1. What is rhetorical analysis?
deconstructing nonfiction texts –speeches, essays, editorials, etc.— and evaluating how the author creates meaning, establishes and proves his/her claim
making judgments about whether or not an author has succeeded in his or her purpose
Rhetoric—Analyzing techniques that make persuasion possible

2. Subject/Topic/Message (Logos) Purpose Context
Speaker/Writer
(Ethos)
Audience/
Readers
(Pathos)
Subject/Topic/Message
(Logos)
Purpose
Context

3. Ethos- credibility of the speaker
Writers/speakers ask the audience to
-trust them (intelligence, goodwill and virtue)
-believe them
-to bear with them
-to listen to them
Readers/Audiences must question
the speaker’s authority, trustworthiness,
motives.
--You must consider the writer’s integrity and attitude towards his/her audience.

4. Ethos—establishing authority/credibility by
Demonstrating knowledge about the topic (position, job title, experience, etc.)
Establishing common ground with the audience through respect and concern
Demonstrating fairness and evenhandedness
Displaying confidence

5. Establishing Confidence and Credibility
Presenting yourself in a suitable manner— physical appearance
Connecting your beliefs to core principles that are widely respected
Using appropriate language for the audience, neither speaking above nor below their capabilities.
Citing credible, reliable sources
Admitting limitations, exceptions, or weaknesses of your argument. Making these concessions (anticipating the potential rebuttals of your audience) makes the audience belief that you have respect for them and that you have carefully considered your position.

6. Logos—logic
“word” or “reason”
Rational argument
Logic behind the arguments
Examples:
-factual evidence for support
“Nine out of ten doctors agree…”
statistics, charts, graphs, definitions, surveys,. polls, examples, narratives, personal testimonies etc.

7. Evaluating Polls
There are three important considerations to consider when evaluating polls:
The source —who commissioned the poll, who published it, and any associated bias.
The statistical methodology --who was interviewed, how they were interviewed.
The questions —how were they asked, in what order, with what language?

8. Pathos-emotional appeals
PATHOS—the quality or power of evoking the audience’s emotions
Primarily achieved through the use of strong emotional diction (evocative words)
Powerful images that evoke emotions
Anecdotes —stories
Immediacy contributes to the effectiveness of emotional appeals
Pathos appeals to the heart and to one’s emotions.

9. Pathos—Examples Stories or testimonials Personal anecdotes or stories
Personal connections
Imagery and figurative language that provokes an emotional response
Visual images or words that inspire you to empathize or have compassion towards the idea/topic
Powerful words, phrases, or images that stir up emotion

10. 2
pathos
logos 3 1
ethos

11. Style
refers to the choices one makes that involve words, phrases, and sentences.
should appropriate for author’s purpose and affects the way that a reader reacts to a piece.
Four aspects of Style are
Diction
Imagery
Syntax
Figures of speech

12. Diction This is word choice. --General vs. Specific words.
--Formal versus Informal
--Denotation and connotation.
--Monosyllabic words and polysyllabic words.

13. Diction—Charged Words
Charged words are words with strong connotations beyond their literal meaning that are likely to produce an emotional response.
Tyranny (evokes a feeling of fear, suggests living in a state of terror)
Liberty (suggests an ideal life characterized by freedom)
Justice (can be associated with freedom and equality)
Honor (evokes a sense of morality and dignity)

14. “He [King George] is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the head of a civilized nation.”

15. Charged Words
He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the head of a civilized nation. Contrast

16. The Effect of Charged Words
“Grandmother Arrested in Pot Sting”
The fact that the person is a grandmother has no relevance to the fact that she was arrested on a drug charge.  It may not even reflect the fact that she is old, since I’ve known grandmothers as young as 32.  But the use of the term conjures up an image of a sweet, gentle person, and juxtaposed against the crime, elicits far more outrage than if the headline was …
“Local Woman Arrested in Pot Sting”

17. Imagery
Imagery is words that appeal to the senses.
Visual - “There are black clouds of God’s wrath now hanging directly over your head” (Edwards)
Auditory – the wind whistling through the trees, the rumbling waves rushing past
Tactile/Emotional – “How awful it is to be left behind at such a day! To see so many others feasting….” (Edwards)
Oral – the puckering twang of lemon juice
Olfactory – wet dog after a morning rainshower

18. Syntax Syntax—construction of sentences. Syntax discusses:
--Sentence Type: complex or simple?
--Sentence length: short or long?
--Active vs. Passive Sentences
--Pacing. Sentence construction can speed up the reading of a passage or slow it down.

19. Restatement
Repeating an idea in a variety of ways, using different words to reinforce a point.

20. Anaphora
Repetition of the same word or group of words at the beginning of successive clauses, sentences, or lines.
“This royal throne of kings, this sceptred isle, This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars, This other Eden, demi-paradise, This fortress built by Nature for herself Against infection and the hand of war, This happy breed of men, this little world, This precious stone set in the silver sea…”
-John of Gaunt in Shakespeare's Richard II ( ; 57-60)

21. Rhetorical Devices: Chiasmus & Antimetabole
arrangement of ideas in the second clause is a reversal of the first.
Chiasmus is, specifically, the reversal of grammatical structures in successive phrases or clauses: It is hard to make money, but to spend it is easy.
Antimetabole is, specifically, the repetition of words, in successive clauses, in reverse grammatical order: “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” JFK

22. When the going gets tough, the tough get going.
Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! -Isaiah 5:20

23. Rhetorical Question
A question posed by the speaker or writer not to seek an answer but instead to affirm or deny a point by simply asking the question
Ex. Do I really need to ask you to clean your room again?

24. Parallelism
Similarity of structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases, or clauses.
parallelism of words:She tried to make her pastry fluffy, sweet, and delicate.
parallelism of phrases:
Singing a song or writing a poem is joyous.
parallelism of clauses:
Perch are inexpensive; cod are cheap; trout are abundant; but salmon are best.

25. Juxtaposition
is a poetic and rhetorical device in which normally unassociated ideas, words, or phrases are placed next to one another.
Light and dark images
Life and death
Cold and hot
Etc.

26. SOAPS Method Subject—the general idea, content and ideas
Rhetorical Triangle
SOAPS Method
Speaker
Message
Audience
Subject—the general idea, content and ideas
Occasion—time, place, context, or current situation for the writing. Consider what events prompted the writing.
Audience—the target audience (try to be specific—education level, beliefs and values, predisposition towards the speaker)
Purpose—what the author hopes the reader will take from the piece.
Speaker—evaluate the ethos of the speaker