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Rhetorical Analysis Essay

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example

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Ethos, Pathos, and Logos - Structure, Usage & Examples

Many students find themselves confused by rhetorical strategies, which often leads to essays that miss the mark. The good news is there's an easy fix: using great examples. 

By looking at high-quality rhetorical analysis essay examples, you can learn what works and improve your own writing. 

That’s why we’ve compiled some top-notch rhetorical analysis essay examples to boost your understanding of how to write a compelling and well-structured essay. 

So, let’s explore these examples!

• 1. Good Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example
• 2. Rhetorical Analysis Essay Examples for Students 
• 3. Writing a Visual Rhetorical Analysis Essay with Example 
• 4. Rhetorical Analysis Essay Writing Tips

Good Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example

The step-by-step writing process of a rhetorical analysis essay is far more complicated than ordinary academic essays. This essay type critically analyzes the rhetorical means used to persuade the audience and their efficiency. 

The example provided below is the best rhetorical analysis essay example:

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Sample

In this essay type, the author uses rhetorical approaches such as ethos, pathos, and logos .  These approaches are then studied and analyzed deeply by the essay writers to weigh their effectiveness in delivering the message.

Let’s take a look at the following example to get a better idea;

The outline and structure of a rhetorical analysis essay are important. 

According to the essay outline, the essay is divided into three sections: 

• Introduction
• Ethos 
• Logos 

A rhetorical analysis essay outline follows a traditional essay outline. Here’s how each part is typically written:

Rhetorical Analysis Introduction Example

An introduction for a rhetorical essay is drafted by:

• Stating an opening sentence known as the hook . This catchy sentence is prepared to grab the audience’s attention to the paper. 
• After the opening sentence, the background information of the author and the original text are provided. 

For example, a rhetorical analysis essay written by Lee Jennings on“The Right Stuff” by David Suzuki. Lee started the essay by providing the introduction in the following way:

Analysis of the Example: 

• Suzuki stresses the importance of high school education. He prepares his readers for a proposal to make that education as valuable as possible.
• A rhetorical analysis can show how successful Suzuki was in using logos, pathos, and ethos. He had a strong ethos because of his reputation. 
• He also used pathos to appeal to parents and educators. However, his use of logos could have been more successful.
• Here Jennings stated the background information about the text and highlighted the rhetorical techniques used and their effectiveness. 

Thesis Statement Example for Rhetorical Analysis Essay 

A thesis statement of a rhetorical analysis essay is the writer’s stance on the original text. It is the argument that a writer holds and proves it using the evidence from the original text. 

A thesis statement for a rhetorical essay is written by analyzing the following elements of the original text:

• Diction - It refers to the author’s choice of words and the tone
• Imagery - The visual descriptive language that the author used in the content. 
• Simile - The comparison of things and ideas

In Jennings's analysis of “The Right Stuff,” the thesis statement was:

Example For Rhetorical Analysis Thesis Statement

Rhetorical Analysis Body Paragraph Example 

In the body paragraphs of your rhetorical analysis essay, you dissect the author's work. Each body paragraph opens with a topic sentence that shows the main point of that paragraph.

This is where you present the main analysis of  their rhetorical techniques, and provide evidence to support your analysis. 

Let's look at an example that analyzes the use of ethos in David Suzuki's essay:

Rhetorical Analysis Conclusion Example

All the body paragraphs lead the audience towards the essay’s conclusion .

Here is the conclusion for rhetorical analysis essay example by Jennings:

In the conclusion section, Jennings summarized the major points and restated the thesis statement to prove them. 

Rhetorical Essay Example For The Right Stuff by David Suzuki

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Examples for Students 

Writing a rhetorical analysis for AP Language and Composition courses can be challenging. Here are some AP English language rhetorical analysis essay examples:

AP Language Rhetorical Essay Sample

AP Rhetorical Analysis Essay Template

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example AP Lang

AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example

Here are a few more rhetorical analysis essay examples pdfs to help students:

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example Ethos, Pathos, Logos

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example Outline

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example College

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example APA Format

Compare and Contrast Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example

Comparative Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example

How to Start Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example High School

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example APA Sample

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example Of a Song

Florence Kelley Speech Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example MLA

Writing a Visual Rhetorical Analysis Essay with Example 

The visual rhetorical analysis essay determines how pictures and images communicate messages and persuade the audience. 

Usually, visual rhetorical analysis papers are written for advertisements. This is because they use strong images to convince the audience to behave in a certain way. 

To draft a perfect visual rhetorical analysis essay, follow the tips below:

• Analyze the advertisement deeply and note every minor detail. 
• Notice objects and colors used in the image to gather every detail.
• Determine the importance of the colors and objects and analyze why the advertiser chose the particular picture. 
• See what you feel about the image.
• Consider the objective of the image. Identify the message that the image is portraying. 
• Identify the targeted audience and how they respond to the picture. 

An example is provided below to give students a better idea of the concept. 

Simplicity Breeds Clarity Visual Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Writing Tips

Follow the tips provided below to make your rhetorical writing compelling. 

• Choose an engaging topic for your essay. The rhetorical analysis essay topic should be engaging to grab the reader’s attention.
• Thoroughly read the original text.
• Identify the SOAPSTone. From the text, determine the speaker, occasions, audience, purpose, subject, and tone.
• Develop a thesis statement to state your claim over the text.
• Draft a rhetorical analysis essay outline.
• Write an engaging essay introduction by giving a hook statement and background information. At the end of the introductory paragraph, state the thesis statement.
• The body paragraphs of the rhetorical essay should have a topic sentence. Also, in the paragraph, a thorough analysis should be presented.
• For writing a satisfactory rhetorical essay conclusion, restate the thesis statement and summarize the main points.
• Proofread your essay to check for mistakes in the content. Make your edits before submitting the draft.

Following the tips and the essay's correct writing procedure will guarantee success in your academics. 

We have given you plenty of examples of a rhetorical analysis essay. But if you are still struggling to draft a great rhetorical analysis essay, it is suggested to take a professional’s help.

MyPerfectWords.com can assist you with all your academic assignments. The top essay writer service that we provide is reliable. If you are confused about your writing assignments and have difficulty meeting the deadline, get help from custom essay writing online .

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• How to write a rhetorical analysis | Key concepts & examples

How to Write a Rhetorical Analysis | Key Concepts & Examples

Published on August 28, 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on July 23, 2023.

A rhetorical analysis is a type of essay  that looks at a text in terms of rhetoric. This means it is less concerned with what the author is saying than with how they say it: their goals, techniques, and appeals to the audience.

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Table of contents

Key concepts in rhetoric, analyzing the text, introducing your rhetorical analysis, the body: doing the analysis, concluding a rhetorical analysis, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about rhetorical analysis.

Rhetoric, the art of effective speaking and writing, is a subject that trains you to look at texts, arguments and speeches in terms of how they are designed to persuade the audience. This section introduces a few of the key concepts of this field.

Appeals: Logos, ethos, pathos

Appeals are how the author convinces their audience. Three central appeals are discussed in rhetoric, established by the philosopher Aristotle and sometimes called the rhetorical triangle: logos, ethos, and pathos.

Logos , or the logical appeal, refers to the use of reasoned argument to persuade. This is the dominant approach in academic writing , where arguments are built up using reasoning and evidence.

Ethos , or the ethical appeal, involves the author presenting themselves as an authority on their subject. For example, someone making a moral argument might highlight their own morally admirable behavior; someone speaking about a technical subject might present themselves as an expert by mentioning their qualifications.

Pathos , or the pathetic appeal, evokes the audience’s emotions. This might involve speaking in a passionate way, employing vivid imagery, or trying to provoke anger, sympathy, or any other emotional response in the audience.

These three appeals are all treated as integral parts of rhetoric, and a given author may combine all three of them to convince their audience.

Text and context

In rhetoric, a text is not necessarily a piece of writing (though it may be this). A text is whatever piece of communication you are analyzing. This could be, for example, a speech, an advertisement, or a satirical image.

In these cases, your analysis would focus on more than just language—you might look at visual or sonic elements of the text too.

The context is everything surrounding the text: Who is the author (or speaker, designer, etc.)? Who is their (intended or actual) audience? When and where was the text produced, and for what purpose?

Looking at the context can help to inform your rhetorical analysis. For example, Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech has universal power, but the context of the civil rights movement is an important part of understanding why.

Claims, supports, and warrants

A piece of rhetoric is always making some sort of argument, whether it’s a very clearly defined and logical one (e.g. in a philosophy essay) or one that the reader has to infer (e.g. in a satirical article). These arguments are built up with claims, supports, and warrants.

A claim is the fact or idea the author wants to convince the reader of. An argument might center on a single claim, or be built up out of many. Claims are usually explicitly stated, but they may also just be implied in some kinds of text.

The author uses supports to back up each claim they make. These might range from hard evidence to emotional appeals—anything that is used to convince the reader to accept a claim.

The warrant is the logic or assumption that connects a support with a claim. Outside of quite formal argumentation, the warrant is often unstated—the author assumes their audience will understand the connection without it. But that doesn’t mean you can’t still explore the implicit warrant in these cases.

For example, look at the following statement:

We can see a claim and a support here, but the warrant is implicit. Here, the warrant is the assumption that more likeable candidates would have inspired greater turnout. We might be more or less convinced by the argument depending on whether we think this is a fair assumption.

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Rhetorical analysis isn’t a matter of choosing concepts in advance and applying them to a text. Instead, it starts with looking at the text in detail and asking the appropriate questions about how it works:

• What is the author’s purpose?
• Do they focus closely on their key claims, or do they discuss various topics?
• What tone do they take—angry or sympathetic? Personal or authoritative? Formal or informal?
• Who seems to be the intended audience? Is this audience likely to be successfully reached and convinced?
• What kinds of evidence are presented?

By asking these questions, you’ll discover the various rhetorical devices the text uses. Don’t feel that you have to cram in every rhetorical term you know—focus on those that are most important to the text.

The following sections show how to write the different parts of a rhetorical analysis.

Like all essays, a rhetorical analysis begins with an introduction . The introduction tells readers what text you’ll be discussing, provides relevant background information, and presents your thesis statement .

Hover over different parts of the example below to see how an introduction works.

Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech is widely regarded as one of the most important pieces of oratory in American history. Delivered in 1963 to thousands of civil rights activists outside the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., the speech has come to symbolize the spirit of the civil rights movement and even to function as a major part of the American national myth. This rhetorical analysis argues that King’s assumption of the prophetic voice, amplified by the historic size of his audience, creates a powerful sense of ethos that has retained its inspirational power over the years.

The body of your rhetorical analysis is where you’ll tackle the text directly. It’s often divided into three paragraphs, although it may be more in a longer essay.

Each paragraph should focus on a different element of the text, and they should all contribute to your overall argument for your thesis statement.

Hover over the example to explore how a typical body paragraph is constructed.

King’s speech is infused with prophetic language throughout. Even before the famous “dream” part of the speech, King’s language consistently strikes a prophetic tone. He refers to the Lincoln Memorial as a “hallowed spot” and speaks of rising “from the dark and desolate valley of segregation” to “make justice a reality for all of God’s children.” The assumption of this prophetic voice constitutes the text’s strongest ethical appeal; after linking himself with political figures like Lincoln and the Founding Fathers, King’s ethos adopts a distinctly religious tone, recalling Biblical prophets and preachers of change from across history. This adds significant force to his words; standing before an audience of hundreds of thousands, he states not just what the future should be, but what it will be: “The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.” This warning is almost apocalyptic in tone, though it concludes with the positive image of the “bright day of justice.” The power of King’s rhetoric thus stems not only from the pathos of his vision of a brighter future, but from the ethos of the prophetic voice he adopts in expressing this vision.

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The conclusion of a rhetorical analysis wraps up the essay by restating the main argument and showing how it has been developed by your analysis. It may also try to link the text, and your analysis of it, with broader concerns.

Explore the example below to get a sense of the conclusion.

It is clear from this analysis that the effectiveness of King’s rhetoric stems less from the pathetic appeal of his utopian “dream” than it does from the ethos he carefully constructs to give force to his statements. By framing contemporary upheavals as part of a prophecy whose fulfillment will result in the better future he imagines, King ensures not only the effectiveness of his words in the moment but their continuing resonance today. Even if we have not yet achieved King’s dream, we cannot deny the role his words played in setting us on the path toward it.

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The goal of a rhetorical analysis is to explain the effect a piece of writing or oratory has on its audience, how successful it is, and the devices and appeals it uses to achieve its goals.

Unlike a standard argumentative essay , it’s less about taking a position on the arguments presented, and more about exploring how they are constructed.

The term “text” in a rhetorical analysis essay refers to whatever object you’re analyzing. It’s frequently a piece of writing or a speech, but it doesn’t have to be. For example, you could also treat an advertisement or political cartoon as a text.

Logos appeals to the audience’s reason, building up logical arguments . Ethos appeals to the speaker’s status or authority, making the audience more likely to trust them. Pathos appeals to the emotions, trying to make the audience feel angry or sympathetic, for example.

Collectively, these three appeals are sometimes called the rhetorical triangle . They are central to rhetorical analysis , though a piece of rhetoric might not necessarily use all of them.

In rhetorical analysis , a claim is something the author wants the audience to believe. A support is the evidence or appeal they use to convince the reader to believe the claim. A warrant is the (often implicit) assumption that links the support with the claim.

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Rhetorical Analysis Sample Essay

Harriet Clark

Ms. Rebecca Winter

13 Feb. 2015

Not Quite a Clean Sweep: Rhetorical Strategies in

Grose's "Cleaning: The Final Feminist Frontier”

A woman’s work is never done: many American women grow up with this saying and feel it to be true. 1 One such woman, author Jessica Grose, wrote “Cleaning: The Final Feminist Frontier,” published in 2013 in the New Republic, 2 and she argues that while the men recently started taking on more of the childcare and cooking, cleaning still falls unfairly on women. 3 Grose begins building her credibility with personal facts and reputable sources, citing convincing facts and statistics, and successfully employing emotional appeals; however, toward the end of the article, her attempts to appeal to readers’ emotions weaken her credibility and ultimately, her argument. 4

In her article, Grose first sets the stage by describing a specific scenario of house-cleaning with her husband after being shut in during Hurricane Sandy, and then she outlines the uneven distribution of cleaning work in her marriage and draws a comparison to the larger feminist issue of who does the cleaning in a relationship. Grose continues by discussing some of the reasons that men do not contribute to cleaning: the praise for a clean house goes to the woman; advertising and media praise men’s cooking and childcare, but not cleaning; and lastly, it is just not fun. Possible solutions to the problem, Grose suggests, include making a chart of who does which chores, dividing up tasks based on skill and ability, accepting a dirtier home, and making cleaning more fun with gadgets. 5

Throughout her piece, Grose uses many strong sources that strengthen her credibility and appeal to ethos, as well as build her argument. 6 These sources include, “sociologists Judith Treas and Tsui-o Tai,” “a 2008 study from the University of New Hampshire,” and “P&G North America Fabric Care Brand Manager, Matthew Krehbiel” (qtd. in Grose). 7 Citing these sources boosts Grose’s credibility by showing that she has done her homework and has provided facts and statistics, as well as expert opinions to support her claim. She also uses personal examples from her own home life to introduce and support the issue, which shows that she has a personal stake in and first-hand experience with the problem. 8

Adding to her ethos appeals, Grose uses strong appeals to logos, with many facts and statistics and logical progressions of ideas. 9 She points out facts about her marriage and the distribution of household chores: “My husband and I both work. We split midnight baby feedings ...but ... he will admit that he’s never cleaned the bathroom, that I do the dishes nine times out of ten, and that he barely knows how the washer and dryer work in the apartment we’ve lived in for over eight months.” 10 These facts introduce and support the idea that Grose does more household chores than her husband. Grose continues with many statistics:

[A]bout 55 percent of American mothers employed full time do some housework on an average day, while only 18 percent of employed fathers do. ... [W]orking women with children are still doing a week and a half more of “second shift” work each year than their male partners. ... Even in the famously gender-neutral Sweden, women do 45 minutes more housework a day than their male partners. 11

These statistics are a few of many that logically support her claim that it is a substantial and real problem that men do not do their fair share of the chores. The details and numbers build an appeal to logos and impress upon the reader that this is a problem worth discussing. 12

Along with strong logos appeals, Grose effectively makes appeals to pathos in the beginning and middle sections. 13 Her introduction is full of emotionally-charged words and phrases that create a sympathetic image; Grose notes that she “was eight months pregnant” and her husband found it difficult to “fight with a massively pregnant person.” 14 The image she evokes of the challenges and vulnerabilities of being so pregnant, as well as the high emotions a woman feels at that time effectively introduce the argument and its seriousness. Her goal is to make the reader feel sympathy for her. Adding to this idea are words and phrases such as, “insisted,” “argued,” “not fun,” “sucks” “headachey,” “be judged,” “be shunned” (Grose). All of these words evoke negative emotions about cleaning, which makes the reader sympathize with women who feel “judged” and shunned”—very negative feelings. Another feeling Grose reinforces with her word choice is the concept of fairness: “fair share,” “a week and a half more of ‘second shift’ work,” “more housework,” “more gendered and less frequent.” These words help establish the unfairness that exists when women do all of the cleaning, and they are an appeal to pathos, or the readers’ feelings of frustration and anger with injustice. 15

However, the end of the article lacks the same level of effectiveness in the appeals to ethos. 16 For example, Grose notes that when men do housework, they are considered to be “’enacting “small instances of gender heroism,” or ‘SIGH’s’—which, barf.” 17 The usage of the word “barf” is jarring to the reader; unprofessional and immature, it is a shift from the researched, intelligent voice she has established and the reader is less likely to take the author seriously. This damages the strength of her credibility and her argument. 18

Additionally, her last statement in the article refers to her husband in a way that weakens the argument. 19 While returning to the introduction’s hook in the conclusion is a frequently-used strategy, Grose chooses to return to her discussion of her husband in a humorous way: Grose discusses solutions, and says there is “a huge, untapped market ... for toilet-scrubbing iPods. I bet my husband would buy one.” 20 Returning to her own marriage and husband is an appeal to ethos or personal credibility, and while that works well in the introduction, in the conclusion, it lacks the strength and seriousness that the topic deserves and was given earlier in the article. 21

Though Grose begins the essay by effectively persuading her readers of the unfair distribution of home-maintenance cleaning labor, she loses her power in the end, where she most needs to drive home her argument. Readers can see the problem exists in both her marriage and throughout the world; however, her shift to humor and sarcasm makes the reader not take the problem as seriously in the end. 22 Grose could have more seriously driven home the point that a woman’s work could be done: by a man. 23

Works Cited

Grose, Jessica. “Cleaning: The Final Feminist Frontier.” New Republic. The New Republic, 19 Mar. 2013. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.

• Article author's claim or purpose
• Summary of the article's main point in the second paragraph (could also be in the introduction)
• Third paragraph begins with a transition and topic sentence that reflects the first topic in the thesis
• Quotes illustrate how the author uses appeals to ethos
• Analysis explains how the quotes show the effective use of ethos as noted in the thesis
• Transition and topic sentence about the second point from the thesis
• Quote that illustrates appeals to logos
• Analysis explains how the quotes show the effective use of logos, as noted in the thesis
• Transition and topic sentence about the third point from the thesis
• Quotes that illustrate appeals to pathos
• Analysis explains how the quotes show the effective use of pathos, as noted in the thesis
• Transition and topic sentence about fourth point from the thesis
• Quote illustrates how the author uses appeal to ethos
• Analysis explains how quote supports thesis
• Transition and topic sentence about fourth point from thesis
• Conclusion returns to the ideas in the thesis and further develops them
• Last sentence returns to the hook in the introduction

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How to Write the AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Essay (With Example)

November 27, 2023

Feeling intimidated by the AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Essay? We’re here to help demystify. Whether you’re cramming for the AP Lang exam right now or planning to take the test down the road, we’ve got crucial rubric information, helpful tips, and an essay example to prepare you for the big day. This post will cover 1) What is the AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Essay? 2) AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Rubric 3) AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis: Sample Prompt 4) AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example 5)AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example: Why It Works

What is the AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Essay?

The AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Essay is one of three essays included in the written portion of the AP English Exam. The full AP English Exam is 3 hours and 15 minutes long, with the first 60 minutes dedicated to multiple-choice questions. Once you complete the multiple-choice section, you move on to three equally weighted essays that ask you to synthesize, analyze, and interpret texts and develop well-reasoned arguments. The three essays include:

Synthesis essay: You’ll review various pieces of evidence and then write an essay that synthesizes (aka combines and interprets) the evidence and presents a clear argument. Read our write up on How to Write the AP Lang Synthesis Essay here.

Argumentative essay: You’ll take a stance on a specific topic and argue your case.

Rhetorical essay: You’ll read a provided passage, then analyze the author’s rhetorical choices and develop an argument that explains why the author made those rhetorical choices.

AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Rubric

The AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Essay is graded on just 3 rubric categories: Thesis, Evidence and Commentary, and Sophistication . At a glance, the rubric categories may seem vague, but AP exam graders are actually looking for very particular things in each category. We’ll break it down with dos and don’ts for each rubric category:

Thesis (0-1 point)

There’s nothing nebulous when it comes to grading AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Essay thesis. You either have one or you don’t. Including a thesis gets you one point closer to a high score and leaving it out means you miss out on one crucial point. So, what makes a thesis that counts?

• Make sure your thesis argues something about the author’s rhetorical choices. Making an argument means taking a risk and offering your own interpretation of the provided text. This is an argument that someone else might disagree with.
• A good test to see if you have a thesis that makes an argument. In your head, add the phrase “I think that…” to the beginning of your thesis. If what follows doesn’t logically flow after that phrase (aka if what follows isn’t something you and only you think), it’s likely you’re not making an argument.
• Avoid a thesis that merely restates the prompt.
• Avoid a thesis that summarizes the text but does not make an argument.

Evidence and Commentary (0-4 points)

This rubric category is graded on a scale of 0-4 where 4 is the highest grade. Per the AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis rubric, to get a 4, you’ll want to:

• Include lots of specific evidence from the text. There is no set golden number of quotes to include, but you’ll want to make sure you’re incorporating more than a couple pieces of evidence that support your argument about the author’s rhetorical choices.
• Make sure you include more than one type of evidence, too. Let’s say you’re working on your essay and have gathered examples of alliteration to include as supporting evidence. That’s just one type of rhetorical choice, and it’s hard to make a credible argument if you’re only looking at one type of evidence. To fix that issue, reread the text again looking for patterns in word choice and syntax, meaningful figurative language and imagery, literary devices, and other rhetorical choices, looking for additional types of evidence to support your argument.
• After you include evidence, offer your own interpretation and explain how this evidence proves the point you make in your thesis.
• Don’t summarize or speak generally about the author and the text. Everything you write must be backed up with evidence.
• Don’t let quotes speak for themselves. After every piece of evidence you include, make sure to explain your interpretation. Also, connect the evidence to your overarching argument.

Sophistication (0-1 point)

In this case, sophistication isn’t about how many fancy vocabulary words or how many semicolons you use. According to College Board , one point can be awarded to AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis essays that “demonstrate sophistication of thought and/or a complex understanding of the rhetorical situation” in any of these three ways:

• Explaining the significance or relevance of the writer’s rhetorical choices.
• Explaining the purpose or function of the passage’s complexities or tensions.
• Employing a style that is consistently vivid and persuasive.

Note that you don’t have to achieve all three to earn your sophistication point. A good way to think of this rubric category is to consider it a bonus point that you can earn for going above and beyond in depth of analysis or by writing an especially persuasive, clear, and well-structured essay. In order to earn this point, you’ll need to first do a good job with your thesis, evidence, and commentary.

• Focus on nailing an argumentative thesis and multiple types of evidence. Getting these fundamentals of your essay right will set you up for achieving depth of analysis.
• Explain how each piece of evidence connects to your thesis.
• Spend a minute outlining your essay before you begin to ensure your essay flows in a clear and cohesive way.
• Steer clear of generalizations about the author or text.
• Don’t include arguments you can’t prove with evidence from the text.
• Avoid complex sentences and fancy vocabulary words unless you use them often. Long, clunky sentences with imprecisely used words are hard to follow.

AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis: Sample Prompt

The sample prompt below is published online by College Board and is a real example from the 2021 AP Exam. The prompt provides background context, essay instructions, and the text you need to analyze. For sake of space, we’ve included the text as an image you can click to read. After the prompt, we provide a sample high scoring essay and then explain why this AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis essay example works.

Suggested time—40 minutes.

(This question counts as one-third of the total essay section score.)

On February 27, 2013, while in office, former president Barack Obama delivered the following address dedicating the Rosa Parks statue in the National Statuary Hall of the United States Capitol building. Rosa Parks was an African American civil rights activist who was arrested in 1955 for refusing to give up her seat on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Read the passage carefully. Write an essay that analyzes the rhetorical choices Obama makes to convey his message.

In your response you should do the following:

• Respond to the prompt with a thesis that analyzes the writer’s rhetorical choices.
• Select and use evidence to support your line of reasoning.
• Explain how the evidence supports your line of reasoning.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the rhetorical situation.
• Use appropriate grammar and punctuation in communicating your argument.

AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example

In his speech delivered in 2013 at the dedication of Rosa Park’s statue, President Barack Obama acknowledges everything that Parks’ activism made possible in the United States. Telling the story of Parks’ life and achievements, Obama highlights the fact that Parks was a regular person whose actions accomplished enormous change during the civil rights era. Through the use of diction that portrays Parks as quiet and demure, long lists that emphasize the extent of her impacts, and Biblical references, Obama suggests that all of us are capable of achieving greater good, just as Parks did.

Although it might be a surprising way to start to his dedication, Obama begins his speech by telling us who Parks was not: “Rosa Parks held no elected office. She possessed no fortune” he explains in lines 1-2. Later, when he tells the story of the bus driver who threatened to have Parks arrested when she refused to get off the bus, he explains that Parks “simply replied, ‘You may do that’” (lines 22-23). Right away, he establishes that Parks was a regular person who did not hold a seat of power. Her protest on the bus was not part of a larger plan, it was a simple response. By emphasizing that Parks was not powerful, wealthy, or loud spoken, he implies that Parks’ style of activism is an everyday practice that all of us can aspire to.

AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example (Continued)

Even though Obama portrays Parks as a demure person whose protest came “simply” and naturally, he shows the importance of her activism through long lists of ripple effects. When Parks challenged her arrest, Obama explains, Martin Luther King, Jr. stood with her and “so did thousands of Montgomery, Alabama commuters” (lines 27-28). They began a boycott that included “teachers and laborers, clergy and domestics, through rain and cold and sweltering heat, day after day, week after week, month after month, walking miles if they had to…” (lines 28-31). In this section of the speech, Obama’s sentences grow longer and he uses lists to show that Parks’ small action impacted and inspired many others to fight for change. Further, listing out how many days, weeks, and months the boycott lasted shows how Parks’ single act of protest sparked a much longer push for change.

To further illustrate Parks’ impact, Obama incorporates Biblical references that emphasize the importance of “that single moment on the bus” (lines 57-58). In lines 33-35, Obama explains that Parks and the other protestors are “driven by a solemn determination to affirm their God-given dignity” and he also compares their victory to the fall the “ancient walls of Jericho” (line 43). By of including these Biblical references, Obama suggests that Parks’ action on the bus did more than correct personal or political wrongs; it also corrected moral and spiritual wrongs. Although Parks had no political power or fortune, she was able to restore a moral balance in our world.

Toward the end of the speech, Obama states that change happens “not mainly through the exploits of the famous and the powerful, but through the countless acts of often anonymous courage and kindness” (lines 78-81). Through carefully chosen diction that portrays her as a quiet, regular person and through lists and Biblical references that highlight the huge impacts of her action, Obama illustrates exactly this point. He wants us to see that, just like Parks, the small and meek can change the world for the better.

AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example: Why It Works

We would give the AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis essay above a score of 6 out of 6 because it fully satisfies the essay’s 3 rubric categories: Thesis, Evidence and Commentary, and Sophistication . Let’s break down what this student did:

The thesis of this essay appears in the last line of the first paragraph:

“ Through the use of diction that portrays Parks as quiet and demure, long lists that emphasize the extent of her impacts, and Biblical references, Obama suggests that all of us are capable of achieving greater good, just as Parks did .”

This student’s thesis works because they make a clear argument about Obama’s rhetorical choices. They 1) list the rhetorical choices that will be analyzed in the rest of the essay (the italicized text above) and 2) include an argument someone else might disagree with (the bolded text above).

Evidence and Commentary:

This student includes substantial evidence and commentary. Things they do right, per the AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis rubric:

• They include lots of specific evidence from the text in the form of quotes.
• They incorporate 3 different types of evidence (diction, long lists, Biblical references).
• After including evidence, they offer an interpretation of what the evidence means and explain how the evidence contributes to their overarching argument (aka their thesis).

Sophistication

This essay achieves sophistication according to the AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis essay rubric in a few key ways:

• This student provides an introduction that flows naturally into the topic their essay will discuss. Before they get to their thesis, they tell us that Obama portrays Parks as a “regular person” setting up their main argument: Obama wants all regular people to aspire to do good in the world just as Rosa Parks did.
• They organize evidence and commentary in a clear and cohesive way. Each body paragraph focuses on just one type of evidence.
• They explain how their evidence is significant. In the final sentence of each body paragraph, they draw a connection back to the overarching argument presented in the thesis.
• All their evidence supports the argument presented in their thesis. There is no extraneous evidence or misleading detail.
• They consider nuances in the text. Rather than taking the text at face value, they consider what Obama’s rhetorical choices imply and offer their own unique interpretation of those implications.
• In their final paragraph, they come full circle, reiterate their thesis, and explain what Obama’s rhetorical choices communicate to readers.
• Their sentences are clear and easy to read. There are no grammar errors or misused words.

AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Essay—More Resources

Looking for more tips to help your master your AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Essay? Brush up on 20 Rhetorical Devices High School Students Should Know and read our Tips for Improving Reading Comprehension . If you’re ready to start studying for another part of the AP English Exam, find more expert tips in our How to Write the AP Lang Synthesis blog post.

Considering what other AP classes to take? Read up on the Hardest AP Classes .

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Christina Wood

Christina Wood holds a BA in Literature & Writing from UC San Diego, an MFA in Creative Writing from Washington University in St. Louis, and is currently a Doctoral Candidate in English at the University of Georgia, where she teaches creative writing and first-year composition courses. Christina has published fiction and nonfiction in numerous publications, including The Paris Review , McSweeney’s , Granta , Virginia Quarterly Review , The Sewanee Review , Mississippi Review , and Puerto del Sol , among others. Her story “The Astronaut” won the 2018 Shirley Jackson Award for short fiction and received a “Distinguished Stories” mention in the 2019 Best American Short Stories anthology.

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How to Write a Rhetorical Analysis Essay–Examples & Template

What is a Rhetorical Analysis Essay?

A rhetorical analysis essay is, as the name suggests, an analysis of someone else’s writing (or speech, or advert, or even cartoon) and how they use not only words but also rhetorical techniques to influence their audience in a certain way. A rhetorical analysis is less interested in what the author is saying and more in how they present it, what effect this has on their readers, whether they achieve their goals, and what approach they use to get there. 

Its structure is similar to that of most essays: An Introduction presents your thesis, a Body analyzes the text you have chosen, breaks it down into sections and explains how arguments have been constructed and how each part persuades, informs, or entertains the reader, and a Conclusion section sums up your evaluation. 

Note that your personal opinion on the matter is not relevant for your analysis and that you don’t state anywhere in your essay whether you agree or disagree with the stance the author takes.

In the following, we will define the key rhetorical concepts you need to write a good rhetorical analysis and give you some practical tips on where to start.

Key Rhetorical Concepts

Your goal when writing a rhetorical analysis is to think about and then carefully describe how the author has designed their text so that it has the intended effect on their audience. To do that, you need to consider a number of key rhetorical strategies: Rhetorical appeals (“Ethos”, “Logos”, and “Pathos”), context, as well as claims, supports, and warrants.

Ethos, Logos, and Pathos were introduced by Aristotle, way back in the 4th century BC, as the main ways in which language can be used to persuade an audience. They still represent the basis of any rhetorical analysis and are often referred to as the “rhetorical triangle”. 

These and other rhetorical techniques can all be combined to create the intended effect, and your job as the one analyzing a text is to break the writer’s arguments down and identify the concepts they are based on.

Rhetorical Appeals

Rhetorical appeal #1: ethos.

Ethos refers to the reputation or authority of the writer regarding the topic of their essay or speech and to how they use this to appeal to their audience. Just like we are more likely to buy a product from a brand or vendor we have confidence in than one we don’t know or have reason to distrust, Ethos-driven texts or speeches rely on the reputation of the author to persuade the reader or listener. When you analyze an essay, you should therefore look at how the writer establishes Ethos through rhetorical devices.

Does the author present themselves as an authority on their subject? If so, how? 

Do they highlight how impeccable their own behavior is to make a moral argument? 

Do they present themselves as an expert by listing their qualifications or experience to convince the reader of their opinion on something?

Rhetorical appeal #2: Pathos

The purpose of Pathos-driven rhetoric is to appeal to the reader’s emotions. A common example of pathos as a rhetorical means is adverts by charities that try to make you donate money to a “good cause”. To evoke the intended emotions in the reader, an author may use passionate language, tell personal stories, and employ vivid imagery so that the reader can imagine themselves in a certain situation and feel empathy with or anger towards others.

Rhetorical appeal #3: Logos

Logos, the “logical” appeal, uses reason to persuade. Reason and logic, supported by data, evidence, clearly defined methodology, and well-constructed arguments, are what most academic writing is based on. Emotions, those of the researcher/writer as well as those of the reader, should stay out of such academic texts, as should anyone’s reputation, beliefs, or personal opinions. 

Text and Context

To analyze a piece of writing, a speech, an advertisement, or even a satirical drawing, you need to look beyond the piece of communication and take the context in which it was created and/or published into account. 

Who is the person who wrote the text/drew the cartoon/designed the ad..? What audience are they trying to reach? Where was the piece published and what was happening there around that time? 

A political speech, for example, can be powerful even when read decades later, but the historical context surrounding it is an important aspect of the effect it was intended to have. 

Claims, Supports, and Warrants

To make any kind of argument, a writer needs to put forward specific claims, support them with data or evidence or even a moral or emotional appeal, and connect the dots logically so that the reader can follow along and agree with the points made.

The connections between statements, so-called “warrants”, follow logical reasoning but are not always clearly stated—the author simply assumes the reader understands the underlying logic, whether they present it “explicitly” or “implicitly”. Implicit warrants are commonly used in advertisements where seemingly happy people use certain products, wear certain clothes, accessories, or perfumes, or live certain lifestyles – with the connotation that, first, the product/perfume/lifestyle is what makes that person happy and, second, the reader wants to be as happy as the person in the ad. Some warrants are never clearly stated, and your job when writing a rhetorical analysis essay is therefore to identify them and bring them to light, to evaluate their validity, their effect on the reader, and the use of such means by the writer/creator. 

What are the Five Rhetorical Situations?

A “rhetorical situation” refers to the circumstance behind a text or other piece of communication that arises from a given context. It explains why a rhetorical piece was created, what its purpose is, and how it was constructed to achieve its aims.

Rhetorical situations can be classified into the following five categories:

Asking such questions when you analyze a text will help you identify all the aspects that play a role in the effect it has on its audience, and will allow you to evaluate whether it achieved its aims or where it may have failed to do so.

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Outline

Analyzing someone else’s work can seem like a big task, but as with every assignment or writing endeavor, you can break it down into smaller, well-defined steps that give you a practical structure to follow. 

To give you an example of how the different parts of your text may look when it’s finished, we will provide you with some excerpts from this rhetorical analysis essay example (which even includes helpful comments) published on the Online Writing Lab website of Excelsior University in Albany, NY. The text that this essay analyzes is this article on why one should or shouldn’t buy an Ipad. If you want more examples so that you can build your own rhetorical analysis template, have a look at this essay on Nabokov’s Lolita and the one provided here about the “Shitty First Drafts” chapter of Anne Lamott’s writing instruction book “Bird by Bird”.

Analyzing the Text

When writing a rhetorical analysis, you don’t choose the concepts or key points you think are relevant or want to address. Rather, you carefully read the text several times asking yourself questions like those listed in the last section on rhetorical situations to identify how the text “works” and how it was written to achieve that effect.

Start with focusing on the author : What do you think was their purpose for writing the text? Do they make one principal claim and then elaborate on that? Or do they discuss different topics? 

Then look at what audience they are talking to: Do they want to make a group of people take some action? Vote for someone? Donate money to a good cause? Who are these people? Is the text reaching this specific audience? Why or why not?

What tone is the author using to address their audience? Are they trying to evoke sympathy? Stir up anger? Are they writing from a personal perspective? Are they painting themselves as an authority on the topic? Are they using academic or informal language?

How does the author support their claims ? What kind of evidence are they presenting? Are they providing explicit or implicit warrants? Are these warrants valid or problematic? Is the provided evidence convincing?  

Asking yourself such questions will help you identify what rhetorical devices a text uses and how well they are put together to achieve a certain aim. Remember, your own opinion and whether you agree with the author are not the point of a rhetorical analysis essay – your task is simply to take the text apart and evaluate it.

If you are still confused about how to write a rhetorical analysis essay, just follow the steps outlined below to write the different parts of your rhetorical analysis: As every other essay, it consists of an Introduction , a Body (the actual analysis), and a Conclusion .

Rhetorical Analysis Introduction

The Introduction section briefly presents the topic of the essay you are analyzing, the author, their main claims, a short summary of the work by you, and your thesis statement . 

Tell the reader what the text you are going to analyze represents (e.g., historically) or why it is relevant (e.g., because it has become some kind of reference for how something is done). Describe what the author claims, asserts, or implies and what techniques they use to make their argument and persuade their audience. Finish off with your thesis statement that prepares the reader for what you are going to present in the next section – do you think that the author’s assumptions/claims/arguments were presented in a logical/appealing/powerful way and reached their audience as intended?

Have a look at an excerpt from the sample essay linked above to see what a rhetorical analysis introduction can look like. See how it introduces the author and article , the context in which it originally appeared , the main claims the author makes , and how this first paragraph ends in a clear thesis statement that the essay will then elaborate on in the following Body section:

Cory Doctorow ’s article on BoingBoing is an older review of the iPad , one of Apple’s most famous products. At the time of this article, however, the iPad was simply the latest Apple product to hit the market and was not yet so popular. Doctorow’s entire career has been entrenched in and around technology. He got his start as a CD-ROM programmer and is now a successful blogger and author. He is currently the co-editor of the BoingBoing blog on which this article was posted. One of his main points in this article comes from Doctorow’s passionate advocacy of free digital media sharing. He argues that the iPad is just another way for established technology companies to control our technological freedom and creativity . In “ Why I Won’t Buy an iPad (and Think You Shouldn’t, Either) ” published on Boing Boing in April of 2010, Cory Doctorow successfully uses his experience with technology, facts about the company Apple, and appeals to consumer needs to convince potential iPad buyers that Apple and its products, specifically the iPad, limit the digital rights of those who use them by controlling and mainstreaming the content that can be used and created on the device . 

Doing the Rhetorical Analysis

The main part of your analysis is the Body , where you dissect the text in detail. Explain what methods the author uses to inform, entertain, and/or persuade the audience. Use Aristotle’s rhetorical triangle and the other key concepts we introduced above. Use quotations from the essay to demonstrate what you mean. Work out why the writer used a certain approach and evaluate (and again, demonstrate using the text itself) how successful they were. Evaluate the effect of each rhetorical technique you identify on the audience and judge whether the effect is in line with the author’s intentions.

To make it easy for the reader to follow your thought process, divide this part of your essay into paragraphs that each focus on one strategy or one concept , and make sure they are all necessary and contribute to the development of your argument(s).

One paragraph of this section of your essay could, for example, look like this:

One example of Doctorow’s position is his comparison of Apple’s iStore to Wal-Mart. This is an appeal to the consumer’s logic—or an appeal to logos. Doctorow wants the reader to take his comparison and consider how an all-powerful corporation like the iStore will affect them. An iPad will only allow for apps and programs purchased through the iStore to be run on it; therefore, a customer must not only purchase an iPad but also any programs he or she wishes to use. Customers cannot create their own programs or modify the hardware in any way. 

As you can see, the author of this sample essay identifies and then explains to the reader how Doctorow uses the concept of Logos to appeal to his readers – not just by pointing out that he does it but by dissecting how it is done.

Rhetorical Analysis Conclusion

The conclusion section of your analysis should restate your main arguments and emphasize once more whether you think the author achieved their goal. Note that this is not the place to introduce new information—only rely on the points you have discussed in the body of your essay. End with a statement that sums up the impact the text has on its audience and maybe society as a whole:

Overall, Doctorow makes a good argument about why there are potentially many better things to drop a great deal of money on instead of the iPad. He gives some valuable information and facts that consumers should take into consideration before going out to purchase the new device. He clearly uses rhetorical tools to help make his case, and, overall, he is effective as a writer, even if, ultimately, he was ineffective in convincing the world not to buy an iPad . 

Frequently Asked Questions about Rhetorical Analysis Essays 

What is a rhetorical analysis essay.

A rhetorical analysis dissects a text or another piece of communication to work out and explain how it impacts its audience, how successfully it achieves its aims, and what rhetorical devices it uses to do that. 

While argumentative essays usually take a stance on a certain topic and argue for it, a rhetorical analysis identifies how someone else constructs their arguments and supports their claims.

What is the correct rhetorical analysis essay format?

Like most other essays, a rhetorical analysis contains an Introduction that presents the thesis statement, a Body that analyzes the piece of communication, explains how arguments have been constructed, and illustrates how each part persuades, informs, or entertains the reader, and a Conclusion section that summarizes the results of the analysis. 

What is the “rhetorical triangle”?

The rhetorical triangle was introduced by Aristotle as the main ways in which language can be used to persuade an audience: Logos appeals to the audience’s reason, Ethos to the writer’s status or authority, and Pathos to the reader’s emotions. Logos, Ethos, and Pathos can all be combined to create the intended effect, and your job as the one analyzing a text is to break the writer’s arguments down and identify what specific concepts each is based on.

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What Is a Rhetorical Analysis and How to Write a Great One

By Helly Douglas

Do you have to write a rhetorical analysis essay? Fear not! We’re here to explain exactly what rhetorical analysis means, how you should structure your essay, and give you some essential “dos and don’ts.”

What is a Rhetorical Analysis Essay?

How do you write a rhetorical analysis, what are the three rhetorical strategies, what are the five rhetorical situations, how to plan a rhetorical analysis essay, creating a rhetorical analysis essay, examples of great rhetorical analysis essays, final thoughts.

A rhetorical analysis essay studies how writers and speakers have used words to influence their audience. Think less about the words the author has used and more about the techniques they employ, their goals, and the effect this has on the audience.

In your analysis essay, you break a piece of text (including cartoons, adverts, and speeches) into sections and explain how each part works to persuade, inform, or entertain. You’ll explore the effectiveness of the techniques used, how the argument has been constructed, and give examples from the text.

A strong rhetorical analysis evaluates a text rather than just describes the techniques used. You don’t include whether you personally agree or disagree with the argument.

Structure a rhetorical analysis in the same way as most other types of academic essays . You’ll have an introduction to present your thesis, a main body where you analyze the text, which then leads to a conclusion.

Think about how the writer (also known as a rhetor) considers the situation that frames their communication:

• Topic: the overall purpose of the rhetoric
• Audience: this includes primary, secondary, and tertiary audiences
• Purpose: there are often more than one to consider
• Context and culture: the wider situation within which the rhetoric is placed

Back in the 4th century BC, Aristotle was talking about how language can be used as a means of persuasion. He described three principal forms —Ethos, Logos, and Pathos—often referred to as the Rhetorical Triangle . These persuasive techniques are still used today.

Rhetorical Strategy 1: Ethos

Are you more likely to buy a car from an established company that’s been an important part of your community for 50 years, or someone new who just started their business?

Reputation matters. Ethos explores how the character, disposition, and fundamental values of the author create appeal, along with their expertise and knowledge in the subject area.

Aristotle breaks ethos down into three further categories:

• Phronesis: skills and practical wisdom
• Arete: virtue
• Eunoia: goodwill towards the audience

Ethos-driven speeches and text rely on the reputation of the author. In your analysis, you can look at how the writer establishes ethos through both direct and indirect means.

Rhetorical Strategy 2: Pathos

Pathos-driven rhetoric hooks into our emotions. You’ll often see it used in advertisements, particularly by charities wanting you to donate money towards an appeal.

Common use of pathos includes:

• Vivid description so the reader can imagine themselves in the situation
• Personal stories to create feelings of empathy
• Emotional vocabulary that evokes a response

By using pathos to make the audience feel a particular emotion, the author can persuade them that the argument they’re making is compelling.

Rhetorical Strategy 3: Logos

Logos uses logic or reason. It’s commonly used in academic writing when arguments are created using evidence and reasoning rather than an emotional response. It’s constructed in a step-by-step approach that builds methodically to create a powerful effect upon the reader.

Rhetoric can use any one of these three techniques, but effective arguments often appeal to all three elements.

The rhetorical situation explains the circumstances behind and around a piece of rhetoric. It helps you think about why a text exists, its purpose, and how it’s carried out.

The rhetorical situations are:

• 1) Purpose: Why is this being written? (It could be trying to inform, persuade, instruct, or entertain.)
• 2) Audience: Which groups or individuals will read and take action (or have done so in the past)?
• 3) Genre: What type of writing is this?
• 4) Stance: What is the tone of the text? What position are they taking?
• 5) Media/Visuals: What means of communication are used?

Understanding and analyzing the rhetorical situation is essential for building a strong essay. Also think about any rhetoric restraints on the text, such as beliefs, attitudes, and traditions that could affect the author's decisions.

Before leaping into your essay, it’s worth taking time to explore the text at a deeper level and considering the rhetorical situations we looked at before. Throw away your assumptions and use these simple questions to help you unpick how and why the text is having an effect on the audience.

1: What is the Rhetorical Situation?

• Why is there a need or opportunity for persuasion?
• How do words and references help you identify the time and location?
• What are the rhetoric restraints?
• What historical occasions would lead to this text being created?

2: Who is the Author?

• How do they position themselves as an expert worth listening to?
• What is their ethos?
• Do they have a reputation that gives them authority?
• What is their intention?
• What values or customs do they have?

3: Who is it Written For?

• Who is the intended audience?
• How is this appealing to this particular audience?
• Who are the possible secondary and tertiary audiences?

4: What is the Central Idea?

• Can you summarize the key point of this rhetoric?
• What arguments are used?
• How has it developed a line of reasoning?

5: How is it Structured?

• What structure is used?
• How is the content arranged within the structure?

6: What Form is Used?

• Does this follow a specific literary genre?
• What type of style and tone is used, and why is this?
• Does the form used complement the content?
• What effect could this form have on the audience?

7: Is the Rhetoric Effective?

• Does the content fulfil the author’s intentions?
• Does the message effectively fit the audience, location, and time period?

Once you’ve fully explored the text, you’ll have a better understanding of the impact it’s having on the audience and feel more confident about writing your essay outline.

A great essay starts with an interesting topic. Choose carefully so you’re personally invested in the subject and familiar with it rather than just following trending topics. There are lots of great ideas on this blog post by My Perfect Words if you need some inspiration. Take some time to do background research to ensure your topic offers good analysis opportunities.

Remember to check the information given to you by your professor so you follow their preferred style guidelines. This outline example gives you a general idea of a format to follow, but there will likely be specific requests about layout and content in your course handbook. It’s always worth asking your institution if you’re unsure.

Make notes for each section of your essay before you write. This makes it easy for you to write a well-structured text that flows naturally to a conclusion. You will develop each note into a paragraph. Look at this example by College Essay for useful ideas about the structure.

1: Introduction

This is a short, informative section that shows you understand the purpose of the text. It tempts the reader to find out more by mentioning what will come in the main body of your essay.

• Name the author of the text and the title of their work followed by the date in parentheses
• Use a verb to describe what the author does, e.g. “implies,” “asserts,” or “claims”
• Briefly summarize the text in your own words
• Mention the persuasive techniques used by the rhetor and its effect

Create a thesis statement to come at the end of your introduction.

After your introduction, move on to your critical analysis. This is the principal part of your essay.

• Explain the methods used by the author to inform, entertain, and/or persuade the audience using Aristotle's rhetorical triangle
• Use quotations to prove the statements you make
• Explain why the writer used this approach and how successful it is
• Consider how it makes the audience feel and react

Make each strategy a new paragraph rather than cramming them together, and always use proper citations. Check back to your course handbook if you’re unsure which citation style is preferred.

3: Conclusion

Your conclusion should summarize the points you’ve made in the main body of your essay. While you will draw the points together, this is not the place to introduce new information you’ve not previously mentioned.

Use your last sentence to share a powerful concluding statement that talks about the impact the text has on the audience(s) and wider society. How have its strategies helped to shape history?

Before You Submit

Poor spelling and grammatical errors ruin a great essay. Use ProWritingAid to check through your finished essay before you submit. It will pick up all the minor errors you’ve missed and help you give your essay a final polish. Look at this useful ProWritingAid webinar for further ideas to help you significantly improve your essays. Sign up for a free trial today and start editing your essays!

You’ll find countless examples of rhetorical analysis online, but they range widely in quality. Your institution may have example essays they can share with you to show you exactly what they’re looking for.

The following links should give you a good starting point if you’re looking for ideas:

Pearson Canada has a range of good examples. Look at how embedded quotations are used to prove the points being made. The end questions help you unpick how successful each essay is.

Excelsior College has an excellent sample essay complete with useful comments highlighting the techniques used.

Brighton Online has a selection of interesting essays to look at. In this specific example, consider how wider reading has deepened the exploration of the text.

Writing a rhetorical analysis essay can seem daunting, but spending significant time deeply analyzing the text before you write will make it far more achievable and result in a better-quality essay overall.

It can take some time to write a good essay. Aim to complete it well before the deadline so you don’t feel rushed. Use ProWritingAid’s comprehensive checks to find any errors and make changes to improve readability. Then you’ll be ready to submit your finished essay, knowing it’s as good as you can possibly make it.

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Helly Douglas

Helly Douglas is a UK writer and teacher, specialising in education, children, and parenting. She loves making the complex seem simple through blogs, articles, and curriculum content. You can check out her work at hellydouglas.com or connect on Twitter @hellydouglas. When she’s not writing, you will find her in a classroom, being a mum or battling against the wilderness of her garden—the garden is winning!

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Using Rhetorical Strategies for Persuasion

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There are three types of rhetorical appeals, or persuasive strategies, used in arguments to support claims and respond to opposing arguments. A good argument will generally use a combination of all three appeals to make its case.

Logos or the appeal to reason relies on logic or reason. Logos often depends on the use of inductive or deductive reasoning.

Inductive reasoning takes a specific representative case or facts and then draws generalizations or conclusions from them. Inductive reasoning must be based on a sufficient amount of reliable evidence. In other words, the facts you draw on must fairly represent the larger situation or population. Example:

In this example the specific case of fair trade agreements with coffee producers is being used as the starting point for the claim. Because these agreements have worked the author concludes that it could work for other farmers as well.

Deductive reasoning begins with a generalization and then applies it to a specific case. The generalization you start with must have been based on a sufficient amount of reliable evidence.Example:

In this example the author starts with a large claim, that genetically modified seeds have been problematic everywhere, and from this draws the more localized or specific conclusion that Mexico will be affected in the same way.

Avoid Logical Fallacies

These are some common errors in reasoning that will undermine the logic of your argument. Also, watch out for these slips in other people's arguments.

Slippery slope: This is a conclusion based on the premise that if A happens, then eventually through a series of small steps, through B, C,..., X, Y, Z will happen, too, basically equating A and Z. So, if we don't want Z to occur A must not be allowed to occur either. Example:

In this example the author is equating banning Hummers with banning all cars, which is not the same thing.

Hasty Generalization: This is a conclusion based on insufficient or biased evidence. In other words, you are rushing to a conclusion before you have all the relevant facts. Example:

In this example the author is basing their evaluation of the entire course on only one class, and on the first day which is notoriously boring and full of housekeeping tasks for most courses. To make a fair and reasonable evaluation the author must attend several classes, and possibly even examine the textbook, talk to the professor, or talk to others who have previously finished the course in order to have sufficient evidence to base a conclusion on.

Post hoc ergo propter hoc: This is a conclusion that assumes that if 'A' occurred after 'B' then 'B' must have caused 'A.' Example:

In this example the author assumes that if one event chronologically follows another the first event must have caused the second. But the illness could have been caused by the burrito the night before, a flu bug that had been working on the body for days, or a chemical spill across campus. There is no reason, without more evidence, to assume the water caused the person to be sick.

Genetic Fallacy: A conclusion is based on an argument that the origins of a person, idea, institute, or theory determine its character, nature, or worth. Example:

In this example the author is equating the character of a car with the character of the people who built the car.

Begging the Claim: The conclusion that the writer should prove is validated within the claim. Example:

Arguing that coal pollutes the earth and thus should be banned would be logical. But the very conclusion that should be proved, that coal causes enough pollution to warrant banning its use, is already assumed in the claim by referring to it as "filthy and polluting."

Circular Argument: This restates the argument rather than actually proving it. Example:

In this example the conclusion that Bush is a "good communicator" and the evidence used to prove it "he speaks effectively" are basically the same idea. Specific evidence such as using everyday language, breaking down complex problems, or illustrating his points with humorous stories would be needed to prove either half of the sentence.

Either/or: This is a conclusion that oversimplifies the argument by reducing it to only two sides or choices. Example:

In this example where two choices are presented as the only options, yet the author ignores a range of choices in between such as developing cleaner technology, car sharing systems for necessities and emergencies, or better community planning to discourage daily driving.

Ad hominem: This is an attack on the character of a person rather than their opinions or arguments. Example:

In this example the author doesn't even name particular strategies Green Peace has suggested, much less evaluate those strategies on their merits. Instead, the author attacks the characters of the individuals in the group.

Ad populum: This is an emotional appeal that speaks to positive (such as patriotism, religion, democracy) or negative (such as terrorism or fascism) concepts rather than the real issue at hand. Example:

In this example the author equates being a "true American," a concept that people want to be associated with, particularly in a time of war, with allowing people to buy any vehicle they want even though there is no inherent connection between the two.

Red Herring: This is a diversionary tactic that avoids the key issues, often by avoiding opposing arguments rather than addressing them. Example:

In this example the author switches the discussion away from the safety of the food and talks instead about an economic issue, the livelihood of those catching fish. While one issue may affect the other, it does not mean we should ignore possible safety issues because of possible economic consequences to a few individuals.

Ethos or the ethical appeal is based on the character, credibility, or reliability of the writer. There are many ways to establish good character and credibility as an author:

• Use only credible, reliable sources to build your argument and cite those sources properly.
• Respect the reader by stating the opposing position accurately.
• Establish common ground with your audience. Most of the time, this can be done by acknowledging values and beliefs shared by those on both sides of the argument.
• If appropriate for the assignment, disclose why you are interested in this topic or what personal experiences you have had with the topic.
• Organize your argument in a logical, easy to follow manner. You can use the Toulmin method of logic or a simple pattern such as chronological order, most general to most detailed example, earliest to most recent example, etc.
• Proofread the argument. Too many careless grammar mistakes cast doubt on your character as a writer.

Pathos , or emotional appeal, appeals to an audience's needs, values, and emotional sensibilities.  Pathos can also be understood as an appeal to audience's disposition to a topic, evidence, or argument (especially appropriate to academic discourse). 

Argument emphasizes reason, but used properly there is often a place for emotion as well. Emotional appeals can use sources such as interviews and individual stories to paint a more legitimate and moving picture of reality or illuminate the truth. For example, telling the story of a single child who has been abused may make for a more persuasive argument than simply the number of children abused each year because it would give a human face to the numbers.  Academic arguments in particular ​benefit from understanding pathos as appealing to an audience's academic disposition.

Only use an emotional appeal if it truly supports the claim you are making, not as a way to distract from the real issues of debate. An argument should never use emotion to misrepresent the topic or frighten people.

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How to Write a Rhetorical Analysis Essay

• 3-minute read
• 22nd August 2023

A rhetorical analysis essay is a type of academic writing that analyzes how authors use language, persuasion techniques , and other rhetorical strategies to communicate with their audience. In this post, we’ll review how to write a rhetorical analysis essay, including:

• Understanding the assignment guidelines
• Introducing your essay topic
• Examining the rhetorical strategies
• Summarizing your main points

Keep reading for a step-by-step guide to rhetorical analysis.

What Is a Rhetorical Strategy?

A rhetorical strategy is a deliberate approach or technique a writer uses to convey a message and/or persuade the audience. A rhetorical strategy typically involves using language, sentence structure, and tone/style to influence the audience to think a certain way or understand a specific point of view. Rhetorical strategies are especially common in advertisements, speeches, and political writing, but you can also find them in many other types of literature.

1.   Understanding the Assignment Guidelines

Before you begin your rhetorical analysis essay, make sure you understand the assignment and guidelines. Typically, when writing a rhetorical analysis, you should approach the text objectively, focusing on the techniques the author uses rather than expressing your own opinions about the topic or summarizing the content. Thus, it’s essential to discuss the rhetorical methods used and then back up your analysis with evidence and quotations from the text.

2.   Introducing Your Essay Topic

Introduce your essay by providing some context about the text you’re analyzing. Give a brief overview of the author, intended audience, and purpose of the writing. You should also clearly state your thesis , which is your main point or argument about how and why the author uses rhetorical strategies. Try to avoid going into detail on any points or diving into specific examples – the introduction should be concise, and you’ll be providing a much more in-depth analysis later in the text.

3.   Examining the Rhetorical Strategies

In the body paragraphs, analyze the rhetorical strategies the author uses. Here are some common rhetorical strategies to include in your discussion:

●  Ethos : Establishing trust between the writer and the audience by appealing to credibility and ethics

●  Pathos : Appealing to the audience’s emotions and values

●  Logos : Employing logic, reason, and evidence to appeal to the reader

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●  Diction : Deliberately choosing specific language and vocabulary

●  Syntax : Structuring and arranging sentences in certain ways

●  Tone : Conveying attitude or mood in certain ways

●  Literary Devices : Using metaphors, similes, analogies , repetition, etc.

Keep in mind that for a rhetorical analysis essay, you’re not usually required to find examples of all of the above rhetorical strategies. But for each one you do analyze, consider how it contributes to the author’s purpose, how it influences the audience, and what emotions or thoughts it could evoke in the reader.

4.   Summarizing Your Main Points

In your conclusion , sum up the main points of your analysis and restate your thesis. Without introducing any new points (such as topics or ideas you haven’t already covered in the main body of your essay), summarize the overall impact that the author’s rhetorical strategies likely had on their intended audience.

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Home > Blog > Rhetorical Analysis Essay Examples and Best Practices

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Examples and Best Practices

• Smodin Editorial Team
• Updated: August 13, 2024
• General Guide About Content and Writing

Are you having trouble creating a high-quality rhetorical analysis essay? Then you’ll love the rhetorical analysis essay examples and best practices in this article. We’ll share the best ways to improve the quality of your content and get top marks with your assignment.

Let’s dive in!

What Is a Rhetorical Analysis Essay: Examples and Key Elements

A rhetorical analysis essay examines how authors or speakers use rhetoric to persuade, inform, or entertain their audience. It is not a persuasive essay . It involves breaking down a piece of communication, such as a speech, article, or advertisement. This helps you to understand the strategies employed to achieve its purpose.

Still want more details about what is a rhetorical analysis essay? No problem! The essay typically focuses on three primary elements, which are as follows:

• Ethos: Ethos refers to the credibility and character of the speaker or writer. You can use it to establish trust and authority. It helps convince the audience of the speaker’s reliability and expertise on the subject. Furthermore, you can convey ethos through the speaker’s qualifications, reputation, ethical behavior, and the use of credible sources.
• Pathos: Pathos appeals to the audience’s emotions. It aims to evoke feelings that will lead the audience to accept the speaker’s viewpoint. You can achieve this through storytelling, vivid imagery, emotionally charged language, and personal anecdotes. Also, pathos is effective in creating a connection with the audience and making the argument more relatable and impactful.
• Logos: Logos is the appeal to logic and reason. It involves the use of evidence, facts, statistics, and logical arguments to support a claim. Therefore, you can add a rhetorical analysis body paragraph about the extent of evidence the author provides.

To write a rhetorical analysis essay, one must first identify the purpose and audience of the text. Next, analyze the rhetorical strategies the author decided to use. This includes considering how effectively they contribute to the overall message. Also, examine the use of language, tone, imagery, and structure.

An Example of a Rhetorical Analysis

Let’s take Martin Luther King Jr’s speech, “I have a dream” as our rhetorical analysis example. The speech masterfully uses rhetorical strategies to inspire action for civil rights. Martin Luther King Jr establishes his credibility (ethos) by aligning with historical figures and documents, which enhances his moral authority.

Furthermore, he evokes strong emotions (pathos) through vivid imagery and the repetitive phrase “I have a dream.” This creates a hopeful vision for the future. Additionally, he employs logical arguments (logos) by highlighting broken promises and referencing American ideals of liberty and equality.

This blend of ethos, pathos, and logos makes his speech a powerful, and a call for justice and equality.

How to Write a Rhetorical Analysis Essay: Best Practices and Top Tips

Now, let’s look at some of the key rhetorical concepts to create an essay that will get you top marks. The idea is to use these best practices to save time and simplify the writing process. Also, they ensure you don’t miss out on important points that deliver on what you shared in the thesis statement.

So, consider the following if you want to know how to write a rhetorical analysis essay and what to include in each section of your essay.

Understand the Text

Thoroughly read and understand the text before you begin the analysis stage. After all, how can you create a rhetorical essay on a piece of literature you don’t fully understand? You may feel like saving time by skimming the content, but it will lead to an inaccurate and slower writing process.

You’ll need to identify the author’s purpose, audience, and the main argument. Additionally, take notes on key points, recurring themes, and the overall tone. Understanding the context in which the text was created is crucial for an accurate analysis. Hence, pay attention to the historical, cultural, and social factors.

Identify Rhetorical Strategies

Focus on the three primary rhetorical appeals, which are ethos, pathos, and logos. Make sure to analyze how the author uses these strategies to persuade the audience. Then look for specific examples, such as language choices, emotional anecdotes, or logical arguments that illustrate these techniques.

Organize Your Essay

Create a clear rhetorical analysis essay outline that includes an introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion format . The rhetorical analysis introduction should present the text being analyzed and your thesis statement. Also, each body paragraph should focus on a specific rhetorical strategy or element by providing evidence and analysis.

You’ll need to create a rhetorical analysis conclusion by summarizing your main points and restating the significance of your analysis. Make sure you summarize the main points in a way that is easy to understand. Also, leave the reader with a few final thoughts you want them to take away from the academic writing.

Use Textual Evidence

Support your analysis with direct quotes and detailed examples from the text. When citing evidence, explain how it illustrates the rhetorical strategy being discussed and its effect on the audience. Additionally, ensure that each piece of evidence is relevant and strengthens your overall argument.

However, don’t add too many direct quotes since it can clutter the flow and feel of the essay. Instead, select a few quotes that allow you to convey the key concepts of the literature piece. Generally, it’s a good idea to focus on a few key concepts rather than covering many in a shallow fashion.

Proofread and Revise

Carefully proofread your essay for grammatical and structural errors. Also, ensure that your analysis is coherent and logically organized. Revising allows you to refine your arguments, improve clarity, and ensure that your essay effectively communicates your analysis.

Furthermore, you may want to use tools that help you proofread and write a good rhetorical analysis essay. They can help you with aspects of the writing process, such as creating a clear thesis statement and logical reasoning.

Contextual Analysis

You can place the text within its broader context. This means discussing the historical, cultural, or social background that influences the text. Also, understanding the context can provide deeper insights into the rhetorical choices made by the author and how they resonate with the audience.

Maintain an Analytical Tone

Write in an objective and analytical tone for the best results. Avoid summarizing the text and instead focus on analyzing how the rhetorical strategies contribute to the author’s purpose. You’ll need to be critical and insightful, which shows a deep understanding of the text’s rhetorical techniques and their impact.

Are you unsure of how to strike the right analytical tone? Then it’s a good idea to look at different examples to learn the best practices. For example, you can look at a rhetorical analysis introduction example to get going.

How To Start a Rhetorical Analysis Essay: Examples To Help You

Do you want to know how to start a rhetorical analysis essay? We’ll now cover the basics of how you can start to get the best results. This ensures that you hit the ground running and finish the project in time for the deadline.

Here’s the step-by-step process about how to start a rhetorical analysis essay with an example to show you how it’s done:

• Understand the purpose: The goal of a rhetorical analysis essay is to examine how an author or speaker uses rhetoric to persuade, inform, or entertain an audience. For example, in analyzing Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I have a dream” speech, you would explore how King used rhetorical strategies to advocate for civil rights and inspire action.
• Read and annotate the text: Carefully read the text you are analyzing. Also, annotate key passages and note examples of rhetorical devices such as ethos, pathos, logos, diction, syntax, and imagery. For instance, you might highlight King’s use of metaphors like “the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination.”
• Formulate a thesis statement: Develop a clear thesis that presents your main argument about how the text uses rhetoric. For example, Martin Luther King Jr. effectively uses ethos, pathos, and logos to inspire his audience to pursue racial equality.

How To Write a Rhetorical Analysis Essay: Factors To Consider

You may need to look at many different examples to craft the best essay for your assignment. This ensures that you can figure out what works to get top marks. However, you shouldn’t directly copy from the example you come across. Instead, use them for inspiration to write an essay with a great writing flow that’s unique.

Here are the top things to consider when looking at a rhetorical analysis essay:

• Thesis statement example: Pay attention to the thesis statement example to better understand the type of issues you may need to address. This allows you to craft your own statement, which makes for a good topic to tackle.
• Analytical depth: Evaluate the depth of analysis in explaining how rhetorical strategies contribute to the text’s purpose. That’s because a strong essay goes beyond surface-level observations to provide insightful commentary on the effectiveness of these strategies.
• Logical organization: Check for a clear and logical structure, with each paragraph focusing on a specific aspect of the analysis. The organization should help guide the reader through the argument in a coherent and systematic way. You can emulate this organizational structure to improve the readability of your own essay.
• Conclusive summary: Look for a strong conclusion that summarizes the main points and reiterates the significance of the analysis. Furthermore, the conclusion should tie together the essay’s arguments and reflect on the overall impact of the rhetorical strategies.

AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example

To write an AP Lang rhetorical analysis essay, start by carefully reading the text and identifying the author’s purpose, audience, and main argument. You’ll need to begin your essay with an introduction that includes the title, author, and context of the text. Also, don’t forget about the clear thesis statement.

In the body paragraphs, focus on specific rhetorical strategies such as ethos, pathos, and logos. you’ll also need to focus on using ethos, pathos, and logos, which we covered above.

Maintain an objective and analytical tone throughout your essay. You can achieve this by organizing your paragraphs logically, with each focusing on a different strategy or element.

Finally, conclude by summarizing your main points and reiterating the significance of the rhetorical strategies in achieving the author’s purpose. Make sure to proofread your essay for clarity and coherence to ensure a polished final piece. If you are unsure of how to structure your essay, you can always check out AP Lang rhetorical analysis essay examples online .

Frequently Asked Questions

What should i include in a rhetorical analysis essay introduction.

The introduction to the rhetorical analysis essay should provide background information on the text. This includes the author, title, and context. Also, it should present the purpose of the rhetorical analysis and your thesis statement.

Make sure that the thesis briefly mentions the main rhetorical strategies you will discuss to guide the reader on what to expect in the essay body. You’ll get better at doing this with practice and keep it brief.

How do I analyze ethos in a rhetorical analysis essay?

To analyze ethos in a rhetorical analysis essay, you need to evaluate how the author establishes credibility and authority. Look for references to their qualifications, experience, or reputation. Additionally, consider the tone and language used to build trust and rapport with the audience.

Discuss how these elements contribute to the overall persuasiveness of the text, which means you’ll need to read it in detail. It’s handy to make notes with regard to ethos evaluation as you work on the project.

How do I analyze logos in a rhetorical analysis essay?

To analyze logos in a rhetorical analysis essay, focus on the logical structure and evidence presented in the text. Also, identify examples of facts, statistics, logical arguments, and reasoning used to support the author’s claims.

You’ll also need to evaluate the clarity and coherence of these arguments and how they contribute to the overall persuasiveness of the text. This latter part is more tricky and takes practice before you can get it right.

What are common mistakes to avoid when writing a rhetorical analysis essay?

Common mistakes to avoid when writing a rhetorical analysis essay include summarizing the text instead of analyzing it. This is not the point of the content, and you need to avoid doing this since it can result in a low grade.

Furthermore, you need to avoid neglecting to support claims with evidence and failing to address the effectiveness of rhetorical strategies. Also, avoid focusing too much on one type of appeal (ethos, pathos, or logos) to the detriment of others.

Can I use a first-person perspective in a rhetorical analysis essay?

While rhetorical analysis essays are typically written in the third person to maintain an objective tone, there are instances where a first-person perspective might be appropriate. However, it is essential to use it sparingly and ensure that the focus remains on the text and its rhetorical strategies.

You may want to look at a rhetorical analysis essay example that uses the first person to learn. You can use your findings to improve the quality of your essay and make sure you strike the right balance.

Use Smodin AI To Write Your Rhetorical Analysis Essay

The best practices in this article will help you create a high-quality rhetorical analysis essay. Therefore, you can get top marks in your class or improve on your personal best. You’ll see that there’s a method to the madness, such as following the right structure.

Now that you know how to write a rhetorical analysis essay, you can begin the process. Make sure that you remember the rules about ethos, logos, and pathos to write the best content. This will also help you craft the introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion sections.

Do you still need help with your visual rhetorical analysis essay? Then you can use Smodin AI to improve the overall quality of your essay. The tool can proofread your work or help generate text that meets your exact requirements.

So what are you waiting for? Give Smodin AI a try today and craft top-quality essays!

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The 20 Most Useful Rhetorical Devices

General Education

Rhetoric is the art of effective communication; if you communicate with others at all, rhetorical devices are your friends!

Rhetorical devices help you make points more effectively, and help people understand you better. In this article, I'll be covering some important rhetorical devices so you can improve your own writing! 

What Are Rhetorical Devices?

A lot of things that you would think of as just regular everyday modes of communicating are actually rhetorical devices That’s because ‘rhetorical devices’ is more or less a fancy way of saying ‘communication tools.’

Most people don’t plan out their use of rhetorical devices in communication, both because nobody thinks, “now would be a good time to use synecdoche in this conversation with my grocery clerk,” and because we use them so frequently that they don’t really register as “rhetorical devices.”

How often have you said something like, “when pigs fly!” Of those times, how often have you thought, “I’m using a rhetorical device!” That’s how ubiquitous they are!

However, being aware of what they are and how to use them can strengthen your communication , whether you do a lot of big speeches, write persuasive papers, or just argue with your friends about a TV show you all like.

Rhetorical devices can function at all levels: words, sentences, paragraphs, and beyond. Some rhetorical devices are just a single word, such as onomatopoeia. Others are phrases, such as metaphor, while still others can be sentence-length (such as a thesis), paragraph-length (hypophora), or go throughout the entire piece, such as a standard five-paragraph essay.

Many of these (such as the thesis or five-paragraph essay) are so standard and familiar to us that we may not think of them as devices. But because they help us shape and deliver our arguments effectively, they're important to know and understand.

The Most Useful Rhetorical Devices List

It would be impossible to list every single rhetorical device in one blog post. Instead, I've collected a mixture of extremely common devices you may have heard before and some more obscure ones that might be valuable to learn.

Amplification

Amplification is a little similar to parallelism: by using repetition, a writer expands on an original statement and increases its intensity .

Take this example from Roald Dahl’s The Twits :

“If a person has ugly thoughts, it begins to show on the face. And when that person has ugly thoughts every day, every week, every year, the face gets uglier and uglier until you can hardly bear to look at it. A person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly. You can have a wonky nose and a crooked mouth and a double chin and stick-out teeth, but if you have good thoughts it will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.”

In theory, we could have gotten the point with the first sentence. We don’t need to know that the more you think ugly thoughts, the uglier you become, nor that if you think good thoughts you won’t be ugly—all that can be contained within the first sentence. But Dahl’s expansion makes the point clearer, driving home the idea that ugly thoughts have consequences.

Amplification takes a single idea and blows it up bigger, giving the reader additional context and information to better understand your point. You don’t just have to restate the point— use amplification to expand and dive deeper into your argument to show readers and listeners how important it is!

Anacoluthon

Anacoluthon is a fancy word for a disruption in the expected grammar or syntax of a sentence. That doesn’t mean that you misspoke—using anacoluthon means that you’ve deliberately subverted your reader’s expectations to make a point.

For example, take this passage from King Lear :

“I will have such revenges on you both, That all the world shall—I will do such things, What they are, yet I know not…”

In this passage, King Lear interrupts himself in his description of his revenge. This has multiple effects on the reader: they wonder what all the world shall do once he has his revenge (cry? scream? fear him?), and they understand that King Lear has interrupted himself to regain his composure. This tells us something about him—that he’s seized by passion in this moment, but also that he regains control. We might have gathered one of those things without anacoluthon, but the use of this rhetorical device shows us both very efficiently.

Anadiplosis

Anadiplosis refers to purposeful repetition at the end of one sentence or clause and at the beginning of the next sentence or clause. In practice, that looks something like a familiar phrase from Yoda:

“Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.”

Note the way that the ending word of each sentence is repeated in the following sentence. That’s anadiplosis!

This rhetorical device draws a clear line of thinking for your reader or listener—repetition makes them pay closer attention and follow the way the idea evolves. In this case, we trace the way that fear leads to suffering through Yoda’s purposeful repetition.

Antanagoge is the balancing of a negative with a positive. For example, the common phrase, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade,” is antanagoge—it suggests a negative (lots of lemons) and follows that up with a positive (make lemonade).

When writing persuasively, this can be a great way to respond to potential detractors of your argument. Suppose you want to convince your neighborhood to add a community garden, but you think that people might focus on the amount of work required. When framing your argument, you could say something like, “Yes, it will be a lot of work to maintain, but working together will encourage us all to get to know one another as well as providing us with fresh fruits, vegetables, and flowers.”

This is a little like procatalepsis, in that you anticipate a problem and respond to it. However, antanagoge is specifically balancing a negative with a positive, just as I did in the example of a garden needing a lot of work, but that work is what ultimately makes the project worth it.

Apophasis is a form of irony relating to denying something while still saying it. You’ll often see this paired with phrases like, “I’m not saying…” or “It goes without saying…”, both of which are followed up with saying exactly what the speaker said they weren’t going to say.

Take this speech from Iron Man 2 :

"I'm not saying I'm responsible for this country's longest run of uninterrupted peace in 35 years! I'm not saying that from the ashes of captivity, never has a phoenix metaphor been more personified! I'm not saying Uncle Sam can kick back on a lawn chair, sipping on an iced tea, because I haven't come across anyone man enough to go toe to toe with me on my best day! It's not about me."

Tony Stark isn’t saying that he’s responsible for all those things… except that’s exactly what he is saying in all of his examples. Though he says it’s not about him, it clearly is—all of his examples relate to how great he is, even as he proclaims that they aren’t.

A scene like this can easily be played for humor, but apophasis can also be a useful (albeit deceptive) rhetorical tool. For example, this argument:

Our neighborhood needs a community garden to foster our relationships with one another. Not only is it great for getting to know each other, but a community garden will also provide us with all kinds of fresh fruit and vegetables. It would be wrong to say that people who disagree aren’t invested in others’ health and wellness, but those who have the neighborhood’s best interests in mind will support a community garden.

That last sentence is all apophasis. Not only did I imply that people who don’t support the community garden are anti-social and uncaring (by outright stating that I wouldn’t say that, but I also implied that they’re also not invested in the neighborhood at all. Stating things like this, by pretending you’re not saying them or saying the opposite, can be very effective.

Assonance and Alliteration

Assonance adds an abundance of attractive accents to all your assertions. That’s assonance—the practice repeating the same vowel sound in multiple words in a phrase or sentence, often at the beginning of a word, to add emphasis or musicality to your work. Alliteration is similar, but uses consonant sounds instead of vowel sounds.

Let’s use Romeo and Juliet as an example again:

“From forth the fatal loins of these two foes; A pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life.”

Here, we have repetition of the sounds ‘f’ and ‘l’ in ‘from forth...fatal...foes,’ and ‘loins...lovers...life.’

Even if you don’t notice the repetition as you’re reading, you can hear the effects in how musical the language sounds. Shakespeare could easily have just written something like, “Two kids from families who hate one another fell in love and died by suicide,” but that’s hardly as evocative as the phrasing he chose.

Both assonance and alliteration give your writing a lyrical sound, but they can do more than that, too. These tools can mimic associated sounds, like using many ‘p’ sounds to sound like rain or something sizzling, or ‘s’ sounds to mimic the sounds of a snake. When you’re writing, think about what alternative meanings you can add by emphasizing certain sounds.

Listen, asterismos is great. Don’t believe me? How did you feel after I began the first sentence with the word ‘listen?’ Even if you didn’t feel more inspired to actually listen, you probably paid a bit more attention because I broke the expected form. That’s what asterismos is—using a word or phrase to draw attention to the thought that comes afterward.

‘Listen’ isn’t the only example of asterismos, either. You can use words like, ‘hey,’ ‘look,’ ‘behold,’ ‘so,’ and so on. They all have the same effect: they tell the reader or listener, “Hey, pay attention—what I’m about to say is important.”

Dysphemism and Euphemism

Euphemism is the substitution of a more pleasant phrase in place of a familiar phrase, and dysphemism is the opposite —an un pleasant phrase substituted in place of something more familiar. These tools are two sides of the same coin. Euphemism takes an unpleasant thing and makes it sound nicer—such as using 'passed away' instead of 'died'—while dysphemism does the opposite, taking something that isn't necessarily bad and making it sound like it is.

We won’t get into the less savory uses of dysphemism, but there are plenty that can leave an impression without being outright offensive. Take ‘snail mail.’ A lot of us call postal mail that without any real malice behind it, but ‘snail’ implies slowness, drawing a comparison between postal mail and faster email. If you’re making a point about how going electronic is faster, better for the environment, and overall more efficient, comparing email to postal mail with the phrase ‘snail mail’ gets the point across quickly and efficiently.

Likewise, if you're writing an obituary, you probably don't want to isolate the audience by being too stark in your details. Using gentler language, like 'passed away' or 'dearly departed' allows you to talk about things that might be painful without being too direct. People will know what you mean, but you won't have to risk hurting anyone by being too direct and final with your language.

You’ve no doubt run into epilogues before, because they’re a common and particularly useful rhetorical device! Epilogues are a conclusion to a story or work that reveals what happens to the characters in the story. This is different from an afterword, which is more likely to describe the process of a book’s creation than to continue and provide closure to a story.

Many books use epilogues to wrap up loose ends, usually taking place in the future to show how characters have changed as a result of their adventures. Both Harry Potter and The Hunger Games series use their epilogues to show the characters as adults and provide some closure to their stories—in Harry Potter , the main characters have gotten married and had children, and are now sending those children to the school where they all met. This tells the reader that the story of the characters we know is over—they’re adults and are settled into their lives—but also demonstrates that the world goes on existing, though it’s been changed forever by the actions of the familiar characters.

Eutrepismus

Eutrepismus is another rhetorical device you’ve probably used before without realizing it. This device separates speech into numbered parts, giving your reader or listener a clear line of thinking to follow.

Eutrepismus is a great rhetorical device—let me tell you why. First, it’s efficient and clear. Second, it gives your writing a great sense of rhythm. Third, it’s easy to follow and each section can be expanded throughout your work.

See how simple it is? You got all my points in an easy, digestible format. Eutrepismus helps you structure your arguments and make them more effective, just as any good rhetorical device should do.

You’ve probably used hypophora before without ever thinking about it. Hypophora refers to a writer or speaker proposing a question and following it up with a clear answer. This is different from a rhetorical question—another rhetorical device—because there is an expected answer, one that the writer or speaker will immediately give to you.

Hypophora serves to ask a question the audience may have (even if they’re not entirely aware of it yet) and provide them with an answer. This answer can be obvious, but it can also be a means of leading the audience toward a particular point.

Take this sample from John F. Kennedy’s speech on going to the moon:

But why, some say, the moon? Why choose this as our goal? And they may well ask why climb the highest mountain? Why, 35 years ago, fly the Atlantic? Why does Rice play Texas? We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.

In this speech, Kennedy outright states that he’s asking questions others have asked, and then goes on to answer them. This is Kennedy’s speech, so naturally it’s going to reflect his point of view, but he’s answering the questions and concerns others might have about going to the moon. In doing so, he’s reclaiming an ongoing conversation to make his own point. This is how hypophora can be incredibly effective: you control the answer, leaving less room for argument!

Litotes is a deliberate understatement, often using double negatives, that serves to actually draw attention to the thing being remarked upon. For example, saying something like, “It’s not pretty,” is a less harsh way to say “It’s ugly,” or “It’s bad,” that nonetheless draws attention to it being ugly or bad.

In Frederick Douglass’ Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: an American Slave , he writes:

“Indeed, it is not uncommon for slaves even to fall out and quarrel among themselves about the relative goodness of their masters, each contending for the superior goodness of his own over that of the others.”

Notice the use of “not uncommon.” Douglass, by using a double negative to make readers pay closer attention, points out that some slaves still sought superiority over others by speaking out in favor of their owners.

Litotes draws attention to something by understating it. It’s sort of like telling somebody not to think about elephants—soon, elephants becomes all they can think about. The double negative draws our attention and makes us focus on the topic because it’s an unusual method of phrasing.

Onomatopoeia

Onomatopoeia refers to a sound represented within text as a mimicry of what that sound actually sounds like. Think “bang” or “whizz” or “oomph,” all of which can mean that something made that kind of a sound—”the door banged shut”—but also mimic the sound itself—”the door went bang .”

This rhetorical device can add emphasis or a little bit of spice to your writing. Compare, “The gunshot made a loud sound,” to “The gun went bang .” Which is more evocative?

Parallelism

Parallelism is the practice of using similar grammar structure, sounds, meter, and so on to emphasize a point and add rhythm or balance to a sentence or paragraph.

One of the most famous examples of parallelism in literature is the opening of Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities :

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way— in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only."

In the beginning, every phrase begins with “It was,” which is itself a parallelism. But there are also pairs of parallelism within the sentence, too; “It was the ___ of times, it was the ___ of times,” and “it was the age of ___, it was the age of ___.”

Parallelism draws your reader deeper into what you’re saying and provides a nice sense of flow, even if you’re talking about complicated ideas. The ‘epoch of incredulity’ is a pretty meaty phrase, but Dickens’ parallelism sets up a series of dichotomies for us; even if we don’t know quite what it means, we can figure it out by comparing it to ‘belief.’

Personification

Personification is a rhetorical device you probably run into a lot without realizing it. It’s a form of metaphor, which means two things are being compared without the words like or as—in this case, a thing that is not human is given human characteristics.

Personification is common in poetry and literature, as it’s a great way to generate fresh and exciting language, even when talking about familiar subjects. Take this passage from Romeo and Juliet , for example:

“When well-appareled April on the heel Of limping winter treads.”

April can’t wear clothes or step on winter, and winter can’t limp. However, the language Shakespeare uses here is quite evocative. He’s able to quickly state that April is beautiful (“well-appareled”) and that winter is coming to an end (“limping winter”). Through personification, we get a strong image for things that could otherwise be extremely boring, such as if Shakespeare had written, “When beautiful April comes right after winter.”

Procatalepsis

Procatalepsis is a rhetorical device that anticipates and notes a potential objection, heading it off with a follow-up argument to strengthen the point. I know what you’re thinking—that sounds really complicated! But bear with me, because it’s actually quite simple.

See how that works? I imagined that a reader might be confused by the terminology in the first sentence, so I noted that potential confusion, anticipating their argument. Then, I addressed that argument to strengthen my point—procatalepsis is easy, which you can see because I just demonstrated it!

Anticipating a rebuttal is a great way to strengthen your own argument. Not only does it show that you’ve really put thought into what you’re saying, but it also leaves less room for disagreement!

Synecdoche is a rhetorical device that uses a part of something to stand in for the whole. That can mean that we use a small piece of something to represent a whole thing (saying ‘let’s grab a slice’ when we in fact mean getting a whole pizza), or using something large to refer to something small. We often do this with sports teams–for example, saying that New England won the Super Bowl when we in fact mean the New England Patriots, not the entirety of New England.

This style of rhetorical device adds an additional dimension to your language, making it more memorable to your reader. Which sounds more interesting? “Let’s get pizza,” or “let’s grab a slice?”

Likewise, consider this quote from Percy Bysshe Shelly’s “Ozymandias”:

“Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, The hand that mocked them.”

Here, Shelly uses ‘the hand’ to refer to the sculptor. The hand did not sculpt the lifeless things on its own; it was a tool of the sculptor. But by using just the hand, Shelly avoids repeating ‘the sculptor,’ preserves the poem’s rhythm, and narrows our focus. If he had referred to the sculptor again, he’d still be a big important figure; by narrowing to the hand, Shelly is diminishing the idea of the creator, mirroring the poem’s assertion that the creation will outlast it.

Tautology refers to using words or similar phrases to effectively repeat the same idea with different wording. It’s a form of repetition that can make a point stronger, but it can also be the basis of a flawed argument—be careful that your uses of tautology is the former, not the latter!

For example, take this section of “The Bells” by Edgar Allen Poe:

“Keeping time, time, time, In a sort of Runic rhyme… From the bells, bells, bells, bells.”

Poe’s poetry has a great deal of rhythm already, but the use of ‘time, time, time’ sets us up for the way that ‘bells, bells, bells, bells’ also holds that same rhythm. Keeping time refers to maintaining rhythm, and this poem emphasizes that with repetition, much like the repetitive sound of ringing bells.

An example of an unsuccessful tautology would be something like, “Either we should buy a house, or we shouldn’t.” It’s not a successful argument because it doesn’t say anything at all—there’s no attempt to suggest anything, just an acknowledgment that two things, which cannot both happen, could happen.

If you want to use tautology in your writing, be sure that it’s strengthening your point. Why are you using it? What purpose does it serve? Don’t let a desire for rhythm end up robbing you of your point!

That thing your English teachers are always telling you to have in your essays is an important literary device. A thesis, from the Greek word for ‘a proposition,’ is a clear statement of the theory or argument you’re making in an essay. All your evidence should feed back into your thesis; think of your thesis as a signpost for your reader. With that signpost, they can’t miss your point!

Especially in longer academic writing, there can be so many pieces to an argument that it can be hard for readers to keep track of your overarching point. A thesis hammers the point home so that no matter how long or complicated your argument is, the reader will always know what you’re saying.

Tmesis is a rhetorical device that breaks up a word, phrase, or sentence with a second word, usually for emphasis and rhythm . We often do this with expletives, but tmesis doesn’t have to be vulgar to be effective!

Take this example from Romeo and Juliet :

“This is not Romeo, he’s some other where.”

The normal way we’d hear this phrase is “This is not Romeo, he’s somewhere else.” But by inserting the word ‘other’ between ‘some’ and ‘where,’ it not only forces us to pay attention, but also changes the sentence’s rhythm. It gets the meaning across perfectly, and does so in a way that’s far more memorable than if Shakespeare had just said that Romeo was somewhere else.

For a more common usage, we can turn to George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion , which often has Eliza Doolittle using phrases like “fan-bloody-tastic” and “abso-blooming-lutely.” The expletives—though mild by modern standards—emphasize Eliza’s social standing and make each word stand out more than if she had simply said them normally.

What’s Next?

Rhetorical devices and literary devices can both be used to enhance your writing and communication. Check out this list of literary devices to learn more !

Ethos, pathos, logos, and kairos are all modes of persuasion—types of rhetorical devices— that can help you be a more convincing writer !

No matter what type of writing you're doing, rhetorical devices can enhance it! To learn more about different writing styles, check out this list !

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Melissa Brinks graduated from the University of Washington in 2014 with a Bachelor's in English with a creative writing emphasis. She has spent several years tutoring K-12 students in many subjects, including in SAT prep, to help them prepare for their college education.

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Rhetorical Analysis Essay

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example

Top 15+ Rhetorical Analysis Essay Examples for Students

Published on: Mar 10, 2023

Last updated on: Jan 29, 2024

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Writing a rhetorical analysis essay can be tough. You want to engage your reader, but you also need to provide clear and concise analysis of the text. 

It's hard to know where to start, what information is important, and how to make your argument clear. 

Don't fret! We've got you covered. 

In this blog post, we'll give you 15+ Rhetorical analysis essay examples to help you craft a winning essay. Plus, we'll give you some tips on how to make your essay stand out.

So without a further delay, let's start!

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Good Rhetorical Analysis Essay Examples

Examples help the readers to understand things in a better way. They also help a writer to compose an essay just like professionals.

Here are some amazing rhetorical analysis examples on different topics. Use them as a helping hand to understand the concept and write a good essay.

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example: AP Language

Rhetorical analysis done in AP Language and Composition is one of the biggest tasks a student can ever get. On the same hand, drafting it in a proper way is also necessary to get good grades.

Look at these rhetorical analysis essay example AP language given below to see how a well-written rhetorical essay is written.

AP Rhetorical analysis essay example

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example Ap Lang 2020

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example Ap Lang 2021

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example AP Lang 2022

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example AP Lang 2023

These rhetorical analysis essay example college board will help you to win over your panel in no time!

Want to start from the basics? Head over to our Rhetorical essay guide to solidify your base.

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example: Ted Talk

A rhetorical analysis can be done on nearly anything. Here is a good example of a rhetorical essay in which a ted talk is being analyzed.

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example: Ethos, Pathos, Logos

The first impression of these three terms sounds just like a conjuration in some kind of a magical story. But in fact, these elements of persuasion were created by Aristotle and have been used for a very long time.

According to Aristotle, they were the primary persuasive strategies that authors should use in their papers. These elements are further elaborated as follows:

• The ethos appeals to ethics.
• Pathos appeals to emotions.
• Logos mean the use of rational thinking.

Here is an example of a rhetorical essay written using these elements.

Understand Ethos,Pathos and Logos to write a compelling essay.

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example for College

College students often get to write a rhetorical analysis essay. They find it hard to write such an essay because it is a bit more technical than other essay types.

Here is an example of a well-written rhetorical essay for college students.

Comparative Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example

A rhetorical analysis essay can be written to show a comparison between two objects. Here is a compare-and-contrast rhetorical analysis essay example.

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Visual Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example

The visual rhetorical essay determines how pictures and images communicate messages and persuade the audience. Usually, visual rhetorical essays are written for advertisements. They use strong images to convince the audience to behave in a certain way.

Visual Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example Pdf

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example: Letter from Birmingham Jail

Here is another good example of a rhetorical essay. Most of us know about the history of “letter from a Birmingham jail”. Read the given example to see how rhetorical analysis is done on it.

Struggling for a similar good topic? Check out our amazing rhetorical essay topics to select the perfect theme for your essay.

Great Influenza: Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example

Influenza has been one of the scariest pandemics the world has faced in history. Here is a rhetorical essay on great influenza.

Great influenza: Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example

Condoleezza Rice Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example

The speech given by Condoleezza Rice has become a classic example of effective oratory. Here is an example of a rhetorical analysis essay on the speech given by Condoleezza Rice at a commencement ceremony.

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example: Condoleezza Rice’s Commencement Speech

This example explores the effectiveness of Rice's speech and features an in-depth analysis. 

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example High School

High school essays involve the analysis of different texts and the application of rhetorical tools to those texts. Here is an example that focuses on a high school essay about the effects of television on society. 

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example (Pdf)

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example MLA

MLA format is one of the most commonly used formats for essays. Here is an example of a rhetorical essay written in MLA format that focuses on the effectiveness of advertisements. 

MLA Rhetorical Analysis Essay PDF

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example Outline

Outline helps to organize the ideas and arguments that you want to present in your essay. Here is a sample outline that can help you write an effective rhetorical analysis essay.

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example Outline sample

Hop on to our rhetorical essay outline guide to learn the step-by-step process of crafting an exemplary outline.

How to Start a Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example

When starting a rhetorical analysis essay, it is important to provide a brief overview of the topic that you are analyzing. This should include the overall message being conveyed, the target audience and the rhetorical devices used in the text. 

Here is a rhetorical analysis introduction example for your ease.

Thesis Statement Example for Rhetorical Analysis Essay

The thesis statement of a rhetorical analysis essay should explain the primary argument being made in the text. Here is an example of a thesis statement for a rhetorical analysis essay for your ease.

Example of Rhetorical Analysis Thesis Statement

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example Conclusion

The conclusion of a rhetorical analysis essay is an important part of the overall essay. It should summarize your main points and provide some final thoughts on the topic. 

Here is an example of conclusion for a rhetorical analysis essay for your ease.

Download this  Rhetorical Analysis Essay Writing Manual to help gather all the relevant guidance for your rhetorical essay.

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Writing Manual (PDF)

Watch this video to understand how to select Rhetorical analysis essay evidences.

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Writing Tips

To write a rhetorical analysis essay, you must have good writing skills. Writing a rhetorical essay is a technical task to do. This is why many students find it really difficult.

There are the following things that you should do to write a good rhetorical analysis essay. Those important things are as follows:

• Determine the Rhetorical Strategy

To write a rhetorical essay, the writer needs to follow a specific method for research. The typical research methods used for this particular essay are as follows:

• Choose a Topic

For any essay type, it is very important to have a good topic. A good topic seeks the readers of attention and convinces them to read the complete essay.

• Create a Rhetorical Analysis Outline

An outline is an essential part of essay writing. The outline provides a definite structure to the essay and also guides the reader throughout the essay. A  rhetorical analysis outline  has the following elements in it:

• Introduction
• Body paragraphs

These three elements let you describe the entire idea of your rhetorical analysis essay. These three elements are further written with the help of sub-elements.

• Develop a Thesis Statement

The  thesis statement is yet another important part of essay writing. It is the essence of the entire essay. It may be a sentence or two explaining the whole idea of your essay. However, not give background information about the topic.

• Proofread and Edit

The formal terminology used for essay revision is known as proofreading. To make sure that your essay is error-free, repeat this process more than once.

Now let's wrap up , shall we?

So far we have provided you with the best rhetorical analysis examples that are sure to win over your panel. With our help, you can surely sfe guard your academic success journey in no time!

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Frequently Asked Questions

What are the 3 parts of rhetorical analysis.

The three parts of rhetorical analysis are: 

• Ethos 
• Logos 
• Pathos 

What are the elements of a rhetorical analysis?

The main elements of a rhetorical analysis essay are: 

• Situation 
• Audience 
• Purpose 
• Medium 
• Context 

Is there any difference between AP lang rhetorical analysis essay example 2020 and AP lang rhetorical analysis essay example 2021?

Yes, there are differences between 2020 and 2021 AP Language and Composition rhetorical analysis essay examples.

• In 2020 the essay prompts revolved around various social issues related to public discourse. In 2021 they mainly focused on the ideas of justice or progress. 
• In 2020 students were encouraged to write a multi-paragraph essay shifting back and forth between creative devices of rhetoric. While in 2021 more emphasis was placed on analyzing how well an author's argument is structured.

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Have you ever felt moved by a speech or an essay? Did you feel inspired, angry, or sorrowful? The writer intended for you to feel this way. They chose specific text structures and organized their language to achieve this effect. In a rhetorical analysis essay , your goal is to figure out how the author uses language and text structure, or the way information is organized, to convey their purpose. This strategic use of language refers to rhetorical strategies. 

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Which one is NOT a rhetorical strategy?

Which of the following is NOT a rhetorical mode?

Which of the following is NOT a rhetorical appeal?

In an essay on carbon capture technologies, the writer explains the process of how the technology works to capture carbon from the atmosphere. Which rhetorical mode is the author using in this example?  

In an essay on immigration, an author recounts the personal experience of a refugee claiming asylum in the United States. What rhetorical mode is the author using in this example? 

Why might an author use short sentences (6 words or fewer) when writing?

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Rhetorical Strategy Definition

Rhetorical strategies are the writing techniques that authors use to convince the audience of their purpose. Good writers figure out their purpose for writing and determine which rhetorical strategies will help them fulfill it.

To understand how writers use rhetorical strategies, think of a painter and their canvas. Knowing the image they want to paint, they combine different techniques like color, perspective, shapes, and brush strokes to create their painting. Like an artist selecting tools, writers select a variety of techniques to make their writing more impactful.

Rhetorical Strategy Example

To see how authors use rhetorical strategies, read through the first paragraph of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream." 1

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

King uses several rhetorical strategies in this opening to support his purpose of describing the history of slavery and racial inequality. For example, he alludes, or refers, to the opening of President Lincoln's "The Emancipation Proclamation" when he states, "Five score years ago...." He refers to Lincoln's speech to emphasize the promise of racial equality. He also incorporates analogies , or comparisons, when he compares slavery to "the flames of withering injustice" and "the long night of their captivity." This language reinforces the brutality and horrors of slavery.

Types of Rhetorical Strategies

In general, there are three types of rhetorical strategies: rhetorical devices, rhetorical modes , and rhetorical appeals.

Rhetorical Devices

Rhetorical devices are different ways of using word choice and style to impact the audience. Rhetorical devices include specific word choices, poetic language, references to other works, or stylistic choices. Writers make intentional choices about words and the organization of their sentences when writing to create meaning and support their purpose. The allusion and analogy that King used above are examples of rhetorical devices.

Rhetorical Modes

Rhetorical modes are the different patterns or structures for organizing writing. Rhetorical devices focus on word- and sentence-level techniques, while rhetorical modes describe the structure of either the entire essay or portions of the essay. Rhetorical modes are important because you can determine the authors' purpose from the structure they chose, such as explaining an idea or arguing for a particular policy. Common rhetorical modes include descriptive, expository, narrative, and argumentative writing.

Rhetorical Appeals

Rhetorical appeals are the different methods for persuading your audience. These appeals are unique to argumentative writing. Writers combine appeals to logic, values, and emotions to make persuasive arguments. There are four rhetorical appeals: ethos , kairos, logos , and pathos .

Rhetorical Strategies List

Authors implement many rhetorical devices, modes, and appeals in their writing. While more rhetorical devices and modes exist, this list will introduce the most common rhetorical strategies authors use in their writing.

There are many rhetorical devices an author can choose to use when writing, which can be roughly grouped into these categories: allusions, diction , syntax, and literary techniques.

An allusion is a reference to a person, place, or thing of cultural significance. Writers incorporate allusions into their texts for several reasons. First, the references contextualize their writing within the ideas or traditions they are referencing. Second, these references emphasize the importance of the referenced ideas within the work. An example of an allusion is Martin Luther King Jr. referencing the Lincoln Memorial at the beginning of "I Have a Dream." 1 The memorial symbolizes Lincoln's actions in addressing racial equality, and King references and expands on these ideas later on in his speech.

Diction is the writer's word choice to convey a message or establish a particular writing style. Writers carefully select words or phrases in essays or literature to establish their tone , or attitude, toward the topic. In rhetorical analysis, you will want to analyze how the author's word choice creates the text's tone. You will support this analysis by examining whether the author uses words with strong connotations (emotions), formal or informal words, and concrete/specific words. For example, consider the diction of this sentence near the beginning of King's speech about "The Emancipation Proclamation." 1

"This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice."

King uses words with strong positive connotations ("momentous," "great," "beacon," and "hope") to describe the promise of racial equality found within the document in contrast with words with strong negative connotations ("seared," "flames," and "withering") to describe slavery. Using these words creates an impassioned tone. King wants to connect with the audience's emotions to emphasize the promise of racial equality while highlighting slavery's brutality.

Syntax is the structure of a sentence. Writers create varied and impactful sentences to convey meaning. One way they create interesting sentences is through sentence le ngth. In rhetorical analysis, examine the length of the author's sentences to determine if they intentionally use different sentence lengths. The sentence's length often supports an author's main idea or purpose.

Writer s use short sentences (often 6 words or fewer) if they want to emphasize an idea in the sentence. They can also write longer sentences, such as using a compound-complex structure, to develop an idea.

Writers can also employ stylistic choices when writing. Style choices are about the structure of the sentence. In rhetorical analysis, you will determine if the author uses stylistic choices to support their purpose.

Parallelism is a common stylistic choice where an author repeats a phrase or grammatical structure in successive sentences. This repetition emphasizes and reinforces the main ideas found within the sentences. You can find a famous example in the opening of Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities. The repeating structure (It was the ____ of _____) and contrasts reveal the extreme optimism and horror of the French Revolution . 2

" It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair..."

Try to create your own parallel sentences! Pick an idea to write about. Then come up with a phrase with the same grammatical structure to repeat in several sentences about the idea. How does the parallel structure help emphasize the overall point?

Literary Techniques

Writers incorporate literary techniques into their writing, even in non-fiction texts. When conducting a rhetorical analysis, you will want to examine the author's use of these techniques and determine how they support the author's purpose. The most common literary technique you will encounter is an analogy .

Analogy : comparison between two objects.

Two common types of analogies include similes and metaphors . Similes are comparisons using like or as, while metaphors are comparisons of two unlike objects. Writers use these comparisons to make their ideas more vivid to readers. King often uses these literary techniques in his speech "I Have a Dream." In the passage, King uses both a simile and a metaphor in this sentence. He uses a simile to compare the end of slavery as promised in the "Emancipation Proclamation" to daybreak while using a metaphor to compare slavery to a long night.

"It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity."

Rhetorical modes

Rhetorical modes refer to structures used within an essay or a portion of an essay. Writers may use several of these modes within one essay.

Description

Description is a mode that provide s the sensory details of a person, place, or thing. Writers include these sensory details to make the topic interesting and engaging. They will use vivid nouns, verbs, and adjectives in their description . In a rhetorical analysis, you will examine how writers incorporate descriptions to make abstract ideas more concrete or to include crucial details. For example, if they were writing about an advertisement, they would include a description for it to make sense to the reader. Further, descriptions can support an argument or exposition . I n an essay persuading the audience to limit the environmental impacts of 2-day shipping, a writer could vividly describe the waste and pollution found at a large shipping warehouse.

Exposition provides information about a subject. Expository writing aims to explain or inform a reader about the topic. Types of expository writing include providing background information, explaining a process, comparing and contrasting ideas, and outlining the causes and effects of a problem. In a rhetorical analysis essay , you would explore whether exposition is an effective strategy for providing needed information and supporting the author's purpose. For example, in an essay about limiting the environmental impacts of 2-day shipping, a writer may explain the current process of quickly shipping items to highlight their negative environmental effects . You would analyze how the explanation of this process is effective in supporting the author's purpose.

Narration describes the telling of fictional or factual stories or series of events. Narratives in an essay follow the patterns of storytelling. There are characters and events, and writers structure the plot of the story to have a beginning, middle, and end. Narratives are common in essays. Writers often tell short narratives called anecdotes . Authors can also write narratives for an entire essay to recall their or another's personal experiences. In rhetorical analysis, you are examining the purpose of including these narratives within the author's essay. Often, narratives are effective because they personalize the topic for the reader since they can empathize with the author's purpose. In the example essay about the environmental impacts of 2-day shipping, a writer may highlight the environmental effects of a large shipping warehouse by telling stories of individuals negatively impacted by the company.

Argumentation

Argumentation attempts to persuade a reader of the writer's main ideas. Argumentation is a standard mode of writing: most writing you encounter in schools will be argumentative. Arguments have claims , or main ideas, that are supported by reasons or evidence. In analyzing an argument , you will explain whether the author writes a convincing argument with valid claims and strong supporting reasons. You will decide whether their reasons, such as whether they use logical appeals or emotional appeals, are effective for the author's intended purpose and audience. In the example essay about the environmental impacts of 2-day shipping, a writer may use logical appeals based on data and emotional appeals by using stories from impacted individuals to support their argument about limiting its environmental impact.

In argumentative writing, authors support their arguments by using four main rhetorical appeals: ethos , kairos, logos , and pathos .

Ethos is the appeal to ethics, or the speaker's credibility or values. Writers want to appear knowledgeable about their subject, so they will highlight their expertise while writing to let the audience know that they are credible. Further, writers will appeal to moral values or principles. For example, politicians often refer to the values found in America's founding documents in their speeches. To assess a writer's use of ethos, you will determine whether the writer appears credible and whether the values they appeal to successfully match their audience's values.

Kairos is the timeliness of the argument . A writer determines whether they want their argument to only address the concerns of the current moment by including modern references. They can also decide to address more universal arguments to make their argument timeless. When analyzing an argument, you will determine whether the writer attempted to make their idea current or timeless.

Logos is the use of logical arguments. Writers form claims with logical reasoning and support their reasoning with facts, statistics, and expert testimony. To analyze logical arguments in an essay, you will determine whether the argument is logically sound by finding errors in thinking or reasoning. You will also assess whether the writer accurately uses facts and statistics within their essay.

Pathos is the appeal to the audience's emotions. Appealing to emotions is effective because the audience can relate their feelings to the argument. Writers attempt to appeal to emotions by telling anecdotes and using evocative language. To analyze pathos within an essay, you will explore what emotions the writer tried to evoke and whether appealing to these feelings successfully support the author's purpose.

Rhetorical Strategies in Writing

When composing a rhetorical analysis essay, you will examine each of these different rhetorical strategies to determine how they work together to support the author's purpose. The steps and questions below will guide you in your analysis of these rhetorical strategies.

Determine the text's overall rhetorical mode. In other words, what is its main purpose? Is it trying to describe, explain, narrate, or persuade?

Find other rhetorical modes within the essay. Writers will often incorporate more than one mode. What other modes are present? Why did the author include these modes? How do they support their purpose?

If there is an argument, analyze the rhetorical appeals. How is the author attempting to persuade the audience? Are they relying on ethical, logical, or emotional arguments? Are their arguments timeless or rooted in their current moment? Are these appeals effective?

Analyze the author's use of rhetorical devices. Does the author allude to other literary or cultural works? Does the author use strong diction to support their purpose? Do they include interesting style choices, such as short sentences or parallelism, to emphasize the main point? Are they incorporating literary techniques to highlight the main idea ?

In your own rhetorical analysis essay, you can incorporate rhetorical strategies to make your writing more effective. Which rhetorical devices would help you craft a more engaging essay? What mode are you primarily writing in for your rhetorical analysis?

Rhetorical Strategies - Key Takeaways

• Rhetorical strategies are the writing techniques that authors use to help convince the audience of their purpose.
• There are three categories of rhetorical strategies: rhetorical devices, rhetorical modes, and rhetorical appeals.
• Rhetorical devices are the use of language and style to support an author's purpose. These devices include allusions, diction, syntax, and literary techniques.
• Rhetorical modes are the different patterns or structures for organizing an essay or a portion of an essay. These modes include description, exposition, narration, and argumentation.
• Rhetorical appeals are the different methods of persuading your audience when arguing. These appeals include ethos, kairos, logos, and pathos.
• In a rhetorical analysis essay , you analyze how an author employs these different strategies to support their purpose.

1. Martin Luther King Jr., "I Have a Dream," 1963.

2. Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities , 1859.

Flashcards in Rhetorical Strategies 14

Rhetorical language

"Getting through the school day felt like surviving the Hunger Games."

What is the purpose of the simile in this sentence? 

To highlight the difficulty of completing the school day.

Organization

"The student was titanium—nothing broke her spirit."

What rhetorical device is used in this sentence?

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Frequently Asked Questions about Rhetorical Strategies

What are rhetorical strategies?

Rhetorical strategies are the writing techniques that authors use to convince the audience of their purpose.

How do you analyze rhetorical strategies?

To analyze rhetorical strategies, you will want to determine the text's rhetorical mode and if the author uses any other modes within the essay. You will then figure out the purpose of their writing based on the rhetorical mode. If the author is writing an argument, you will analyze how they support their argument by examining the various rhetorical appeals. You will also examine their writing style by analyzing the references, word choice, and sentence structure to see if the author employed different rhetorical devices to support their purpose.

What are the 4 rhetorical strategies?

Rhetorical strategies are also sometimes called rhetorical modes. The rhetorical modes include description, exposition, narration, and persuasion/argumentation. More broadly, rhetorical strategies also include rhetorical devices and rhetorical appeals. There are four rhetorical appeals: ethos, kairos, logos, and pathos. 

How do you identify rhetorical strategies?

To identify rhetorical strategies, you will first look at the rhetorical mode of the essay. Based on the rhetorical modes, you can determine the author's purpose for writing the essay. After finding this purpose, you will identify the rhetorical devices, such as word choice and unique sentence structure, they use to support their purpose. If they are writing an argument, you will analyze the rhetorical appeals used to find how the author supported their argument. 

How do you write a rhetorical strategy to analyze an essay?

To write a rhetorical analysis essay, you will first determine the text's rhetorical mode and if the author uses any other modes within the essay. You will then figure out the purpose of their writing based on the rhetorical mode. If the author is writing an argument, you will analyze how they support it by examining the various rhetorical appeals and their effectiveness. You will also investigate their writing style by exploring the text's references, word choice, and sentence structure to see if the author employed different rhetorical devices to support their purpose. Based on these strategies, you will then write your essay where you will explain how the rhetorical mode, appeals, and devices support the author's purpose. 

Test your knowledge with multiple choice flashcards

"Getting through the school day felt like surviving the Hunger Games."What is the purpose of the simile in this sentence? 

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Home — Essay Samples — Government & Politics — John F. Kennedy — Analysis Of Rhetorical Strategies Used By John F. Kennedy In His Inaugural Speech

Analysis of Rhetorical Strategies Used by John F. Kennedy in His Inaugural Speech

• Categories: John F. Kennedy Rhetoric

About this sample

Words: 469 |

Published: Sep 1, 2020

Words: 469 | Page: 1 | 3 min read

In summary, John F. Kennedy's 1961 inaugural speech aimed to unite both Americans and the global community, using various rhetorical strategies effectively. Repetition was a key strategy to emphasize his call for peace. Phrases like "Let both sides" and "to those" connected with a broader audience, underlining his commitment to international cooperation. Pathos appealed to Americans' loyalty and compassion, emphasizing unity in facing common challenges. This emotional connection aimed to change perspectives toward other nations. Direct address reinforced his point, acknowledging the ambitious task of achieving global peace but encouraging citizens to start the journey together.

Table of contents

Prompt examples for the "jfk steel speech rhetorical analysis" essays, jfk steel speech rhetorical analysis essay.

• Exploring Rhetorical Strategies Analyze the use of rhetorical strategies such as repetition, pathos, and direct address in John F. Kennedy's steel speech and how they contribute to the effectiveness of his message.
• The Power of Repetition Examine the instances of repetition in JFK's speech and discuss their significance in reinforcing his central message of unity and responsibility.
• Pathos and Emotional Appeal Analyze the emotional impact of JFK's speech on the audience and its role in conveying his call for global responsibility.
• The Art of Direct Address Analyze how JFK's direct address to the audience strengthens his call to action and responsibility.
• JFK's Vision for a Unified World Discuss how Kennedy's speech aims to unite not only Americans but all citizens of the world in pursuit of common goals.

Works Cited

• ampbell, R., & Jamieson, K. H. (1990). Deeds Done in Words: Presidential Rhetoric and the Genres of Governance. University of Chicago Press.
• Coleman, D. (2003). The Rhetoric of American Exceptionalism: Critical Essays. McFarland.
• Griffin, C. L. (2009). A First Look at Communication Theory. McGraw-Hill Education.
• Kennedy, J. F. (1961). Inaugural Address. Retrieved from https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/historic-speeches/inaugural-address
• Kennedy, J. F. (1963). A Strategy of Peace. Retrieved from https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/historic-speeches/a-strategy-of-peace
• Medhurst, M. J. (1989). Dwight D. Eisenhower and the Rhetoric of the Middle Way. Greenwood Press.
• Pfau, M., & Parry-Giles, S. J. (2010). Rhetoric and Communication Perspectives on Domestic Terrorism: Counterterrorism Policy and Presidential Leadership. Lexington Books.
• Simons, H. W. (2002). Persuasion in Society. SAGE Publications.
• Smith, C. (1991). Rhetoric and Human Consciousness: A History. Allyn & Bacon.
• Zarefsky, D. (2009). Public Speaking: Strategies for Success. Pearson.

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31 Useful Rhetorical Devices

What is a rhetorical device and why are they used.

As with all fields of serious and complicated human endeavor (that can be considered variously as an art, a science, a profession, or a hobby), there is a technical vocabulary associated with writing. Rhetoric is the name for the study of writing or speaking as a means of communication or persuasion, and though a writer doesn’t need to know the specific labels for certain writing techniques in order to use them effectively, it is sometimes helpful to have a handy taxonomy for the ways in which words and ideas are arranged. This can help to discuss and isolate ideas that might otherwise become abstract and confusing. As with the word rhetoric itself, many of these rhetorical devices come from Greek.

Ready, set, rhetoric.

The repetition of usually initial consonant sounds in two or more neighboring words or syllables

wild and woolly, threatening throngs

Syntactical inconsistency or incoherence within a sentence especially : a shift in an unfinished sentence from one syntactic construction to another

you really should have—well, what do you expect?

Repetition of a prominent and usually the last word in one phrase or clause at the beginning of the next

rely on his honor—honor such as his?

A literary technique that involves interruption of the chronological sequence of events by interjection of events or scenes of earlier occurrence : flashback

Repetition of a word or expression at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, sentences, or verses especially for rhetorical or poetic effect

we cannot dedicate—we cannot consecrate—we cannot hallow—this ground

The repetition of a word within a phrase or sentence in which the second occurrence utilizes a different and sometimes contrary meaning from the first

we must all hang together or most assuredly we shall all hang separately

The usually ironic or humorous use of words in senses opposite to the generally accepted meanings

this giant of 3 feet 4 inches

The use of a proper name to designate a member of a class (such as a Solomon for a wise ruler) OR the use of an epithet or title in place of a proper name (such as the Bard for Shakespeare)

The raising of an issue by claiming not to mention it

we won't discuss his past crimes

An expression of real or pretended doubt or uncertainty especially for rhetorical effect

to be, or not to be: that is the question

Harshness in the sound of words or phrases

An inverted relationship between the syntactic elements of parallel phrases

working hard, or hardly working?

A disjunctive conclusion inferred from a single premise

gravitation may act without contact; therefore, either some force may act without contact or gravitation is not a force

The substitution of a disagreeable, offensive, or disparaging expression for an agreeable or inoffensive one

greasy spoon is a dysphemism for the word diner

Repetition of a word or expression at the end of successive phrases, clauses, sentences, or verses especially for rhetorical or poetic effect

of the people, by the people, for the people

Emphatic repetition [ this definition is taken from the 1934 edition of Webster's Unabridged dictionary ]

An interchange of two elements in a phrase or sentence from a more logical to a less logical relationship

you are lost to joy for joy is lost to you

A transposition or inversion of idiomatic word order

judge me by my size, do you?

Extravagant exaggeration

mile-high ice-cream cones

The putting or answering of an objection or argument against the speaker's contention [ this definition is taken from the 1934 edition of Webster's Unabridged dictionary ]

Understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of the contrary

not a bad singer

The presentation of a thing with underemphasis especially in order to achieve a greater effect : UNDERSTATEMENT

A figure of speech in which a word or phrase literally denoting one kind of object or idea is used in place of another to suggest a likeness or analogy between them ( Metaphor vs. Simile )

drowning in money

A figure of speech consisting of the use of the name of one thing for that of another of which it is an attribute or with which it is associated

crown as used in lands belonging to the crown

The naming of a thing or action by a vocal imitation of the sound associated with it

A combination of contradictory or incongruous words

cruel kindness

The use of more words than those necessary to denote mere sense : REDUNDANCY

I saw it with my own eyes

A figure of speech comparing two unlike things that is often introduced by "like" or "as"

cheeks like roses

The use of a word in the same grammatical relation to two adjacent words in the context with one literal and the other metaphorical in sense

she blew my nose and then she blew my mind

A figure of speech by which a part is put for the whole (such as fifty sail for fifty ships ), the whole for a part (such as society for high society ), the species for the genus (such as cutthroat for assassin ), the genus for the species (such as a creature for a man ), or the name of the material for the thing made (such as boards for stage )

The use of a word to modify or govern two or more words usually in such a manner that it applies to each in a different sense or makes sense with only one

opened the door and her heart to the homeless boy

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100+ Most Popular Rhetorical Analysis Essay Topics in 2024

Writing a rhetorical analysis essay can feel like stepping into a world where words are weapons, and arguments are battles to be won. Whether you’re in high school or college, finding the right rhetorical analysis essay topic can set the stage for a compelling and insightful piece. In 2024, with the ever-evolving landscape of media, literature, and public discourse, there’s no shortage of fascinating topics to choose from. So, let’s dive into some of the most popular and intriguing rhetorical analysis essay topics that can help you craft an essay that not only meets your academic requirements but also captivates your audience.

What is a Rhetorical Analysis Essay?

Rhetorical analysis is the process of examining how an author or speaker uses language to persuade or influence their audience. It goes beyond simply understanding the message; it involves analyzing the techniques and strategies used to convey that message effectively. This includes looking at the use of ethos, or credibility; pathos, or emotional appeal; and logos, or logical reasoning. By breaking down these elements, a rhetorical analysis seeks to understand the effectiveness of the communication and how it achieves its intended purpose.

The Importance of Choosing the Right Topic

Choosing the right topic is crucial. A well-chosen topic not only makes your writing process smoother but also engages your readers from the get-go. You want something that has enough depth for analysis, but not so obscure that you can’t find sources or examples. The following list of rhetorical analysis essay topics in 2024 offers a wide range of options, ensuring that you can find a topic that interests you and meets your assignment’s requirements.

Literary Works: Classic and Contemporary

• The Use of Rhetoric in George Orwell’s “1984”
• Persuasive Techniques in Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird”
• Rhetorical Strategies in Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale”
• Analyzing the Use of Irony in Mark Twain’s “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”
• The Role of Pathos in Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein”
• How Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar” Employs Rhetoric to Influence the Audience
• The Use of Symbolism in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby”
• Rhetorical Analysis of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s “We Should All Be Feminists”

Literary works often provide a rich ground for rhetorical analysis because of the intricate ways in which authors weave their arguments. Whether it’s classic literature or contemporary works, analyzing these texts helps you understand how authors have historically used rhetoric to influence societal perspectives.

Political Speeches: Power of Persuasion

• The Rhetoric of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” Speech
• Barack Obama’s 2008 Victory Speech: A Rhetorical Analysis
• The Persuasive Techniques in Winston Churchill’s “We Shall Fight on the Beaches” Speech
• Analyzing the Use of Ethos in John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address
• The Role of Logos in Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address
• How Rhetoric Shaped Donald Trump’s Presidential Campaign Speeches
• Rhetorical Strategies in Greta Thunberg’s Climate Change Speeches
• The Impact of Pathos in Nelson Mandela’s “I Am Prepared to Die” Speech

Political speeches are gold mines for rhetorical analysis. These speeches are crafted to influence, motivate, and sometimes manipulate public opinion. Analyzing these can provide deep insights into how leaders shape narratives and rally support.

Advertising Campaigns: Selling Through Words

• Nike’s “Just Do It” Campaign: A Rhetorical Analysis
• The Use of Pathos in Coca-Cola’s “Share a Coke” Campaign
• Analyzing Ethos in Apple’s “Think Different” Ads
• The Rhetorical Strategies Behind Dove’s “Real Beauty” Campaign
• How Fear Appeals are Used in Anti-Smoking Ads
• Persuasion in Political Campaign Advertisements
• The Role of Humor in Old Spice’s “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” Campaign
• The Use of Rhetoric in Social Awareness Campaigns like “Stop the Spread”

Advertising is all about persuasion. Companies spend millions to craft messages that resonate with their audience, and rhetorical analysis can peel back the layers to reveal how these campaigns influence consumer behavior.

Analyzing Modern Media: Films, TV Shows, and Music

Film and television.

• The Rhetoric of Heroism in Marvel’s “The Avengers”
• Analyzing the Use of Rhetoric in “Breaking Bad”
• How “The Handmaid’s Tale” TV Series Uses Rhetoric to Highlight Gender Inequality
• The Persuasive Techniques in Netflix’s “13th”
• Rhetorical Analysis of Jordan Peele’s “Get Out”
• The Use of Pathos in Pixar’s “Up”
• Analyzing Rhetorical Devices in HBO’s “Game of Thrones”
• The Role of Ethos in “Schindler’s List”

Music and Lyrics

• The Rhetoric of Protest in Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are A-Changin’”
• Analyzing Pathos in Adele’s “Someone Like You”
• The Use of Logos in Kendrick Lamar’s “Alright”
• How Beyoncé’s “Formation” Employs Ethos to Empower
• The Persuasive Power of Lyrics in John Lennon’s “Imagine”
• Rhetorical Analysis of Taylor Swift’s “Blank Space”
• The Role of Repetition in Queen’s “We Will Rock You”
• The Use of Symbolism in Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall”

Modern media, whether films, TV shows, or music, is a reflection of the society we live in. Analyzing the rhetoric in these mediums not only deepens your understanding of the content but also helps you appreciate the subtle ways in which messages are conveyed.

Rhetoric in Social Media: The Digital Influence

• The Rhetorical Power of Memes in Political Campaigns
• How Influencers Use Rhetoric to Build Their Brand on Instagram
• Analyzing the Rhetoric of Cancel Culture on Twitter
• The Persuasive Techniques in Viral TikTok Trends
• The Role of Pathos in Mental Health Advocacy on Social Media
• Rhetorical Strategies in Facebook’s Data Privacy Communications
• The Use of Ethos in LinkedIn Professional Branding
• How Rhetoric Shapes Public Perception in Online Debates

Social media has revolutionized the way we communicate, and with it, the way rhetoric is used. Whether it’s a viral tweet or a YouTube video, rhetorical analysis can uncover the persuasive tactics that define the digital age.

Public Discourse: Shaping Society

• The Rhetoric of Fear in Post-9/11 Political Speeches
• Analyzing Ethos in the Me Too Movement’s Public Statements
• The Role of Logos in the Gun Control Debate in America
• Rhetorical Strategies in the Pro-Life vs. Pro-Choice Argument
• The Persuasive Techniques in Environmental Activism Speeches
• How Rhetoric Shapes Public Perception in Immigration Reform Debates
• Analyzing the Use of Pathos in Campaigns Against Human Trafficking
• The Rhetoric of Anti-Vaccination Movements on Social Media
• Persuasive Strategies in the LGBTQ+ Rights Movement
• The Impact of Rhetoric in the Black Lives Matter Movement’s Messaging

Public discourse plays a significant role in shaping societal beliefs and actions. Analyzing the rhetoric used in these discussions reveals how language can mobilize, polarize, and inspire change. By examining these topics, students can gain insight into the power of words in public arenas and their role in societal transformations.

Business and Corporate Communications: The Language of Commerce

• Analyzing the Rhetoric in Amazon’s Corporate Social Responsibility Reports
• The Use of Ethos in Apple’s Product Launch Presentations
• Persuasive Techniques in Nike’s Social Justice Advertising
• How Rhetoric is Used in Tesla’s Earnings Calls
• The Role of Logos in Corporate Apologies after Scandals
• Rhetorical Strategies in Coca-Cola’s Global Advertising Campaigns
• Analyzing Pathos in Charity Appeals by Large Corporations
• The Rhetoric of Inclusivity in Fortune 500 Companies’ Diversity Statements
• The Impact of Rhetoric in Anti-Smoking Campaigns by Big Tobacco
• Persuasive Techniques in Pharmaceutical Industry Advertising

Corporate communications are carefully crafted to influence public perception, consumer behavior, and shareholder confidence. By analyzing the rhetoric in business contexts, students can understand how companies use language to build brand loyalty, manage crises, and navigate the competitive market.

Cultural Movements: The Power of Collective Voice

• Analyzing the Rhetoric in the Feminist Movement’s Key Texts
• The Use of Ethos in the Civil Rights Movement’s Leadership Speeches
• Rhetorical Strategies in the Gay Rights Movement’s Historic Campaigns
• The Role of Pathos in the Anti-Apartheid Movement
• Persuasive Techniques in the Native American Rights Movement
• Analyzing Logos in the Disability Rights Movement’s Advocacy
• The Rhetoric of Solidarity in the Labor Union Movement
• The Impact of Rhetoric in the Anti-War Movement during the Vietnam Era
• Persuasive Strategies in the Global Human Rights Movement
• The Role of Social Media Rhetoric in the Arab Spring

Cultural movements are often driven by powerful rhetoric that rallies support and fosters a sense of unity. Analyzing these movements offers valuable insights into how language can drive social change and empower marginalized communities to voice their demands.

Education and Academia: Rhetoric in Learning

• The Use of Rhetoric in Educational Policy Debates
• Analyzing Ethos in University Commencement Speeches
• Persuasive Techniques in the Debate Over Standardized Testing
• How Rhetoric Shapes Public Opinion on Charter Schools
• The Role of Pathos in Advocating for Higher Education Funding
• Rhetorical Strategies in the Fight for Free College Tuition
• Analyzing the Use of Logos in Academic Research Presentations
• The Rhetoric of Inclusivity in Diversity and Inclusion Statements
• Persuasive Techniques in Promoting STEM Education
• The Impact of Rhetoric in the Debate Over Student Loan Forgiveness

Education and academia are fertile grounds for rhetorical analysis, as debates over policy, funding, and access to education often hinge on the effective use of language. By examining these topics, students can explore how rhetoric is used to advocate for educational reforms and shape public discourse around learning.

Health and Medicine: Persuasion in Public Health

• The Rhetoric of Fear in Anti-Smoking Campaigns
• Analyzing Pathos in Public Health Campaigns Against Obesity
• The Role of Ethos in Vaccine Promotion Efforts
• Persuasive Strategies in Anti-Drug Campaigns
• How Rhetoric Shapes Public Perception of Mental Health Issues
• The Use of Logos in Debates Over Universal Healthcare
• Analyzing the Rhetoric of Pro-Choice vs. Pro-Life in Reproductive Health
• The Impact of Rhetoric in Anti-AIDS Campaigns in the 1980s
• Persuasive Techniques in Government Health Warnings on Tobacco Products
• The Rhetoric of Wellness in Alternative Medicine Promotions

Tips for Writing Your Rhetorical Analysis Essay Topics

Writing a rhetorical analysis essay doesn’t have to be daunting. Here are a few tips to keep in mind:

• Choose a Topic You’re Passionate About: If you’re interested in the topic, it’ll be easier to write and more engaging for your readers.
• Identify the Rhetorical Strategies Used: Look for examples of ethos, pathos, and logos, and analyze how effective they are.
• Support Your Analysis with Examples: Always back up your points with evidence from the text, speech, or media you’re analyzing.
• Keep Your Audience in Mind: Consider who will be reading your essay and tailor your analysis to their interests and knowledge level.
• Revise and Edit: Always leave time to go back and refine your essay. A polished essay will make a stronger impression.

Finding the right rhetorical analysis essay topic is the first step towards crafting a compelling essay. Whether you’re analyzing a classic novel, a modern film, or a political speech, the key is to dig deep and uncover the persuasive techniques at play. With the topics listed above, you’re well on your way to writing an essay that not only meets your academic requirements but also engages and enlightens your readers. Happy writing!

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AP Research Topics: History, Chemistry, Psychology & More

Have you ever found yourself so wrapped up in a project that you forget to check the time? That's what happens when you choose the right AP Research topic. Whether you're curious about how technology shapes our lives or fascinated by the ways people think, picking good AP research paper topics can make your experience more than just another assignment—it can be an adventure.

AP Research is a course that lets high school students dig deep into a subject they care about. It gives you a chance to think critically and create something truly your own. But before you get started, you need to choose a topic that not only sparks your interest but also meets the course requirements. That's where we're here to help.

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What Does AP Research Do

AP Research allows you to take control of your learning. You'll learn how to ask the right questions, gather and analyze data, and present your findings in a way that's both clear and compelling.

One of the best parts is the freedom it offers. You're not just following a textbook—you're exploring something that genuinely interests you. This exploration can lead to impressive results, like the students who've used EssayPro's resources to write top-notch research papers. By connecting with experts and using reliable tools, they've turned their curiosity into polished projects that stand out.

Whether you're interested in social issues, science, or the arts, AP Research helps you develop skills that go beyond the classroom. You're able to solve problems and communicate your ideas effectively—all essential skills for college and beyond. And with the right support, like the guidance from EssayPro, you can take your research to the next level.

Don't miss out—check out our related article on why is critical thinking important for students and see how these skills can improve your AP Research process.

The List of AP Research Topics

Now that you know what this research is all about, it's time to find a topic that speaks to you. Having a good list of ideas can also make the process easier. Below, our expert admission essay services team gathered a selection of AP research paper topics that are not only interesting but also offer plenty of opportunities for deep exploration.

Best AP Research Topics

• How do urban heat islands affect local weather patterns and public health?
• The impact of early childhood education on long-term social and emotional development
• What are the effects of climate change on global water resources and availability?
• How do social movements utilize digital platforms to mobilize support and influence policy?
• The role of genetic engineering in agriculture: benefits and ethical concerns
• How do cultural differences influence the effectiveness of mental health interventions?
• The effects of gamified learning on student engagement and retention in STEM subjects
• How does the rise of remote work affect team dynamics and productivity?
• The influence of historical narratives on modern national identities
• What are the psychological and social impacts of long-term space travel on astronauts?
• The role of artificial intelligence in personalized medicine and its potential for transforming healthcare
• How do different teaching methods impact students with learning disabilities?
• The impact of environmental sustainability practices on corporate social responsibility
• What are the effects of food labeling on consumer behavior and dietary choices?
• How do societal attitudes toward aging affect elderly care and policies?
• The role of traditional knowledge in contemporary environmental conservation efforts
• How do different approaches to urban design influence community well-being and social interaction?
• The impact of digital detox practices on mental health and productivity in the workplace
• What can be learned from studying the long-term effects of major historical pandemics on societies?
• How do contemporary art movements challenge traditional notions of aesthetics and value?

Good AP Research Topics

Here are some more good topic choices curated by EssayPro. If you've found one you love, our experts are ready to offer help with writing an essay .

• How does the design of public spaces impact community engagement and safety?
• The influence of storytelling techniques on public awareness of social issues
• What are the effects of dietary changes on cognitive function in older adults?
• How do global supply chain disruptions affect local economies and businesses?
• The impact of bilingual education on cognitive development and academic performance
• How does exposure to different cultural perspectives shape attitudes toward global issues?
• What are the psychological effects of participating in extreme sports or adventure activities?
• How do social and economic factors influence access to clean drinking water in developing countries?
• The role of artificial intelligence in detecting and preventing cyber threats
• How do virtual communities influence real-world social interactions and relationships?
• The impact of renewable energy adoption on rural versus urban areas
• What are the effects of early intervention programs on children with developmental delays?
• How do different types of exercise affect mental health and stress levels?
• The influence of political satire on public opinion and political engagement
• What can be learned from the success and failure of international environmental agreements?
• How do personal finance education programs impact financial decision-making and stability?
• The effects of digital media consumption on attention spans and learning abilities in adolescents
• How does the portrayal of diversity in media affect societal attitudes and inclusion?
• The role of community gardens in promoting local food security and social cohesion
• What are the benefits and challenges of integrating technology into traditional classroom settings?

AP Seminar Topics

These AP Seminar research topics are sure to inspire and engage you. They're practical and interesting, perfect for exploring important issues.

• How has the rise of influencer culture altered consumer trust in advertising?
• The impact of urban farming initiatives on food security in densely populated cities
• What role do emerging technologies play in the future of remote education?
• How does the portrayal of mental health in media affect public perceptions and stigma?
• The influence of digital privacy concerns on the development of new technologies
• How do alternative justice systems, like restorative justice, impact community rehabilitation?
• The effects of gamification on student motivation and learning outcomes in education
• What can the evolution of language in internet memes tell us about cultural shifts?
• How do local art movements contribute to global conversations on social justice?
• The role of wearable technology in personal health monitoring and its implications for privacy
• How does the concept of 'ethical fashion' challenge traditional fashion industry practices?
• What are the psychological effects of participating in online communities versus physical communities?
• The influence of microdosing psychedelics on creativity and productivity in professional settings
• How do fictional narratives in popular media shape our understanding of historical events?
• The impact of virtual reality therapy on treating phobias and PTSD
• What role does citizen science play in advancing environmental research and policy?
• How do different cultures approach the concept of work-life balance, and what can we learn from them?
• The effects of digital art on the traditional art market and artist recognition
• How does the rise of autonomous vehicles impact urban planning and traffic management?
• The role of narrative in shaping public perceptions of scientific research and technology

AP World History Research Paper Topics

• How did the Silk Road influence cultural exchange between Asia and Europe?
• The impact of the Mongol Empire on global trade and communication
• The role of women in ancient Egyptian society
• What led to the fall of the Roman Empire?
• Exploring the causes and effects of the Protestant Reformation
• The significance of the Magna Carta in shaping modern democracy
• How did the Black Death reshape European societies in the 14th century?
• The rise and fall of the Byzantine Empire
• What were the key factors in the success of the Ottoman Empire?
• The influence of Confucianism on Chinese government and society
• How did the Age of Exploration change global economies and cultures?
• The impact of colonialism on Indigenous populations in the Americas
• What were the causes and consequences of the French Revolution?
• The development and spread of Islam during the Middle Ages
• How did the Industrial Revolution transform societies in Europe and beyond?
• The influence of Greek philosophy on Western thought
• What were the driving forces behind the unification of Germany?
• The role of the Transatlantic Slave Trade in shaping the modern world
• How did World War I lead to major political changes in Europe?
• The cultural and technological achievements of the Gupta Empire in India

AP US History Research Paper Topics

• The causes and effects of the American Revolution
• How did the Louisiana Purchase shape the future of the United States?
• The role of women in the American Civil War
• What were the main challenges faced by the early colonies in America?
• The impact of the Emancipation Proclamation on the Civil War
• How did the Gold Rush influence westward expansion in the United States?
• The significance of the Monroe Doctrine in American foreign policy
• What were the key factors leading to the Great Depression?
• The influence of the Harlem Renaissance on American culture
• How did the Civil Rights Movement change American society?
• The causes and consequences of the Mexican-American War
• What role did the New Deal play in America's recovery from the Great Depression?
• The impact of World War II on American domestic life
• How did the Cold War shape US foreign and domestic policies?
• The significance of the Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education
• What were the driving forces behind the Women's Suffrage Movement?
• The effects of the Vietnam War on American society and politics
• How did the Watergate scandal change public trust in government?
• The influence of the Industrial Revolution on urbanization in America
• What were the causes and outcomes of the American involvement in World War I?

AP Lang Research Paper Topics

• How does the use of rhetorical questions in speeches influence audience engagement?
• The role of persuasive language in shaping public opinion during elections
• How does the choice of narrative perspective affect a reader's connection to a story?
• The impact of social media on modern journalism and news reporting
• What are the linguistic techniques used in effective political debates?
• How do advertising slogans use language to create brand identity and consumer loyalty?
• The influence of Shakespeare's use of imagery on modern literary analysis
• How does the use of irony in literature enhance thematic elements?
• The role of dialogue in character development in contemporary novels
• How does language in public health campaigns affect community behavior and awareness?
• What are the rhetorical strategies used in motivational speeches to inspire action?
• The impact of tone and mood in setting the atmosphere in Gothic literature
• How do different genres of writing, such as satire and tragedy, affect reader perception?
• The role of metaphor in political rhetoric and its impact on policy discussions
• How does the structure of an argumentative essay influence its persuasiveness?
• The effects of language simplification in educational materials on student comprehension
• How do authors use symbolism to convey deeper meanings in their works?
• The influence of cultural context on the interpretation of literary texts
• What are the effects of direct vs. indirect speech on character relationships in drama?
• How do historical speeches reflect the values and concerns of their time periods?

Don't forget to buy analytical essay if you've nailed down your ideal topic!

AP Environmental Science Research Paper Topics

• The impact of deforestation on global biodiversity
• How does climate change affect polar ice caps and sea levels?
• The role of renewable energy in reducing carbon emissions
• What are the environmental consequences of plastic pollution in oceans?
• The effects of industrial agriculture on soil health
• How does urbanization contribute to habitat loss and species extinction?
• The importance of wetlands in maintaining ecological balance
• What are the challenges and benefits of sustainable farming practices?
• The role of environmental policies in protecting endangered species
• How does air pollution impact human health in urban areas?
• The significance of the ozone layer in protecting life on Earth
• What are the environmental impacts of fracking on water resources?
• The effects of climate change on coral reef ecosystems
• How does deforestation contribute to climate change?
• The importance of conservation efforts in preserving biodiversity
• What are the environmental benefits and challenges of electric vehicles?
• The role of national parks in protecting natural resources
• How do invasive species disrupt local ecosystems?
• The impact of overfishing on marine life and ocean health
• What are the environmental and social implications of e-waste?

AP Chemistry Research Paper Topics

• The process of photosynthesis and its chemical significance
• What are the effects of heavy metals on human health?
• The chemistry behind pharmaceuticals and drug development
• How do detergents and soaps work at the molecular level?
• The significance of oxidation-reduction reactions in energy production
• What are the chemical principles behind climate change mitigation efforts?
• The role of catalysts in speeding up chemical reactions
• How do acids and bases interact in everyday life?
• The importance of the periodic table in modern chemistry
• What are the environmental impacts of chemical fertilizers?
• The chemistry behind renewable energy sources like solar cells
• How do chemical bonds determine the properties of substances?
• The significance of pH in maintaining biological systems
• What are the applications of nanotechnology in medicine?
• The process and importance of water purification techniques
• How do greenhouse gases contribute to global warming?
• The role of chemical reactions in food preservation
• What makes enzymes so crucial in biochemical reactions?
• The chemistry of batteries and how they store energy
• How do polymers impact everyday products and the environment?

AP Biology Research Topics

• How do genetic mutations contribute to evolution?
• The role of enzymes in cellular processes
• What are the effects of climate change on animal migration patterns?
• The significance of the human microbiome in health and disease
• How do plants adapt to extreme environmental conditions?
• The impact of antibiotic resistance on public health
• What are the mechanisms of gene expression and regulation?
• The role of natural selection in shaping species diversity
• How do hormones regulate growth and development in organisms?
• The process of photosynthesis and its importance in the carbon cycle
• What are the effects of habitat destruction on biodiversity?
• The role of the immune system in defending against pathogens
• How do organisms maintain homeostasis in varying environments?
• The impact of invasive species on native ecosystems
• What are the genetic factors involved in inherited diseases?
• The process of cell division and its significance in growth and reproduction
• How do environmental toxins affect the nervous system?
• The role of symbiotic relationships in ecosystems
• What are the effects of pollution on aquatic life?
• The significance of epigenetics in gene expression and inheritance

AP Research Psychology Topics

• How do different parenting styles impact child development?
• The effects of sleep deprivation on cognitive performance
• What are the psychological impacts of social media addiction?
• The role of genetics vs. environment in determining intelligence
• How does mindfulness meditation influence stress levels?
• The effects of early childhood trauma on adult mental health
• What are the cognitive benefits of bilingualism?
• The impact of exercise on mental health and mood
• How do stereotypes and prejudices develop and affect behavior?
• The role of attachment theory in understanding romantic relationships
• What are the psychological effects of prolonged isolation?
• The influence of parental involvement on academic achievement
• How do cognitive biases affect decision-making?
• The effects of music therapy on anxiety and depression
• What are the psychological mechanisms behind placebo effects?
• How does exposure to violent media influence aggression?
• The role of self-esteem in coping with life challenges
• What are the effects of nutrition on cognitive function?
• How does early intervention in autism spectrum disorder affect developmental outcomes?
• The impact of stress management techniques on overall well-being

AP Capstone Research Topics

• How did the rise of digital nomadism change the concept of work-life balance?
• The impact of virtual reality on empathy and understanding of social issues
• How do small, community-based conservation efforts contribute to global environmental change?
• The role of crowdfunding in transforming startup culture and innovation
• What can ancient agricultural practices teach us about modern sustainable farming?
• How do storytelling techniques in video games influence player behavior and decision-making?
• The effects of cross-cultural exchanges on traditional art forms in the digital age
• What are the social and psychological impacts of living in a hyper-connected world?
• How do grassroots movements influence national policy changes?
• The role of biohacking in personal health and ethical considerations
• How do urban green spaces impact community well-being and social interactions?
• The influence of speculative fiction on real-world scientific advancements
• What are the psychological effects of experiencing extreme weather events on communities?
• How do traditional storytelling methods in indigenous cultures address modern social issues?
• The role of augmented reality in enhancing educational experiences and learning outcomes
• How do cultural festivals contribute to local economic development and global awareness?
• The impact of immersive theatre on audience engagement and social change
• What can historical patterns of migration reveal about current refugee crises?
• How do alternative economic models, like time banking, challenge traditional concepts of value and work?
• The effects of digital detox programs on mental health and productivity

AP English Language Research Paper Topics

• How does rhetoric influence public opinion in political speeches?
• The role of satire in social and political commentary
• How do language and style vary between formal and informal writing?
• The impact of social media on modern communication practices
• How does persuasive writing shape consumer behavior in advertising?
• The use of metaphor in shaping cultural narratives
• What are the linguistic features of effective storytelling in literature?
• How does the choice of diction affect the tone of a piece?
• The role of rhetorical devices in Martin Luther King Jr.'s speeches
• How do different genres of writing influence reader perception?
• The impact of globalization on language and communication styles
• How does the structure of a persuasive essay affect its effectiveness?
• The use of imagery and symbolism in shaping the reader's emotions
• How does the language used in news media influence public understanding of events?
• The role of ethos, pathos, and logos in crafting compelling arguments
• How does narrative voice affect reader engagement in memoirs and autobiographies?
• The influence of historical context on the language of classical literature
• How do language and rhetoric contribute to the development of national identity?
• The effects of censorship on literary expression and freedom
• How do authors use rhetorical strategies to address social justice issues?

Characteristics of a Good AP Research Paper

Strong AP research topics stand out due to several key features that ensure their impact. Here's what to keep in mind:

• Timeless Relevance: Select a topic that maintains its significance over time. Avoid subjects likely to become outdated quickly. Instead, focus on issues with long-term importance that can be referenced by future researchers.
• Supported by Credible Sources: Your research must be backed by reliable sources. For example, research supported by academic databases like JSTOR or publications from trusted institutions such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) adds credibility.
• Clear and Insightful Research Questions: Good questions help define the scope of your paper and shape your analysis, ensuring that your research is both relevant and insightful. For example, if your topic involves the impact of digital marketing, questions inspired by case studies from companies like Google or Adobe can provide a structured framework for your analysis.
• Specific Focus: Narrow your topic to address specific issues, avoiding overly broad subjects. For instance, if researching the effects of climate change, focus on a particular aspect such as its impact on urban agriculture.
• Logical Structure and Clarity: Ensure your paper has a clear introduction, body, and conclusion. Each section should flow logically, with well-organized arguments and evidence. A clear structure helps readers follow your argument and enhances the overall readability of your paper.

By considering these pointers suggested by EssayPro, your paper will make a valuable contribution to your field of study. It'll also be easy for you to draw on the best practices and examples from leading research institutions and industry experts.

Tips for Choosing an AP Research Topic

Here are some useful tips to help you choose standout AP research topic ideas:

• Examine Current Trends: Look at recent news, technological advances, or social movements for inspiration. Topics like the effects of remote work on productivity or the rise of sustainable fashion can be both timely and impactful.
• Reflect on Your Passions: Whether it's a hobby, a cause, or a field you're curious about, your enthusiasm will make the research process more enjoyable and your writing more compelling.
• Seek Out Gaps in Existing Research: Identify areas where there's a lack of information or where current research is outdated. For example, if you notice few studies on the psychological effects of digital detoxes, that might be a unique angle worth exploring. EssayPro can also help you find existing research and identify gaps that need further investigation.
• Consult with Experts: Talk to teachers, mentors, or professionals in fields you're interested in. Their insights can help you identify important topics. You might also find useful examples and advice from Essaypro's expert writers.
• Consider Practical Applications: Choose a topic with real-world applications or implications. Researching the impact of new educational technologies on classroom dynamics, for example, can provide valuable insights and practical solutions.
• Look at Your Local Community: Local issues or events can offer unique and relevant topics. Investigate how local policies affect community health or how a local environmental issue is being addressed. These topics can provide fresh perspectives and direct relevance.
• Use Personal Experience: Leverage your own experiences or observations. If you've noticed a trend or issue in your daily life, such as the impact of social media on teen behavior, it can provide a unique and personal angle for your research.

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How to Find a Good Research Topic in AP Research?

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Annie Lambert

specializes in creating authoritative content on marketing, business, and finance, with a versatile ability to handle any essay type and dissertations. With a Master’s degree in Business Administration and a passion for social issues, her writing not only educates but also inspires action. On EssayPro blog, Annie delivers detailed guides and thought-provoking discussions on pressing economic and social topics. When not writing, she’s a guest speaker at various business seminars.

is an expert in nursing and healthcare, with a strong background in history, law, and literature. Holding advanced degrees in nursing and public health, his analytical approach and comprehensive knowledge help students navigate complex topics. On EssayPro blog, Adam provides insightful articles on everything from historical analysis to the intricacies of healthcare policies. In his downtime, he enjoys historical documentaries and volunteering at local clinics.

Grey, S. (2024, August 7). What Is The AP Capstone Program? Everything You Should Know. Forbes . https://www.forbes.com/advisor/education/online-colleges/what-is-ap-capstone/

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Campaign Notebook

Meandering? Off-Script? Trump Insists His ‘Weave’ Is Oratorical Genius.

Former President Donald J. Trump’s speeches often wander from topic to topic. He insists there is an art to stitching them all together.

• Share full article

By Shawn McCreesh

For weeks, former President Donald J. Trump’s advisers have urged him to be more disciplined and to stop straying off-message.

But on Friday, while speaking at a rally in Johnstown, Pa., Mr. Trump insisted that his oratory is not a campaign distraction but rather a rhetorical triumph.

“You know, I do the weave,” he said. “You know what the weave is? I’ll talk about like nine different things, and they all come back brilliantly together, and it’s like, friends of mine that are, like, English professors, they say, ‘It’s the most brilliant thing I’ve ever seen.’”

Asked for examples of the technique, the Trump campaign provided what it called a “masterclass weave” — a four-minute, 20-second video of the candidate speaking at a rally in Asheville, N.C., in August in which he bounces from energy bills to Hunter Biden’s laptop to Venezuelan tar to mental institutions in Caracas to migrant crime to “the green new scam” to Vice President Kamala Harris.

In its disjointed way, it did all sort of seem to wend back to why he thinks he should be president again.

“Unlike Kamala Harris, who can’t put together a coherent sentence without a teleprompter, President Trump speaks for hours, telling multiple impressive stories at the same time,” said Karoline Leavitt, a spokeswoman for Mr. Trump. “Kamala Harris could never.”

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