This PowerPoint presentation provides an overview of how to create a good thesis statement for a rhetorical analysis

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…”
• Don’t say “this essay will prove that…”
• Don’t say “In my opinion,” Just say the idea!
It should state how the article is attempting to persuade
It should not state your feelings about the topic of the article!

3. Prewriting
■ To gather information for the analysis, you must carefully review
every element of the article.
■ Answering questions on the rhetorical analysis worksheet will help
with that!

4. RhetoricalAnalysisWorksheet:
Determine the Basic Facts
The first set of questions helps you determine what is being argued by whom to
whom:
■ Title of article, author, date of publication, and place of publication
■ Purpose/Message: What goal does the author have in communicating with the
audience?
■ Audience: To whom is the article directed? How do you know? Remember that the
audience is not everyone.
– Consider who is going to be interested in the article’s message? An article directed
at Generation Z is going to look different than an article aimed at Baby Boomers.
You might consider how should the words/images differ for a different audience,
such as, for example, an audience of women?Teens?

5. RhetoricalAnalysisWorksheet:
Determine How the AdWorks
The next set of questions is about HOW the advertisement delivers the argument,
what strategies are used
■ Appeal to Logos: Does the author use example, facts, and statistics to build his/her
argument? Where? How? If not, why?Was anything omitted? If so, what was the impact?
Where do you see this appeal in the article?
■ Appeal to Pathos: Where and how does the author connect with the audience on an
emotional level? Is this effective in persuading the audience? If so, how? If not, why?Where do
you see this appeal in the article?
■ Appeal to Ethos: Does the author come across as trustworthy, credible, and having integrity?
What do you know or what can you learn about him or her? If the author presents information
or secondary research, is it credible? Explain.Where do you see this appeal in the article?

6. RhetoricalAnalysisWorksheet:
Determine How the AdWorks (cont’d)
■ Stereotypes/Assumptions: Does the argument reflect stereotypes about
race, gender, age, etc.? Where do you see this appeal in the article?
■ Fallacies: Are there any holes in the argument? Is there anywhere in the text
that the logic breaks down? Does the author make generalizations or leap to
conclusions? Explain what doesn’t make sense and how.What does the ad say
about the opposing view? Is there any direct or indirect criticism or
generalizations or ad hominem attacks?Where do you see this appeal in the
article?

7. RhetoricalAnalysisWorksheet:
Evaluate theArgument
■ Evaluation: Once you have gathered information about your text,
you can decide about whether it is effective as an argument.
Examine the information above and your overall impression of the
text. Do you think the author was effective overall in making his or
her argument?

8. WorkingThesis Statement
■ Now you are ready to draft your working thesis statement.
■ Your thesis statement will be the answer to the following
questions:
■ What is the message of the article? How does the article
persuade the audience of their message?

9. 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.

10. 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!

11. To create a
thesis
statement
Remember, a thesis statement consists
of
a topic + a controlling idea
The article is your topic
The controlling idea is your opinion about
what rhetorical techniques were used

12. 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.

13. 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.

14. 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.

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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.

18. 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.

19. 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.

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