Analyzing nonfiction and rhetoric 1 (rhetorical strategies)

1. ANALYZING
INFORMATIONAL TEXTS 1

2. DEFINING
RHETORIC 1

3. W h a t i s
R h e t o r i c ,
R e a l l y ?
A n d , W h y
S h o u l d I
C a r e ?
Simply defined: Rhetoric is an art that exposes
an author’s construction of effective writing,
especially as it is used to persuade an audience
to think, act, behave, or purchase.
How, then, do we analyze a text rhetorically?
First, recognize that rhetoric is ART. Think about
how you analyze a painting. You may think
about the painter’s choice to use certain brush
strokes, or shading, or color. A painter’s bright
colors and curvy lines may evoke an uplifting,
pleasant, or light mood; whereas, dark shading
and sharp lines may evoke a more foreboding,
gloomy, or anxious mood.

4. Writers are artists. Two writers may write
about the same subject, let’s say cheese,
for example. One writer uses words and
phrases like moldy, stinky, unhealthy
and difficult to digest; another is more
complementary, using words and
phrases like delicious, accommodating
to any meal, healthy, and appetite
stimulating. Word choice is a rhetorical
strategy or tool that writers use to
convince their audience to think or
behave about a subject in a certain way.
WRITERS ARE
ARTISTS, TOO

5. O T H E R
T O O L S
But word choice is not the only tool
writers use. They may construct their
sentences and paragraphs in specific ways
to move an audience in a certain way.
They may choose a poem or an essay or a
narrative to convey their message most
meaningfully. They may also use culturally
significant allusions, creative analogies,
relative anecdotes, or illustrative imagery.

6. So here’s the takeaway: writers, sometimes
purposefully, sometimes not, are
manipulating or guiding your thoughts.
And, you, as a consumer of knowledge can
make more informed decisions when you
can sift through the rhetoric of authors;
likewise, you, as a writer, can write more
persuasive arguments when you are aware
of how to do so effectively by applying
various rhetorical strategies.

7. WHAT ARE SOME USEFUL
RHETORICAL STRATEGIES TO
KNOW?
2
t
Rhetorical strategies,
rhetorical devices,
and rhetorical tools
are all the same thing.
Don’t get confused by
synonyms.

8. D E F I N I N G T H E S T R A T E G I E S
Rhetorical strategies are SIMPLY tools writers use to make
arguments or create meaning. There are a ton of these out
in the ether, and it can be overwhelming to try to sift
through them all, especially with uncommon latin words
that make up a large part of the rhetorical discourse. But
don’t let those words make the process of analysis seem
too difficult, because it doesn’t have to be.

9. ALLUSION:
MAKING A REFERENCE TO AN HISTORICAL EVENT, A LITERARY TEXT, OR A WELL
KNOWN PERSON IN A TEXT OR SPEECH. OFTENTIMES USED IN ORDER TO
QUALIFY AN ARGUMENT.
ANTITHESIS:
WHEN OPPOSING WORDS OR IDEAS ARE PLACED
TOGETHER TO ILLUSTRATE THEIR CONTRAST--
OFTEN WRITTEN USING PARALLEL STRUCTURE.
ANALOGY:
COMPARING TWO (OFTEN UNLIKE) THINGS OR IDEAS TO
FURTHER EXPLAIN OR CLARIFY AN ARGUMENT, THOUGHT,
IDEA, OR IMAGE.

10. APOSTROPHE:
SPEAKING DIRECTLY TO SOMETHING OR SOMEONE THAT IS NOT PHYSICALLY
PRESENT.
HYPERBOLE:
AN OVER EXAGGERATION
DICTION:
AN AUTHOR’S WORD CHOICE.
.

11. IMAGERY:
USING LANGUAGE TO CREATE AN ILLUSTRATION OF A THING OR IDEA
(OFTEN USED TO APPEAL TO A READER’S EMOTION).
JUXTAPOSITION:
PLACING TWO DISSIMILAR ENTITIES NEAR ONE
ANOTHER IN ORDER TO INTENTIONALLY COMPARE
OR CONTRAST THEM
IRONY:
THERE ARE THREE TYPES OF IRONY. 1. SITUATIONAL: A
CONTRADICTION TO THE WAY THINGS ARE “SUPPOSED” TO WORK
2. VERBAL: WHAT IS SAID IS IN OPPOSITION TO WHAT IS MEANT
(OFTEN UNDERSTOOD AS SARCASM). 3. DRAMATIC:THE AUDIENCE
BECOMES MORE KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT THE NARRATIVE THAN
THE CHARACTERS..
.

12. METAPHOR:
COMPARING TWO UNLIKE THINGS.
.
PERSONIFICATION:
GIVING AN INANIMATE OBJECT HUMAN LIKE
CHARACTERISTICS.
PARALLEL STRUCTURE:
CONSTRUCTING A SENTENCE OR ORGANIZING A PIECE OF TEXT IN
A WAY THAT IS GRAMMATICALLY SIMILAR IN ORDER TO SHOW
THAT ALL IDEAS GIVEN ARE IN BALANCE..
.

13. REPETITION:
RECURRING WORDS, PHRASES, CLAUSES IN A PIECE OF TEXT
SYMBOLISM:
A CONCRETE OBJECT THAT REPRESENTS AN ABSTRACT IDEA.
SATIRE:
COMMUNICATING, OFTEN HUMOROUSLY, AN ARGUMENT THAT
LAMPOONS THE COUNTERARGUMENT IN ORDER TO SHOW THE
ABSURDITY OR DARK INJUSTICE OF THE LATTER.
..

14. SYNTAX:
AN AUTHOR’S SENTENCE CONSTRUCTION.*
*SYNTAX IS AS VARIED AND AS PURPOSEFUL AS DICTION. AN AUTHOR SOMETIMES CHOOSES
THEIR SYNTAX CAREFULLY IN ORDER TO EVOKE A CERTAIN RESPONSE IN THEIR READERS. IT
IS UNDER THE GENERAL TERM SYNTAX THAT YOU MAY BE INTRODUCED TO THE MANY
LATIN RHETORICAL TERMS LIKE: ANAPHORA, EPISTROPHE, CHIASMUS, ANAPOLIPSES, ETC.,
MOST OF WHICH ARE VARIOUS FORMS OF CONSTRUCTING A SENTENCE SO THAT THE
WORDS REPEAT OR APPEAR IN A WAY THAT PIQUE THE INTEREST OF THE READER.
UNDERSTATEMENT:
VASTLY UNDER REPRESENTING THE SERIOUSNESS OF A SITUATION IN
ORDER TO MAKE A POINT OR FOR HUMOROUS EFFECT.
TEAMING:
ANY METHOD USED TO UNIFY AN AUDIENCE, ESPECIALLY TO MAKE
THE AUDIENCE SIDE WITH THE IDEAS OF THE AUTHOR. (THE
“ROYAL WE” IS A METHOD OF TEAMING)
..