Some General Rules of Thumb

Rhetorical analysis IS:

Rhetorical analysis IS NOT:


Structure:

Introduction: introduces the thesis by:

introducing the essay under discussion (usually in the fist sentence)
Provides the topical context and focus by reviewing the major themes and position of the essay itself, leading up to...

a clear, SPECIFIC thesis (avoid "many different ways," "certain aspects," "various things," etc.--say what you mean)

Ask yourself: could I argue against this?  If so, you have a thesis and an argumentative point.  If not, time to rethink what you want to say.

A good thesis contains a claim (what you will argue) and a basis (the criteria under which you will argue that position).  In our analysis, the claim will be based on whether or not the essay is effective or not.  The basis for that claim will be grounded on one of our rhetorical topics: is it logical/reasonable (logos), credibility/authority (ethos), or how it appeals to the audience's emotions (pathos) as well as generally how effectively it is targeted towards that audience.

Body: makes the case and provides evidence

introduce quote
quote
explain the quote (not summary)
introduce quote
quote
explain the quote (not summary)
introduce quote
quote
explain the quote (not summary)
introduce quote
quote
explain the quote (not summary)
etc.

general rule of thumb: AT LEAST one quote per paragraph--probably more--quotes are always there to demonstrate something, don't move on until you've explained them

quotes introduction always provides (or implies to the reader):

who is speaking (author/character)
from what (book/short story/essay)
about what (context)

Conclusion: draws a conclusion based on the evidence in the body (not a summary of the body)


My Short hand

development--explaining/interpreting quotations and relating them to the thesis
transitions--describe how two ideas are related to each other (both sentence and paragraph level)
rephrase--fix the grammatical problem
thesis problems--lack of focus, lack of specificity, lack of purpose


Citation questions/problems?

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Some samples: