Rhetorical Analysis Essay: How to Write it Correctly

Rhetorical Analysis Essay: How to Write it Correctly

The rhetorical analysis essay involves the analysis of the text and the characteristic of arguments, their validity. Other means of persuasion are also considered. It aims to reveal the main idea of a writer and comprehend his/her point of view.

Basic Techniques of Appeal in Rhetoric and Their Identification in Essay Writing

The art of persuasion in rhetoric is realized through the basic general concepts that had names in ancient science: logos, ethos, pathos. You can check our explanation below or use essay writer helper for more.

Logos

In ancient Greek, logos meant two groups of concepts:

Word, language, speech;
Concept, thought, mind.

This is reflected in the semantics of modern words with the root log-, which are concentrated mainly in the fields of logic and linguistics. Thus, there is logical grammar, logical speech, logical emphasis, logical subject, logical judgment, and so on. In modern rhetoric, logic is one of the basic signs of speech and text. It is expressed in the sequence of reasoning, the consistency of theses, and provisions of speech. It can also be expressed in the expediency of refutations if reality dictates contradictory provisions.

Ethos

In ancient Greek, ethos meant ‘custom’, ‘habit’, ‘character’. In ancient rhetoric, it was used as a sign of the word ‘orator’, and then in rhetorical science was established as its moral principle. Ethos creates the basis for the development of a rhetorical ideal. It defined the exemplary social and personal high moral behaviour of the speaker. Otherwise, the speaker cannot persuade others and influence them.

Pathos

Pathos is an intellectual, volitional, emotional desire of the author, which is manifested both in the process of linguistic communication and in its product – the text. Pathos is a category of aesthetics. Certain views and ideas can take over a person so much that they become the pathos of his/her life, work, social, or production activities. Rhetoric requires the speaker to be sincere. How to control your pathos and how to manage the audience’s pathos so as not to be funny, arrogant, overly tragic? Thus, rhetoric offers several techniques for organizing the speaker’s linguistic means of speech and language behaviour.

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Outline

Like any other type of essay, a rhetorical analysis essay consists of three main parts: an introduction, the main part, and a conclusion. Consider below the features of writing each part of a rhetorical analysis essay.

Writing an Introduction

The introduction should reveal the starting points of the study:

The essence and state of the researched problem and its significance. Through critical analysis, the main contradictions between the existing theoretical knowledge and the practice of solving the research problem are highlighted;
The actuality of the research and the feasibility of choosing a topic. Coverage of relevance should not be verbose. It is enough to express the essence of the problem or scientific task in a few sentences. Substantiating the relevance of the research topic, it is important to demonstrate the ability to separate the main from the secondary. It is also important to identify aspects of the topic that are already known and those that require additional study. They are usually chosen as the subject of scientific research;
The basic aim and tasks of the research. The purpose of a research search is usually described through its result. The author asks himself the question: what result do I want to get? The goal of the study determines its objectives. To make sense of them, the researcher must ask himself/herself the question: what must be done to achieve the goal? The main tasks of the study are usually described in standardized terms: determine…, find out…, disclose…, etc. Thus, the tasks of the work are considered as a concretization of its purpose;
Theoretical foundations of the study. Each study has its theoretical foundations. It is also necessary to describe them;
The general structure of the work. Indicating the structural components, you should specify the number of sections and items in the list of sources used.

Writing the Main Part of the Work

The main part consists of sections, subsections. At the end of sections, conclusions are formulated with a brief description of the scientific and practical results. It allows freeing general conclusions from secondary details.

The sections of the main part include:

Review of the literature sources on the theme and the choice of research direction;
Tasks of the research;
Information about the study;
Analysis and generalization of research results.

The presentation of the material is subjected to one leading idea, clearly defined by the author.

Writing a Conclusion

The conclusion presents the most important scientific and theoretical results obtained by the author. It contains answers to the research tasks formulated at the beginning of the work.

Requirements for Creating Rhetorical Analysis Essay

In this section, you will find information on how a rhetorical analysis essay should look like.

Thus, the rhetorical analysis essay cannot be a retelling of what is written in the literature or a description of a simple observation. The work should have some practical value. It must correspond to the following requirements:

Relevance of the topic, its correspondence to the current state of science, the practical tasks of a particular scientific field. Relevance means the importance, practical significance of the problem;
Sufficient theoretical level. This requirement means that the author must sufficiently disclose the basic concepts and terms related to the problem of work. Only objective facts and real practical examples can be included;
Research nature. The paper should contain elements of research. The study of a sufficient number of published sources (critical analysis of monographs and periodicals) of domestic and foreign authors should be provided. A statement of one’s point of view on the problem under consideration should be presented. Systematization and analysis of different opinions and approaches is also required;
A clear description of the subject, purpose, and methods of research;
Novelty of results, scientific and theoretical value of research;
Clear logic of presentation, the correctness of language, and stylistic design;
Correctness and validity of conclusions and practical recommendations.

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