Some articles persuade the readers at ease, while others are weak and unconvincing. Why are certain arguments stronger than others? The secret is in rhetoric and its usage. Every piece of academic writing influences the audience and the aim of rhetorical analysis is to examine how it happens. It is crucial to know what rhetorical strategies and devices the author uses. Moreover, students can incorporate the best rhetorical practices into their own writing.

Rhetoric: what is it?

Simply put, rhetoric is the ability to write and speak persuasively. Knowledge of rhetorical basic rules can help with writing an essay or presenting something in public.

Rhetorical analysis: basic rules

To write a rhetorical analysis essay, students usually start with preliminary research. They should read the sources and find the relevant information. Then, it is necessary to read the article and break it into pieces. The main questions to answer are: what the author’s goals are, what rhetorical techniques he or she uses, and how effective they are.

There are three rhetorical ways of building arguments to persuade people. They are called logos, ethos, and pathos.

Rhetorical appeals

Logos

Logos is, like the name implies, about logic. In other words, it is an argument based on logic. In essence, you present your statement and give the reasons why a particular position is right on the basis of the facts.

Ethos

Ethos appeals to ethics. If you want to build your argument from ethos, you need to demonstrate your goodwill and your audience must trust you. In this case, you use your own credibility to explain why you are right.

Pathos

Pathos is an argument based on emotions. Here, you try to evoke a response from the audience on an emotional level.

Not all of these appeals can be used in academic writing. However, to make rhetorical analysis, you should examine the author’s goals, strategies, and rhetorical appeals, presented in the text.

Based on: https://wr1ter.com/rhetorical-analysis-sample