Academic Writing
Rhetorical Analysis
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Introduction to Academic Writing
These pages explain and give examples of academic writing, that is, writing that puts less emphasis on literature and more emphasis on non-fictional prose, rhetoric, evaluation, and research. We’ll analyze a wide variety of writing and media items: essays, scholarly articles, short stories, lyrics, trailers, films, TV shows, Youtube lectures, etc. We’ll also focus on the shift from print and television to Internet. Please note that these pages were once used for an online first-year Academic Writing course during the covid pandemic. On occasion, the videos refer to assignments which no longer apply.
The following pages are in the introductory section of this Undergrad English guide: Higher Learning — Essay Structure — Writing Tips & Conventions — Outlines — Documentation — Marking. Higher Learning supplies a general introduction to university-level English and spells out the difference between courses in Literature and Academic Writing. The other pages give general information about undergrad essays for both Literature and Academic Writing.
This section on Academic Writing is divided into three parts: 1. rhetoric, 2. evaluation, and 3. research. There’s a strong connection between these parts: in rhetoric you’ll analyze aim and strategy; in evaluation you’ll gauge quality; and in research you’ll explore how studies can be used to evaluate and build a larger argument. As you progress in academia, the quality of research becomes more central to the arguments you make. Initially in these pages we’ll look at primary sources. Then we’ll use a variety of primary and secondary sources. In the final Research section, we’ll emphasize how you can use secondary sources to support original arguments.
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Definitions of Rhetoric
The term rhetoric has many meanings. It can mean empty or manipulative words, as in “Oh, that’s just rhetoric; he’s saying he’ll provide free tuition because he wants to get elected.” Rhetoric can also refer to an assertion in the form of a question, as in the following rhetorical question: “Do you really want to crash your car into that guardrail while arguing with your girlfriend on your cellphone?” Finally, rhetoric can refer to the way people use communication strategies to influence, affect, or persuade. This is the sense in which we’ll be using the word.
Aristotle defines rhetoric as the art of “discovering all the available means of persuasion in any given case.” Wayne Booth writes about “the rhetorical resources available to the writer of epic, novel, or short story as he tries, consciously or unconsciously, to impose his fictional world upon the reader.” The term rhetoric can also be applied to text and other media, such as film and documentary. For the present purposes, rhetoric means the manner in which writers or directors try to make their audiences see, think, feel, or believe something.
Sample Rhetorical Analysis Essays: “Superficial Evolution” (Aladdin) — “The Falling Cat” (Mad Men) — “Turning the Tables” (Gandhi) — “All You Need is Love” — “The Bristling North”
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16 Strategies
In 16 Rhetorical Strategies I define and illustrate 16 basic ways of examining rhetoric. Definition gives an example of an extended use of one category.
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3 Aims
Traditionally, people refer to three rhetorical aims or purposes:
1. Argument: to argue a particular case or point; to persuade; e.g. an editorial in a newspaper or magazine; a book or documentary that argues a particular case, an M.A. or Ph.D. thesis; a post-secondary essay in the Humanities
2. Exposition: to explain, inform, or educate; e.g. a news article, memo, bulletin, newsletter, textbook, manual, news program, documentary, Wikipedia article, how-to video on Youtube, etc.
3. Expression: to explore and to provoke thought and feeling; this can be creative or personal, and includes narrative; often a writer tries to make you see into a situation by showing what it's like experiencing it; e.g. an interview in a newspaper, a poem, short story, play, film, TV show, or novel
It isn't always easy to assign one rhetorical aim. For instance, what are ads? Like an argument, they aim to persuade you that a product is good enough to buy, yet they often use explanations and expressive scenarios.
It isn’t always necessary to identify a strict rhetorical aim, but keep in mind that each act of communication has a rhetorical aim (and in some cases more than one aim) that you must keep in mind. For instance a film trailer tends toward persuasion: it aims to persuade you to see the film. An opening credit sequence on the other hand tends toward expression: it aims to put you in the right frame of mind or in the right mood to see what follows, and it often introduces key themes, characters, settings, etc. You could say that a trailer highlights what you might want to watch (or what the media company urges you to find interesting enough to watch) while an opening credit sequence brings you closer to the mood and meaning of what you’ve already decided to watch.
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Video 1 & 2: Friends & Moulin Rouge!
The first video (Metaphor) analyzes extended metaphor in a clip from Friends. The graphic I use can be found in 6: Style (in the Literary Analysis part of this guide). The second video (Sight & Sound) analyzes clips from the film Moulin Rouge! See a sample essay and other related analysis in “All You Need is Love” (in Literary Analysis).
Lord of War
The page Lord of War contains a step-by-step analysis of the opening credits of the 2005 film Lord of War. The analysis observes details, identifies rhetorical strategies from these details, constructs topic sentences which are based on the rhetorical strategies, and constructs a thesis statement which incorporates the main points of your topic sentences. Normally, you start your essays and outlines with a thesis statement, then have topic sentences which develop your thesis and then have details which prove the argument of your topic sentences, Here, however, you have the opposite: details first, then the topic sentences, and finally the thesis statement. The reason I’ve put things in reverse order is so that you can see how to start with observation of details and end with a unified argument about the operation of rhetorical strategies.
Mad Men
Take a look at the Mad Men opening credits and at the Simpson’s parody and the split-screen comparative version. What’s different in the two credits, and how could you use the difference to get at the rhetorical strategies used in each? After this, look closely at the sample essay on Mad Men’s opening credits — in Mad Men.
For different ways of approaching rhetorical analysis, see Proctor & Gamble, Taylor Swift, Coke, Budweiser, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, rhetorical analysis, strategies, 7 strategies, devices, analysis.
Video 3: Twain & Gore
This next video gives two examples of rhetorical analysis, one on Mark Twain’s “A Wonderful Book” and the other on Al Gore’s “Ships in the Desert” (both texts are in Twain & Gore). Before watching the video, I suggest trying to answer the following questions: What’s the structure of Twain’s text? How does Twain use metaphor and conceit? (For information on metaphor and conceit, see the Week 1 video “Metaphor,” as well as Literary Analysis 6. Style: From Image to Conceit). How does Twain use comparative description? How does Gore use space, metaphor, ethos, and pathos? In doing a rhetorical analysis of Gore’s text, which category, or combination of categories, would you use? How would you unify your essay?
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Student Responses: Trailers, Credits, & Clips
Here are selected rhetorical analysis paragraphs that students wrote during three online pandemic terms. The number indicates the week of class, and the letter indicates the term — i.e. 2A = Week 2, Summer 2020.
2A: Trailers ❧ How does the director use rhetoric in the trailer for Don Jon or in the opening credits to Carnivàle, or the final scene of Mad Men’s “The Phantom” (S5 E13)? The final scene of “The Phantom” contains the song "You Only Live Twice," the lyrics for which are in Mad Men Notes.
2B: Bar Scene ❧ Analyze the rhetoric in the opening bar scene of Mad Men S1 E1. This 2.5 minute bar scene coincides with a song. The scene starts right after the opening credits and ends with Don’s knock on a door, which occurs at the end of the song. Remember that your response is a maximum of 100 words and therefore can’t cover in detail all the uses of rhetoric in the scene. You’ll need to focus on one or two aspects of the scene. You could, for instance, analyze the music and lyrics, or the physical setting, or the dialogue between Don and the staff. Or, you might try to answer one of the following questions, using whatever rhetorical categories help you get at this: How is the director setting the mood? How does the director suggest issues relevant to the early 1960s? How does the director suggest the type of person Don is? Remember to pay attention to detail and to back up your points with references to specific aspects of the scene.
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Video 4: Gandhi
In the following video I analyze the Amritsar Massacre scene (from the film Gandhi), and then suggest a number of starting points for your response to Carr’s article. You can find the scene and other information in Gandhi.
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“Is Google Making Us Stupid?” (Carr, Atlantic article here). Click on this link to see a rhetorical analysis of Carr’s essay. Don’t worry if you don’t agree with his argument; the aim here is to get you thinking about the effect of the Internet and to get you to practice rhetorical analysis.
Student Responses: 16 Strategies, Carr, & McLuhan
3A: 16 Strategies & Carr ❧ Pick any one of the categories in 16 Strategies and explain how Carr uses it in his argument. ❧ Take one metaphor and show how it’s central to the point Carr is making. ❧ How do the metaphors Carr uses affect his readers? ❧ Answer any of the questions in red below.
3B: Carr & McLuhan ❧ Where and why does Carr make implicit use of McLuhan’s theory (that the media has a greater impact than the message)? ❧ Show how at least two of Carr’s historical references contribute to his point. ❧ Take one of Carr’s metaphors or historical references and apply it in a different context so as to make a similar, slightly different, or completely new point about the Internet. This response can be straight-forward or creative (for instance, you might have a scuba-diver or Nietzsche comment on Carr’s view of communication technology).
3C: Carr & Metaphor ❧ Take a metaphor used by Carr (jet-skier, brain as computer, shallows, depths, cathedral, etc.) and come up with a similar metaphor and a scenario which makes a point about how you (or other people) are effected by the Internet. Make sure not to use the exact same metaphor Carr uses. For instance, where Carr uses a cathedral, you might use a Greek temple, a gurdwara, a mosque, a synagogue, Yankee Stadium, the British Museum, or the downtown Vancouver library. You can use your own experience, create a fictional scenario, or give an explanation. For analysis of metaphors and conceits, see the Week 1 video “Metaphor” (on the Friend’s dialogue) and the Week 2 work on Twain and Gore. Also look at the previous responses.
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Video 5 & 6
The first video, “Course Structure 1130,” is on the organization of the course I taught during Covid. Almost everything I say still applies to this site as it is today.
In the second video I do a rhetorical analysis of Edgar Allen Poe’s 1843 short story “The Tell-Tale Heart.” I suggest reading Poe’s text before watching the video (text here).
“The Tell-Tale Heart” (in the Literary Analysis section). This page has a brief introduction, two versions of Poe’s text, and potential lines of argument.
“The Last Channel.” This page has background, context, questions, and the text of Italo Calvino’s 1984 short story. Calvino is writing about addiction to channel-surfing, yet he’s also suggesting a number of things about living in reality versus fantasy. He applies his points directly to media, psychology, politics, and romance, yet they can also be applied to religion and philosophy.
Student Responses: Poe, Calvino, & Media
4A: Calvino & Poe ❧ How might one of Calvino’s points apply today in our Net culture? For this last question, you might do a more creative response. For instance, you might create a scenario that clearly echoes Calvino yet makes a point about our addiction to the Net. ❧ Creative options: Re-write a portion of “The Tell-Tale Heart” by replacing the old man’s eye with an item connected to the Net, such as the camera on a computer or cellphone. ❧ Change an element in Calvino’s story so as to make a similar, slightly different, or completely new point. You can explain how the change would work or you can do a creative re-writing.
4B: Calvino & Rhetoric ❧ How does Calvino structure his text? ❧ Do a rhetorical analysis of Calvino’s use of space (or setting) or time (or chronology). ❧ Rewrite part of Poe’s story from the point of view of the old man.
4C: Media & Calvino ❧ Compare “Anti-Social Media” (immediately below) to “The Last Channel” in a specific and insightful way. Note that the standard notion of comparison includes both comparing and contrasting, that is, looking at both the similarities and the differences. Your comparison can be on theme (alienation, societal expectations, etc.), relationships (family, romance, friendship, etc.), specific words (select, delete, overwhelm, obsess, meaning, random, love, etc.), metaphor (bridge, rabbit hole, etc.), style and structure (the use of lists, quotation vs. inner dialogue, etc.), or any other aspect that compares the two pieces in a meaningful and specific way. The full title of the poem is “Antisocial Media: short fiction based on a true story,” is written by Kim Z Dale (January 10, 2014), and is taken from here. I’ve condensed the poem, using / to signal line breaks.
Anti-Social Media // "Come on. Absolutely everyone does it." / "If absolutely everyone jumped off a bridge does that mean I should too?" / "Maybe. If everyone came back from jumping off the bridge alive and uninjured and continued to jump off bridges, sometimes for hours, and they told you that jumping off bridges was a super fun way to stay connected to your friends, particularly for someone like you who never goes out." / "I go out." / "Going to work doesn't count." / She had no reply to that. / "You can always quit, but you should try it at least a little." / "Okay. Fine. I'll set up account." / "Great." / "I'll delete it tomorrow." / "If you want." / And that is how, after much cajoling from her bestie, she finally joined the newest social media fad. And she did not delete her account. Instead, she fell down the rabbit hole of / obsessive refreshing and / too little sleep and / dry eyes and / constant headaches and / meaningless comparisons and / OMG KITTENS! and / pointless envy and / random laughter and / occasional tears and / hating everyone and / wanting them all to love her and / the overwhelming loneliness of having too many "friends."