A rhetorical analysis analyzes an author argues rather than an author argues. It focuses on what we call the rhetorical features of a textthe authors situation, purpose for writing, intended audience, kinds of claims, and types of evidenceto show how the argument tries to persuade the reader. You will want to read the text you plan to analyze both with the grain and against the grain. In reading with the grain, you believe everything the author tells you without question. In reading against the grain, you pose challenges to the authors claims and techniques. Read your text a few times, making note of the following features and marking examples. We will draw examples from the film . With the Grain You will want to construct a short summary of the authors main argument to orient the reader in points you will make in your analysis. This summary should simply and neutrally present the authors main points and will generally appear early in your final paper. EXAMPLE: The film uses interviews with teenage girls, media personalities, and political leaders to explore depictions of women in the media. Among other things, the film considers how sexualized depictions of women may impact the self-esteem of young girls, how negative representations of women may lead to violence toward women and limit leadership opportunities for women, and how media deregulation may be the cause of the increased focus on female sexuality in American media. Against the Grain Make note of the following features, including examples from the text. How does the author control what the reader sees? In other words, where does the author use words with certain connotations or create a certain tone or style? How does the author reveal her point of view? EXAMPLE: Writer, director, and producer Jennifer Siebel Newsom narrates throughout the film, interspersing her argument with commercial videos, interviews, animated graphics, and statistics in the form of brief print messages. Newsom is a Hollywood actress, and her tone, when providing critical data on the media, is one of concern for young women. Her conclusion, which includes a call to action, shifts to a more upbeat mood. What is motivating the author to write this piece? Does the author want to ? express a certain idea or opinion? ? respond to a particular occasion or another text? ? explore a topic or inquire into a problem? ? inform the reader about a topic that is misunderstood? ? analyze, synthesize, and interpret data? ? persuade the reader of an argument? ? reflect on a topic? ? advocate for change? EXAMPLE: Newsoms film is not reserved in its approach. It considers media representations of women over the last thirty-five years to be highly problematic. What many media consumers perceive as normal, sexually suggestive entertainment that emphasizes a womans physical beauty and often uses cosmetic and computer enhancement to create unattainable standard of female beauty, Newsom sees as severely limiting for women. A few of her interviewees suggest that media deregulation in the 80s and 90s led to depictions of women which place undue emphasis of womens physical beauty, implying that empowering the Federation Communications Commission to create new television standards might help to correct the problem. To whom is the author writing? EXAMPLE: One imagines that Newsoms primary audience is women and young girls, but her interviews include male celebrities and politicians, and the film implies that men can benefit from more positive media portrayals of women in the media as well. The films website contains teacher lesson plans and study guides for students kindergarten-age to those attending university. What kinds of claims are the author making and where? ? Claims of fact usually based on objective facts but are sometimes interpreted by the author for the purpose of argument. EXAMPLES: The film frequently cites facts
indicating that despite women making up slightly more than half the population of the United States, they are severely underrepresented among the countrys business, media, and political leadership. It attributes this dearth of female leaders to negative representations of women in the media. Or, the author may claim, The automotive industry has depleted our natural resources to the point of crisis. The author may state objective facts and statistics to back up this argument, but whether we are at a point of crisis is the authors interpretation. ? Claims of value present an evaluation or judgment of a situation. They often use value-laden words like variations of good, bad, moral, immoral, beautiful, ugly, etc. EXAMPLE: The film indicates that more positive depictions of women which do not objectify them sexually amount to a social and moral good. ? Claims of policy often call for action and use should or must statements. EXAMPLE: The film suggests that lack of government oversight of the media has resulted in the objectification of women as television, film, and other forms of media, as an extension of commercial advertising, utilize sexual imagery to sell their products. Does the author include evidence that does not support her claims? If so, how does the author respond to it and what does this suggest about her rhetorical position? ? Concessions acknowledge that another perspective has some merit. ? Refutations show the problems in another point of view and argue for the authors position. EXAMPLE: The film doesnt appear to consider caveats or exceptions to its assessment of the medias negative depictions of women. When it points out positive portrayals, it indicates that these efforts are short-lived. Generally, academic writing relies mainly on ethos and logos, while more popular writing may include appeals to all three or may rely on one more than the others. Why might this be the case for your article? ? Ethos refers to an authors creation of a credible persona. How does the author establish credibility or authority? EXAMPLE: Interviews with business, media, and political leaders. ? Logos refers to appeals to logic. How does the author establish the logic of his or her argument? EXAMPLE: The film provides numerous examples of the sexual objectification of women in the media, argues that earlier periods of American history provided more nuanced depictions of women, and then indicates what went wrong and how it might be fixed. ? Pathos refers to appeals to emotion. Where does the author try to emotionally engage the reader in the argument? EXAMPLE: Testimonials from teenage students and a few celebrities, describing how pervasive negative female stereotypes have impacted their lives. Your rhetorical analysis will need: ? A short, neutral summary of the text ? A thesis that argues the most important rhetorical features of the text and their effects ? Several paragraphs of evidence, arranged under topic sentences After you have read and annotated your text, you will have an abundance of evidence to draw from for your essay. Arrange your best ideas under claims about your text; you do not need to cover every category in this handout. There are many ways to structure a rhetorical analysis, but most will begin with a short summary of the text to orient the reader and then move into a thesis statement and analysis. The analysis should form the majority of the paper and be organized under central ideas. Each claim you make should have evidence from the text to back it up. EXAMPLE THESIS: While Jennifer Siebel Newsoms calls attention to the problem of the objectification of women in American media, its conclusion that deregulation of the media in the late Twentieth Century is to blame ignore a much longer history of sexism and misogyny, oversimplifying a serious problem to argue for a political solution which may do more harm than good.