Rhetorical Analysis Essay:
Formatting
Created by: Brandon Everett
Summer 2019
*This is a general outline for your rhetorical analysis and can be adapted to the various prompts and guidelines
provided by the instructor or professor.
Introduction and Thesis
Provide necessary background and context: clearly introduce the document, essay or
article that you’re analyzing and inform your readers of the rhetorical situation (the
text’s author, intended audience and the context in which it was produced). This
background information should be short, concise and to the point.
Indicate whether the author was successful in accomplishing their purpose. Narrow
your focus to a few particular aspects of the text that you will discuss.
Usually located at the end of an introductory paragraph, a thesis statement consists of
one or two clear and specific sentences that tell your readers the purpose of your paper.
In your thesis, outline the tools (rhetorical appeals: ethos, pathos, logos, etc.) you will
analyze and how those tools contribute to the author’s overall argument.
Body Paragraphs
Your body paragraphs should analyze concrete examples from the text you’re
discussing.
Each topic sentence should connect back to your thesis, further proving your point and
discussing how a specific instance of a device (ethos, pathos, logos, etc.) employed by
the author contributes to the text’s purpose.
In most cases, each body paragraph should consist of a topic sentence, a short quote or
paraphrased evidence from the text, an analysis of that specific piece of evidence, and
how that quote furthers the author's purpose.
Keep your quotes short and the focus more on your analysis. Your analytical arguments are
the main aspects of the paper and the quotes you choose should support/illustrate your
overall point. Don’t let your analytical voice get overshadowed by the support you
use.
Conclusion
Your conclusion should address your overall argument.
Give one final overview of the text’s strengths and weaknesses, then reinforce why
you believe the text proves effective or ineffective.
Avoid including new information; keep your review focused on the points you already
made.
Maybe suggest additional research if the prompt calls for it.
Rhetorical Analysis Essay:
Formatting
Created by: Brandon Everett
Summer 2019
GENERAL DOs and DON’Ts
DO…
DON’T…
Have a thesis statement that clearly states
whether the article or source is rhetorically
effective and why.
Write a position paper. Remember that you
should not take a position on the issue that
the article/source addresses.
Use quotations, paraphrases, or descriptions
of key aspects of the article to provide
examples of the article’s effectiveness (or
lack thereof).
Attack the author, rather than critically
examining the rhetoric.
Examine the author’s use of ethos, pathos,
and logos, as well as various other rhetorical
strategies (types of evidence used, visual
aids like graphs and diagrams, using vivid
examples, etc.)
Spend a large portion of your paper on
summarizing the content of the
article/source rather than addressing the
rhetorical strategies.
Remain neutral on the topic of the
article/source (i.e.: whether art classes
should be required); focus your discussion
on the rhetorical strategies used by the
author and their effectiveness.
Skimp on the details. The more detailed
you can be, the better. With that said, don’t
use trivial or undocumented facts to
substantiate your claims.
--
Reference:
https://www.vwu.edu/academics/learning-center/pdfs/Rhetorical-Analysis-Thesis.pdf
https://writingcenter.tamu.edu/Students/Writing-Speaking-Guides/Alphabetical-List-of-Guides/Academic-
Writing/Analysis/Rhetorical-Analysis
https://education.seattlepi.com/rhetorical-essay-format-2953.html
