Rhetorical Analysis Outline Worksheet
Submit via Brightspace—See Course Calendar
I. Introduction:
A. Name of author, and title of work; a rhetorically accurate verb (such as “assert,” “argue,” “suggest,” “imply,” “claim,” etc.); and a THAT clause containing the major assertion (thesis statement) of the work.
‘Example: The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) created “Food for the Future” argues that the way the world approaches food development must change to ensure enough food to sustain population growth over the next twenty years.
B. A description of the intended audience and the relationship the author establishes with the audience
Example: The creators anticipate interested farmers, scientists, and corporations to view this film to understand the pressures on food production for a growing world population.
C. An explanation of how the author develops and/or supports the thesis, usually in chronological order.
Example: The EBRD cites interviews with farmers, scientists, and soil management experts to support their argument. They also emphasize appeals to viewers’ emotions by showing families struggling against hunger and the difficult work of growing food. Finally, the EBRD provides facts and statistics to convince viewers of the correctness of their argument that food production needs to change.
D. A statement of the author’s apparent purpose followed by an “in order” phrase.
Example: The purpose of this film is to convince people and governments across the world to participate in a food production revolution that the EBRD is proposing.
E. A thesis statement formatted like this: “Beck uses [A, B, and C rhetorical strategies] to persuade her intended audience to [take action, believe something, do something], and [these rhetorical strategies] are/are not effective because [why].
Example: The EBRD appeals to credibility, rational thought, and emotional responses to persuade viewers to adopt a mindset that the world must reconsider how people produce food; the most compelling strategy is the appeal to credibility because the sources they interview are experts in these areas.
II. Body Paragraph #1:
Topic sentence/transition: “(author’s last name) begins with/by…(make your claim about what strategy you see working address the purpose/prompt)”
Example: The EBRD appeals to credibility by including interviews with farmers, scientists, and soil experts.
Specific example to support idea: provide EXPLICIT textual support woven into your comments to support your claim. Thoroughly discuss all strategies used in the beginning
section, supporting with text. (Should be at least two or more complex, stylistic sentences.)
Examples:
Interview with Moroccan potato farmer
Interview with scientists creating meat in labs
Interview with soil experts
Discussion of how examples supports idea: Connect the strategy back to your main claim/thesis/the purpose.
Example: These example appeal to credibility because the emphasize the experts who are working in the field of food production. Appeals to credibility, or ethos, are important to convince the audience to do ***. [Other reasons you see these things as appeals to credibility.]
III. Body Paragraph #2:
Topic sentence/transition: “After… the author moves to…” “Building off the strategy he/she used to begin, he/she …” Connect an idea from the last sentence of the previous paragraph to the first sentence of this paragraph showing how the strategies build upon each other.
Example: In addition to providing credible sources to support the argument, the EBRD uses appeals to rational thought, or logos, by including facts and statistics.
Provide EXPLICIT textual support woven into your comments to support your claim. Thoroughly discuss all strategies used in the middle section, supporting with text. Should be at least two or more complex, stylistic sentences.
Examples:
Statistics on how many hours of work to produce potatoes
Statistics on population growth
Facts on environmental impact of food production
Discussion of how example supports idea: Connect the strategy back to your main claim/thesis/ the purpose.
Example: Define appeals to logos, or logic. Explain how these are appeals to logic.
IV. Body Paragraph #3
Topic sentence/transition: “After… the author moves to…” “Building off the strategy he/she used to begin, he/she …” Connect an idea from the last sentence of the previous paragraph to the first sentence of this paragraph showing how the strategies build upon each other.
Example: Following the appeals to logic, the EBRD uses appeals to emotion to persuade the audience to take the need to change food production strategies for the well-being of the world’s population.
Provide EXPLICIT textual support woven into your comments to support your claim. Thoroughly discuss all strategies used in the middle section, supporting with text. Should be at least two or more complex, stylistic sentences.
Examples:
Scenes with the potato farmer’s family
Inclusion of scenes of damaged soil
Lab scenes of growing meat from stem cells
Discussion of how example supports idea: Connect the strategy back to your main claim/thesis/ the purpose.
Example: Define appeals to emotions, or pathos. Explain how each of these scenes in the film make a viewer feel as they watch.
Last Body Paragraph:
Topic sentence/transition: “to close the essay/speech, (author)…” “Concluding the argument he/she …”Connect an idea from the last sentence of the previous paragraph to the first sentence of this paragraph showing how the strategies build upon each other.
Example: While the combination of appeals to ethos, logos, and pathos is incredibly effective, the most compelling argument is made through the appeals to credibility.
Provide EXPLICIT textual support woven into your comments to support your claim. Thoroughly discuss all strategies used in the middle section, supporting with text. Should be at least two or more complex, stylistic sentences.
Example: The appeals to credibility occur in several ways that support the other two types of rhetorical appeals. Explain this.
Discussion of how example supports idea: Connect the strategy back to your main claim/thesis/ the purpose.
Example: Therefore, the most effective rhetorical strategy to convince the viewer to believe the argument of the film is the appeal to credibility.
V. Conclusion
A. Restatement of thesis that digs deeper into the overall intended meaning of the text than the one in the introductory paragraph (Try not to begin your conclusion paragraph with “In conclusion”).
B. Reflection on examples and main ideas in body paragraphs, significance of these strategies, AND how they are linked to your thesis.
C. State if these were effective in conveying the claim/thesis/purpose.
D. Closing thought – closing out the main purpose of the text being analyzed.
This assignment should cite from the documentary film that you’ve chosen. You must include both in-text citations and a Works Cited page to avoid plagiarizing.
Pay careful attention to the rhetorical devices that we covered in class resources: rhetorical appeals, logical fallacies, word choice, and tone.
Requirements of the essay:
3-5 pages of text (with an additional Works Cited page)
MLA documentation formatting
3rd person only!
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