essays: an introduction presenting the thesis, a body analyzing the text directly, and a conclusion to wrap up. This article defines some key rhetorical concepts and provides tips on how to write a rhetorical analysis.

Key concepts in rhetoric

Rhetoric, the art of effective speaking and writing, is a subject that trains you to look at texts, arguments and speeches in terms of how they are designed to persuade the audience. This section introduces a few of the key concepts of this field.

Appeals: Logos, ethos, pathos

Appeals are how the author convinces their audience. Three central appeals are discussed in rhetoric, established by the philosopher Aristotle and sometimes called the rhetorical triangle: logos, ethos, and pathos.

Logos, or the logical appeal, refers to the use of reasoned argument to persuade. This is the dominant approach in academic writing, where arguments are built up using reasoning and evidence.

Ethos, or the ethical appeal, involves the author presenting themselves as an authority on their subject. For example, someone making a moral argument might highlight their own morally admirable behavior; someone speaking about a technical subject might present themselves as an expert by mentioning their qualifications.

Pathos, or the pathetic appeal, evokes the audience's emotions. This might involve speaking in a passionate way, employing vivid imagery, or trying to provoke anger, sympathy, or any other emotional response in the audience.

These three appeals are all treated as integral parts of rhetoric, and a given author may combine all three of them to convince their audience.

Text and context

In rhetoric, a text is not necessarily a piece of writing (though it may be this). A text is whatever piece of communication you are analyzing. This could be, for example, a speech, an advertisement, or a satirical image.

In these cases, your analysis would focus on more than just language-you might look at visual or sonic elements of the text too.

The context is everything surrounding the text: Who is the author (or speaker, designer, etc.)? Who is their (intended or actual) audience? When and where was the text produced, and for what purpose?

Looking at the context can help to inform your rhetorical analysis. For example, Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech has universal power, but the context of the civil rights movement is an important part of understanding why.

Claims, supports, and warrants

A piece of rhetoric is always making some sort of argument, whether it's a very clearly defined and logical one (e.g. in a philosophy essay) or one that the reader has to infer (e.g. in a satirical article). These arguments are built up with claims, supports, and warrants.

A claim is the fact or idea the author wants to convince the reader of. An argument might center on a single claim, or be built up out of many. Claims are usually explicitly stated, but they may also just be implied in some kinds of text.

The author uses supports to back up each claim they make. These might range from hard evidence to emotional appeals-anything that is used to convince the reader to accept a claim.

The warrant is the logic or assumption that connects a support with a claim. Outside of quite formal argumentation, the warrant is often unstated-the author assumes their audience will understand the connection without it. But that doesn't mean you can't still explore the implicit warrant in these cases.

For example, look at the following statement:

Rhetorical statement
Neither candidate was well liked; voter turnout in the election was very low.

We can see a claim and a support here, but the warrant is implicit. Here, the warrant is the assumption that more likeable candidates would have inspired greater turnout. We might be more or less convinced by the argument depending on whether we think this is a fair assumption.

Analyzing the text

Rhetorical analysis isn't a matter of choosing concepts in advance and applying them to a text. Instead, it starts with looking at the text in detail and asking the appropriate questions about how it works:

What is the author's purpose?

Do they focus closely on their key claims, or do they discuss various topics?

What tone do they take-angry or sympathetic? Personal or authoritative? Formal or informal?

Who seems to be the intended audience? Is this audience likely to be successfully reached and convinced?

What kinds of evidence are presented?

By asking these questions, you'll discover the various rhetorical devices the text uses. Don't feel that you have to cram in every rhetorical term you know-focus on those that are most important to the text.

The following sections show how to write the different parts of a rhetorical analysis.

Introducing your rhetorical analysis

Like all essays, a rhetorical analysis begins with an introduction. The introduction tells readers what text you'll be discussing, provides relevant background information, and presents your thesis statement.

Hover over different parts of the example below to see how an introduction works.

Rhetorical analysis introduction

Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech is widely regarded as one of the most important pieces of oratory in American history. Delivered in 1963 to thousands of civil rights activists outside the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., the speech has come to symbolize the spirit of the civil rights movement and even to function as a major part of the American national myth. This rhetorical analysis argues that King's assumption of the prophetic voice, amplified by the historic size of his audience, creates a powerful sense of ethos that has retained its inspirational power over the years.

The body: Doing the analysis

The body of your rhetorical analysis is where you'll tackle the text directly. It's often divided into three paragraphs, although it may be more in a longer essay.

Each paragraph should focus on a different element of the text, and they should all contribute to your overall argument for your thesis statement.

Hover over the example to explore how a typical body paragraph is constructed.

Rhetorical analysis body paragraph

Concluding a rhetorical analysis

The conclusion of a rhetorical analysis wraps up the essay by restating the main argument and showing how it has been developed by your analysis. It may also try to link the text, and your analysis of it, with broader concerns.

Explore the example below to get a sense of the conclusion.

Rhetorical analysis conclusion

It is clear from this analysis that the effectiveness of King's rhetoric stems less from the pathetic appeal of his utopian "dream" than it does from the ethos he carefully constructs to give force to his statements. By framing contemporary upheavals as part of a prophecy whose fulfillment will result in the better future he imagines, King ensures not only the effectiveness of his words in the moment but their continuing resonance today. Even if we have not yet achieved King's dream, we cannot deny the role his words played in setting us on the path toward it.

Other interesting articles

If you want to know more about AI tools, college essays, or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

Frequently asked questions about rhetorical analysis

Logos appeals to the audience's reason, building up logical arguments. Ethos appeals to the speaker's status or authority, making the audience more likely to trust them. Pathos appeals to the emotions, trying to make the audience feel angry or sympathetic, for example.

Collectively, these three appeals are sometimes called the rhetorical triangle. They are central to rhetorical analysis, though a piece of rhetoric might not necessarily use all of them.

What are claims, supports, and warrants?

In rhetorical analysis, a claim is something the author wants the audience to believe. A support is the evidence or appeal they use to convince the reader to believe the claim. A warrant is the (often implicit) assumption that links the support with the claim.

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the "Cite this Scribbr article" button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

Caulfield, J. (2023, July 23). How to Write a Rhetorical Analysis | Key Concepts & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved February 22, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/academic-essay/rhetorical-analysis/

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How to write a rhetorical analysis | Key concepts & examples

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A rhetorical analysis is a type of essay that looks at a text in terms of rhetoric. This means it is less concerned with what the author is saying than