What is “Rhetorical Analysis?”
An Introduction to 11AP English
Rhetorical Analysis: Close reading a text to determine what techniques and
strategies the author uses to achieve his or her purpose.
Step 1: Determine:
Subject—What is the text about?
Audience—Who is the text directed at? Oftentimes texts have multiple
audiences.
Purpose—What is the author trying to argue or accomplish?
Step 2: Determine what type of appeals the author uses to construct his/her
argument.
Writers use emotional arguments and logical arguments.
In what ways does the author’s background provide him/her with
credibility/authority to make the argument?
Step 3: Determine the MAIN ARGUMENT and any secondary purposes.
Step 4: Look for specific strategies and techniques:
Diction (word choice)—Why does the author use the words he/she uses?
Connotation/Imagery/Figurative Language/Details
Analyze WORD CHOICE to determine TONE (see list of tone words).
Look for TONAL SHIFTS, and ask yourself WHY?
Look for various types of REPETITION.
Look for JUXTAPOSITION (placing things side by side for contrast).
Why do these strategies work for this author to
convince THIS audience of THIS ARGUMENT (purpose)?
In your AP writing prompts, you will be given an explicit and an implicit task. Explicit is the task that is stated up-­‐front and directly in the directions. Implicit is NOT stated directly, but is an essential part of your essay. Con sid er th e follow in g prom pts. Red is th e d irectly stated
in structio n. Blue is th e im plicit, or th e th in g you h ave to
figure o ut in yo ur an alysis.
1. “The passage below is an excerpt from a letter written by the eighteenth century author Lord Chesterfield to his young son who was traveling far from home. Read the passage carefully. Then in a well-­‐written essay, analyze how the rhetorical strategies that Chesterfield uses reveal his own values.” You are told DIRECTLY to analyze the rhetorical strategies. You are NOT told what Chesterfield’s values ARE, but you CANNOT write the essay without identifying what they are. 2. “Read the following two passages about Florida’s Okefenokee Swamp carefully. Then write an essay in which you analyze how the distinctive style of each passage reveals the purpose of the writer.” You are told DIRECTLY to analyze the style. You are NOT told what the PURPOSE of the writer is, but you CANNOT write the essay without identifying it. 3. “In the following passage from The Great Influenza, an account of the 1918 flu epidemic, author John M. Barry writes about scientists and their research. Read the passage carefully. Then, in a well written essay, analyze how Barry uses rhetorical strategies to characterize scientific research.” You are told DIRECTLY to analyze Barry’s strategies. You must figure out HOW he characterizes scientific research. 4. “Read the following passage from “America Needs Its Nerds” by Leonid Fridman. Then write an essay in which you analyze how Fridman develops his argument.” You are told DIRECTLY to analyze Fridman’s development of his argument. You MUST EXPLAIN what Fridman’s argument is. AP Language Preparation Workshop
NAME ________________________________
DICTION & TONE
Rhetorical Analysis
• An expository essay where you are expected to explain the relationship between an author’s
stylistic choices and his/her purpose(s).
Quick Tips
• Connotation—cultural, ethical, or emotional association to a word (“halo” or “slavery”)
• Repetition—always something to look for—always significant
• Adjectives/Adverbs—not always essential to meaning; where opinion/attitude is found
• M ultiple m eanings—any words that have more than one meaning might have
significance
• Synonym s—a sneaky form of repetition
• Appeal—emotional, ethical, and logical—usually aided by word choice (“liberty or death”)
• W ord groups—an abundance of words that all could be grouped together under one larger
idea—that larger idea is obviously important to understanding the author’s purpose
• O bjective—without bias; does not express personal opinion, belief, or emotion
• Subjective—based entirely on personal opinion, belief, or emotion
Rhetorical Strategies for ANY Piece
• Diction (word choice)—always present, whether you choose to discuss it or not, so do not say
silly things like “author uses diction or good diction”—identify the purpose or tone behind the
word choice and discuss that (sarcastic words, words with religious connotations, forceful verbs
that sound like commands)
o Identify specific, individual words that seem significant and explain why the author chose
to use those specific words—explain how those particular words help the author achieve
purpose
o Look for words that repeat or words that seem to belong to a larger group or idea; a few
examples:
 Religious or biblical or spiritual words (blessed, godly, pure, angelic)
 Warlike or violent words (explosive, gutted, blasted, bloody, thrashing)
 Words associated with Hell (satanic, fiery, damnation)
 Words associated with death (coffin, funereal, suicidal, eulogy)
 Words associated with youth (recess, dandelion, unicorn, innocent, cotton candy)
o Try to identify a specific adjective that describes the author’s word choices
 Plain or informal or casual or simple—simple words used in common
conversation; easily understood by the average adult (monosyllabic words, few
polysyllabic words)
 Formal or literary or didactic—complicated vocabulary requiring an educated
reader
• Quotidian, erudite, quadripartite, procrustean
 Ornate or poetic—complicated vocabulary and descriptive
• “O ye nominal Christians”
 Colloquial—common to a specific geographical area or culture (slang)


o
o
Standard—commonly used throughout the country or in any culture
Archaic or old-fashioned or Biblical—pre-20th century vocabulary/syntax (thou
shalt)
 Concrete or specific or realistic—naming things that can be observed with the
senses
 Abstract or general—things that cannot be perceived through the senses
 Pleasant sounding or gentle/soft—words that are pleasing or soothing
• Sifting, whirling, butterfly, soothing
 Harsh sounding or cacophonous—words that are grating or unpleasant
• Fester, ooze, snot, screeching, pus, intestinal
 IF NOTHING ELSE, avoid “lots of” or “good”
• Try: perceptive, thoughtful, insightful, purposeful; powerful, vivid
Connotation—cultural, ethical, or emotional association to a word (“halo”)
 Pay close attention to emotionally-charged words
Using many adjectives or verbs
SOME EXAMPLES OF HOW TO DISCUSS DICTION:
When Bradford refers to the Native Americans as “savage barbarians,” he reveals the prejudice of
the early British colonists in their ignorant and smug belief that the Native Americans were
amoral, animalistic creatures who lacked the ability to behave in a civil manner or adhere to a
moral code.
Equiano utilizes formal diction, using words like “pestilential” and “nominal” to disprove the
widespread belief among the slave-holding colonists that the slaves were sub-human and
incapable of being educated. Furthermore, in blaming the deaths of the slaves during the Middle
Passage on the “improvident avarice” of the slave traders, Equiano wisely utilizes a Biblical
reference to one of the seven deadly sins, which helps in his ethical appeal to his readers’ inherent
Christianity.
In his description of the earliest American settlers, Byrd uses words like “fashion,” “modish,” and
“humour” to imply that these settlers did not recognize the serious difficulties that they would
face in the new world. These words, which are associated with fads, sarcastically reduce the
earliest settlers to foolish followers of the latest trend who deserved to die due to their lack of
common sense regarding trying to settle a brand-new country. His sarcastic tone is further
evidenced when he refers to the settlers as “undertakers” who, in their ignorance and lack of
preparation, were certain to die in the new world.
Tone—the author’s attitude towards the subject matter (or towards some other topic/idea)
o
o
o
o
ALWAYS expressed as a one word emotion (authoritative, reflective, pragmatic,
objective, didactic, informative, sarcastic, satiric, awe, overwhelmed, joyous, morose)
The best way to identify the author’s tone is to analyze diction
FIRST, identify the subject (i.e. what the author is writing about). Then, you can begin to
analyze his or her attitude towards that subject.
SECOND, identify whether or not the author seems to be expressing a personal opinion
or feeling about that particular subject.
 If there is no obvious personal opinion, then the tone is objective. Then, try to
be a bit more specific about the tone, using words such as:
• Pragmatic, scientific, analytical, straightforward, matter-of-fact
• Practical, realistic, sensible, no-nonsense, logical, methodical
• Systematic, factual, blunt, rational
 If there is a subjective tone, again, you must be more specific:
• Reverent, awe-inspired, intimidated, fervent, admiring
o
• Fond, sentimental, romantic, passionate, ecstatic, rapturous, infatuated
• Joyful, elated, jubilant, zealous, delighted, cheerful, sanguine, blissful
• Serene, calm, hopeful, expectant, bold, naïve
• Solemn, sorrowful, sullen, miserable, agonizing, bleak
• Scornful, petulant, choleric, aggravated, disgusted, disdainful
• Ironic, satiric, sarcastic, flippant, derisive, caustic, witty, playful
THIRD, find specific words or phrases that help explain why you belief this describes the
author’s tone. You have to prove that your choice makes sense with specific examples
from the text.
EXAMPLES (same as above):
When Bradford refers to the Native Americans as “savage barbarians,” he reveals his disdainful
tone toward the Native Americans, believing them to be amoral, animalistic creatures that lacked
the ability to behave in a civil manner or adhere to a moral code.
In blaming the deaths of the slaves during the Middle Passage on the “improvident avarice” of the
slave traders without calling them greedy outright, Equiano wisely utilizes a fairly pragmatic
tone so as not to alienate his predominantly white audience.
Byrd’s sarcastic tone is further evidenced when he refers to the settlers as “undertakers” who, in
their ignorance and lack of pre preparation, were certain to die in the new world.