Introduction to Rhetorical
Analysis
The Arts of Persuasion and Argumentation
Aristotle’s Rhetorical Triangle
Ethos/Writer
Aristotle’s Rhetorical Triangle
Ethos/Writer
Pathos/Audience
Aristotle’s Rhetorical Triangle
Ethos/Writer
Pathos/Audience
Logos/Context
What is Rhetorical Analysis?
!   Rhetorical analysis asks us to:
!   Understand how texts create meaning
!   Understand how texts construct knowledge
!   Understand how texts convince us to take action
!   Rhetorical analysis helps us to:
!   Understand how the language of a text works
!   Understand how we can employ such language in a
manner that works for us
Steps to Rhetorical Analysis
1.  Read and annotate the text
2.  SOAPSTone
3.  Examine Language
1. Read and Annotate the Text
!   Follow previous procedures for annotating informational texts
!   Additional ideas to consider:
!   How does s/he open the column? Close the column?
!   How soon does s/he announce the thesis?
!   How does s/he organize? What are the parts or sections of the
column?
!   How much is based on observation? Personal experience?
Interviews? Fact?
!   Who is the target audience? How do you know?
!   What unstated assumptions does the columnist make?
!   What are the potential ramifications of the issues addressed in
the column?
2. SOAPSTone
Speaker
Occasion
Audience
Purpose
Subject
Tone
Speaker
!   Who is “speaking” vs. the author
!   Fictional voice vs. real voice
!
Your Goal:
!   Determine the speaker and all that you know about
him/her
!   WARNING: It’s not enough to name or identify the
speaker. You should understand the speaker based on
textual references or historical research
Occasion
!   What prompted the writing of this piece
!
Your Goal:
!   Determine the time and place of the piece
!   Determine the context that prompted the writing
Audience
!   The group of readers/listeners to whom the piece is
directed
!   Audiences have either immediate or intermediate
responses
!
Your Goals:
!   Identify the audience by describing some of its
characteristics presented in the text or through historical
research
!   Identify the intended response the author wants the
audience to have
Purpose
!   The goal the author hopes to achieve through writing
the text
!
Your Goal:
!   Consider what the author wanted the audience to think
as he/she reads the piece
!   Determine the author’s goal
Subject
!   The general topic, content, or idea in the text
!
Your Goals:
!   Identify the subject of the piece
!   Identify additional themes and evidence of these themes
!   Determine the impact these themes have on the piece as
a whole
Tone
!   The attitude of the author or speaker toward a subject,
character, or audience
!   Tone extends beyond the literal
!   Diction
!   Syntax
!   Figurative Language
!
Your Goal:
!   Find words or phrases that reveal the tone of the piece