A rhetorical analysis considers all elements of the rhetorical situation--the audience, purpose, medium, and context--within which a communication was generated and delivered in order to make an argument about that communication. A strong rhetorical analysis will not only describe and analyze the text, but will also evaluate it; that evaluation represents your argument. Show
Rhetoric Defined
Keywords and ConceptsFollowing are some basic terms and concepts (far from inclusive) that you should consider and use in a rhetorical analysis. Rhetorical SituationThe rhetorical situation identifies the relationship among the elements of any communication--audience, author (rhetor), purpose, medium, context, and content. AudienceSpectator, listeners, and/or readers of a performance, a speech, a reading, or printed material. Depending on the author’s/writer’s perception, an audience may be real (actually listening or reading), invoked (those to whom the writer explicitly writes) or imagined(those who the writer believes will read/hear her work) (Dept. of English) Author/Rhetor/Speaker/WriterThe person or group of people who composed the text. Purpose of the AuthorThe reason for communicating; the expected or intended outcome. MediumThe delivery method, which varies by type of text:
ContextThe time, place, public conversations surrounding the text during its original generation and delivery; the text may also be analyzed within a different context such as how an historical text would be received by its audience today. ClaimThe main idea, thesis, opinion, or belief of an argument that the author must prove. The claim should be debatable and answer the question, "What’s the point?" SupportThe statements given to back up the claim. These can take the form of facts, data, personal experience, expert opinion, evidence from other texts or sources, emotional appeals, or other means. The more reliable and comprehensive the support, the more likely the audience is to accept the claim. WarrantThe connection, often unstated and assumed, between the claim and the supporting reason(s), or support. The warrant is the assumption that makes the claim seem plausible. More specifically, warrants are the beliefs, values, inferences and/or experiences that the writers/speakers assume they share with the audience. If the audience doesn’t share the writers'/speakers' assumptions within the text, the argument will not be effective. Rhetorical TriangleThe elements of the rhetorical situation interact with and influence one another. In learning to write an analysis, it is thus helpful to think about the relationship among these elements within the rhetorical triangle. By doing this, writers will be able to better understand how the elements of each text come together (often overlap) to make an argument or persuade an audience. EthosThe authority or credibility of the author. Can refer to any of the following: the actual character of the speaker/writer, the character of the writer as it is presented in a text, or as a series of ground rules/customs, which are negotiated between speaker, audience, and specific traditions or locations. The speaker must convince the audience of their credibility through the language they use and through the delivery, or embodied performance, of their speech. Did you analyze ethos enough in your essay?
PathosEmotional appeals to the audience to evoke feelings of pity, sympathy, tenderness, or sorrow. The speaker may also want the audience to feel anger, fear, courage, love, happiness, sadness, etc. Have you analyzed pathos enough in your essay?
LogosIn classical rhetoric, logos is the means of persuasion by demonstration of the truth, real or apparent, the reasons or supporting information used to support a claim, the use of logic or reason to make an argument. Logos can include citing facts and statistics, historical events, and other forms of fact based evidence. Do you analyze logos enough in your essay?
KairosThe right time to speak or write; advantageous, exact, or critical time; a window of time during which action is most effective. (Ex. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a dream speech was delivered at the right moment in history—in the heat of civil rights debates.) StasisLiterally, stasis is “a stand" or a “resting place" in an argument where opponents agree on what the issue is but disagree on what to do about it. The skilled rhetor is able to move the argument away from stasis. (Ex. Rhetor A asserts that abortion is murder. Rhetor B asserts that abortion is not murder. This is the point of stasis. The argument cannot rest here indefinitely. One of these rhetors must get the argument beyond the issue of murder.) Which of the following connects the claim and the evidence in a persuasive speech?The underlying justification that connects the claim and evidence is the warrant. Arguments can have strong or weak warrants, which will make them more or less persuasive.
What is an authoritative warrant?Term. Authoritative warrant. Definition. a warrant based on the credibility or trustworthiness of the source.
Which style of speech is used by the speaker to persuade the audience?A persuasive speech influences the audience to do something.
What are the 3 types of persuasion in public speaking?There are three different types of persuasive speeches that are used to convince an audience: factual persuasive speech, value persuasive speech and policy persuasive speech.
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