Rhetorical Analysis

The Author

(The author's voice or persona)

How does the author present him or herself?

Is the Author familiar with the subject? How can you tell?

How does the author show good judgement or a broad perspective?

Is the author reasonable? How can you tell?

How does the author treat those who disagree?

How does the author value other's welfare?

How does the author treat the reader?

Does the author use stereotypes or show prejudice?

Where is this published? What does that say about the work?

What did you expect to see that was not on the page? How does the author distract your attention from this?

What does this work look like? Is it neatly done? Does it use the page well? How does the font interact with the text? Is there white space on the page? Are there relationships between parts of the text?

The Audience

(the reader)

What are the characteristics of the audience? How can you tell?

Race, age, sex, physical characteristics, habits, economic or educational level, religious or political affiliation, ethnicity, citizenship, location

Is the reader/audience encouraged to have an emotional response to this writing? How can you tell?

How should the audience use information about opposing views?

Is the reader encouraged to examine or question the opposition's motives?

What reader needs, values, or beliefs are presented here? How can you tell?

Is there a pattern in word choice or word order? Is the language simple or complex? Are terms defined?

What is the style of this work? How is this style created? Does the style of this piece resemble that of other works?

Consider imagery, coherence, emphasis, repetition, rhythm, analogy, metaphor, simile; How are these techniques used, if they are, and how effective are they?

The Argument

(the text)

How is the work organized?

What are the cues to it's organization? Does the organization work? Consider Process, narration, comparison/contrast, division/classification, cause/effect, definition, description.

What claims are made? Are these claims strong, obvious?

What evidence is used to support the claims? Examples and illustrations, facts, statistics, precedents, laws, memories, records, experts or witness testimony or opinion?

How does the work look? Is it neat or sloppy? Is the layout good? Do font and font size seem appropriate? Do visual aides add to the overall effect?

Intended Audience-- The primary audience the author wishes to reach. In addition, many analysis also consider the secondary audience of the text. For example, a medical researcher reporting her finding s from a study on the effects of abortion on subsequent fertility may target the medical community as her primary audience, but because abortion is such a controversial topic in our culture (an aspect of context), any analysis of this piece would have to take into account the strong secondary audience of those with pro- choice and pro-life concerns, who would be certain to look into any new research on abortion.

Author's Purpose-- What the author hopes to accomplish by writing this text. Purpose is not the same as the thesis or message of the writing, but they are closely related. It will be impossible to identify the purpose without also being able to understand what a thesis is. For example, the thesis of the article on abortion and fertility might be that the research indicates a negative impact on fertility. The purpose of the author might be to simply report the likely conclusions of the study to others in the field with the hope that follow-up studies would be conducted. On the other hand, the purpose of the article might also to be to incite anger, or to excite the reader, etc.

Context-- The relevant aspects of culture or current events that effect the author's attitude and the audience's perception of the topic being written about. In the case of the abortion article, the most important contextual element would be the heated debate about abortion that has raged for the last thirty years, with recent political developments and other medical studies forming immediate aspects of the context.

Author's Stance-- the underlying beliefs, ideologies, and background of the author that influence his/her attitude towards the topic, which then influences the thesis, purpose, and target audience the author chooses to address. Because the author of the abortion article is a scientist writing to a scientific-minded primary audience, she will want to present her findings in as objective a manner as possible. However, she may also have pro-life leanings that influenced the conclusion she drew from her research, which is then reflected in the wording of her thesis and the ways she attempts to appeal to her secondary audience.