rhetorical analysis essay on newspaper article

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Course info.

• Jared David Berezin

Departments

• Comparative Media Studies/Writing

As Taught In

• History of Science and Technology
• Academic Writing
• Nonfiction Prose
• Periodic Literature
• Technical Writing

Learning Resource Types

Science writing and new media: communicating science to the public, rhetorical analysis of a news article.

Purpose: A close reader of the world looks beneath the surface of behavior and language, and explores instances of communication as rhetorical events rich with meaning. The purpose of this assignment is to analyze an online news article, and identify and discuss the writer’s rhetorical decisions and their impacts. Rather than state whether you believe the article is “good” or “bad”, or whether you liked it or not, apply a close-reading of the text. This assignment includes two main deliverables: 1) a written essay, and 2) a class discussion.

I. Written Essay (Individually Written)

Craft a coherent rhetorical analysis essay that includes the following two components:

• Very brief summary of the article
• Close reading of the work

For the summary portion (1), rather than describe everything in the article, very briefly share only the main points of the article. The summary should be no more than a brief paragraph. In your close reading (2)—the heart of this assignment—you should include and provide evidence for the following information:

• Who is the author? (name, title, and credentials)
• Where was the article published? (newspaper/magazine/website title)
• What is the purpose and goal of the article?
• Who is the intended audience of the article?
• Ethos : appeals to the character/expertise of the writer and cited authorities
• Logos : appeals based on logic, reasoning, and relevant evidence
• Pathos : appeals to the beliefs, emotions, and values of the audience
• Diction, figurative language, tone, organization, length
• Does the writer use visual images in the article? If so, what is their impact?
• What evidence (if any) does the author provide to support her/his claims?
• Where does this evidence come from?
• What research might the author have conducted before writing the article?
• What information does the author not include in the article, and why?
• Is the author biased in any way?
• Is the article trustworthy?

II. Class Discussion (Co-Lead With a Partner)

You will lead a 10-15 minute discussion of the article with a classmate, which will require you to meet beforehand and plan your questions. After introducing the article, try and stimulate discussion among your classmates with purposeful, open-ended questions. As mentioned above, the written rhetorical analysis essay should be completed individually, and the discussion should be led jointly with your partner.

Audience: Your audience for both the essay and discussion includes your teacher and classmates: we are a community of diverse people interested in the rhetorical choices involved in science articles written for the public. Since we have not read the article as closely as you have, it is critical that you provide the reasoning for all of your analytical claims involving the article.

Be sure to support all of your analytical points with specific evidence from the article, which will help your audience comprehend and support your rhetorical analysis. Since your audience has learned about the elements of a rhetorical situation (e.g. audience, purpose, context, genre) and rhetorical appeals (e.g. ethos, logos, pathos), you do not need to define these concepts in your essay.

Format requirements: MS Word (.doc) or Adobe (.pdf) with the following:

• 1"X1" margins
• Size 12 Times New Roman font
• Single-spaced text
• 600-800 words
• Include page numbers

Before you submit your essay, re-read your writing, preferably aloud, to detect ideas that need to be tightened and/or reorganized for clarity.

Due Date: Be sure to write down and remember your specific due date and assigned article. Upload your essay to the course website anytime before your class discussion.

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What Is a Rhetorical Analysis and How to Write a Great One

Helly Douglas

Do you have to write a rhetorical analysis essay? Fear not! We’re here to explain exactly what rhetorical analysis means, how you should structure your essay, and give you some essential “dos and don’ts.”

What is a Rhetorical Analysis Essay?

How do you write a rhetorical analysis, what are the three rhetorical strategies, what are the five rhetorical situations, how to plan a rhetorical analysis essay, creating a rhetorical analysis essay, examples of great rhetorical analysis essays, final thoughts.

A rhetorical analysis essay studies how writers and speakers have used words to influence their audience. Think less about the words the author has used and more about the techniques they employ, their goals, and the effect this has on the audience.

In your analysis essay, you break a piece of text (including cartoons, adverts, and speeches) into sections and explain how each part works to persuade, inform, or entertain. You’ll explore the effectiveness of the techniques used, how the argument has been constructed, and give examples from the text.

A strong rhetorical analysis evaluates a text rather than just describes the techniques used. You don’t include whether you personally agree or disagree with the argument.

Structure a rhetorical analysis in the same way as most other types of academic essays . You’ll have an introduction to present your thesis, a main body where you analyze the text, which then leads to a conclusion.

Think about how the writer (also known as a rhetor) considers the situation that frames their communication:

• Topic: the overall purpose of the rhetoric
• Audience: this includes primary, secondary, and tertiary audiences
• Purpose: there are often more than one to consider
• Context and culture: the wider situation within which the rhetoric is placed

Back in the 4th century BC, Aristotle was talking about how language can be used as a means of persuasion. He described three principal forms —Ethos, Logos, and Pathos—often referred to as the Rhetorical Triangle . These persuasive techniques are still used today.

Rhetorical Strategy 1: Ethos

Are you more likely to buy a car from an established company that’s been an important part of your community for 50 years, or someone new who just started their business?

Reputation matters. Ethos explores how the character, disposition, and fundamental values of the author create appeal, along with their expertise and knowledge in the subject area.

Aristotle breaks ethos down into three further categories:

• Phronesis: skills and practical wisdom
• Arete: virtue
• Eunoia: goodwill towards the audience

Ethos-driven speeches and text rely on the reputation of the author. In your analysis, you can look at how the writer establishes ethos through both direct and indirect means.

Rhetorical Strategy 2: Pathos

Pathos-driven rhetoric hooks into our emotions. You’ll often see it used in advertisements, particularly by charities wanting you to donate money towards an appeal.

Common use of pathos includes:

• Vivid description so the reader can imagine themselves in the situation
• Personal stories to create feelings of empathy
• Emotional vocabulary that evokes a response

By using pathos to make the audience feel a particular emotion, the author can persuade them that the argument they’re making is compelling.

Rhetorical Strategy 3: Logos

Logos uses logic or reason. It’s commonly used in academic writing when arguments are created using evidence and reasoning rather than an emotional response. It’s constructed in a step-by-step approach that builds methodically to create a powerful effect upon the reader.

Rhetoric can use any one of these three techniques, but effective arguments often appeal to all three elements.

The rhetorical situation explains the circumstances behind and around a piece of rhetoric. It helps you think about why a text exists, its purpose, and how it’s carried out.

The rhetorical situations are:

• 1) Purpose: Why is this being written? (It could be trying to inform, persuade, instruct, or entertain.)
• 2) Audience: Which groups or individuals will read and take action (or have done so in the past)?
• 3) Genre: What type of writing is this?
• 4) Stance: What is the tone of the text? What position are they taking?
• 5) Media/Visuals: What means of communication are used?

Understanding and analyzing the rhetorical situation is essential for building a strong essay. Also think about any rhetoric restraints on the text, such as beliefs, attitudes, and traditions that could affect the author's decisions.

Before leaping into your essay, it’s worth taking time to explore the text at a deeper level and considering the rhetorical situations we looked at before. Throw away your assumptions and use these simple questions to help you unpick how and why the text is having an effect on the audience.

1: What is the Rhetorical Situation?

• Why is there a need or opportunity for persuasion?
• How do words and references help you identify the time and location?
• What are the rhetoric restraints?
• What historical occasions would lead to this text being created?

2: Who is the Author?

• How do they position themselves as an expert worth listening to?
• What is their ethos?
• Do they have a reputation that gives them authority?
• What is their intention?
• What values or customs do they have?

3: Who is it Written For?

• Who is the intended audience?
• How is this appealing to this particular audience?
• Who are the possible secondary and tertiary audiences?

4: What is the Central Idea?

• Can you summarize the key point of this rhetoric?
• What arguments are used?
• How has it developed a line of reasoning?

5: How is it Structured?

• What structure is used?
• How is the content arranged within the structure?

6: What Form is Used?

• Does this follow a specific literary genre?
• What type of style and tone is used, and why is this?
• Does the form used complement the content?
• What effect could this form have on the audience?

7: Is the Rhetoric Effective?

• Does the content fulfil the author’s intentions?
• Does the message effectively fit the audience, location, and time period?

Once you’ve fully explored the text, you’ll have a better understanding of the impact it’s having on the audience and feel more confident about writing your essay outline.

A great essay starts with an interesting topic. Choose carefully so you’re personally invested in the subject and familiar with it rather than just following trending topics. There are lots of great ideas on this blog post by My Perfect Words if you need some inspiration. Take some time to do background research to ensure your topic offers good analysis opportunities.

Remember to check the information given to you by your professor so you follow their preferred style guidelines. This outline example gives you a general idea of a format to follow, but there will likely be specific requests about layout and content in your course handbook. It’s always worth asking your institution if you’re unsure.

Make notes for each section of your essay before you write. This makes it easy for you to write a well-structured text that flows naturally to a conclusion. You will develop each note into a paragraph. Look at this example by College Essay for useful ideas about the structure.

1: Introduction

This is a short, informative section that shows you understand the purpose of the text. It tempts the reader to find out more by mentioning what will come in the main body of your essay.

• Name the author of the text and the title of their work followed by the date in parentheses
• Use a verb to describe what the author does, e.g. “implies,” “asserts,” or “claims”
• Briefly summarize the text in your own words
• Mention the persuasive techniques used by the rhetor and its effect

Create a thesis statement to come at the end of your introduction.

After your introduction, move on to your critical analysis. This is the principal part of your essay.

• Explain the methods used by the author to inform, entertain, and/or persuade the audience using Aristotle's rhetorical triangle
• Use quotations to prove the statements you make
• Explain why the writer used this approach and how successful it is
• Consider how it makes the audience feel and react

Make each strategy a new paragraph rather than cramming them together, and always use proper citations. Check back to your course handbook if you’re unsure which citation style is preferred.

3: Conclusion

Your conclusion should summarize the points you’ve made in the main body of your essay. While you will draw the points together, this is not the place to introduce new information you’ve not previously mentioned.

Use your last sentence to share a powerful concluding statement that talks about the impact the text has on the audience(s) and wider society. How have its strategies helped to shape history?

Before You Submit

Poor spelling and grammatical errors ruin a great essay. Use ProWritingAid to check through your finished essay before you submit. It will pick up all the minor errors you’ve missed and help you give your essay a final polish. Look at this useful ProWritingAid webinar for further ideas to help you significantly improve your essays. Sign up for a free trial today and start editing your essays!

You’ll find countless examples of rhetorical analysis online, but they range widely in quality. Your institution may have example essays they can share with you to show you exactly what they’re looking for.

The following links should give you a good starting point if you’re looking for ideas:

Pearson Canada has a range of good examples. Look at how embedded quotations are used to prove the points being made. The end questions help you unpick how successful each essay is.

Excelsior College has an excellent sample essay complete with useful comments highlighting the techniques used.

Brighton Online has a selection of interesting essays to look at. In this specific example, consider how wider reading has deepened the exploration of the text.

Writing a rhetorical analysis essay can seem daunting, but spending significant time deeply analyzing the text before you write will make it far more achievable and result in a better-quality essay overall.

It can take some time to write a good essay. Aim to complete it well before the deadline so you don’t feel rushed. Use ProWritingAid’s comprehensive checks to find any errors and make changes to improve readability. Then you’ll be ready to submit your finished essay, knowing it’s as good as you can possibly make it.

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Helly Douglas is a UK writer and teacher, specialising in education, children, and parenting. She loves making the complex seem simple through blogs, articles, and curriculum content. You can check out her work at hellydouglas.com or connect on Twitter @hellydouglas. When she’s not writing, you will find her in a classroom, being a mum or battling against the wilderness of her garden—the garden is winning!

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A RHETORICAL ANALYSIS OF NEWS ARTICLE ON WORK FROM HOME

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This paper discusses the use of rhetorical elements in a newspaper article published by Bloomberg, entitled Three Hours Longer, the Pandemic Workday Has Obliterated Work-Life Balance. Four keywords ('rhetorical analysis', 'news article', 'work from home', 'COVID-19') were used to identify the rhetorical elements in the news article. This is a mixed method analysis where the data is qualitative, but the analysis is done both quantitatively and qualitatively. The newspaper articles were analysed by using the Ethos, Logos and Pathos rhetorical structure. Firstly, Ethos, Logos and Pathos was clearly defined. Secondly, these elements were broken into subcategories of their own. What makes up Ethos is its credibility, expectations and reference. Logos has three sub categories which are clarity, conciseness, and arrangement. Lastly, Pathos is made up of tone, emphasis and engagement. Implications that were faced when analysing this document was that there were negative perceptions from employees in interviews conducted on the subject of working from home. Therefore, readers will interpret and view working from home gives more issues and challenges rather than benefits.

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How to Write a Rhetorical Analysis Essay–Examples & Template

What is a Rhetorical Analysis Essay?

A rhetorical analysis essay is, as the name suggests, an analysis of someone else’s writing (or speech, or advert, or even cartoon) and how they use not only words but also rhetorical techniques to influence their audience in a certain way. A rhetorical analysis is less interested in what the author is saying and more in how they present it, what effect this has on their readers, whether they achieve their goals, and what approach they use to get there. 

Its structure is similar to that of most essays: An Introduction presents your thesis, a Body analyzes the text you have chosen, breaks it down into sections and explains how arguments have been constructed and how each part persuades, informs, or entertains the reader, and a Conclusion section sums up your evaluation. 

Note that your personal opinion on the matter is not relevant for your analysis and that you don’t state anywhere in your essay whether you agree or disagree with the stance the author takes.

In the following, we will define the key rhetorical concepts you need to write a good rhetorical analysis and give you some practical tips on where to start.

Key Rhetorical Concepts

Your goal when writing a rhetorical analysis is to think about and then carefully describe how the author has designed their text so that it has the intended effect on their audience. To do that, you need to consider a number of key rhetorical strategies: Rhetorical appeals (“Ethos”, “Logos”, and “Pathos”), context, as well as claims, supports, and warrants.

Ethos, Logos, and Pathos were introduced by Aristotle, way back in the 4th century BC, as the main ways in which language can be used to persuade an audience. They still represent the basis of any rhetorical analysis and are often referred to as the “rhetorical triangle”. 

These and other rhetorical techniques can all be combined to create the intended effect, and your job as the one analyzing a text is to break the writer’s arguments down and identify the concepts they are based on.

Rhetorical Appeals

Rhetorical appeal #1: ethos.

Ethos refers to the reputation or authority of the writer regarding the topic of their essay or speech and to how they use this to appeal to their audience. Just like we are more likely to buy a product from a brand or vendor we have confidence in than one we don’t know or have reason to distrust, Ethos-driven texts or speeches rely on the reputation of the author to persuade the reader or listener. When you analyze an essay, you should therefore look at how the writer establishes Ethos through rhetorical devices.

Does the author present themselves as an authority on their subject? If so, how? 

Do they highlight how impeccable their own behavior is to make a moral argument? 

Do they present themselves as an expert by listing their qualifications or experience to convince the reader of their opinion on something?

Rhetorical appeal #2: Pathos

The purpose of Pathos-driven rhetoric is to appeal to the reader’s emotions. A common example of pathos as a rhetorical means is adverts by charities that try to make you donate money to a “good cause”. To evoke the intended emotions in the reader, an author may use passionate language, tell personal stories, and employ vivid imagery so that the reader can imagine themselves in a certain situation and feel empathy with or anger towards others.

Rhetorical appeal #3: Logos

Logos, the “logical” appeal, uses reason to persuade. Reason and logic, supported by data, evidence, clearly defined methodology, and well-constructed arguments, are what most academic writing is based on. Emotions, those of the researcher/writer as well as those of the reader, should stay out of such academic texts, as should anyone’s reputation, beliefs, or personal opinions. 

Text and Context

To analyze a piece of writing, a speech, an advertisement, or even a satirical drawing, you need to look beyond the piece of communication and take the context in which it was created and/or published into account. 

Who is the person who wrote the text/drew the cartoon/designed the ad..? What audience are they trying to reach? Where was the piece published and what was happening there around that time? 

A political speech, for example, can be powerful even when read decades later, but the historical context surrounding it is an important aspect of the effect it was intended to have. 

Claims, Supports, and Warrants

To make any kind of argument, a writer needs to put forward specific claims, support them with data or evidence or even a moral or emotional appeal, and connect the dots logically so that the reader can follow along and agree with the points made.

The connections between statements, so-called “warrants”, follow logical reasoning but are not always clearly stated—the author simply assumes the reader understands the underlying logic, whether they present it “explicitly” or “implicitly”. Implicit warrants are commonly used in advertisements where seemingly happy people use certain products, wear certain clothes, accessories, or perfumes, or live certain lifestyles – with the connotation that, first, the product/perfume/lifestyle is what makes that person happy and, second, the reader wants to be as happy as the person in the ad. Some warrants are never clearly stated, and your job when writing a rhetorical analysis essay is therefore to identify them and bring them to light, to evaluate their validity, their effect on the reader, and the use of such means by the writer/creator. 

What are the Five Rhetorical Situations?

A “rhetorical situation” refers to the circumstance behind a text or other piece of communication that arises from a given context. It explains why a rhetorical piece was created, what its purpose is, and how it was constructed to achieve its aims.

Rhetorical situations can be classified into the following five categories:

Asking such questions when you analyze a text will help you identify all the aspects that play a role in the effect it has on its audience, and will allow you to evaluate whether it achieved its aims or where it may have failed to do so.

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Outline

Analyzing someone else’s work can seem like a big task, but as with every assignment or writing endeavor, you can break it down into smaller, well-defined steps that give you a practical structure to follow. 

To give you an example of how the different parts of your text may look when it’s finished, we will provide you with some excerpts from this rhetorical analysis essay example (which even includes helpful comments) published on the Online Writing Lab website of Excelsior University in Albany, NY. The text that this essay analyzes is this article on why one should or shouldn’t buy an Ipad. If you want more examples so that you can build your own rhetorical analysis template, have a look at this essay on Nabokov’s Lolita and the one provided here about the “Shitty First Drafts” chapter of Anne Lamott’s writing instruction book “Bird by Bird”.

Analyzing the Text

When writing a rhetorical analysis, you don’t choose the concepts or key points you think are relevant or want to address. Rather, you carefully read the text several times asking yourself questions like those listed in the last section on rhetorical situations to identify how the text “works” and how it was written to achieve that effect.

Start with focusing on the author : What do you think was their purpose for writing the text? Do they make one principal claim and then elaborate on that? Or do they discuss different topics? 

Then look at what audience they are talking to: Do they want to make a group of people take some action? Vote for someone? Donate money to a good cause? Who are these people? Is the text reaching this specific audience? Why or why not?

What tone is the author using to address their audience? Are they trying to evoke sympathy? Stir up anger? Are they writing from a personal perspective? Are they painting themselves as an authority on the topic? Are they using academic or informal language?

How does the author support their claims ? What kind of evidence are they presenting? Are they providing explicit or implicit warrants? Are these warrants valid or problematic? Is the provided evidence convincing?  

Asking yourself such questions will help you identify what rhetorical devices a text uses and how well they are put together to achieve a certain aim. Remember, your own opinion and whether you agree with the author are not the point of a rhetorical analysis essay – your task is simply to take the text apart and evaluate it.

If you are still confused about how to write a rhetorical analysis essay, just follow the steps outlined below to write the different parts of your rhetorical analysis: As every other essay, it consists of an Introduction , a Body (the actual analysis), and a Conclusion .

Rhetorical Analysis Introduction

The Introduction section briefly presents the topic of the essay you are analyzing, the author, their main claims, a short summary of the work by you, and your thesis statement . 

Tell the reader what the text you are going to analyze represents (e.g., historically) or why it is relevant (e.g., because it has become some kind of reference for how something is done). Describe what the author claims, asserts, or implies and what techniques they use to make their argument and persuade their audience. Finish off with your thesis statement that prepares the reader for what you are going to present in the next section – do you think that the author’s assumptions/claims/arguments were presented in a logical/appealing/powerful way and reached their audience as intended?

Have a look at an excerpt from the sample essay linked above to see what a rhetorical analysis introduction can look like. See how it introduces the author and article , the context in which it originally appeared , the main claims the author makes , and how this first paragraph ends in a clear thesis statement that the essay will then elaborate on in the following Body section:

Cory Doctorow ’s article on BoingBoing is an older review of the iPad , one of Apple’s most famous products. At the time of this article, however, the iPad was simply the latest Apple product to hit the market and was not yet so popular. Doctorow’s entire career has been entrenched in and around technology. He got his start as a CD-ROM programmer and is now a successful blogger and author. He is currently the co-editor of the BoingBoing blog on which this article was posted. One of his main points in this article comes from Doctorow’s passionate advocacy of free digital media sharing. He argues that the iPad is just another way for established technology companies to control our technological freedom and creativity . In “ Why I Won’t Buy an iPad (and Think You Shouldn’t, Either) ” published on Boing Boing in April of 2010, Cory Doctorow successfully uses his experience with technology, facts about the company Apple, and appeals to consumer needs to convince potential iPad buyers that Apple and its products, specifically the iPad, limit the digital rights of those who use them by controlling and mainstreaming the content that can be used and created on the device . 

Doing the Rhetorical Analysis

The main part of your analysis is the Body , where you dissect the text in detail. Explain what methods the author uses to inform, entertain, and/or persuade the audience. Use Aristotle’s rhetorical triangle and the other key concepts we introduced above. Use quotations from the essay to demonstrate what you mean. Work out why the writer used a certain approach and evaluate (and again, demonstrate using the text itself) how successful they were. Evaluate the effect of each rhetorical technique you identify on the audience and judge whether the effect is in line with the author’s intentions.

To make it easy for the reader to follow your thought process, divide this part of your essay into paragraphs that each focus on one strategy or one concept , and make sure they are all necessary and contribute to the development of your argument(s).

One paragraph of this section of your essay could, for example, look like this:

One example of Doctorow’s position is his comparison of Apple’s iStore to Wal-Mart. This is an appeal to the consumer’s logic—or an appeal to logos. Doctorow wants the reader to take his comparison and consider how an all-powerful corporation like the iStore will affect them. An iPad will only allow for apps and programs purchased through the iStore to be run on it; therefore, a customer must not only purchase an iPad but also any programs he or she wishes to use. Customers cannot create their own programs or modify the hardware in any way. 

As you can see, the author of this sample essay identifies and then explains to the reader how Doctorow uses the concept of Logos to appeal to his readers – not just by pointing out that he does it but by dissecting how it is done.

Rhetorical Analysis Conclusion

The conclusion section of your analysis should restate your main arguments and emphasize once more whether you think the author achieved their goal. Note that this is not the place to introduce new information—only rely on the points you have discussed in the body of your essay. End with a statement that sums up the impact the text has on its audience and maybe society as a whole:

Overall, Doctorow makes a good argument about why there are potentially many better things to drop a great deal of money on instead of the iPad. He gives some valuable information and facts that consumers should take into consideration before going out to purchase the new device. He clearly uses rhetorical tools to help make his case, and, overall, he is effective as a writer, even if, ultimately, he was ineffective in convincing the world not to buy an iPad . 

Frequently Asked Questions about Rhetorical Analysis Essays 

What is a rhetorical analysis essay.

A rhetorical analysis dissects a text or another piece of communication to work out and explain how it impacts its audience, how successfully it achieves its aims, and what rhetorical devices it uses to do that. 

While argumentative essays usually take a stance on a certain topic and argue for it, a rhetorical analysis identifies how someone else constructs their arguments and supports their claims.

What is the correct rhetorical analysis essay format?

Like most other essays, a rhetorical analysis contains an Introduction that presents the thesis statement, a Body that analyzes the piece of communication, explains how arguments have been constructed, and illustrates how each part persuades, informs, or entertains the reader, and a Conclusion section that summarizes the results of the analysis. 

What is the “rhetorical triangle”?

The rhetorical triangle was introduced by Aristotle as the main ways in which language can be used to persuade an audience: Logos appeals to the audience’s reason, Ethos to the writer’s status or authority, and Pathos to the reader’s emotions. Logos, Ethos, and Pathos can all be combined to create the intended effect, and your job as the one analyzing a text is to break the writer’s arguments down and identify what specific concepts each is based on.

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How to write a rhetorical analysis

What is a rhetorical analysis?

What are the key concepts of a rhetorical analysis, rhetorical situation, claims, supports, and warrants.

• Step 1: Plan and prepare
• Step 2: Write your introduction
• Step 3: Write the body
• Step 4: Write your conclusion

Frequently Asked Questions about rhetorical analysis

Related articles.

Rhetoric is the art of persuasion and aims to study writers’ or speakers' techniques to inform, persuade, or motivate their audience. Thus, a rhetorical analysis aims to explore the goals and motivations of an author, the techniques they’ve used to reach their audience, and how successful these techniques were.

This will generally involve analyzing a specific text and considering the following aspects to connect the rhetorical situation to the text:

• Does the author successfully support the thesis or claims made in the text? Here, you’ll analyze whether the author holds to their argument consistently throughout the text or whether they wander off-topic at some point.
• Does the author use evidence effectively considering the text’s intended audience? Here, you’ll consider the evidence used by the author to support their claims and whether the evidence resonates with the intended audience.
• What rhetorical strategies the author uses to achieve their goals. Here, you’ll consider the word choices by the author and whether these word choices align with their agenda for the text.
• The tone of the piece. Here, you’ll consider the tone used by the author in writing the piece by looking at specific words and aspects that set the tone.
• Whether the author is objective or trying to convince the audience of a particular viewpoint. When it comes to objectivity, you’ll consider whether the author is objective or holds a particular viewpoint they want to convince the audience of. If they are, you’ll also consider whether their persuasion interferes with how the text is read and understood.
• Does the author correctly identify the intended audience? It’s important to consider whether the author correctly writes the text for the intended audience and what assumptions the author makes about the audience.
• Does the text make sense? Here, you’ll consider whether the author effectively reasons, based on the evidence, to arrive at the text’s conclusion.
• Does the author try to appeal to the audience’s emotions? You’ll need to consider whether the author uses any words, ideas, or techniques to appeal to the audience’s emotions.
• Can the author be believed? Finally, you’ll consider whether the audience will accept the arguments and ideas of the author and why.

Summing up, unlike summaries that focus on what an author said, a rhetorical analysis focuses on how it’s said, and it doesn’t rely on an analysis of whether the author was right or wrong but rather how they made their case to arrive at their conclusions.

Although rhetorical analysis is most used by academics as part of scholarly work, it can be used to analyze any text including speeches, novels, television shows or films, advertisements, or cartoons.

Now that we’ve seen what rhetorical analysis is, let’s consider some of its key concepts .

Any rhetorical analysis starts with the rhetorical situation which identifies the relationships between the different elements of the text. These elements include the audience, author or writer, the author’s purpose, the delivery method or medium, and the content:

• Audience: The audience is simply the readers of a specific piece of text or content or printed material. For speeches or other mediums like film and video, the audience would be the listeners or viewers. Depending on the specific piece of text or the author’s perception, the audience might be real, imagined, or invoked. With a real audience, the author writes to the people actually reading or listening to the content while, for an imaginary audience, the author writes to an audience they imagine would read the content. Similarly, for an invoked audience, the author writes explicitly to a specific audience.
• Author or writer: The author or writer, also commonly referred to as the rhetor in the context of rhetorical analysis, is the person or the group of persons who authored the text or content.
• The author’s purpose: The author’s purpose is the author’s reason for communicating to the audience. In other words, the author’s purpose encompasses what the author expects or intends to achieve with the text or content.
• Alphabetic text includes essays, editorials, articles, speeches, and other written pieces.
• Imaging includes website and magazine advertisements, TV commercials, and the like.
• Audio includes speeches, website advertisements, radio or tv commercials, or podcasts.
• Context: The context of the text or content considers the time, place, and circumstances surrounding the delivery of the text to its audience. With respect to context, it might often also be helpful to analyze the text in a different context to determine its impact on a different audience and in different circumstances.

An author will use claims, supports, and warrants to build the case around their argument, irrespective of whether the argument is logical and clearly defined or needs to be inferred by the audience:

• Claim: The claim is the main idea or opinion of an argument that the author must prove to the intended audience. In other words, the claim is the fact or facts the author wants to convince the audience of. Claims are usually explicitly stated but can, depending on the specific piece of content or text, be implied from the content. Although these claims could be anything and an argument may be based on a single or several claims, the key is that these claims should be debatable.
• Support: The supports are used by the author to back up the claims they make in their argument. These supports can include anything from fact-based, objective evidence to subjective emotional appeals and personal experiences used by the author to convince the audience of a specific claim. Either way, the stronger and more reliable the supports, the more likely the audience will be to accept the claim.
• Warrant: The warrants are the logic and assumptions that connect the supports to the claims. In other words, they’re the assumptions that make the initial claim possible. The warrant is often unstated, and the author assumes that the audience will be able to understand the connection between the claims and supports. In turn, this is based on the author’s assumption that they share a set of values and beliefs with the audience that will make them understand the connection mentioned above. Conversely, if the audience doesn’t share these beliefs and values with the author, the argument will not be that effective.

Appeals are used by authors to convince their audience and, as such, are an integral part of the rhetoric and are often referred to as the rhetorical triangle. As a result, an author may combine all three appeals to convince their audience:

• Ethos: Ethos represents the authority or credibility of the author. To be successful, the author needs to convince the audience of their authority or credibility through the language and delivery techniques they use. This will, for example, be the case where an author writing on a technical subject positions themselves as an expert or authority by referring to their qualifications or experience.
• Logos: Logos refers to the reasoned argument the author uses to persuade their audience. In other words, it refers to the reasons or evidence the author proffers in substantiation of their claims and can include facts, statistics, and other forms of evidence. For this reason, logos is also the dominant approach in academic writing where authors present and build up arguments using reasoning and evidence.
• Pathos: Through pathos, also referred to as the pathetic appeal, the author attempts to evoke the audience’s emotions through the use of, for instance, passionate language, vivid imagery, anger, sympathy, or any other emotional response.

To write a rhetorical analysis, you need to follow the steps below:

With a rhetorical analysis, you don’t choose concepts in advance and apply them to a specific text or piece of content. Rather, you’ll have to analyze the text to identify the separate components and plan and prepare your analysis accordingly.

Here, it might be helpful to use the SOAPSTone technique to identify the components of the work. SOAPSTone is a common acronym in analysis and represents the:

• Speaker . Here, you’ll identify the author or the narrator delivering the content to the audience.
• Occasion . With the occasion, you’ll identify when and where the story takes place and what the surrounding context is.
• Audience . Here, you’ll identify who the audience or intended audience is.
• Purpose . With the purpose, you’ll need to identify the reason behind the text or what the author wants to achieve with their writing.
• Subject . You’ll also need to identify the subject matter or topic of the text.
• Tone . The tone identifies the author’s feelings towards the subject matter or topic.

Apart from gathering the information and analyzing the components mentioned above, you’ll also need to examine the appeals the author uses in writing the text and attempting to persuade the audience of their argument. Moreover, you’ll need to identify elements like word choice, word order, repetition, analogies, and imagery the writer uses to get a reaction from the audience.

Once you’ve gathered the information and examined the appeals and strategies used by the author as mentioned above, you’ll need to answer some questions relating to the information you’ve collected from the text. The answers to these questions will help you determine the reasons for the choices the author made and how well these choices support the overall argument.

Here, some of the questions you’ll ask include:

• What was the author’s intention?
• Who was the intended audience?
• What is the author’s argument?
• What strategies does the author use to build their argument and why do they use those strategies?
• What appeals the author uses to convince and persuade the audience?
• What effect the text has on the audience?

Keep in mind that these are just some of the questions you’ll ask, and depending on the specific text, there might be others.

Once you’ve done your preparation, you can start writing the rhetorical analysis. It will start off with an introduction which is a clear and concise paragraph that shows you understand the purpose of the text and gives more information about the author and the relevance of the text.

The introduction also summarizes the text and the main ideas you’ll discuss in your analysis. Most importantly, however, is your thesis statement . This statement should be one sentence at the end of the introduction that summarizes your argument and tempts your audience to read on and find out more about it.

After your introduction, you can proceed with the body of your analysis. Here, you’ll write at least three paragraphs that explain the strategies and techniques used by the author to convince and persuade the audience, the reasons why the writer used this approach, and why it’s either successful or unsuccessful.

You can structure the body of your analysis in several ways. For example, you can deal with every strategy the author uses in a new paragraph, but you can also structure the body around the specific appeals the author used or chronologically.

No matter how you structure the body and your paragraphs, it’s important to remember that you support each one of your arguments with facts, data, examples, or quotes and that, at the end of every paragraph, you tie the topic back to your original thesis.

Finally, you’ll write the conclusion of your rhetorical analysis. Here, you’ll repeat your thesis statement and summarize the points you’ve made in the body of your analysis. Ultimately, the goal of the conclusion is to pull the points of your analysis together so you should be careful to not raise any new issues in your conclusion.

After you’ve finished your conclusion, you’ll end your analysis with a powerful concluding statement of why your argument matters and an invitation to conduct more research if needed.

A rhetorical analysis aims to explore the goals and motivations of an author, the techniques they’ve used to reach their audience, and how successful these techniques were. Although rhetorical analysis is most used by academics as part of scholarly work, it can be used to analyze any text including speeches, novels, television shows or films, advertisements, or cartoons.

The steps to write a rhetorical analysis include:

Your rhetorical analysis introduction is a clear and concise paragraph that shows you understand the purpose of the text and gives more information about the author and the relevance of the text. The introduction also summarizes the text and the main ideas you’ll discuss in your analysis.

Ethos represents the authority or credibility of the author. To be successful, the author needs to convince the audience of their authority or credibility through the language and delivery techniques they use. This will, for example, be the case where an author writing on a technical subject positions themselves as an expert or authority by referring to their qualifications or experience.

Appeals are used by authors to convince their audience and, as such, are an integral part of the rhetoric and are often referred to as the rhetorical triangle. The 3 types of appeals are ethos, logos, and pathos.

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Rhetorical Analysis Essays: Overview

Simply defined, rhetoric is the art of communicating effectively to an audience —so when we conduct a rhetorical analysis, our purpose is to understand how a communicator has used elements of rhetoric to shape their message for an audience.

The ancient Greeks, namely Aristotle, developed rhetoric into a form of art. In fact, much of the terminology we still use today to talk about rhetoric comes from the ancient Greek. Perhaps the three most important rhetorical terms are ethos, logos, and pathos, which combine together to form the Rhetorical Triangle.

The Rhetorical Triangle: Ethos, Logos, and Pathos

Ethos:  the ethical appeal.

Literally translated, ethos means “character.” When a communicator uses ethos to appeal to an audience, they are trying to establish credibility and trustworthiness.

Ethos Examples

• A company paying a celebrity or influencer to endorse one the company’s products on social media
• An academic author referring to their extensive previous research about a subject in a scholarly article
• Florida SouthWestern State College’s webpage “Celebrating 60 Years” to demonstrate the college’s longevity

Logos:  the logical appeal

Literally translated, logos means “word,” but in most cases we should think of logos as referring to any information a communicator uses to appeal to an audience’s sense of logic and reason.

Logos Examples

• A hand soap claiming to kill 99.9% of germs
• A politician using labor statistics to make a point during a speech about unemployment
• Florida SouthWestern State College’s webpage spotlighting the exact number of students who have earned degrees or certificates since the college opened

Pathos: the emotional appeal

Literally translated, pathos means “suffering,” but in most cases we should think of pathos as referring to any attempt a communicator makes to appeal to an audience’s emotions. 

Pathos Examples

• Tony the Tiger’s smiling face on a box of Frosted Flakes
• A local newspaper article that features a citizen’s harrowing account of living through a recent hurricane
• Florida SouthWestern State College’s marketing department using photos of overjoyed students receiving their degrees

As readers, watchers, and listeners, we must be able to recognize how communicators rely upon the Rhetorical Triangle to connect with and persuade audiences. As communicators ourselves, we benefit from understanding how others rely upon ethos, pathos, and logos. When we see others use rhetoric effectively, we learn how we might communicate more effectively. On the other hand, when we see rhetoric used ineffectively, we learn what types of rhetoric might not work as well in certain rhetorical situations.

When we think rhetorically, we also must think about Kairos, the Greek word commonly used to refer to context. A communicator might successfully use certain rhetorical appeals in one context, but in another context those same appeals might utterly fail. Because of this, no rhetorical analysis can be complete without careful consideration of Kairos.

The Fourth Appeal: Kairos

Kairos: the context appeal.

Literally translated, Kairos means the “supreme moment,” but in most cases we should think of Kairos as referring to the context surrounding a piece of communication—in other words, when and where a piece of communication occurs.

Rhetorical analysis can help us evaluate and analyze any type of communicator’s effectiveness, whether that be a speaker, an artist, an advertiser, or a writer. In fact, everything we hear and see on a daily basis can be understood through rhetoric, and we can use rhetoric to shape and refine our own efforts to communicate. Rhetoric is all around us all the time, so rhetorical analysis allows us to better understand the world we share.

Obviously, a successful rhetorical analysis requires a thorough understanding, and no matter what kind of communication you’re analyzing, the methods covered in the the Reading Critically chapter can help.

Key Features

Careful attention to the rhetorical situation.

The way a communicator uses ethos, logos, pathos, and Kairos will be shaped by their genre, audience, and purpose. These three elements are the foundation of the Rhetorical Situation.

Genre. Genre, in broad terms, refers to types of communication. There are many genres, but some common genres include essays, newspaper articles, podcasts, songs, movies, TV shows, advertisements, and so on. Keep in mind that there are also many sub-genres: personal essays, sports podcasts, hip-hop songs, fantasy movies, and many more. Each sub-genre has its own set of key features that audiences expect. For example, someone listening to a basketball podcast generally expects to hear people talk about basketball; if the podcasters begins talking at length about movies, the audience’s expectations are not being met.

Audience. Any type of communication is intended for, or aimed at, at least one specific audience. Along with genre, communicators must think carefully about audience to decide which types of rhetoric to use. Certain rhetorical appeals might be effective for some genres and audiences, but not at all effective for others. For example, logos might work well in a fact-based news article about global financial challenges intended for an audience of economists. If the topic stayed the same —global financial challenges—but the intended audience was changed to middle-class listeners of a radio show, then the radio hosts might choose to rely more on pathos by including soundbites from people explaining how these challenges have impacted their lives.

Purpose. What is a communicator trying to accomplish? The answer to that question is their purpose, and purpose connects directly with genre and audience. A filmmaker directing a big-budget action movie might primarily want to entertain their audience, a TikToker might want to inform their audience about a new fashion trend, and a documentary filmmaker might try to persuade their audience to care about an overlooked social issue. In each case, the communicator must decide how to use rhetoric to best accomplish their purpose for their intended audience and through their chosen genre.

The Interconnected Nature of the Rhetorical Situation. Each element of the rhetorical situation directly impacts every other element. Audience shapes purpose and genre. Some genres make sense for certain purposes and not for other purposes. And purpose helps a communicator pick the right genre and determine how to use rhetoric for an intended audience. These elements also affect how a communicator will use ethos, logos, pathos, and Kairos as well as tone, stance, attitude, visual design, and other rhetorical elements . If rhetoric is being used effectively, all these elements work harmoniously together; if rhetoric is being used ineffectively, then some elements of the rhetorical situation are not working well with other elements. 

Concise Description of the Communication Being Analyzed

You may write a rhetorical analysis about any kind of communication: a newspaper article, an advertisement, a speech, a product’s packaging, a website’s homepage, a YouTube video, a song, a Twitter thread, and so on. The options for what we can rhetorically analyze are nearly limitless. Whatever piece of communication we do analyze, we need to describe its essential elements and details. If we don’t effectively describe the piece of communication, then our readers won’t fully appreciate our analysis. What you include in your description, and how you write it, will depend on the piece of communication you’re analyzing. But a general rule is to focus your description on the elements you plan to analyze. Your reader doesn’t need to know every single little detail about the piece of communication, but they do need to know about the elements that are key to your analysis.

Clear Claims Supported By Evidence

When writing a rhetorical analysis, our main goal is to determine whether the elements in a piece of communication work together or not. Your rhetorical analysis should make clear claims about the piece of communication’s overall effectiveness, and these claims should be built around evidence. In many cases, the evidence will be your own observations of the ways rhetoric is being used. Your analysis will likely have one main claim, similar to a thesis, and then several related sub-claims that are developed throughout your analysis. 

Drafting Checklists

These questions should help guide you through the stages of drafting your rhetorical analysis essay.

• What is the genre of the piece of communication you’re analyzing?
• What is the purpose?
• Who are the intended audiences?
• Who is the creator?
• What are the main ideas and topics covered in the piece of communication?
• Where was the piece of communication originally published or hosted?
• What are some elements of the Kairos?
• Are there ways that ethos could have been used more effectively?
• Are there ways that logos could have been used more effectively?
• Are there ways that pathos could have been used more effectively?
• Could these elements work together more effectively?
• What is your overall judgment on how well rhetoric has been used?

Writing and Revising

• Have you identified the title? Creators? Place of publication?
• Have you identified the genre? Purpose? Audiences?
• Have you highlighted main ideas and topics?
• Is your rhetorical analysis built on clear claims from the start and throughout?
• Have you carefully considered and analyzed the rhetorical situation?
• Have you addressed any ways in which the rhetorical appeals could have been used more effectively?
• Is your rhetorical analysis organized in a clear and logical way?
• Have you used signal phrases or citations as needed?
• Have you carefully proofread your essay to correct any grammar, mechanics, punctuation, and spelling errors?
• Have you formatted your document appropriately and used citations when necessary?

Sources Used to Create this Chapter

Parts of this chapter were remixed from:

• Let’s Get Writing by Elizabeth Browning et al, which was published under a CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.

Starting the Journey: An Intro to College Writing Copyright © by Leonard Owens III; Tim Bishop; and Scott Ortolano is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Teaching Students to Analyze Fake News

This four-step process teaches students how to identify and critically analyze the misinformation embedded in fake news articles shared on social media.

A friend recently emailed me an article filled with misinformation about Covid-19 vaccines. I called him and encouraged him to take a few deep breaths, and then we took a close look at the article. As we talked through the misinformation and spin threaded through the article, I realized that I was basically giving a brief lesson on how to perform a rhetorical analysis of this doomsday article. As an English teacher and AP Language and Composition instructor, I decided to bring this work into my classroom, and the impact was profound. 

All too often we tend to teach rhetoric and rhetorical analysis as something that is academic and separate from the outside world. We teach students to explore the elements of persuasion in Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech or the elements of style in John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address. As important as these texts are, they tend to reinforce students’ understanding of rhetoric as a classroom assignment that does not have applicability in the real world: The texts are too dated, and students encounter them too frequently in the classroom, for the students to feel like the texts have immediate implications for their lives. 

There has never been a more urgent time in human history to look at information and language critically. Students are bombarded with unregulated information through social media and media outlets labeled as news that requires critical thinking skills and close-reading skills in language and rhetoric to decipher the extent to which the material they are reading promotes a particular ideology.

Rhetorical Analysis of fake News

Rhetorical analysis and critical reading are necessary tools for students to dismantle the misinformation and disinformation that pervades our media environment. In addition to teaching the standard texts of persuasion and argument, teachers can incorporate real-world applications of these analytical skills by closely examining news and information that spreads on the internet through social media and websites.

Preparing materials: I searched for a variety of articles shared over social media on the same subject matter—in this case, vaccines. It was easy to see the wide range of information that moves across the spectrum of truth and fact to fake. 

Teaching degrees of fake news: When I took these articles to the classroom, I started with an introductory lesson that conveyed that there is no clear line between “fake” and “truthful” news. Fake news, in this context, is material that moves away from language with a neutral voice that is intended to deliver unbiased information. Fake news is a catch-all term that covers writing on the spectrum of biased reporting, partisan spin, and propaganda, all the way to outright fabricated information. 

Students should understand that most information has bias to some degree, and it’s the degree of that bias that should be evaluated:

• Unbiased: Generally provides information and facts in a natural tenor.
• Biased: Provides information while favoring one side or position. 
• Partisan spin : Cherry-picks or card-stacks information to bolster one side.
• Propaganda: Spins information to mislead the audience. 
• Fake: Made up or fabricated information.

Developing analytical skills: As students began to evaluate sources, I wanted to equip them with tools that built on the skills of rhetoric and persuasion related to class standards. I also wanted to avoid reteaching the same skills I teach for evaluating scholarly articles. Instead, I focused on the skills for evaluating the style and language of the texts. A few elements of rhetoric I had my students look at included the following:

• Author ethos: Who is the speaker of the text, and do they have the ethos to be a trustworthy source or expert on the subject? 
• Use of expert testimony: What are the sources and who is quoted? Are these specific people who have the ethos to speak on this matter? Are the sources anonymous? Are there unspecific references like “We heard from many people...”? 
• Hypotheticals: Are the anecdotes and examples steeped in real events, or are they hypothetical and creating a slippery slope fallacy? Does the speaker discuss what is happening or what could possibly happen? Hypotheticals create fear based on a premise of what could be rather than what is, often using things like rhetorical questions: "What if Covid is just the first phase of a mass bioweapon attack?"
• Loaded language: Does the speaker use more neutral language that is controlled and academic, or is the language loaded with emotion? Does the speaker use words and phrases that convey information, or do they tell the audience how to feel and what to think? Words like “radical,” “experimental,” and “mandatory inoculation” create a sense of fear and skepticism rather than reporting. 
• Source bias: What else does the source or website publish? What other articles come from this source, and what is the purpose of the other articles? Is the same story being run in other sources we know are trustworthy or less biased? Source bias is most often found by clicking the author’s link and looking at past articles they have published. In the vaccine articles we looked at, some sources had other articles that hyped conspiracy theories and latched on to the vaccines especially. Others may be very politically motivated and point fingers at one side or another to place blame rather than discuss all the facets of the issue.
• Clickbait and pop-ups: What is the purpose of the website? If it’s to convey information only, then it will be fairly clean and plain, but if they are trying to get people to share and grow visits to the site for ad revenue, then look for clickbait and pop-up advertisements as well as advertisements in general. 

Finding real-world examples: By teaching persuasion and rhetorical analysis in this way, we not only convey key academic concepts but also make connections with how these skills can be applied in everyday life, starting the day you teach it.

Throughout the year, my students brought in articles and shared posts they found on their social media that they thought had a strong bias, misinformation, or even fake news. As a class, we evaluated these examples as a fun and engaging review of this process to further solidify rhetorical analysis and critical reading as a reflex when reading information shared on social media. 

When teachers ask students to apply tools of rhetorical analysis to contemporary texts found in media, students take these skills out of the classroom. It better equips them to navigate the world of unregulated information and to become canny consumers of information.

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70 Rhetorical Analysis Essay Topics for Secondary ELA

May 28, 2019 //  by  Lindsay Ann //   8 Comments

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Before we get to the rhetorical analysis essay prompts (a.k.a. tons of ready-to-analyze texts at your fingertips), let’s take a time-out to lay the groundwork for understanding a rhetorical analysis essay using ethos, pathos, and logos.

Rhetoric is Defined As…

Put simply, rhetoric refers to any technique an author uses to persuade an audience.

Or, the behind-the-scenes choices an author makes to give you all the feels. 

Chances are, if you consider a text or speech to be  really good , rhetorical techniques are working like a master puppeteer to pull at your heart strings, make an impact on your brain, and get you to let down your guard because you trust the author or speaker.

That’s why political figures have speech writers.

That’s why authors spend time fine-tuning their words and sentences.

Rhetoric is important.

In addition, rhetoric goes back to the ancient Greek philosophers like Aristotle, the “father” of rhetoric.

The Rhetorical Analysis Essay

Moving on, if rhetoric is the art of persuasion, then the rhetorical analysis essay analyzes how an author or speaker creates opportunity for persuasion in his/her text.

Writing a rhetorical analysis essay involves understanding of context and occasion for writing. It also involves understanding the subject matter of the speech and intended audience.

Beyond this, noticing how the author uses rhetorical appeals and rhetorical devices to impact the target audience can help you to write an in-depth rhetorical essay analysis.

The BEST Rhetoric Topics

As a teacher, I’m always in search of engaging texts for students to analyze. In this post, I’m sharing the best speeches, advertisements, and essays  for rhetorical analysis. You’ll never run out of rhetorical analysis essay topics again!

So, you’ll definitely want to stop right now and pin this post. 

Your future English-teacher-self will thank you. 

47 Rhetoric Examples in Speeches

The following speeches work well individually, but I’ve also tried to add value by pairing texts together.

Whether you’re analyzing rhetorical appeals such as ethos, pathos, and logos or looking at rhetorical devices, these speeches will work for discussion or as the text for a rhetorical analysis essay.

• Gettysburg Monologue in Remember the Titans  – Pair with “ The Gettysburg Address ” by Abraham Lincoln
• “ Full Power of Women ” by Priyanka Chopra – Pair with Emma Watson’s speech on the Power of Women
• Speech from Finding Forrester – Pair with “ Integrity ” by Warren Buffet
• Red’s Parole Hearing from Shawshank Redemption – Pair with the Freedom Speech from Braveheart
• Ending Scene from The Breakfast Club – Pair with  “ The Danger of a Single Story ” by Chimamanda Ngozi Achichi
• Authentic Swing Speech from The Legend of Bagger Vance – Pair with  “ How Winning is Done ” from  Rocky Balboa
• Maximus’ Speech to Commodus from Gladiator – Pair with  The Revolutionary Speech  from  V for Vendetta
• The Natural State of Mankind from Amistad – Pair with “ Our Diversity Makes Us Who We Are ” by Michelle Obama
• Denzel Washington’s  Dillard University Commencement Speech – Pair with “ The Last Lecture ” by Randy Pausch
• “ Like Pieces of Glass in my Head ” from The Green Mile – Pair with “ Eulogy for Beau Biden ” by Barack Obama
• Oprah’s  2018 Golden Globes speech – Pair with  Seth Myers’ Golden Globes Monologue  and/or  Ellen says #MeToo
• Independence Day speech – Pair with  Aragorn’s Helm’s Deep Speech  from LOTR: The Two Towers
• Pair  “I am Human”  &  “Love Liberates” , both by Maya Angelou
• Pink’s  VMA acceptance speech – Pair with “ If I Should Have a Daughter ” by Sarah Kay
• Ellen’s  People’s Choice Humanitarian Award Acceptance Speech – Pair with “ Pep Talk ” by Kid President
• Gandalf Speaks to Frodo in Moria  from  LOTR : Fellowship of the Ring – Pair with   Sam’s Speech   in LOTR: The Two Towers
• Obama’s  Final Farewell Speech – Pair with Al Pacino’s  Any Given Sunday  speech – clean version
• Harvard Graduation Speech by Donovan Livingston – Pair with Steve Jobs  2005 Stanford Commencement Speech
• “ Inside the Mind of a Master Procrastinator ” by Tim Urban – Pair with “ Five Second Rule ” by Mel Robbins
• Rachel Hollis “Inspire Women to be Their Best” (mild profanity)
• My Philosophy for a Happy Life by Sam Berns
• “ To this Day: For the Bullied and the Beautiful ” by Shane Koyczan – Pair with Kid President’s “ Pep Talk to Teachers and Students “
• “ The Power of Introverts ” by Susan Cain – Pair with “ Don’t Let Others Stop You From Living Your Own Truth “

Rhetoric in Advertising: 23 Examples

This next list holds a blend of print advertisements and commercials, perfect for introducing close reading and rhetorical analysis and for writing a rhetorical analysis essay.

Ads are short, but pack a punch. Honestly, my students love analyzing the rhetoric of advertisements a lot because they are accessible and visual.

Rhetoric Commercials & Print Advertisements

• “ Web of Fries “
• Duracell “ Teddy Bear ” Commercial
• Apple 1984 Commercial Introducing the New Macintosh Computer
• Nike “ Find Your Greatness ” Ads
• Pepsi, Superbowl 53 Commercial: “ More than Okay ”
• “ Get a Mac ” Commercial Compilation
• “ Can You Hear Me Now ” Verizon Wireless
• Apple iPhone X – “ Unlock ”
• Kiwi “ First Steps ” Print Advertisement
• Vauxhall’s  Backwards Cinderella
• Lego Print Advertisement
• Top 10 Powerful Ads of 2014

Rhetoric of the Image

• Entourage NGO for the Homeless Print Advertisement Images
• 33 Creative Print Ads
• Protege Group
• Greenpeace Print Advertisement Collection
• “ Divorce Furniture “
• L’Oréal Paris: “This Ad Is For Men, 1 ” L’Oréal Paris: “This Ad Is For Men, 2 ” L’Oréal Paris: “This Ad Is For Men, 3 ”
• “ It’s Not Acceptable to Treat a Woman Like One”
• “ 50 Creative and Effective Advertising Examples “
• Juvenile Protective Association
• Anti-Bullying Campaign
• 25 Serious Ads

Writing a Rhetorical Analysis Essay Using Ethos, Pathos, and Logos

No doubt, writing a rhetorical analysis essay is like taking apart a puzzle and putting it back together again. Teachers, help your students to understand how all of the pieces fit together in order to see the bigger picture of what the author is trying to accomplish.

First, take time to understand how a text “works” for a rhetorical analysis essay using ethos, pathos, and logos:

• Read or listen to understand overall content. Look up unfamiliar words.
• Mark the text for the author’s main points and sub-points.
• descriptive
• compare/contrast
• cause/effect
• argumentative
• Take notes on SOAPS: subject, occasion, audience, purpose, speaker
• Discuss the text(s) in Socratic Seminar .

Next, identify rhetorical appeals . 

• Ethos: How an author demonstrates credibility and builds trust.
• Pathos: How an author creates an emotional response.
• Logos: How an author demonstrates expertise and knowledge.

Look for rhetorical devices & patterns in the text.

• Rhetorical devices refer to an author’s use of diction and syntax.
• Does the author repeat key words / phrases? What’s the impact?
• Does the author return to the same idea or image? Why?

Finally, write a clear thesis statement & topic sentences for your rhetorical analysis essay.

• Use your thesis statement to generate topic sentences.
• In your body paragraphs, identify a technique, provide an example, and discuss the “right there” and “beneath the surface” meanings. How does the author’s choice impact the audience, further a message, establish a tone?
• What’s the context for the repetition?
• What connotations are important?
• How is the anaphora used to move the reader to greater understanding (logos), emotional investment (pathos), and/or trust in the author’s ideas (ethos)?

Six Strategies for Teaching Rhetorical Analysis

I’ve created an awesome free guide to inspire English teachers who teach rhetoric and the rhetorical analysis essay in their classrooms. Even if you don’t teach AP lang, you can benefit from these strategies !

Rhetorical Analysis Essay FAQ’s

How do you write a rhetorical analysis essay.

Writing a rhetorical analysis essay is like writing a literary analysis essay, except the focus is on one or more non-fiction texts and the analysis targets an author’s style or rhetorical “moves” (a.k.a. use of rhetorical appeals and/or devices). Rhetorical analysis essays usually prove a claim about the author’s message or purpose for writing. The paragraphs in a rhetorical analysis essay unpack “what” an author is doing to send this message and “how” these choices impact the audience.

What does it mean to write a rhetorical analysis?

Writing a rhetorical analysis means that you are aware, as an audience member, reader, listener, human being, of the messages you consume. As a critical consumer of others’ ideas, you ask hard questions about how these messages are shaped, why they’re being delivered in certain ways, and why this is important for you and for society.

What are the three rhetorical strategies?

The three most commonly known rhetorical strategies are known as rhetorical appeals. Ethos (ethics) refers to credibility and trustworthiness. Pathos (passion) refers to engaging an audience’s emotions. Logos (logic) refers to engaging an audience’s brain through logical organization and use of evidence and arguments.

About Lindsay Ann

Lindsay has been teaching high school English in the burbs of Chicago for 19 years. She is passionate about helping English teachers find balance in their lives and teaching practice through practical feedback strategies and student-led learning strategies. She also geeks out about literary analysis, inquiry-based learning, and classroom technology integration. When Lindsay is not teaching, she enjoys playing with her two kids, running, and getting lost in a good book.

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Reader Interactions

January 9, 2023 at 9:38 am

Hi Lindsay Ann, thanks so much for these great resources. Just wanted to gently point out a couple errors that you might want to fix:

#12: should be Seth Myers’ (not Seth Myer’s) #13: should be independence (not independance)

Teachers have to help each other out 🙂

Best, Nikkee

January 9, 2023 at 5:44 pm

Thank you so much for letting me know, Nikkee!

[…] a lot of options and extensions for analyzing rhetoric in social media. Who knows, maybe your next rhetorical analysis essay assignment will be focused on rhetoric in social […]

[…] 70 Rhetorical Analysis Essay Topics for Secondary ELA […]

[…] find that teaching rhetorical analysis and close reading skills go hand-in-hand with teaching voice in […]

[…] helps students to remember that everything comes back to the author’s purpose or message in rhetorical analysis. Author’s purpose is central to unpacking an author’s choices, including use of […]

[…] you assigning a rhetorical analysis essay? Why not try having students use rhetorical analysis sentence […]

[…] I introduced students to rhetoric. First, we journaled on this topic: Think of a time someone talked you into doing something or believing something. How did they do it? What tactics did they use? Students may share out journals. I gave students a graphic organizer with a PAPA analysis (purpose, audience, persona, argument) and picked a speech. Frankly, the speech I picked, which was Samwise Gamgee’s speech to Frodo Baggins in The Two Towers, failed spectacularly since students had no frame of reference. Note: that movie is old now. I know. It makes me sad, too. So go cautiously if you use this, but maybe pick something else. You can find a massive list here. […]

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Rhetorical Analysis of a News Article

Purpose: A close reader of the world looks beneath the surface of behavior and language, and explores instances of communication as rhetorical events rich with meaning. The purpose of this assignment is to analyze an online news article, and identify and discuss the writer’s rhetorical decisions and their impacts. Rather than state whether you believe the article is “good” or “bad”, or whether you liked it or not, apply a close-reading of the text. This assignment includes two main deliverables: 1) a written essay, and 2) a class discussion.

I. Written Essay (Individually Written)

Craft a coherent rhetorical analysis essay that includes the following two components:

• Very brief summary of the article
• Close reading of the work

For the summary portion (1), rather than describe everything in the article, very briefly share only the main points of the article. The summary should be no more than a brief paragraph. In your close reading (2)—the heart of this assignment—you should include and provide evidence for the following information:

• Who is the author? (name, title, and credentials)
• Where was the article published? (newspaper/magazine/website title)
• What is the purpose and goal of the article?
• Who is the intended audience of the article?
• Ethos : appeals to the character/expertise of the writer and cited authorities
• Logos : appeals based on logic, reasoning, and relevant evidence
• Pathos : appeals to the beliefs, emotions, and values of the audience
• Diction, figurative language, tone, organization, length
• Does the writer use visual images in the article? If so, what is their impact?
• What evidence (if any) does the author provide to support her/his claims?
• Where does this evidence come from?
• What research might the author have conducted before writing the article?
• What information does the author not include in the article, and why?
• Is the author biased in any way?
• Is the article trustworthy?

II. Class Discussion (Co-Lead With a Partner)

You will lead a 10-15 minute discussion of the article with a classmate, which will require you to meet beforehand and plan your questions. After introducing the article, try and stimulate discussion among your classmates with purposeful, open-ended questions. As mentioned above, the written rhetorical analysis essay should be completed individually, and the discussion should be led jointly with your partner.

Audience: Your audience for both the essay and discussion includes your teacher and classmates: we are a community of diverse people interested in the rhetorical choices involved in science articles written for the public. Since we have not read the article as closely as you have, it is critical that you provide the reasoning for all of your analytical claims involving the article.

Be sure to support all of your analytical points with specific evidence from the article, which will help your audience comprehend and support your rhetorical analysis. Since your audience has learned about the elements of a rhetorical situation (e.g. audience, purpose, context, genre) and rhetorical appeals (e.g. ethos, logos, pathos), you do not need to define these concepts in your essay.

Format requirements: MS Word (.doc) or Adobe (.pdf) with the following:

• 1"X1" margins
• Size 12 Times New Roman font
• Single-spaced text
• 600-800 words
• Include page numbers

Before you submit your essay, re-read your writing, preferably aloud, to detect ideas that need to be tightened and/or reorganized for clarity.

Due Date: Be sure to write down and remember your specific due date and assigned article. Upload your essay to the course website anytime before your class discussion.

Articles on Rhetoric

Displaying 1 - 20 of 102 articles.

Know thyself − all too well: Why Taylor Swift’s songs are philosophy

Jessica Flanigan , University of Richmond

‘The former guy’ versus ‘Sleepy Joe’ – why Biden and Trump are loath to utter each other’s name

Roger J. Kreuz , University of Memphis

Foundations are using so many confusing words that few people can figure out what they’re doing

Aaron Zeiler , University of Florida and Ann Searight Christiano , University of Florida

The media must stop enabling Trump’s attention-seeking use of fascist rhetoric

Robert Danisch , University of Waterloo

Thanksgiving stories gloss over the history of US settlement on Native lands

Lisa Michelle King , University of Tennessee

Biden’s Middle East trip has messages for both global and domestic audiences

Allison M. Prasch , University of Wisconsin-Madison

Donald Trump’s victim rhetoric will boost his popularity following latest indictment

The stabbing attack at the University of Waterloo underscores the dangers of polarizing rhetoric about gender

Shana MacDonald , University of Waterloo and Alysia Kolentsis , University of Waterloo

Sierra Leone election: voter trust has been shaken, and will need to be regained

Catherine Bolten , University of Notre Dame

‘Rhetoric’ doesn’t need to be such an ugly word – it has a lot to teach echo-chambered America

Ryan Leack , USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Respectful persuasion is a relay race, not a solo sprint – 3 keys to putting it in practice

Colin Marshall , University of Washington

The power of language: How rhetoric awareness can combat hiring bias and discrimination

Rayyan Dabbous , University of Toronto

Not all insurrections are equal – for enslaved Americans, it was the only option

Deion Scott Hawkins , Emerson College

How to get away with torture, insurrection, you name it: The techniques of denial and distraction that politicians use to manage scandal

Jared Del Rosso , University of Denver

GOP ‘message laundering’ turns violent, extremist reactions to search of Trump’s Mar-a -Lago into acceptable political talking points

Karrin Vasby Anderson , Colorado State University

Why the Jan. 6 hearings should be making corporations nervous

Hackathons should be renamed to avoid negative connotations

P. Alison Paprica , University of Toronto ; Kimberlyn McGrail , University of British Columbia , and Michael J. Schull , University of Toronto

Look at 3 enduring stories Americans tell about guns to understand the debate over them

Greg Dickinson , Colorado State University and Brian L. Ott , Missouri State University

Your past is my present – how Volodymyr Zelenskyy uses history

Anil Menon , University of Michigan and Pauline Jones , University of Michigan

‘I have a need’: How Zelenskyy’s plea to Congress emphasized shared identity with US

Related topics.

• 2016 US presidential election
• 2020 US elections
• Donald Trump
• January 6 US Capitol attack
• Political rhetoric
• Trump rhetoric
• US politics

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Adjunct Professor at the School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, George Mason University

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Associate Professor of Rhetoric, Communication Consultant, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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Rhetorical Analysis Sample Essay

Harriet Clark

Ms. Rebecca Winter

13 Feb. 2015

Not Quite a Clean Sweep: Rhetorical Strategies in

Grose's "Cleaning: The Final Feminist Frontier”

A woman’s work is never done: many American women grow up with this saying and feel it to be true. 1 One such woman, author Jessica Grose, wrote “Cleaning: The Final Feminist Frontier,” published in 2013 in the New Republic, 2 and she argues that while the men recently started taking on more of the childcare and cooking, cleaning still falls unfairly on women. 3 Grose begins building her credibility with personal facts and reputable sources, citing convincing facts and statistics, and successfully employing emotional appeals; however, toward the end of the article, her attempts to appeal to readers’ emotions weaken her credibility and ultimately, her argument. 4

In her article, Grose first sets the stage by describing a specific scenario of house-cleaning with her husband after being shut in during Hurricane Sandy, and then she outlines the uneven distribution of cleaning work in her marriage and draws a comparison to the larger feminist issue of who does the cleaning in a relationship. Grose continues by discussing some of the reasons that men do not contribute to cleaning: the praise for a clean house goes to the woman; advertising and media praise men’s cooking and childcare, but not cleaning; and lastly, it is just not fun. Possible solutions to the problem, Grose suggests, include making a chart of who does which chores, dividing up tasks based on skill and ability, accepting a dirtier home, and making cleaning more fun with gadgets. 5

Throughout her piece, Grose uses many strong sources that strengthen her credibility and appeal to ethos, as well as build her argument. 6 These sources include, “sociologists Judith Treas and Tsui-o Tai,” “a 2008 study from the University of New Hampshire,” and “P&G North America Fabric Care Brand Manager, Matthew Krehbiel” (qtd. in Grose). 7 Citing these sources boosts Grose’s credibility by showing that she has done her homework and has provided facts and statistics, as well as expert opinions to support her claim. She also uses personal examples from her own home life to introduce and support the issue, which shows that she has a personal stake in and first-hand experience with the problem. 8

Adding to her ethos appeals, Grose uses strong appeals to logos, with many facts and statistics and logical progressions of ideas. 9 She points out facts about her marriage and the distribution of household chores: “My husband and I both work. We split midnight baby feedings ...but ... he will admit that he’s never cleaned the bathroom, that I do the dishes nine times out of ten, and that he barely knows how the washer and dryer work in the apartment we’ve lived in for over eight months.” 10 These facts introduce and support the idea that Grose does more household chores than her husband. Grose continues with many statistics:

[A]bout 55 percent of American mothers employed full time do some housework on an average day, while only 18 percent of employed fathers do. ... [W]orking women with children are still doing a week and a half more of “second shift” work each year than their male partners. ... Even in the famously gender-neutral Sweden, women do 45 minutes more housework a day than their male partners. 11

These statistics are a few of many that logically support her claim that it is a substantial and real problem that men do not do their fair share of the chores. The details and numbers build an appeal to logos and impress upon the reader that this is a problem worth discussing. 12

Along with strong logos appeals, Grose effectively makes appeals to pathos in the beginning and middle sections. 13 Her introduction is full of emotionally-charged words and phrases that create a sympathetic image; Grose notes that she “was eight months pregnant” and her husband found it difficult to “fight with a massively pregnant person.” 14 The image she evokes of the challenges and vulnerabilities of being so pregnant, as well as the high emotions a woman feels at that time effectively introduce the argument and its seriousness. Her goal is to make the reader feel sympathy for her. Adding to this idea are words and phrases such as, “insisted,” “argued,” “not fun,” “sucks” “headachey,” “be judged,” “be shunned” (Grose). All of these words evoke negative emotions about cleaning, which makes the reader sympathize with women who feel “judged” and shunned”—very negative feelings. Another feeling Grose reinforces with her word choice is the concept of fairness: “fair share,” “a week and a half more of ‘second shift’ work,” “more housework,” “more gendered and less frequent.” These words help establish the unfairness that exists when women do all of the cleaning, and they are an appeal to pathos, or the readers’ feelings of frustration and anger with injustice. 15

However, the end of the article lacks the same level of effectiveness in the appeals to ethos. 16 For example, Grose notes that when men do housework, they are considered to be “’enacting “small instances of gender heroism,” or ‘SIGH’s’—which, barf.” 17 The usage of the word “barf” is jarring to the reader; unprofessional and immature, it is a shift from the researched, intelligent voice she has established and the reader is less likely to take the author seriously. This damages the strength of her credibility and her argument. 18

Additionally, her last statement in the article refers to her husband in a way that weakens the argument. 19 While returning to the introduction’s hook in the conclusion is a frequently-used strategy, Grose chooses to return to her discussion of her husband in a humorous way: Grose discusses solutions, and says there is “a huge, untapped market ... for toilet-scrubbing iPods. I bet my husband would buy one.” 20 Returning to her own marriage and husband is an appeal to ethos or personal credibility, and while that works well in the introduction, in the conclusion, it lacks the strength and seriousness that the topic deserves and was given earlier in the article. 21

Though Grose begins the essay by effectively persuading her readers of the unfair distribution of home-maintenance cleaning labor, she loses her power in the end, where she most needs to drive home her argument. Readers can see the problem exists in both her marriage and throughout the world; however, her shift to humor and sarcasm makes the reader not take the problem as seriously in the end. 22 Grose could have more seriously driven home the point that a woman’s work could be done: by a man. 23

Works Cited

Grose, Jessica. “Cleaning: The Final Feminist Frontier.” New Republic. The New Republic, 19 Mar. 2013. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.

• Article author's claim or purpose
• Summary of the article's main point in the second paragraph (could also be in the introduction)
• Third paragraph begins with a transition and topic sentence that reflects the first topic in the thesis
• Quotes illustrate how the author uses appeals to ethos
• Analysis explains how the quotes show the effective use of ethos as noted in the thesis
• Transition and topic sentence about the second point from the thesis
• Quote that illustrates appeals to logos
• Analysis explains how the quotes show the effective use of logos, as noted in the thesis
• Transition and topic sentence about the third point from the thesis
• Quotes that illustrate appeals to pathos
• Analysis explains how the quotes show the effective use of pathos, as noted in the thesis
• Transition and topic sentence about fourth point from the thesis
• Quote illustrates how the author uses appeal to ethos
• Analysis explains how quote supports thesis
• Transition and topic sentence about fourth point from thesis
• Conclusion returns to the ideas in the thesis and further develops them
• Last sentence returns to the hook in the introduction

Learn more about the " Rhetorical Analysis Graphic Organizer ."

Learn more about " Pathos, Logos, and Ethos ."

Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

Organizing Your Analysis

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

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Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

There is no one perfect way to organize a rhetorical analysis essay. In fact, writers should always be a bit leery of plug-in formulas that offer a perfect essay format. Remember, organization itself is not the enemy, only organization without considering the specific demands of your particular writing task. That said, here are some general tips for plotting out the overall form of your essay.

Introduction

Like any rhetorical analysis essay, an essay analyzing a visual document should quickly set the stage for what you’re doing. Try to cover the following concerns in the initial paragraphs:

• Make sure to let the reader know you’re performing a rhetorical analysis. Otherwise, they may expect you to take positions or make an evaluative argument that may not be coming.
• Clearly state what the document under consideration is and possibly give some pertinent background information about its history or development. The intro can be a good place for a quick, narrative summary of the document. The key word here is “quick, for you may be dealing with something large (for example, an entire episode of a cartoon like the Simpsons). Save more in-depth descriptions for your body paragraph analysis.
• If you’re dealing with a smaller document (like a photograph or an advertisement), and copyright allows, the introduction or first page is a good place to integrate it into your page.
• Give a basic run down of the rhetorical situation surrounding the document: the author, the audience, the purpose, the context, etc.

Thesis Statements and Focus

Many authors struggle with thesis statements or controlling ideas in regards to rhetorical analysis essays. There may be a temptation to think that merely announcing the text as a rhetorical analysis is purpose enough. However, especially depending on your essay’s length, your reader may need a more direct and clear statement of your intentions. Below are a few examples.

1. Clearly narrow the focus of what your essay will cover. Ask yourself if one or two design aspects of the document is interesting and complex enough to warrant a full analytical treatment.

The website for Amazon.com provides an excellent example of alignment and proximity to assist its visitors in navigating a potentially large and confusing amount of information.

2. Since visual documents often seek to move people towards a certain action (buying a product, attending an event, expressing a sentiment), an essay may analyze the rhetorical techniques used to accomplish this purpose. The thesis statement should reflect this goal.

The call-out flyer for the Purdue Rowing Team uses a mixture of dynamic imagery and tantalizing promises to create interest in potential, new members.

3. Rhetorical analysis can also easily lead to making original arguments. Performing the analysis may lead you to an argument; or vice versa, you may start with an argument and search for proof that supports it.

A close analysis of the female body images in the July 2007 issue of Cosmopolitan magazine reveals contradictions between the articles’ calls for self-esteem and the advertisements’ unrealistic, beauty demands.

These are merely suggestions. The best measure for what your focus and thesis statement should be the document itself and the demands of your writing situation. Remember that the main thrust of your thesis statement should be on how the document creates meaning and accomplishes its purposes. The OWl has additional information on writing thesis statements.

Analysis Order (Body Paragraphs)

Depending on the genre and size of the document under analysis, there are a number of logical ways to organize your body paragraphs. Below are a few possible options. Which ever you choose, the goal of your body paragraphs is to present parts of the document, give an extended analysis of how that part functions, and suggest how the part ties into a larger point (your thesis statement or goal).

Chronological

This is the most straight-forward approach, but it can also be effective if done for a reason (as opposed to not being able to think of another way). For example, if you are analyzing a photo essay on the web or in a booklet, a chronological treatment allows you to present your insights in the same order that a viewer of the document experiences those images. It is likely that the images have been put in that order and juxtaposed for a reason, so this line of analysis can be easily integrated into the essay.

Be careful using chronological ordering when dealing with a document that contains a narrative (i.e. a television show or music video). Focusing on the chronological could easily lead you to plot summary which is not the point of a rhetorical analysis.

A spatial ordering covers the parts of a document in the order the eye is likely to scan them. This is different than chronological order, for that is dictated by pages or screens where spatial order concerns order amongst a single page or plane. There are no unwavering guidelines for this, but you can use the following general guidelines.

• Left to right and top to down is still the normal reading and scanning pattern for English-speaking countries.
• The eye will naturally look for centers. This may be the technical center of the page or the center of the largest item on the page.
• Lines are often used to provide directions and paths for the eye to follow.
• Research has shown that on web pages, the eye tends to linger in the top left quadrant before moving left to right. Only after spending a considerable amount of time on the top, visible portion of the page will they then scroll down.

Persuasive Appeals

The classic, rhetorical appeals are logos, pathos, and ethos. These concepts roughly correspond to the logic, emotion, and character of the document’s attempt to persuade. You can find more information on these concepts elsewhere on the OWL. Once you understand these devices, you could potentially order your essay by analyzing the document’s use of logos, ethos, and pathos in different sections.

The conclusion of a rhetorical analysis essay may not operate too differently from the conclusion of any other kind of essay. Still, many writers struggle with what a conclusion should or should not do. You can find tips elsewhere on the OWL on writing conclusions. In short, however, you should restate your main ideas and explain why they are important; restate your thesis; and outline further research or work you believe should be completed to further your efforts.

Rhetorical Analysis Essay

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Topics

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Topics – 120+ Unique Ideas

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Looking for the right rhetorical analysis essay topic can be a tough challenge for some people!

It’s a well-established fact that for such essays, you need to have an excellent grip on the topic you choose.

For that purpose, we have created a comprehensive list of rhetorical analysis essay topics, so you can pick the topic that matches your interest perfectly. 

Before coming to the topic ideas, let’s briefly discuss what is a rhetorical analysis essay.

• 1. Introduction to Rhetorical Analysis Essay Writing
• 2. Good Rhetorical Analysis Essay Topics
• 3. How to Choose a Rhetorical Analysis Essay Topic?
• 4. Professional Tips to Write Rhetorical Analysis Essay Fast
• 5. Elevate Your Analytical Skills with Rhetorical Analysis Essay Questions 

Introduction to Rhetorical Analysis Essay Writing

In a rhetorical analysis essay , a writer deeply analyzes a work of literature, art, or film, takes a stance, and thoroughly evaluates the purpose of the original content.

The goal is to ensure effective delivery to the audience.

Having said that, a rhetorical analysis essay finds out how effective the message of the original content was. And how the author or speaker uses rhetorical advice and strategies to convey their message.   

Now, let’s move on to the handpicked list of topics! 

Good Rhetorical Analysis Essay Topics

Being aware of a student’s academic struggles, we have gathered some interesting topics for your rhetorical analysis essay needs. So if you are looking for rhetorical essay ideas, you’ve landed at the perfect place! 

Choose the best rhetorical topics from the list below and draft a compelling essay.

Easy Rhetorical Analysis Essay Topics

• “Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen.
• “The Revenant” by Michael Punke.
• “Witches' Loaves” by O. Henry.
• “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain.
• “Unbroken” by Laura Hillenbrand.
• “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson.
• “Yes Please” by Amy Poehler.
• “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee.
• “Fight Club” by Chuck Palahniuk.
• “A White Heron” by Sarah Orne Jewett.

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Topics for High School

• “And Then There Were None” by Agatha Christie.
• “Beloved” by Toni Morrison.
• “The Canterbury Tales” by Geoffrey Chaucer.
• “Death of a Salesman” by Arthur Miller.
• “An Enemy of the People” by Henrik Ibsen.
• “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley.
• “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne.
• “The Waves” by Virginia Woolf.
• “Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Zora Neale Hurston.
• “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin.

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Topics for Middle School

• "Yes, Please" By Amy Poehler
• "The Revenant" By Michael Punke
• The Primary Themes In "Alice's Adventures In Wonderland"
• "Huckleberry Finn" Rhetorical Analysis
• "Witches Loaves" By O'Henry
• Discuss My Philosophy for a Happy Life by Sam Berns.
• The Painted Veil.
• Analyze Romeo and Juliet.
• Analyze the “The Power of Introverts” by Susan Cain.
• Amy Poehler. “Yes, Please.”

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Rhetorical Analysis Essay Topics for College Students

• “Antigone” by Sophocles.
• “The Birthmark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne.
• “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller.
• “Dubliners” by James Joyce.
• “East of Eden” by John Steinbeck.
• “Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury.
• “A Yellow Raft in Blue Water” by Michael Dorris.
• “Where the Red Fern Grows” by Wilson Rawls.
• “The Tempest” by William Shakespeare.
• “Song of Solomon” by Toni Morrison.

Non-Fictional Topics for Rhetorical Analysis Essay

• “Mini Habits: Smaller Habits, Bigger Results” by Stephen Guise.
• “The Ethics of Belief” by William Kingdon Clifford.
• “Easter Island's End” by Jared Diamond.
• “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” by Jonathan Edwards.
• “Traveling Mercies” by Anne Lamott.
• “A nation among nations” by Thomas H. Bender.
• “Guns, Germs, and Steel” by Jared Diamond.
• “The Price of Inequality” by Joseph Stiglitz.
• “The Spirit Level” by Kate Pickett and Richard G. Wilkinson.
• “The Status Syndrome” Michael Marmot.

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Topics About Speeches

• “I Have a Dream” by Martin Luther King, Jr.
• “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King, Jr.
• Inaugural Address of President John F. Kennedy.
• Emma Goldman’s Address to the Jury.
• League of Nations Final Address by Thomas Woodrow Wilson.
• “Every Man a King” by Huey Pierce Long.
• “The Evil Empire” by Ronald Reagan.
• “Mercy for Leopold and Loeb” by Clarence Seward Darrow.
• “A Time for Choosing” by Ronald Reagan.
• “The Struggle for Human Rights” by Anna Eleanor Roosevelt.

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Topics on Movies

• Manhattan Project.
• Jurassic Park.
• The Phantom of the Opera.
• Rhetorical analysis of Almost Famous.
• A Streetcar Named Desire.
• Rhetorical analysis of Romeo + Juliet.
• Rhetorical analysis essay on Man of Steel.
• Rhetorical analysis of Macbeth.
• Wuthering Heights.

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Topics for 2023

• “An Irish Airman Foresees His Death” by William Butler Yeats.
• “The Epic” by Alfred Lord Tennyson.
• “Shakespeare’s Sonnets” by William Shakespeare.
• “The Rape of the Lock” by Alexander Pope.
• “England in 1819” by Percy Bysshe Shelley.
• The Price of Inequality by Joseph Stiglitz
• “The Price Of Inequality” By Joseph Stiglitz
• "Cri De Coeur” By Romeo Dallier
• "Traveling Mercies” By Anne Lamott
• "A Nation Among Nations"

Visual Rhetorical Analysis Essay Topics

• Analyze Poe's Poetry, “The Raven.”
• A favorite poem written by William Shakespeare.
• Analysis of James Joyce’s Ulysses.
• Martin Luther King Jr.’s last speech.
• Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.
• Clifford's "The Ethics Of Belief" Summary And Analysis
• "Easter Islands' End" By Jared Diamond
• "Success Strategies” Analysis
• Jonathan Edwards’ Sermons
• "Guns, Germs, And Steel” By Jared Diamond

Literary Rhetorical Analysis Essay Topics

• “I Am Prepared to Die” by Nelson Mandela
• Gettysburg Monologue in Remember the Titans
• “Full Power of Women” by Priyanka Chopra
• Speech from Finding Forrester
• Red’s Parole Hearing from Shawshank Redemption
• The movie industry.
• The insider.
• Enough of the movie.

Funny Rhetorical Analysis Essay Topics

• Maximus’ Speech to Commodus from Gladiator
• “Inside the Mind of a Master Procrastinator” by Tim Urban
• Harvard Graduation Speech by Donovan Livington
• Obama’s Final Farewell Speech
• Pink’s VMA acceptance speech
• Do you love your family members or not?
• Do all people grow old?
• A rhetoric analysis of Coca-Cola’s logo colors
• What is your opinion of prequels and remakes?
• Payment of college athletes

Comparative Rhetorical Analysis Essay Topics

• The lottery vs. the hunger games
• Non-fictional novels and fictional novels
• President Obama’s speech at the inauguration compared to that of President Trump
• Religious texts and their rhetorical composition.
• Medicines vs. natural remedies
• Social sciences vs. humanities
• Economic upliftment vs. better standard of living
• Compare movies based on Stephen King’s works versus his novels
• Hurricanes vs. tornadoes
• Football vs. basketball

Argumentative Rhetorical Analysis Essay Topics 

• Political Speeches and Rhetoric
• Advertising Influence on Consumer Behavior
• Climate Change Communication
• Social Media Persuasion
• Rhetoric in Gun Control Debates
• Fake News and Rhetorical Techniques
• Environmental Activism and Rhetoric
• Healthcare Debates and Persuasion
• Rhetoric in Civil Rights Movements
• Rhetorical Strategies in Literature

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How to Choose a Rhetorical Analysis Essay Topic?

The first thing in any writing that attempts to grab the reader’s interest is an engaging topic. Every writer aims to make his writing readable and exciting for the audience. 

Coming up with an interesting and engaging topic for your essay can be a tough job. The following are some tips to consider while selecting the topics for your rhetorical analysis paper.

Deliberate your Interest

The fundamental trick of making writing impressive and exciting is to focus on the topic of your interest. Before you start writing a rhetorical analysis essay, try to pick the topic that catches your attention and interest. Also, ensure that it has scope for research and writing.

Choosing something not to have any broad scope or data will not be an ideal topic for your essay.

Do not force yourself to write about a topic that seems popular and promising but not impressive. At least find a rhetorical question that interests you and has good research opportunities.

Reflect on your Knowledge

The second important thing to consider while choosing analytical essay topics is that you have little knowledge about them. Selecting something entirely unfamiliar will not help you. 

Remember that you need to provide insight into the writing style of the author while doing the analysis. Word choice also depicts your strength. Gather knowledge about the rhetorical devices and literary critics used in the work, which you can discuss and explain in your essay. 

Most of the time, you decide to pick topics you have discussed in class. Reflect on the level of your knowledge before finalizing your options.

Do Background Research

Another vital trick to consider while picking the topic is to do background research. You can compile a list of topics, which seem captivating. After that, narrow down the list and select the final topic by researching the topic’s available information.

Do not forget to make notes of the background research. In case you forget the points while writing your essay, you will have the notes for reference.

Get the Suggestions of your Instructor

After going through all the above options, if you cannot make a decision. Prepare a list of suitable topics and ask your instructor to provide you with suggestions. 

It is much better than contemplating on your own. You will have a fixed path to walk on, and you will research the points presented in your paper.

Professional Tips to Write Rhetorical Analysis Essay Fast

Students always look for tips and tricks to make their academic assignments perfect. Below are some professional tips gathered by the writers at MyPerfectWords.com to help you write your essay in no time:

• Identify the target audience to choose a good topic for your rhetorical essay.
• Define the purpose of the work chosen. Grab your reader’s attention by drafting a catchy opening for your essay.
• Provide a structure to the content by drafting an excellent  rhetorical analysis essay outline . The outline should divide your information into the introduction,  thesis statement , main body, and conclusion sections.
• Use simple sentences. The strength of a rhetorical essay is the clarity of the content that comes from using simple sentences.
• Avoid using narrow terminologies. Make sure that the vocabulary used compliments the theme and context of the content.
• Gather information from credible sources. Use references from journals, articles, books, and research papers to make the content of the essay authentic.

Elevate Your Analytical Skills with Rhetorical Analysis Essay Questions 

Queries are present in rhetorical analysis essays, meant to help the writer. These questions aid the writer in further sharpening their writing proficiency.

As a plus, the questions serve the purpose of motivating writers to become actively involved in understanding the outlook of a rhetorical essay.

• What methods do you plan to employ to engage your readers?
• Does the conclusion of the argument resonate with your audience?
• How has the author employed stylistic devices within the narrative?
• Defining satire: How has the author used it, and what impact does it have
• How does the author build credibility, evoke emotions, and use logic in the text?
• Do cultural or historical references in the text support the author's argument?
• Do repeat words or phrases for emphasis in the text have a noticeable impact?
• Does the tone impact the author's credibility, and how?
• How is the audience likely to receive the message?
• How has the author engaged the audience in their discourse?

To conclude, writing a rhetoric paper can be challenging. It is suggested to take a professional’s help for your academic writing assignments and not risk your grades.

To get professional assistance, get help from the expert analytical essay writing service at MyPerfectWords.com. Our qualified writers draft 100% original content for the students and guarantee better grades. 

Visit our legit essay writing service  now and push your essay writing game to new heights.

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Nova Allison is a Digital Content Strategist with over eight years of experience. Nova has also worked as a technical and scientific writer. She is majorly involved in developing and reviewing online content plans that engage and resonate with audiences. Nova has a passion for writing that engages and informs her readers.

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Guest Essay

The View Within Israel Turns Bleak

By Megan K. Stack

Ms. Stack is a contributing Opinion writer who has reported from the Middle East.

It was the pictures of Palestinians swimming and sunning at a Gaza beach that rubbed Yehuda Shlezinger, an Israeli journalist, the wrong way. Stylish in round red glasses and a faint scruff of beard, Mr. Shlezinger unloaded his revulsion at the “disturbing” pictures while appearing on Israel’s Channel 12.

“These people there deserve death, a hard death, an agonizing death, and instead we see them enjoying on the beach and having fun,” complained Mr. Shlezinger, the religious affairs correspondent for the widely circulated right-wing Israel Hayom newspaper. “We should have seen a lot more revenge there,” Mr. Shlezinger unrepentantly added. “A lot more rivers of Gazans’ blood.”

It would be nice to think that Mr. Shlezinger is a fringe figure or that Israelis would be shocked by his bloody fantasies. But he’s not, and many wouldn’t be.

Israel has hardened, and the signs of it are in plain view. Dehumanizing language and promises of annihilation from military and political leaders. Polls that found wide support for the policies that have wreaked devastation and starvation in Gaza. Selfies of Israeli soldiers preening proudly in bomb-crushed Palestinian neighborhoods. A crackdown on even mild forms of dissent among Israelis.

The Israeli left — the factions that criticize the occupation of Palestinian lands and favor negotiations and peace instead — is now a withered stump of a once-vigorous movement. In recent years, the attitudes of many Israelis toward the “Palestinian problem” have ranged largely from detached fatigue to the hard-line belief that driving Palestinians off their land and into submission is God’s work.

This bleak ideological landscape emerged slowly and then, on Oct. 7, all at once.

The massacre and kidnappings of that day, predictably, brought a public thirst for revenge. But in truth, by the time Hamas killers rampaged through the kibbutzim — in a bitter twist, home to some of the holdout peaceniks — many Israelis had long since come to regard Palestinians as a threat best locked away. America’s romantic mythology and wishful thinking about Israel encourage a tendency to see Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as the main cause of the ruthlessness in Gaza, where Israel has killed more than 35,000 people. The unpopular, scandal-ridden premier makes a convincing ogre in an oversimplified story.

But Israel’s slaughter in Gaza, the creeping famine, the wholesale destruction of neighborhoods — this, polling suggests, is the war the Israeli public wanted. A January survey found that 94 percent of Jewish Israelis said the force being used against Gaza was appropriate or even insufficient. In February, a poll found that most Jewish Israelis opposed food and medicine getting into Gaza. It was not Mr. Netanyahu alone but also his war cabinet members (including Benny Gantz, often invoked as the moderate alternative to Mr. Netanyahu) who unanimously rejected a Hamas deal to free Israeli hostages and, instead, began an assault on the city of Rafah, overflowing with displaced civilians.

“It’s so much easier to put everything on Netanyahu, because then you feel so good about yourself and Netanyahu is the darkness,” said Gideon Levy, an Israeli journalist who has documented Israel’s military occupation for decades. “But the darkness is everywhere.”

Like most political evolutions, the toughening of Israel is partly explained by generational change — Israeli children whose earliest memories are woven through with suicide bombings have now matured into adulthood. The rightward creep could be long-lasting because of demographics, with modern Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox Jews (who disproportionately vote with the right) consistently having more babies than their secular compatriots.

Most crucially, many Israelis emerged from the second intifada with a jaundiced view of negotiations and, more broadly, Palestinians, who were derided as unable to make peace. This logic conveniently erased Israel’s own role in sabotaging the peace process through land seizures and settlement expansion. But something broader had taken hold — a quality that Israelis described to me as a numb, disassociated denial around the entire topic of Palestinians.

“The issues of settlements or relations with Palestinians were off the table for years,” Tamar Hermann told me. “The status quo was OK for Israelis.”

Ms. Hermann, a senior research fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute, is one of the country’s most respected experts on Israeli public opinion. In recent years, she said, Palestinians hardly caught the attention of Israeli Jews. She and her colleagues periodically made lists of issues and asked respondents to rank them in order of importance. It didn’t matter how many choices the pollsters presented, she said — resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict came in last in almost all measurements.

“It was totally ignored,” she said.

The psychological barrier between Israelis and Palestinians was hardened when Israel built the snaking West Bank barrier, which helped to forestall attacks on Israelis toward the end of the second intifada — the five-year Palestinian uprising that erupted in 2000, killing about 1,000 Israelis and roughly three times as many Palestinians. The wall helped keep West Bank suicide bombers from penetrating Israel and piled extra misery on ever-more-constrained Palestinian civilians, many of whom refer to it as the apartheid wall.

Many Israelis, Ms. Hermann told me, are at a loss when asked to identify the border where Israel ends and the West Bank begins. Her research from 2016 found that only a small percentage of Israelis knew for sure that the Green Line was the border delineated by the 1949 Armistice. The question of whether this border should even be depicted on Israeli school maps has been a heated topic of debate within Israel; with a rueful laugh, Ms. Hermann described many of the classroom maps as “from the river to the sea.”

Such ignorance is a luxury exclusive to Israelis. Palestinians make it their business to know exactly where the border between Israel and the West Bank lies, which checkpoints are open on a given day, which roads they may and may not use. These are not abstract ideas; they dictate the daily movements of Palestinians, and confusing them could be fatal.

Israel’s uneasy detachment turned to rage on Oct. 7.

A handful of songs with lyrics calling for the annihilation of a dehumanized enemy have been circulated in Israel these past months, including “Launch,” a hip-hop glorification of the military promising “from kisses to guns, until Gaza is erased” and suggesting that the West Bank city of Jenin is under the “plague of the firstborn,” a reference to the biblical story in which God smites the eldest sons of Egypt. The smash hit “ Harbu Darbu ,” addressed to “you sons of Amalek,” promises “another X on the rifle, ’cause every dog will get what’s coming to him.”

“There is no forgiveness for swarms of rats,” another song goes . “They will die in their rat holes.”

Israeli shops hawk trendy products like a bumper sticker that reads, “Finish them,” and a pendant cut into the shape of Israel, with East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza seamlessly attached.

Israeli protesters have repeatedly taken to the streets in anguish over the hostages held in Gaza and rage at Mr. Netanyahu (who faced intense domestic opposition long before Oct. 7) for failing to save them. But the demonstrations should not be conflated with international calls to protect civilians in Gaza. Many Israelis want a cease-fire to free the hostages, followed by the ouster of Mr. Netanyahu — but the protests do not reflect a groundswell of sympathy for Palestinians or a popular desire to rethink the status quo ante of occupation and long-silenced peace talks.

If anything, with the world’s attention fixed on Gaza, Israel’s far-right government has intensified the domination of Palestinians. The single largest Israeli land grab in more than 30 years happened in March , when Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced the state seizure of 10 square kilometers of the West Bank. The land takeovers are accompanied by a bloody campaign of terror , with an ever-less-distinguishable mix of soldiers and settlers killing at least 460 Palestinians in the West Bank since Oct. 7, the Palestinian health ministry says.

Meanwhile, inside Israel, the police have handed out guns to civilians and set up de facto militias in the name of self-defense. But questions about whom these newly armed groups are meant to defend, and from whom, have created a creeping unease.

The weapons have gone not only to West Bank settlements or towns adjacent to Palestinian territories and Lebanon but also to communities set deep in Israel’s interior, particularly places that are home to a mix of Arab and Jewish residents . An analysis published in January by the newspaper Haaretz found that while the national security ministry wouldn’t disclose which communities got gun licenses or the criteria used to decide, Arab communities — even those on Israel’s frontier — did not seem to be eligible.

The guns sent a chill through Palestinian citizens of Israel, who have often been invoked in defense of the state. Look, Israel’s advocates often say, Arabs live more freely in Israel than anywhere else in the Middle East.

Hassan Jabareen, a prominent Palestinian lawyer who founded Adalah, Israel’s main legal center for Arab rights, told me that many Arab citizens of Israel — who constitute one-fifth of the population — live in fear.

Israel’s attacks on Gaza have in the past provoked community protests, riots and clashes among Arabs and Jews in Israel. After Oct. 7, though, the message was clear: Stay quiet.

“The police left no doubt that we were enemies of the state,” Mr. Jabareen said, “when they started arming the Jewish citizens of Israel and called Jewish citizens to come to the station and take your arms to defend yourself from your Palestinian neighbor.”

Diana Buttu, a Palestinian lawyer who lives with her family in the Israeli city of Haifa, told me that these past months have been thick with unease. She has long imagined herself as a living holdover from the once-thriving Arab population that was largely displaced from what is now Israel. A “remnant,” she calls herself, who for years moved through Israel feeling invisible.

Now the sense of invisibility has melted. Both Ms. Buttu and Mr. Jabareen said that the current atmosphere in Israel had drawn closer and sharpened in their minds the mass displacement known in Arabic as the nakba, or catastrophe, as if history might yet loop back. Mr. Netanyahu evoked the same era when he referred to Israel’s current onslaught as “Israel’s second war of independence.”

“They didn’t see us,” Ms. Buttu said. “We were the ghosts; we were just there. And now it’s like, ‘Wow, they’re here.’ There is an interest in trying to get rid of Palestinians. We’re on the rhetorical front lines.”

Long before this current storm of violence, Mr. Netanyahu’s far-right government had worked to strengthen Jewish supremacy. The 2018 “nation-state law” codified the right to national self-determination as “unique to the Jewish people,” removed Arabic as an official language and established “Jewish settlement as a national value” that the government must support. Palestinian members of the Knesset famously shredded copies of the bill in Parliament and yelled, “Apartheid,” but it passed all the same.

In 2022, Israel reauthorized its controversial family unification law, largely barring Palestinians who marry Israeli citizens from receiving legal status — or living with their spouses in Israel — if they are from the West Bank or Gaza. The law also applies to people from the “enemy states” of Lebanon, Syria and Iraq (homes to Palestinian refugee communities), as well as Iran.

With legal disadvantages and social pressures mounting, Palestinian citizens of Israel have started to look abroad for support. Mr. Jabareen told me that his organization is preparing an application to the United Nations to request international legal protections for Palestinians inside Israel. In March a Palestinian citizen of Israel was granted asylum in Britain after arguing that returning would very likely expose him to persecution because of his political views and activism for Palestinian rights and Israel’s “apartheid system of racial control of its Jewish citizens over its Palestinian citizens.”

Another stark sign of Israel’s hardening is the hundreds of Israelis — mostly Arabs, but some Jews, too — who have been arrested, fired or otherwise punished for statements or actions regarded as endangering national security or undermining Israel’s war efforts. Even a social media post expressing concern for Palestinians in Gaza is enough to draw police scrutiny.

Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, a scholar who lectures at Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Queen Mary University of London, said on a podcast that Zionism should be abolished, that Israel may be lying about the extent of sexual assault that took place on Oct. 7 and that Israelis were “criminals” who “cannot kill and not be afraid, so they better be afraid.” Israeli police responded in April by jailing Ms. Shalhoub-Kevorkian overnight and asking a judge to keep her locked up while they investigated her on suspicion of incitement. The judge decided to release her but acknowledged that she “may have crossed the line from free expression to incitement.”

For nearly two decades — starting with the quieting of the second intifada and ending calamitously on Oct. 7 — Israel was remarkably successful at insulating itself from the violence of the occupation. Rockets fired from Gaza periodically rained down on Israeli cities, but since 2011 , Israel’s Iron Dome defense system has intercepted most of them. The mathematics of death heavily favored Israel: From 2008 until Oct. 7, more than 6,000 Palestinians were killed in what the United Nations calls “the context of occupation and conflict”; during that time, more than 300 Israelis were killed.

Human rights organizations — including Israeli groups — wrote elaborate reports explaining why Israel is an apartheid state. That was embarrassing for Israel, but nothing really came of it. The economy flourished. Once-hostile Arab states showed themselves willing to sign accords with Israel after just a little performative pestering about the Palestinians.

Those years gave Israelis a taste of what may be the Jewish state’s most elusive dream — a world in which there simply did not exist a Palestinian problem.

Daniel Levy, a former Israeli negotiator who is now president of the U.S./Middle East Project think tank, describes “the level of hubris and arrogance that built up over the years.” Those who warned of the immorality or strategic folly of occupying Palestinian territories “were dismissed,” he said, “like, ‘Just get over it.’”

If U.S. officials understand the state of Israeli politics, it doesn’t show. Biden administration officials keep talking about a Palestinian state. But the land earmarked for a state has been steadily covered in illegal Israeli settlements, and Israel itself has seldom stood so unabashedly opposed to Palestinian sovereignty.

There’s a reason Mr. Netanyahu keeps reminding everyone that he’s spent his career undermining Palestinian statehood: It’s a selling point. Mr. Gantz, who is more popular than Mr. Netanyahu and is often mentioned as a likely successor, is a centrist by Israeli standards — but he, too, has pushed back against international calls for a Palestinian state.

Daniel Levy describes the current divide among major Israeli politicians this way: Some believe in “managing the apartheid in a way that gives Palestinians more freedom — that’s [Yair] Lapid and maybe Gantz on some days,” while hard-liners like Mr. Smotrich and Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir “are really about getting rid of the Palestinians. Eradication. Displacement.”

The carnage and cruelty suffered by Israelis on Oct. 7 should have driven home the futility of sealing themselves off from Palestinians while subjecting them to daily humiliations and violence. As long as Palestinians are trapped under violent military occupation, deprived of basic rights and told that they must accept their lot as inherently lower beings, Israelis will live under the threat of uprisings, reprisals and terrorism. There is no wall thick enough to suppress forever a people who have nothing to lose.

Israelis did not, by and large, take that lesson. Now apathy has been replaced by vengeance.

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips . And here’s our email: [email protected] .

Follow the New York Times Opinion section on Facebook , Instagram , TikTok , WhatsApp , X and Threads .

Megan K. Stack is a contributing Opinion writer and author. She has been a correspondent in China, Russia, Egypt, Israel, Afghanistan and the U.S.-Mexico border area. Her first book, a narrative account of the post-Sept. 11 wars, was a finalist for the National Book Award in nonfiction. @ Megankstack

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How a smear campaign against NPR led Elon Musk to feud with Signal

Rightwing media personalities on X transmuted a screed against NPR’s CEO into a fight over encryption via the Transitive Property of Bad People

For nearly two weeks, an esoteric debate has raged on X , formerly Twitter: could users concerned about privacy and security trust the messaging app Signal, or was the Telegram platform a better alternative? X’s chatbot, Grok AI, described the trending moment as “Telegram v Signal: a crypto clash”.

Signal is an app for sending end-to-end-encrypted messages to individuals and small groups. Telegram offers broadcast channels and messaging but is not end-to-end encrypted by default. Debates over their relative merits have popped up over the years , though largely within the confines of online spaces inhabited by cybersecurity, cryptography, privacy and policy geeks. This time, the conversation came to broader attention – Elon Musk’s following of 183 million – due to X’s most notorious capability: mutating isolated facts into viral conspiracy theories for the entertainment of rage-riddled crowds. As a bit player, I got a ringside seat to the manufactured controversy.

On 9 April, Uri Berliner, a longtime former editor at NPR, wrote an essay in the conservative-leaning publication the Free Press arguing that NPR had increasingly chosen to cater to a very small subset of leftwing America. Debates about NPR’s alleged lefty tendencies, and conservative calls to defund it, are also not new . This time, however, Berliner’s viral article hit a few weeks after the start of NPR’s new chief executive, Katherine Maher. Conservative activists began to dig.

Maher, it turned out, had some Bad Tweets. “Bad” is subjective, of course – they might be more precisely described as progressive tweets. Their slant made them a goldmine for people angry over Berliner’s story, and the alchemy of influencers, algorithms, and online crowds quickly turned Maher into that most hapless of online figures: the Main Character of X.

The rightwing activist and propaganda guru Chris Rufo helmed the crusade, steering the narrative from social media to rightwing media to the New York Times and back again. The online crowd called for Maher’s immediate firing.

NPR and its board, however, didn’t cave.

Every effective smear campaign takes a grain of truth, then coats it in layers of innuendo like an oyster applying nacre. For the target, distinguishing between truth and falsehood forces a difficult choice: silence, or a cascade of attempted explanations as the accusations evolve and the goalposts move.

But Rufo and other rightwingers – perhaps frustrated that they didn’t get the win of a quick public firing – moved the goalposts off the pitch of reality and into the fever swamp of conspiracy. They unearthed a 2016 tweet from a Tunisian activist insinuating that Maher, who’d worked in the country, was secretly CIA. Though she denied it and her accuser didn’t appear to comment on the matter again, Rufo pushed a blogpost on 24 April alleging that she was a “regime-change agent” who’d launched “color revolutions” in north Africa and was bringing them to America. In this new narrative, Maher wasn’t just a biased progressive; she was part of the deep state.

Rufo’s post relied heavily on a particular smear tactic: the Transitive Property of Bad People, which connects people and institutions in a daisy chain of guilt by association. The smear’s power lies in insinuation, expecting the reader to connect the dots without explicit accusations that could invite defamation suits.

What on earth does this have to do with Signal and Telegram?

Maher is on the board of the Signal Foundation. Via the Transitive Property of Bad People, everything Maher is linked to is now also suspect. And so, on 6 May – with Maher still not fired by NPR – another blogpost by Rufo appeared, the goalposts moved and the conspiracy theory deepened. The point appeared in the opening frame: “Is the integrity of encrypted-messaging application compromised by its chairman of the board?” A new laundry list of insinuations followed: Signal had a grant from the Open Technology Fund, which is sponsored by the US government. The Signal chief executive, who’d picked Maher for the board, was also progressive, a lefty who’d previously been an equity rabble-rouser at Google.

I got an unexpected preview of this layer of innuendo earlier in the campaign when a prominent entrepreneur riled up over the matter worked me into tweet about whether Signal had been compromised: three years ago, I’d joined the board of an open-source cryptocurrency foundation aiming to power payments on Signal. This entailed no personal involvement with Signal or Maher. But I research how online narratives spread, which has landed me on the receiving end of a few rightwing smear campaigns . I was useful as a Bad Person with alleged links to the target. The entrepreneur never specified what, exactly, I could have done to Signal. It was enough that I was said to be involved.

Although the lack of specificity in these accusations should be a red flag, it instead powers the whole endeavor. Instigated by nothing more than a few vague tweets from influencers, the manufactroversy of Signal’s compromised character ricocheted across X absent any evidence.

It’s understandable that ordinary people who shared the claims found Rufo’s smear job persuasive: they trust him, dislike Maher, and the technical aspects are complex. But one person who does understand technology – X’s CEO, Elon Musk – not only saw the insinuations, but added his own on 6 May: “There are known vulnerabilities with Signal that are not being addressed. Seems odd …” He too offered no evidence . Nonetheless, accounts in his replies began to wonder about Telegram. Was it a better, anti-woke alternative? Jack Dorsey, who is tech-savvy enough to know better, also boosted the allegations.

Community notes and journalists got to work fact-checking Musk . Signal’s CEO responded, pointing out that Signal’s code is open-source and closely scrutinized by the security and privacy community. Maher, even if she were the nefarious, woke, deep-state regime-changer she was made out to be, couldn’t compromise the app if she tried. Musk’s claim had little, if any, basis in fact, but he has the power to make dubious claims the topic of discussion for millions.

Thus a viral conspiracy theory trended once again, and others used it for their ends. Telegram’s CEO, Pavel Durov, pointed to Dorsey’s share of the Rufo article in a post promoting Telegram as “the only popular method of communication that is verifiably private”. Cryptography professors, security researchers and tech journalists wrote threads clarifying the risks of using Telegram for secure communications, and warning against Telegram’s attempt to lure activists from Signal.

The original spat about bias at NPR now seems almost quaint. The second-order manufactroversies feel so far-fetched as to be not worth bothering to refute. And yet, due to the hyper-partisan vitriol of today’s fractured reality, they have real consequences.

There are reputational costs to those ensnared in the conspiracy theories, who find it nearly impossible to convince the converted they’ve been misled. But in the case of “Telegram vs Signal: a crypto clash”, there is also risk to activists, particularly outside the US, who might switch to the less secure alternative because they’ve been misled by prominent tech heroes. Undermining trust in companies and institutions, largely to score points against an enemy, has never been easier.

So what can we do? First, support the targets of bad-faith attacks. Institutions must learn to understand how these efforts work and, rather than staying silent, should speak up promptly. More broadly, however, media literacy efforts should focus on explaining how these campaigns work, highlighting the recurring rhetorical tricks, tropes and lack of evidence. Helping others to understand and recognize the mechanics of smear campaigns will ultimately render them less effective.

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What lies beneath Gaza’s rubble and ruin

The hysteria over campus protests in the United States has shifted American attention away from the depth of the ongoing calamity in Gaza.

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In a fit of ideological pique last week, far-right Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) scoffed at protesters agitating against pro-Israel policies on campuses across the United States . “I get a strange inkling that all these Columbia and UCLA students running around yelling ‘Free Palestine’ would not be jumping at the opportunity to do a semester abroad in Gaza,” she wrote on social media , before later journeying to a protest encampment at George Washington University and almost sparring with students when trying to pull down a Palestinian flag.

Boebert’s scorn is shared even by some of her opponents in the Washington establishment, many of whom have cast the student demonstrations as, at best, unproductive far-left agitprop or, more darkly, dangerous antisemitic behavior that must be expunged from the academy. Hundreds of campus protesters have been arrested in recent days in police crackdowns from California to New York.

Boebert’s comment, though, drew derision on two counts: First, that protesters angry about alleged Israeli war crimes in Gaza would need to go to the besieged territory itself to justify their anger. And, second, that students could even do “a semester abroad” in Gaza, where Israel has spent the past half year systematically destroying most of its educational institutions, including all of its universities .

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For months, Palestinian civil society activists have drawn attention to the steady eradication of Gaza’s cultural patrimony. Israel’s punishing campaign against militant group Hamas has seen much of the territory reduced to ruin. In the process, many libraries, museums and colleges have been ransacked and razed — in some instances, by deliberate Israeli demolition. Thousands of artifacts in various collections, including Roman coins and other materials from Gaza’s pre-Islamic past, have been potentially lost during the war .

The hysteria over campus protests in the United States has shifted American attention away from the depth of the ongoing calamity in Gaza. U.N. officials and aid agencies are still grappling with the scale of the destruction in the territory, where dozens are still dying every day. Since Hamas launched its Oct. 7 terrorist strike on southern Israel, more than 34,500 Palestinians in the territory — many of them women and children — have been killed. Some 5 percent of Gaza’s overall population has been killed or injured, according to a U.N. report that cites local data.

That figure doesn’t include the more than at least 10,000 people that the U.N. estimates are still missing beneath the rubble, citing the Palestinian Civil Defense (PCD). The challenge of finding the missing is growing more dire, given the widespread destruction of heavy machinery and equipment needed to dig through the debris.

“Rising temperatures can accelerate the decomposition of bodies and the spread of disease,” the U.N. humanitarian affairs office said in a statement , adding that the PCD was appealing to “all relevant stakeholders to urgently intervene to allow the entry of needed equipment, including bulldozers and excavators, to avert a public health catastrophe, facilitate dignified burials, and save the lives of injured people.”

Sifting through Gaza’s wreckage will be no simple task. Israel has dumped a huge amount of ordnance on the territory. Mungo Birch, head of the U.N. Mine Action Program in Palestinian territory, said last week that the amount of unexploded missiles and bombs lying in the rubble is “unprecedented” since World War II. He said tiny Gaza is a site of some 37 million tons of rubble — more than what’s been generated across all of Ukraine during Russia’s war — and 800,000 tons of asbestos and other contaminants. He said his agency has only a fraction of the funding it needs to begin clearing operations whenever the war ends.

Over the weekend, U.S. and Egyptian officials attempted to facilitate a last-ditch effort to broker a truce between Israel and Hamas . A delegation from the Palestinian militant group was in Cairo and expressed optimism that a breakthrough could be found. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faced mass protests at home against his continued tenure in office, seemed more wary of the arrangement and remains bent on carrying out a full offensive against the southern Gazan city of Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians already displaced in the territory have taken shelter.

Top U.N. officials say famine has already gripped parts of Gaza. Beyond the desperately insufficient trickle of humanitarian aid into the territory, the war has also “severely hampered” Gaza’s “ability to produce food and clean water,” according to my colleagues . “Israeli airstrikes and bulldozers have razed farms and orchards. Crops abandoned by farmers seeking safety in southern Gaza have withered, and cattle have been left to die.”

The fear surrounding Rafah and the uncertainty over a potential cease-fire sit against the looming reality of how difficult it will be for Gaza to recover. More than 70 percent of all housing in the territory has been destroyed. A report by the U.N. Development Program (UNDP) found that the war has reversed 40 years of development and improvement in social indicators such as life expectancy, health and educational attainment in Gaza.

The agency estimated that reconstruction, at this point, would cost some $40 billion to $50 billion. And if it follows the pace observed after previous conflicts, UNDP estimates that it will take “approximately 80 years to restore all the fully destroyed housing units” in Gaza.

“My very big concern — in addition to the numbers — is the breaking down of communities and families in Gaza,” UNDP regional director Abdallah al-Dardari told The Washington Post . “If you know 60 people in your family have been killed — like our colleague Issam al-Mughrabi who was killed with 60 people in his family during one raid — you will go numb,” Dardari said. “The consequences of this war will stay with us far beyond the end of the war.”