Rhetorical Analysis Essay Guide - Reliable Writing Help

We bet that the student's initial reaction to being given a rhetorical analysis essay assignment is one of utter frustration and confusion. Everybody knows what an essay is. However, when it comes to the rhetorical analysis essay, most students have no idea where even to start. Even though the rhetorical analysis paper might seem a formidable task, anyone equipped with the proper knowledge and skills can handle it. Our writing service provides 100% original writing guidelines for different kinds of academic papers, and you may rest assured that the rhetorical analysis is sure on that list! So, if you're looking to improve your academic performance and boost your writing skills - you've come to the right place! Thanks to the useful information collected by our professional writers, you'll be able to come up with a top-quality essay in no time at all or you can always buy analysis essay from our writing company. Our step-by-step guide contains all the essential tips that will help you easily deal with the challenge!

What Is a Rhetorical Analysis Essay and The Best Way to Write It

No matter what kind of paper you are dealing with, your first and foremost task is to gain as much information about the assignment as you can. You should also identify the message the author is trying to convey to the audience. In other words, apply all your critical, reading, and analytical skills to figure out how the author is trying to prove their argument. But before you do that, you should know precisely what the rhetorical analysis essay is, so let's try and come up with a generally accepted definition of the term. The rhetorical analysis essay investigates three main aspects - the audience, the writer (if it's a book), and message. The writer should, therefore, make sure to list all the strategies used to convey the message to the reader.

Rhetorical analysis essay format

If you don't know how to write this essay and how to structure it correctly, you will be surprised to hear that the format of the rhetorical analysis essay is similar to the generally accepted one: the introduction, body parts, and conclusion. However, there are some additional parts which are specific for this type of academic writing. In the case of the rhetorical analysis essay, the format is the following: the introduction, thesis, tools, body paragraphs, ethos/pathos/logos, and conclusion.

Rhetorical analysis thesis

One of the most critical parts of an essay is the thesis statement. You should indicate whether the author's arguments are convincing enough, as well as whether the methods used helped to achieve the aim. If you wonder how to write the thesis for the rhetorical analysis paper, you can use the following example: "The author's appeal speaks for itself - great examples, trustworthy facts, and impressive play on words leave no opportunity for the reader to stay unconvinced". The thesis, which is usually placed at the end of the introduction, should be no longer than one sentence; there should also be a smooth transition from the introduction to the body paragraphs.

Let's check out some important tips on writing a good thesis for the essay:

• Avoid phrases like "To my mind", "the main intention of the essay is...", or "I think the author tries to...". Don't make it so obvious and boring. Your thesis serves as a transition from the introduction to the body part. Thus, it should draw the readers' attention to the analysis and make them want to continue reading.
• Let your thesis statement be brief and to the point. Don't give too much information - your task is to intrigue the reader, not fit the whole essay into one sentence.
• Don't make it judgmental and evaluative. You admit a particular trace of the book and the author's approach to the writing, and you don't make a general evaluation of the book. Instead of using such adjectives as "good" or "bad", try to use "effective" and "ineffective".

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Structure

As mentioned above, this type of essay consists of six main parts, so let's find out what these parts are about and how to do a rhetorical analysis!

How to start a rhetorical analysis: an introduction.

In this part you present the topic to the reader, let them know some background information, and inform them of what exactly you want to discuss further on in the paper. The introductory part should provide some necessary information and at the same time leave some facts unknown, intriguing and questioning the readers. The mandatory information that should be included in the essay is related to the title, author, and purpose of whatever you're analyzing. Make the introduction short and to the point - overloading it with too many facts and details is not what you want to do. Let's look at this more closely, using the book of our choosing as a practical example.

1. The heading.
   Caitlin Moran's "How to Be a Woman" message and the most prominent rhetorical strategies used in the book.
2. The hook sentence.
   The life of a modern woman is full of responsibilities and duties which are rarely noticed by men.
3. Author's purpose.
   Caitlin Moran wrote "How to Be a Woman" where she claims that while men think that women are responsible for housework and family, women struggle with tones of other duties that exhaust them.
4. The thesis statement.
   From the first word in the book and to the last one, you are impressed by the author's incredible presentment of facts, personal stories, and examples. They leave no room for doubt as to the truth of what she tries to convey.
5. The tools used by the author.
   Devote this short part of the essay to the tools, methods, and techniques the author uses in their work. Pay attention to the descriptive language of the author, as well as similes and specific kinds of diction.
6. The body part.
   This is the central part of the essay where you support your thesis statement. In other words, this is the part dedicated to the analysis itself. Your purpose is to dissect the text, choose the most prominent parts of it which can serve as an example and the evidence, and state how the author uses a specific tool in this part. You can support your argument by adding examples, statistics, quotes, etc.

Your paragraphs should be logical, well-structured, and to the point. Illustrate how the author uses different techniques to support the argument and indicate whether those turned out to be effective.

You can separate the paragraphs according to the modes of persuasion - the logos, ethos, and pathos:

1. When we talk about logos, we speak of logic and reason. This is where you analyze the author's logical use of ideas and rational thinking methods to draw the reader's attention. You also examine how the author comes up with the conclusion.
2. Ethos refers to how the author uses tone to call to human's ethics.
3. Pathos is related to emotions. Here, you should analyze the author's emotional language, and other things (personal stories, touching examples, etc.) used to appeal to the reader's emotions.

Rhetorical analysis essay conclusion

The most important thing about the conclusion is that it should relate to the thesis from the introduction. What you should do throughout the essay is quite simple, then, Begin with the argument, provide the examples and analysis to support said argument in the body part, and finish with the logical summary (conclusion). Your conclusion is the final destination where you confirm that your argument was correct because you proved it with in-depth analysis, examples, facts, etc. A little recommendation from us if you still wonder how to write a conclusion for a rhetorical analysis - highlight the most prominent strengths and weaknesses of the article you analyze, as well as the reasons why it proves to be effective (or vice versa).

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Topics

It's hard to underestimate the importance of a topic - it sets the direction you move in, the strategy you choose to analyze the text, and the result itself. That's why, you should do your best to pick the most promising topic - the one that is both interesting and relevant for you. Let's check out some good rhetorical analysis topics:

1. Martin Luther King's speech "I Have a Dream".
2. Speech given by any Nobel Peace Prize winner.
3. A popular blog article analysis.
4. Commencement Speech by Steve Jobs.
5. President Trump's inauguration speech.
6. Winston Churchill's "We shall fight on the beaches" speech.
7. "Speak yourself" speech given by Kim Namjoon of BTS as a part of the group's partnership with UNICEF's new global initiative, Generation Unlimited.
8. Analyze the last year's valedictorian speech.
9. The Two Minutes Hate effect in George Orwell's "1984".
10. Aristotle's Rhetoric and its impact on the overall development of the genre.

However, you can come up with your unique topic. Look around you. You will find so many subjects that require an excellent rhetorical analysis. Is there a speech which inspires you? Would you like to know why it became so successful, what methods of persuasion the author used? Or maybe there is a famous blogger whose articles make you support things you considered hard to believe in? Go for it! You have a great chance to understand the message behind every effective article or book and realize what makes it so good. Don't be afraid to be creative - the readers love uniqueness, so brainstorm to choose a good writing theme.

Effective Rhetorical Analysis Writing Tips

• Analyze, not summarize.
  Very often students forget about this important remark, which leads to mistakes. You shouldn't just retell the article or book you have read. Your essay should be an in-depth analysis of the content, strategies of persuasion, and the message the author tries to convey.
• Don't neglect the prep stage.
  If you want to succeed, take the time to do some preparation. Take notes while reading, analyze readers' reviews on the Internet, and don't forget about your outline.
• Let the vocabulary you use be diverse.
  Don't limit the essay with the same words and phrases which repeat all the time. Your professor will appreciate your erudition and rich vocabulary - you might even get some extra points.
• Pay attention to grammar.
  This may seem to be too obvious, but grammatical mistakes are not a rarity in essay writing. You shouldn't feel inadequate over them. You can get distracted and immersed in the text sometimes, so some errors are bound to slip in. Try to make your sentences short to avoid those and use special online resources which help to check the grammar.
• Analyze the diction, syntax, and tone of the essay.
  These are three important things which should be thoroughly studied.
• Put your essay aside for a day or two before revising.
  This will help you come up with some new ideas. You will notice more mistakes if your mind takes some rest from the text.
• Pay attention to coherency.
  Make a good transition between the parts. You aim is to create an essay where all the paragraphs work together as one team to support your thesis statement.

We hope our guideline will come in handy and you will be able to create your own, perfect rhetorical analysis essay. it's not so complicated if you follow all the steps carefully. The last note for you - whenever you doubt whether you move in the right direction, don't hesitate to contact your professor. In most cases, mentors are open for communication, but, unfortunately, this is not the case with the students - they try to avoid professors. Don't neglect the opportunity to get useful recommendations from people who will evaluate your work in the future.

The success comes to those who are brave, hardworking, and have a positive attitude towards everything. Apply these three key principles to your assignment, and we are more than sure that you will write the best rhetorical analysis essay. Our guideline will be your reliable tool in achieving your goal.