Notes for the third mini-analysis: rhetorical analysis
Key to any form of analysis is development of the framework through which the writer analyzes a given text. Here you will develop terms Selzer and Covino introduced in their respective chapters on Rhetorical Analysis (that we elaborated in class discussion).
For this mini-analysis, you will need to introduce rhetoric and define it--this mini-analysis is about rhetoric and how it works in a particular rhetorical artifact. This is where your rationale comes from: what is the value of examining how rhetoric works in a given artifact? Furthermore, of the three main methodological steps--examining strategies of invention, arrangement, and style--you will focus on invention to reveal how rhetoric works in the artifact to persuade an audience to think and feel a particular way. Note: If you were to use this method for the first analysis, you would need to also examine strategies of arrangement and style (discussed below). Invention
A good place to start when examining a rhetorical artifact in terms of the strategies of invention is with the artistic appeals to logos, ethos, and pathos the rhetor uses to persuade certain audiences within specific situations.
You have to infer (guess at) several things: the rhetor's purpose; the composition of the audience; and the situation. Use the following as a heuristic (method for coming up with things to say) to help you come up with the body of your analysis. You will need to arrange your analysis to make a persuasive case for your reading of the text.
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Course LinksAny rhetorical artifact serves as a response (purpose) to a situation (context). |
Arrangement
As Selzer demonstrates from his analysis of E.B. White's essay, you must attend to the impact of sequence, the order in which audiences experience the rhetorical appeals and genres the rhetor uses. McKee provides us with an analogous approach to examining the impact of arrangement (structure/logos) on generating aesthetic emotion (pathos) in the audience. That is, a particular audience (within a particular mood and way of understanding the world) may not be able to hear the conclusion a rhetor wishes them to agree to, unless they have undergone a complex sequence in which all the necessary elements of the argument progress through various emotional reversals.
In order to map out the arrangement of a text, I recommend using a value graph to do so. Read this document for an explanation of how to write out a value graph. |
Style
Examining the strategies of style will provide you with a general schema for revealing how rhetors employ style to effect persuasion (see Selzer).
The point is to show how stylistic choices the rhetor makes does something to the audience. You may actually find that stylistic choices play a significant role in rhetorically appealing to the audiences ability to trust, think, and feel. |