1 of 3 essays on your ap language test The Rhetorical Analysis Question

What is analysis? Analysis is a complex cognitive and linguistic process that is quite different from a process of observation and reporting of summarizing. Most people will report the same basic things, offering no opinion or explanation regarding their observations. A summary prohibits commentary, opinion, or interpretation of the “what” that the original author presents. Analysis demands you move beyond determining “what” and ask several other questions, such as, “Why?”, “How?”, “So what?”, and “What if?”

Students must assert certain opinions and interpretations about the information or ideas analyzed by asking, “What does this really mean?”, “How does this relate to other facts or ideas already possessed?”, “What implications might it offer for certain actions or other perspectives?” Analysis is processing and creating---not regurgitating. Question existing ideas, make connections with various theories, forge new ground—do not be content to simply identify and then mimic back what others have already said and thought.

Components of analysis PURPOSE—what the text, created in response to the occasion, is intended to do. Example: the eulogy of Brutus provided by Marc Antony in Julius Caesar. The purpose here was not to honor Brutus, but to shed doubt on his reputation and to stir the subjects of the murdered Caesar to revolt. A single text can accomplish one or more of the following purposes: To record/retain information To explain To figure out what one really means or thinks To demonstrate knowledge/share information To persuade others to adopt a new course of action To evaluate the perspective of others

Components of analysis CONTEXT Time period a text was written Significant events occurring during that time period Place the text was produced Method of communication Cultural groups involved as subject of the text and/or intended audience Speaker (considering any information about personal background, expertise, etc.)

Components of analysis AUDIENCE—assess the characteristics of the audience itself and the audience’s expectations Age Gender Experience/knowledge level Interest Motivation

Identify tools author uses to accomplish purposes This is where your VARY words come in handy. Also look for other commonly employed strategies: Repetition Distinctive sentence structures Contrasts Irony Parallelism Figures of speech Classical allusions

The process You have 40 minutes to read, annotate, and write the rhetorical analysis essay. Pay attention to the directions! “Read the passage carefully.” The directions will tell you what you are reading for so your annotations are purposeful and your essay addresses the prompt. For example: “Write an essay in which you identify the purpose of the remarks and analyze how resources of language are used to achieve the purpose.” “In a well-written essay, analyze the rhetorical strategies the author uses to reveal his own values.”

You are making an arguable point about the essay, using examples from the passage to support your position. Cite the specific examples from the passage using quotation marks or by line number(s). You may organize the essay chronologically, but the more sophisticated organizational style is by device.

Reminders: Address (and specifically refer to) the prompt in the introduction. The point you are making should also appear in the introduction. “The strategies the author employs in the passage reveals his shallow, money-grubbing, competition based values on life.” Other ways to say “uses:” Employs Utilizes Develops Applies Manipulates Wields