This introduces you to templates and other criteria for creating a good thesis statement for a rhetorical analysis essay.

1. THESIS
STATEMENTS
Rhetorical Analysis

2. Thesis
Statement
Your thesis statement
is your opinion about
the rhetoric used in the
article
Your thesis statement
is your main idea
It is a statement, not a
question
It should not announce
• Don’t say “I will discuss
how this article uses…”
or “this essay will prove
that…”
It should state how the
article is attempting to
persuade using rhetoric
It should not state
your feelings about
the topic of the article!
Focus on rhetoric!

3. WorkingThesis Statement
■ Your thesis statement will be the answer to the following
questions:
■ How does the article persuade the audience of their message?
And did the author pick a good strategy?

4. GoodThesis Statement Examples
■ The article relied heavily on pathos and
contained some logical fallacies but was
able to make a persuasive argument.
■ The article uses a combination of pathos
and logos, making appeals to the
audience's emotions while providing
statistics to create an effective argument.
■ This ad uses the appeals of pathos and
ethos effectively. However, the use of
indirect ad hominem causes doubt about
the truth of the claims in the article.
■ Each of these examples clearly identifies
the rhetorical techniques used by the
article to persuade
■ They are all about the same article, but
they focus on different aspects.
■ One focuses on pathos alone.Another
focuses on pathos and logos.And the third
focuses on pathos, ethos, and a fallacy.

5. BadThesis Statements Examples
■ America has grown immensely and should
continue to grow, whether that be
investing in properties, being wedded, or
having a secure job.
■ America is a great country; it is a place that
we can call home and where we can feel
safe and secure.
■ The article is right about America needing
to secure the borders.
■ These are bad thesis statements because
they do not focus on the rhetorical
techniques used by the ad to persuade.
■ Instead, they focus on the article’s message
about America and how they feel about
America, not about the rhetoric used.
■ Don’t focus on the issue! Focus on the
rhetoric.
■ I do not care how you feel about the issue; I
want your opinion about the rhetoric they
used!

6. Remember, a thesis statement
consists of a topic + a
controlling idea.
The article is your topic and the
controlling idea is your opinion
about what rhetorical
techniques were used

7. Thesis StatementTemplates
The article effectively convinces the
audience of _____ through the use
of _______ paired with ________.
• The article effectively convinces the
audience that climate change is real
through the use of statistics and
surveys paired with emotional
stories.
Although the article uses _________
convincingly, the use of
____________ may be a problem for
the audience of ________________.
• Although the article includes many
convincing logical arguments, the
audience may doubt the ad’s
objectivity because of the sarcastic
tone.

8. Thesis StatementTemplates
The article uses _________ and
____________ to create an effective
argument for _______________.
• The article usesThompson’s personal
stories and tells of his extensive
research in the area to make the
audience believe in his credibility.
These appeals to ethos, combined
with his friendly tone, creates an
effective argument.
The ad employs the rhetorical appeals
of _______ and ________ effectively.
However, the use of _______ causes
doubt about the truth of the claims.
• The article employs the rhetorical
appeals of pathos and ethos
effectively. However, the use of
unsupported logical appeals causes
the audience to doubt that the claim
is supported by research.

9. OnTemplates forThesis Statements
■ You do not have to use the templates.They are just there as
guides.
■ Focus on the rhetorical techniques used by the article, e.g.,
rhetorical appeals and logical fallacies
■ Note: you are not seeking to find all the rhetorical appeals,
advertising appeals, and logical fallacies.You are seeking to find
which of the rhetorical appeals, advertising appeals, and logical
fallacies.
– Thus, your thesis may focus on just one appeal or your thesis may
focus on all the appeals.

10. Thesis is a Road Map
■ Your thesis statement must serve as
road maps to the rest of the essay and
clearly inform the reader what
discussion points the essay is going to
address and in which order.
■ It may be one or two sentences.
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND

11. Road Map Example
Thesis statement: This ad uses a combination of pathos and logos, making appeals
to the audience's emotions (1 and 2) and their need to feel safe (3), while providing
statistics (4) to support the idea that Reagan is the ideal candidate.
■ Body Paragraph 1 (PATHOS) – appealing to emotion through the music playing in
the background
■ Body Paragraph 2 (PATHOS) – appealing to emotion by showing scenes from
major life events
■ Body paragraph 3 (PATHOS) – appealing to the audience’s need to feel safe
through use of specific word choice and visuals
■ Body paragraph 4 (LOGOS) – appealing to logic by providing facts and statistics
from Reagan’s first term
Each numbered point will turn into a body paragraph. The reader knows exactly
what points you are going to address and in what order.
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND

12. Discussion Point = Body Paragraph
■ Every listed discussion point will eventually turn into a body
paragraph of your essay, so you need to make sure that each
point can be supported with examples from the
advertisement.
■ You also need to make sure there is no repetition, and each
discussion point addresses a new idea and contributes
something new to the overall argument.

13. Thesis –Work in Progress
■ Note that you may change your thesis statement at any stage of working
on your project – hence, the name “working thesis statement.” It is work
in progress.
– You may discover that you cannot find any examples to support one of
the discussion points. It is OK to strike it from your thesis.
– While doing your analysis, you may find another argument. You should
definitely include it into your thesis.
– You may realize that two discussion points in your thesis are too similar.
You may combine those two points into one and discuss it in just one
body paragraph to avoid repetition.
– You may come up with better phrasing for one of your discussion points
or make revisions to the sentence structure to make it more reader-
friendly and clear.

14. StrongThesis Statement
A strong thesis statement for a rhetorical analysis essay:
– Avoids using the first person or phrases like “I believe” or “I think”
– Serves as a map to the rest of your essay and guides the reader
through it
– Asserts your conclusion and takes a stand on the author’s
rhetorical strategies
– States what techniques you will be analyzing, and the impact of
these techniques on the effectiveness of the text
– Is the last sentence of your introduction.

16. Credit
■ Much of this presentation is taken directly from “How toWrite aThesis Statement for
RhetoricalAnalysis” by Dr.Tatiana Keeling, Central Arizona College, Spring 2020.