Solid Advice On How To Start A Rhetorical Analysis Essay

Rhetoric, or the study of effective persuasion, has become a common college subject by now. To learn about existing rhetorical methods and to develop their own successful strategies, students are often asked to analyze the rhetoric of texts, films, TV shows, advertisements, and other communicative media. If you should write a rhetorical analysis essay, remember to pay close attention to its introduction. Be sure to use the following advice to start your paper well and make it a success:

• Hint at your purpose and introduce your topic.

Your reader should clearly understand what to expect from your paper. You don’t need to state directly that your essay is a rhetorical analysis. Try to hint at this information if possible. However, it’s necessary that you define the subject of your analysis. Identify what text you will analyze and provide brief contextual information such as when, where, and why the text was created. “Text” is something you are going to analyze. It is not necessarily a written work. Films, commercials, or even images are called “texts” in rhetorical analysis.

• Lead to your thesis statement.

Provide some background details about the speaker, audience, event, subject, and purpose of the text. Be as brief as possible because this information should be developed deeper only in the body paragraphs of your essay. Don’t provide all of the mentioned data. Let these details flow naturally into your thesis statement.

• Write your thesis statement.

In one or two sentences of your thesis statement, you should specify the key argument of the analysis that follows. This is where you should state your position on the topic and let the reader know the focus of your paper. The following tips will help you create a strong thesis statement:

• Specify the rhetorical techniques used in the text and analyze their effectiveness.
• Narrow the focus of your paper by analyzing one complex aspect.
• When creating your thesis, give preference to the words like “effective” and “ineffective” rather than “good” and “bad”.
• Read the writing prompt carefully and give a clear answer to it in your thesis statement.
• Revise your introduction.

Your introduction should precisely introduce and reflect the content of your work. Therefore, it is often recommended to write the introductory paragraph the last. If you write it the first, reread your paper carefully and consider if your introduction needs to be changed. The thorough revision will help you start your rhetorical analysis essay properly and not disappoint the reader’s expectations.