What does it mean to write a “rhetorical analysis?”

What does it mean to write a rhetorical analysis? Writing a rhetorical analysis is more than simply reading a text and summarizing the main points. In order to truly analyze a rhetorical piece, you must examine all of the properties of the text. Moreover, you must identify the decisions the rhetor made in creating each piece of the rhetorical text and discuss how those decisions create the mood of the text. For example, if the rhetor inserts a black and white picture of a pre-teen playing video games into the a piece about the negative impact that staring at computer screens for hours at a time has on eyesight, you must examine why that picture was used why it is in black and white rather than color. Perhaps the author used a picture of a pre-teen to appeal to a parental audience, and perhaps the choice to use black and white was made to set a dark, sad mood. After all, the author probably isn’t writing about something negative with the intent of making the audience cheerful.

After reading Chapter 9 of Compose Design Advocate, I realized that the idea of rhetorical analysis is to figure out how the text works. To do this, the chapter suggests writing down your initial sense of the piece’s purpose. This is only your initial sense, better yet, it’s a tool for you to reference as you read the piece. As you read, the analyzer should notice that the pictures, word choice, organization, etc., fit together in a certain way to create the piece. An analysis should describe each characteristic and how it fits with the others to create the purpose. In describing each characteristic, the analyzer should also explain what makes that characteristic rhetorical. I now understand that in order for a rhetorical analysis to be an analysis, it must address and explain each characteristic that the rhetor includes in the piece.

Help Received: Chapter 9 of Compose Design Advcate