How to write a rhetorical analysis

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.

A rhetorical analysis is structured similarly to other essays: an introduction presenting the thesis,

a body analyzing the text directly, and a conclusion to wrap up. This article defines some key
rhetorical concepts and provides tips on how to write a rhetorical analysis.

Key concepts in rhetoric

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 support 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:

Rhetorical statement
Neither candidate was well liked; voter turnout in the election was very low.
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.

Analyzing the text

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.

Introducing your 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.

Rhetorical analysis introduction

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: Doing the analysis

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.

Analysis
The following sentences interpret the quotations in terms of how they function rhetorically, using
the concept of ethos. They also introduce and interpret another quotation to emphasize the point.
Rhetorical analysis body paragraph
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.

Concluding a rhetorical analysis

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.

Rhetorical analysis 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.