How to Write a Rhetorical Analysis Essay in 6 Steps

In a rhetorical analysis essay, a writer examines and critiques the work of another thinker, writer, or artist. Instead of summarizing a work, rhetorical analysis examines how it is written. This type of scholarly article is often written by high school or college students.

The goal of a rhetorical analysis essay is to examine the goals and motivations of the original author of a text and whether or not these rhetorical techniques were successful. In this type of essay, a writer will address elements of the text they have chosen to critique, including the author’s intended audience, how they convey their argument, what language they use, and how they employ the modes of persuasion: ethos (ethics), pathos (emotion), and logos (logic).

Writing a rhetorical analysis essay can help you examine a text’s effectiveness or impact. It can also deepen your understanding of a topic that you are passionate about. These essays typically follow the standard “introduction/ body/ conclusion” paragraph structure, although there is technically no concrete format for how to structure this type of essay. Follow this step-by-step guide to write your own effective rhetorical analysis essay.

1. 1. Choose and study a text. Review the work you’re analyzing more than once to become as familiar as possible with the author’s argument and writing style. Make sure you have read the text thoroughly, and that you fully understand each point that the author is making as well as the context. Consider choosing a text that covers a topic that you’re passionate about or well-versed in. This will make the writing process easier and more engaging for you.
2. 2. Identify the main points of the text. Start by examining the author’s writing style and analyzing who their intended audience is. What was the author’s purpose in writing their paper or story? Is the writer attempting to persuade a particular audience to agree with a particular point? Are they trying to educate their audience? Are they critiquing something? What is their thesis? If you want, you can construct an outline to address each point the author makes, along with your own thoughts on each of their points.
3. 3. Write your introduction. The introductory paragraph of your essay should briefly summarize the piece of writing you’re analyzing (along with any relevant background information) to give your reader adequate background on the material. Craft this overview into a finely tuned thesis statement that lays out what you aim to prove about the author’s original text in the body of your own essay.
4. 4. Construct your analysis. You will use the body paragraphs of your essay to analyze the way that the original author constructs their argument and makes their points. Each body paragraph will address a different point that relates back to your thesis. As you’re constructing your analysis, ask yourself a series of questions. How is the writer making their emotional appeals (pathos), if any? How effective are their reasoning and logical appeal (logos)? What is their credibility to even write about such a subject (ethos)? Support each point you make with concrete evidence like quotes or statements from the text that can further reinforce your point.
5. 5. Pay attention to language. Examine the author’s diction and how they transition their ideas between topics. Does the word choice the author uses clarify or enforce their point? Or does the language the writer uses distract from the overall message? Do they use language to elicit a particular emotional response? Are there too many literary devices? Or not enough? How does each writing strategy help or hurt the author’s purpose? You can use these examples to back up your thesis.
6. 6. Write your conclusion. The conclusion paragraph should restate your thesis, summarize the key supporting ideas you discussed throughout the work, and offer your final impression on the central idea. When you address your final impression of the central idea, discuss whether the author was able to successfully achieve their writing goal. Were their strategies effective? If so, what type of impact did they have on their target audience’s emotions or point of view? Has the writing been an influence or made any changes in the real world? Write a strong concluding statement that wraps up your claims.

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