Rhetorical Analysis Rubric

| RHETORICAL ANALYSIS: CRITICAL WRITINGWhen you write a rhetorical analysis, all you're really doing is putting onto paper the strategies you discovered/ideas you came up with when reading the text critically. Below is a set of guidelines devised to help you organize the thoughts from your critical reading process. The guidelines detail the aspects of the text you might consider discussing, and they offer you some direction in terms of organizing your paper. Remember that you do not have to cover all of these aspects when writing a formal rhetorical analysis.GUIDELINES FOR RHETORICAL ANALYSISYOUR TITLE:The title of your essay is the first point of contact you have with your reader. What sort of title would describe your paper and distinguish it from other papers written on the same essay?Example: "Political Spin"(from sample) A Rhetorical Analysis of the Letter from George Bush to Saddam"YOUR INTRODUCTION: DETAILING THE RHETORICAL SITUATION 1. How would you describe the rhetorical situation? What will you say about the writer, the subject, thecontext, the audience, and the principal aim/purpose …show more content…
How would you summarize the essay in one or two sentences? (Try not to digress into a lengthy paraphrase of the piece.) What is the writer's thesis? 3. What features of substance and style will you focus on in the body of your essay, and why do you consider them so important to the discourse? (This is your thesis.) YOUR ESSAY'S BODY: DISCUSSING THE CONTENT OF THE TEXT 1. How does the writer develop the discourse, and why has she/he chosen these methods of development? 2. How has the writer arranged the discourse, and why has he/she chosen this pattern of arrangementover others? (Make specific reference to the introduction, the thesis, the body, and the conclusion if you think it is important.) 3. If the essay is persuasive, which of the persuasive appeals (logos, ethos, or pathos) predominates, and how do these appeals strengthen or weaken the