1. Analyzing a Text Rhetorically

2. Definition of a “Text”
A set of symbols that communicates or means something. A text can be read and interpreted.
From the Latin root, texere, meaning “to weave”

3. The Red Wheelbarrow by William Carlos Williams
so much depends
upon
a red wheel
barrow
glazed with rain
water
beside the white
chickens.

8. Significant Texts in our Lives – Can be Analyzed
Religious texts
Political texts
Legal texts
News articles
Advertisements
Songs
Poetry
Photography
Personal experiences
Dreams
Student papers
Academic articles
Memories
Speeches
Films
Books
Video games
Performances
Bodies
Clothes

9. What does the term “analysis” mean to you?
Textual Analysis
What does the term “analysis” mean to you?

10. Analysis
Breaking something down into its essential parts to understand how and why those parts work together to accomplish something (what + how and why)
Versus “summary” (what)
Importance of structure
Looking at the relationship between the parts – can only understand one part or term in relation to another (binaries, not opposites)

11. Step 1: Breaking down into essential parts

12. Step 2: Determining how parts work together

13. Step 3: Determining what is accomplished when parts work together

14. Analysis Involves Interpretation
Analyze: To break something down into its essential parts to determine how those parts work together to accomplish something.
We can all see the same parts of the same text working together in the same way, yet we each see it accomplishing something different.
Or perhaps we all see a text accomplishing the same thing, but see it doing so in different ways.

18. There are no “wrong” or “right” interpretations of a text.
It’s a duck!
It’s a bunny!
But there are supported and unsupported interpretations of a text (importance of quotes).
It’s a tractor!

19. Rhetoric
What does the term “rhetoric” mean to you?

20. Defining “Rhetoric”
The language – both written and visual – that speakers and writers use to communicate or persuade
The study of that language, human interaction, and communication

21. Analyzing a Text Rhetorically
Breaking down a text into its essential parts to understand how those parts work together to accomplish something
Rhetorical analysis involves looking at the context, or the rhetorical situation, in which the communication takes place.

22. Parts of a Rhetorical Situation

23. Reading Rhetorically
Reading like a writer – reading the text as a series of choices
Understanding how the author(s) constructed the text and why the author(s) made certain choices about the text
Analyzing both the context and the content

24. Questions for Rhetorical Analysis
Who is the author/speaker?
What is the purpose of writing? What is the occasion that gives rise to the writing?
Who is the intended audience?
What is the main argument?
What does the nature of the communication reveal about the culture(s) that produced it?
What constructs are involved in this text? How are certain ideas or concepts being constructed within the text?

32. Different “Schools of Thought” or Theories
Formalists (symbols)
Gender theorists (gender, sexuality)
Marxist theorists (social class)
Race-based theorists (race)
Post-colonial theorists (nationality, empire)
Psychoanalytical theorists (unconscious)
Disability theorists (disability)
Happiness theorists (happiness)
Rhetoricians (rhetorical situations, language)

33. Different “Schools of Thought” or Theories
Using and explaining quotations
Ex. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness” (Declaration).