Rhetorical Analysis Essay

Helpful hints in planning your writing Read the question or the prompt VERY carefully Underline or circle important ideas and words until you know EXACTLY what you are being asked to do BEFORE reading the passage

Sample Passage Read carefully the following autobiographical narrative by Gary Soto. Then, in a well-written essay, analyze some of the ways in which Soto recreates the experience of his guilty six-year-old self. You might consider such devices as contrast, repetition, pacing, diction, and imagery.

Tips for reading the passage If the prompt instructs you to discuss figurative language, search the passage for metaphors, symbols, analogies, samples of irony and imagery and so forth. If you’re told to analyze diction, look for words and phrases that serve as CLUES to the author’s personality. MARK UP THE PAGE ASTERICKS CIRCLES UNDERLINING ARROWS NOTES IN THE MARGINS Outline for your essay!

CHOOSE A THESIS… BEFORE YOU BEGIN WRITING Justify the relationship between RHETORICAL STRATEGIES and the author’s point or purpose of the passage. “Laura Eirmann, the author of the passage, makes use of such rhetorical devices as a sympathetic tone, friendly point of view, and soothing choice of words to achieve her purpose of persuading readers to join her cause.”

In your INTRODUCTION… Try to lead up to your main idea Try to lead with general discussion of the context rather than the thesis. Example: “Pet owners, experiencing great anxiety when their pets develop incurable illnesses, often face the terrible decision of whether to let their pets suffer until they die or to ‘put them to sleep.’ Knowing that pet owners agonie over what to d, Laura Eirmann carefully constructed an essay intended to help pet owners make an informed, guilt-free decision about euthanizing their pets. To make readers feel comfortable, Eirmann uses a sympathetic tone, a friendly point of view, and a soothing choice of words.

Body Paragraphs & Conclusion Reiterate your thesis! Body 1: Where did she use sympathetic tone and why was it effective? Body 2: Where did she use friendly point of view and how was it effective? Body 3: Where did she incorporate soothing words to effectively make her point? Wrap it all up! Discuss the context you previously discussed (putting animals out of their misery can be more easily said than done… yada yada.) Restate your thesis and why the writing was effective.