A rhetorical analysis essay is something that many people encounter over the course of their life. It requires you to analyze an argument that was made by somebody else, and you have to pass the message to a certain audience. Therefore, it’s an analysis of someone else’s work, not a summary.
These essays can be written about films, texts, television shows, radios, artwork and many others. It sounds pretty amazing when you think about it, but you should have a good understanding of it to properly analyze the work.
This article will give you some tips for writing a rhetorical analysis paper and will tell you why it’s important.
What is a rhetorical analysis essay?
Sometimes, writers try to dissect works in small pieces to find out how they fit together and send a certain message or effect to the consumers. This process is called a rhetorical analysis essay.
For instance, the writer may discover the fact that the creator used certain imagery to keep their audience entertained. Such an essay can be written by analyzing TV shows, films, artworks, radios, texts and others.
Therefore, the writer has to understand the creator’s objective for a successful essay. Also, you have to communicate to the audience whether the argument is successful or not.
Steps to writing a rhetorical analysis
When it comes to writing a rhetorical analysis essay, people may panic because they have no idea how to do it. They don’t know what to write about, how to start, how to analyze something, and many other problems. They spend more time worrying about it than doing the actual work.
So, when writing a rhetorical analysis essay, there are several steps you have to go through. Here is some essay writing help if you’re going through hard times, so you don’t have to buy essay papers to ensure your good mark.
- Gather information
Before you start, you need to have an understanding of what a rhetorical analysis essay is and how it works. If you do so, then make sure you find a good topic and get as much information as you can about it. Focus on every aspect. After all, you need to study before writing essays, right?
- Ask a lot of questions
Asking yourself as many questions as possible about the work helps you have a better understanding about it. Ask about the targeted audience, the creator’s style, the effect it has on the audience, and many others.
- Write the essay
It’s time to start writing your paper. Follow the proper structure for a rhetorical analysis. Start with the introduction, keep it nice and short, then move to the body. The body is where you write the whole analysis, so be careful and write it in short paragraphs. Then write the conclusion and ensure you don’t mess it up.
- Proofread
Read your essay to make sure you don’t have any mistakes. You don’t want the reader to stop reading and focus on your grammatical mistakes, do you? Ensure everything is correct and the information is in order.
How to start a rhetorical analysis?
The first thing you have to do before starting the essay is, of course, gathering information. You wouldn’t be able to make a proper analysis without the necessary information. For example, find out who is the creator of the piece, what are their objectives, what is his targeted audience, and others.
How to write a rhetorical analysis outline?
It is essential to follow the proper outline for a rhetorical analysis essay, so you’ll have a great piece of homework and receive a good mark. After carefully reading/watching/listening to what you are about to analyze, you can start. The paper outline for an essay is the introduction, body paragraphs and conclusion.
How to write an introduction to a rhetorical analysis essay?
After gathering all the information you need, it’s time to write the introduction. The introduction may be difficult, as it’s always hard until you start. Make sure it’s a short and captivating introduction, so people are drawn to your essay.
It should summarize the main ideas of the essay, and help the reader find out what is the subject.
How to write a body for a rhetorical analysis essay?
The body contains the most important information of the whole analysis. This is where you can divide each point you have into sections and ideas into paragraphs. You should state the idea in the paragraph, and then continue by supporting it with evidence to convince your reader. Because it’s an analysis, you should remember to maintain an objective tone.
How to write a conclusion for a rhetorical analysis essay?
You should use proper words to transition from the body to the conclusion of rhetorical analysis. Basically, the reader needs to realize that the essay is about to end, and you should prepare them.
Re-state the essay to remind your reader of what your paper covered and support your work while convincing the reader that you covered the points in your body.
Good rhetorical analysis essay topics
Many students are afraid of these essays. Although they can understand the process, they have no idea what topic would be a good choice. They imagine scenarios in which they enter the classroom and freeze in front of their colleagues. Yes, college can be stressful sometimes, but choosing a good essay topic is not that hard.
Here are some topics that would make a great rhetorical analysis essay:
- Describe the climax of a literary work
The climax is the best part of a literary work. You could analyze and write about how the author has built up to that climax. As an example, you can analyze the climax in Vanity Fair by William Thackeray.
- Evaluate a TV series or movie based on books
This would make your work more fun, especially if you have a favorite series. You could analyze how well the movie was adapted in telling the story of the book. You could also talk about why the director chose to change several things or not adopt several scenes. For example, you could examine Game of Thrones, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, or The Vampire Diaries.
- Find out about an author’s background
An example of a good rhetorical analysis essay topic would be an author’s background. You could look for information about an author’s life and analyze how their life has influenced their works. For example, you could analyze Virginia Woolf, Edgar Allan Poe, Herman Melville or many others.
- Examine a favorite horror movie
Wouldn’t it be amazing to talk about this at university? You could examine a favorite movie of yours and talk about what makes it such a great film. Also, analyzing what elements from the movie scare people is a good idea. Some examples would be The Shining and The Exorcist.
- Examine high school movies
Movies about high school are usually very popular. As an idea, examine if the characters, plot, and setting are realistic. Analyze how the stereotypes are portrayed, and if the movie helps people who are struggling with high school. For example, try Project X or Mean Girls.
- Analyze a reality TV series
Analyze why people are drawn to this kind of show. What makes this particular series so popular, and is it good or bad? Is it real or the people are hired, actors? Find a reality TV series that raises a lot of questions in your head.
Why is rhetorical analysis important?
Rhetorical analysis is not only important for your college and for a good mark. Although this may be the reason you’re doing one, it could be very useful in your daily life as well.
Basically, it helps you discover more than what the surface of a thing shows you. You go deeper and find meanings for certain things. For instance, why does that horror movie scare you? Why did that particular author write about death? Why did the director of your film change the series from the books? Why did that picture have such a big effect on people? Asking yourself these questions may help you find answers not only about the analysis subject but about you as well.
Sometimes, you need to ask yourself why a certain thing has a specific effect on you. This is why rhetorical analysis is important – you can complete a puzzle and end up discovering something amazing.
Conclusion
A lot of students stumble upon a rhetorical analysis essay, and it’s hard for them to start the process of writing it. It’s not that hard if you know how the process works, though.
It’s essential to find a topic that you like because that will help you make your process a pleasant one and your essay will be even better. Follow the outline of a rhetorical analysis essay, by writing an introduction, body paragraphs and conclusion.
Hopefully, this guide helped you understand how a rhetorical analysis essay works and how to write one.