rhetorical analysis essay example on an ad

Rhetorical Analysis Of An Advertisement Example

In order to analyze the rhetoric of an advertisement, we must first understand what rhetoric is. Rhetoric is “the art of using language to persuade”. In other words, it’s all about how words are used to influence or affect an audience.

When it comes to advertising, rhetoric is used in order to sell a product or service. Advertisers use carefully chosen words and images in order to create an emotional response in their audience. This response can be positive (I want that!) or negative (I need that!). Either way, the goal is to get people to take action, whether that’s buying a product or simply paying attention to the ad.

Let’s take a look at a recent ad featuring a woman. This ad is for a new brand of jeans, and the woman in the ad is shown wearing them. The ad copy reads: “The perfect fit for every body. Finally, a jean that looks good on you.”

There are several things going on here rhetorically. First, the use of the word “perfect” is meant to create a sense of desire in the reader. We all want to look perfect, so this ad is playing on that insecurity. Second, the word “every” is inclusive language that makes us feel like this product is meant for everyone. And lastly, the phrase “looks good on you” is designed to make us feel good about ourselves. It’s a way of saying that no matter what your body type is, you can look good in these jeans.

So, what can we learn from this ad? Advertising is all about persuasion, and advertisers use rhetoric to achieve their goals. By understanding how rhetoric works, we can be better consumers and make more informed decisions about the products and services we buy.

There are an innumerable number of different advertisements on the internet. They’re all over the place, whether it’s on TV, radio, or in a magazine. They’ve created an ad especially for that target demographic. Of course, they’re hoping to sell their goods. This billion-dollar industry thrives on advertisers looking at every angle to capture consumers’ attention. One approach used to promote items is through sex, which some people view as controversial in certain ways.

In this essay, I will be analyzing a perfume advertisement that uses a woman’s body to sell the product.

This particular advertisement is for the new scent from the company Givenchy. The ad features a close-up of a woman’s face with smoky makeup and red lips. Her hair is styled in big, loose curls. She’s wearing a black leather jacket with nothing else. The copy on the ad reads, “Givenchy Dahlia Noir. A dangerous femininity.” Immediately, we can see that they’re trying to sell the idea of a strong, sexy woman who is also dangerous.

Looking at the image alone, we can see that they’re using sex appeal to sell their product. The close-up of the woman’s face and the suggestion of her bare chest implies a sexual nature. The black leather jacket is also a symbol of sexiness and power. Combined with the copy, it’s clear that they’re trying to sell the idea of a dangerous femme fatale.

While there is nothing wrong with using sex appeal in advertising, it’s important to consider the context in which it’s being used. In this case, Givenchy is selling a perfume that is supposed to make women smell sexy. There’s nothing wrong with that. However, they’re using a very specific image of a woman to sell their product. They’re not just selling the idea of smelling good, they’re selling the idea of being a certain type of woman.

The target demographic is males and females in their late teens to mid-twenties. By attracting the attention of and interest in the attractive woman on the right with vivid colors, as well as the bottle of whiskey in the middle of the page, this firm captures the male side of the equation. The beauty of this picture is that it has an exceptionally attractive lady posing in next to nothing, which attracts people’s attention.

The fact that she is not wearing a lot of clothing shows that this company does not shy away from showing some skin to get attention, but they are also using a very popular drink among men, whiskey. This company has used a model that is guaranteed to keep the attention of their target market, males in their late teens to mid twenties.

The second thing this company does well is use pathos by saying ” be seen with the right crowd.” What they are trying to say is that if you drink their whiskey then you will be accepted into the “in-crowd” and become popular. This is an emotional appeal that speaks to people who want to be accepted and feel like they belong somewhere. This is a very effective way to get people to buy their product because it is speaking to a very real emotion that people feel.

The last thing this company does well is use logos by saying ” smooth like silk.” This is a way of saying that their whiskey is the best on the market and that it is so smooth that it feels like silk going down your throat. This is an effective way to get people to buy their product because they are saying that their whiskey is better than any other kind on the market.

So, to get women to look at and read their advertising, they employ a plain woman who looks like a typical young girl. Then, beside her, they display the same lady who is now a stunning woman that seems far more powerful and certain of herself. Drinking Evan Williams Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey might help you accomplish that.

This is because Advertising plays a very big role in our society, especially when it comes to alcohol. It is shown in this advertisement that if you drink Evan Williams you will become more attractive and just be an all around better person. This is not only directed at females but also males as well. Advertising does a lot to our society good and bad. It helps promote products but sometimes those products are things that can be harmful like cigarettes or alcohol. So while advertising does have its benefits, it is important to be aware of what we are being sold and the implications it might have on our lives.

In conclusion, this company uses three different kinds of rhetoric to appeal to their target market of males in their late teens to mid twenties. They use an attractive model to get their attention, pathos to speak to their emotions, and logos to appeal to their sense of logic. All of these things together make for a very effective advertisement.

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• How to write a rhetorical analysis | Key concepts & examples

How to Write a Rhetorical Analysis | Key Concepts & Examples

Published on August 28, 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on July 23, 2023.

A rhetorical analysis is a type of essay  that looks at a text in terms of rhetoric. This means it is less concerned with what the author is saying than with how they say it: their goals, techniques, and appeals to the audience.

Table of contents

Key concepts in rhetoric, analyzing the text, introducing your rhetorical analysis, the body: doing the analysis, concluding a rhetorical analysis, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about rhetorical analysis.

Rhetoric, the art of effective speaking and writing, is a subject that trains you to look at texts, arguments and speeches in terms of how they are designed to persuade the audience. This section introduces a few of the key concepts of this field.

Appeals: Logos, ethos, pathos

Appeals are how the author convinces their audience. Three central appeals are discussed in rhetoric, established by the philosopher Aristotle and sometimes called the rhetorical triangle: logos, ethos, and pathos.

Logos , or the logical appeal, refers to the use of reasoned argument to persuade. This is the dominant approach in academic writing , where arguments are built up using reasoning and evidence.

Ethos , or the ethical appeal, involves the author presenting themselves as an authority on their subject. For example, someone making a moral argument might highlight their own morally admirable behavior; someone speaking about a technical subject might present themselves as an expert by mentioning their qualifications.

Pathos , or the pathetic appeal, evokes the audience’s emotions. This might involve speaking in a passionate way, employing vivid imagery, or trying to provoke anger, sympathy, or any other emotional response in the audience.

These three appeals are all treated as integral parts of rhetoric, and a given author may combine all three of them to convince their audience.

Text and context

In rhetoric, a text is not necessarily a piece of writing (though it may be this). A text is whatever piece of communication you are analyzing. This could be, for example, a speech, an advertisement, or a satirical image.

In these cases, your analysis would focus on more than just language—you might look at visual or sonic elements of the text too.

The context is everything surrounding the text: Who is the author (or speaker, designer, etc.)? Who is their (intended or actual) audience? When and where was the text produced, and for what purpose?

Looking at the context can help to inform your rhetorical analysis. For example, Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech has universal power, but the context of the civil rights movement is an important part of understanding why.

Claims, supports, and warrants

A piece of rhetoric is always making some sort of argument, whether it’s a very clearly defined and logical one (e.g. in a philosophy essay) or one that the reader has to infer (e.g. in a satirical article). These arguments are built up with claims, supports, and warrants.

A claim is the fact or idea the author wants to convince the reader of. An argument might center on a single claim, or be built up out of many. Claims are usually explicitly stated, but they may also just be implied in some kinds of text.

The author uses supports to back up each claim they make. These might range from hard evidence to emotional appeals—anything that is used to convince the reader to accept a claim.

The warrant is the logic or assumption that connects a support with a claim. Outside of quite formal argumentation, the warrant is often unstated—the author assumes their audience will understand the connection without it. But that doesn’t mean you can’t still explore the implicit warrant in these cases.

For example, look at the following statement:

We can see a claim and a support here, but the warrant is implicit. Here, the warrant is the assumption that more likeable candidates would have inspired greater turnout. We might be more or less convinced by the argument depending on whether we think this is a fair assumption.

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Rhetorical analysis isn’t a matter of choosing concepts in advance and applying them to a text. Instead, it starts with looking at the text in detail and asking the appropriate questions about how it works:

• What is the author’s purpose?
• Do they focus closely on their key claims, or do they discuss various topics?
• What tone do they take—angry or sympathetic? Personal or authoritative? Formal or informal?
• Who seems to be the intended audience? Is this audience likely to be successfully reached and convinced?
• What kinds of evidence are presented?

By asking these questions, you’ll discover the various rhetorical devices the text uses. Don’t feel that you have to cram in every rhetorical term you know—focus on those that are most important to the text.

The following sections show how to write the different parts of a rhetorical analysis.

Like all essays, a rhetorical analysis begins with an introduction . The introduction tells readers what text you’ll be discussing, provides relevant background information, and presents your thesis statement .

Hover over different parts of the example below to see how an introduction works.

Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech is widely regarded as one of the most important pieces of oratory in American history. Delivered in 1963 to thousands of civil rights activists outside the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., the speech has come to symbolize the spirit of the civil rights movement and even to function as a major part of the American national myth. This rhetorical analysis argues that King’s assumption of the prophetic voice, amplified by the historic size of his audience, creates a powerful sense of ethos that has retained its inspirational power over the years.

The body of your rhetorical analysis is where you’ll tackle the text directly. It’s often divided into three paragraphs, although it may be more in a longer essay.

Each paragraph should focus on a different element of the text, and they should all contribute to your overall argument for your thesis statement.

Hover over the example to explore how a typical body paragraph is constructed.

King’s speech is infused with prophetic language throughout. Even before the famous “dream” part of the speech, King’s language consistently strikes a prophetic tone. He refers to the Lincoln Memorial as a “hallowed spot” and speaks of rising “from the dark and desolate valley of segregation” to “make justice a reality for all of God’s children.” The assumption of this prophetic voice constitutes the text’s strongest ethical appeal; after linking himself with political figures like Lincoln and the Founding Fathers, King’s ethos adopts a distinctly religious tone, recalling Biblical prophets and preachers of change from across history. This adds significant force to his words; standing before an audience of hundreds of thousands, he states not just what the future should be, but what it will be: “The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.” This warning is almost apocalyptic in tone, though it concludes with the positive image of the “bright day of justice.” The power of King’s rhetoric thus stems not only from the pathos of his vision of a brighter future, but from the ethos of the prophetic voice he adopts in expressing this vision.

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The conclusion of a rhetorical analysis wraps up the essay by restating the main argument and showing how it has been developed by your analysis. It may also try to link the text, and your analysis of it, with broader concerns.

Explore the example below to get a sense of the conclusion.

It is clear from this analysis that the effectiveness of King’s rhetoric stems less from the pathetic appeal of his utopian “dream” than it does from the ethos he carefully constructs to give force to his statements. By framing contemporary upheavals as part of a prophecy whose fulfillment will result in the better future he imagines, King ensures not only the effectiveness of his words in the moment but their continuing resonance today. Even if we have not yet achieved King’s dream, we cannot deny the role his words played in setting us on the path toward it.

If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

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The goal of a rhetorical analysis is to explain the effect a piece of writing or oratory has on its audience, how successful it is, and the devices and appeals it uses to achieve its goals.

Unlike a standard argumentative essay , it’s less about taking a position on the arguments presented, and more about exploring how they are constructed.

The term “text” in a rhetorical analysis essay refers to whatever object you’re analyzing. It’s frequently a piece of writing or a speech, but it doesn’t have to be. For example, you could also treat an advertisement or political cartoon as a text.

Logos appeals to the audience’s reason, building up logical arguments . Ethos appeals to the speaker’s status or authority, making the audience more likely to trust them. Pathos appeals to the emotions, trying to make the audience feel angry or sympathetic, for example.

Collectively, these three appeals are sometimes called the rhetorical triangle . They are central to rhetorical analysis , though a piece of rhetoric might not necessarily use all of them.

In rhetorical analysis , a claim is something the author wants the audience to believe. A support is the evidence or appeal they use to convince the reader to believe the claim. A warrant is the (often implicit) assumption that links the support with the claim.

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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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• Sites at Penn State

Rhetoric & Civic Life – Wiley

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Sample Rhetorical Analysis Paper

This is not a “perfect” paper, but it’s a decent example of a Rhetorical Analysis of a recent ad:

Lance Armstrong and Nike

Nike, Inc. has traditionally been a brand suited for competitive athletes, with its origins rooted in selling athletic shoes, but eventually expanded to sell clothing and gear to athletes and non-athletes alike. Nike has adapted its advertisement campaigns to reach its eclectic audience by sponsoring globally renowned athletes such as Lance Armstrong. Despite the fact that cyclists are in the minority in society, the campaigns involving Lance Armstrong have been particularly persuasive, proving that though a viewer may not have a direct athletic kinship to a celebrity endorser, he may still be greatly influenced by the celebrity’s advertisement message. By focusing on Armstrong’s public revelation of stage three testicular cancer, this advertisement proved itself to be emotionally powerful, broadly inclusive of its audience, and auspiciously released at a time to meet the needs of the company. In addition to emotion, kairos was also undeniably a substantial component to the effectiveness of the ad; it appeared after Armstrong had not only recently defeated cancer, but continued on to win several Tour de France races, elevating him to a lofty status comparable to a hero. Also, Nike was enveloped in public turmoil over alleged unethical manufacturing practices, and the company attacked this rhetorical exigence with this ad. This short but enthralling commercial uses Armstrong’s confession to broaden Nike’s rhetorical and consumer audience, to grip the viewer with a potent amount of pathos to shift negative connotations away from its products, and to promote its brand by aligning Nike with Armstrong’s victory over cancer.

Opening with Armstrong’s public revelation of his case of testicular cancer, the advertisement immediately establishes its pathetic appeal, as the image of an emotional Armstrong emotionally engages the viewer. The vulnerability of such a strong figure in American society, especially one renowned for enduring grueling long-distance cycling races, is a striking means of capturing the attention and sympathy of the viewer. Nike also uses text as an implicit technique employed to dramatize the impact of the message and to reiterate the extent of Armstrong’s condition. Not only does it reinforce the severity of his condition, but it also underscores the fact that Armstrong is so swept with emotion that he cannot bear to finish the sentence. It provides time for the viewer to dwell on the words and their grim connotation. Also, this opening reaches a wide audience, as the emotional devastation of a cancer diagnosis is a commonplace that would be able to reach an expansive scope of viewers. It would resonate with anyone that has been affected by cancer, instead of simply fans of Armstrong or the sport of cycling. As the commercial continues with Armstrong’s assertion that he intends to beat the disease and ride again as a professional athlete, Armstrong looks up into the camera, the only point at which he does so throughout the entire commercial. This too adds to the commercial’s pathos, as it allows a more personal connection to be made with the audience. It also makes his vow to overcome his affliction that much more prominent, which will become a crucial asset for the marketing power of Nike.

Immediately following the emotionally charged climax of the ad, Armstrong’s pledge to defeat cancer, Nike segues into the widely recognizable “Just do it” slogan, and the classic swish logo. This strategic placement insinuates the integration of the corporation and Armstrong’s struggle and eventual victory over his ailments, and the realization of his dream to continue his professional career. This aligns Nike’s legendary phrase with the now legendary success and determination of Lance Armstrong. It emboldens the audience to believe that purchasing Nike products is inextricably correlated to fighting cancer and personal battles. To further elucidate this connection, Nike places yellow lettering against a black background, and its swish logo in black against a yellow background. The use of these colors alludes to Armstrong’s LiveStrong Foundation, which raises awareness and funding for cancer treatment, support, and research. This reaffirms Nike’s unity with the charity foundation in the mind of the viewer.

This commercial would also broaden Nike’s appeal to a mass audience, as it promotes the shared common ideology in the resiliency of the human spirit. By drawing a parallel between its products and triumph over a crippling disease, Nike exploits the natural tendency of people’s desire to conquer their own personal trials and injects the belief of the attainability of any achievement, with the help of Nike products, into the viewer. This too invokes a great deal of pathos, as it invigorates and motivates the viewer to want to take action and emulate the achievement of Armstrong. The placement of Nike’s logo after Armstrong’s affirmation to beat the disease and continue cycling, both of which have been fulfilled, causes the viewer to cognitively associate Nike as the means to attaining his own personal success.

Understanding the context of this advertisement is crucial to fully grasp how kairos played a pivotal role in this rhetorical situation. In the early 2000s, when this ad was first published, Lance Armstrong was at the height of his fame for doing the impossible in two different realms: overcoming what appeared to be a fatal diagnosis of cancer, and subsequently winning numerous Tour de France races after his cancer treatment was finished. Nike elicited the grandeur of Armstrong’s respected status in society to promote its brand.  In contrast to this valiant glory, Nike was undergoing a firestorm of public denouncement and criticism amidst a sweatshop scandal. Outcries over Nike’s use of factories that use sweatshop labor and pay wages below subsistence levels caused many groups to insist that sports teams, universities, and stores sell other brands besides Nike that don’t use unethical practices. Nike utilized the ad and the ethos and credibility of Armstrong’s pristine character to appease its desperate need of positive publicity and to re-establish its public image. Nike’s use of yellow and black themed lettering and texts display the company’s sympathetic view towards cancer, and remind the audience of the major support Nike had given to the LiveStrong foundation.  The rhetorical exigence of Nike’s need to affirm its preeminent status was solved by connecting Armstrong’s beloved appeal to Nike’s signature slogan, logo, and company as a whole.

In just one 30 second commercial, Nike was able to catapult itself from a limited audience and a disgruntled labor movement to attaining full attention from the community and restoring the public’s faith in the brand. It employed Lance Armstrong’s illustrious stature and acclaimed victory over illness and competition to propel its status to a company engaged in the laudable task of supporting cancer treatment. It not only parlays the message to viewers that they can achieve success, but motivates and impels them to utilize Nike products to realize their goals. The commercial’s use of pathos allows it to broaden its audience to not just cyclist fans or sports fans, but to anyone who has either dealt with cancer or faces what seems to be an insurmountable task. It utilizes common ideologies and values of triumph over obstacles and the hope of extraordinary accomplishments to engage a wide audience. This pervasive and emotionally enticing advertisement was wisely used by Nike to impress upon an eclectic and comprehensive audience of the company’s positive role in society and compel the viewer to support the brand. By affirming universal appeals, by invoking pathos, and by displaying its connection to a heroic cause, Nike captures support from its audience and seizes the present rhetorical situation.

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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

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Rhetorical Analysis Essay

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Outline

Crafting an Effective Rhetorical Analysis Essay Outline - Free Samples!

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Published on: Apr 8, 2018

Last updated on: Nov 13, 2023

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Have you ever stared at a blank page, wondering how to begin your rhetorical analysis essay?

You're not alone. Many students find the first step, creating an outline, to be a challenge. 

The truth is - tackling a rhetorical analysis without a well-structured outline can lead to confusion and disorganization. But fear not because there's a solution.

In this blog, we will show you how you can create a rhetorical analysis essay outline. By the end, you’ll have a thorough understanding of what your outline should look like. 

So, keep reading to find out how you can beat the blank pages!

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What Is Rhetorical Analysis Essay?

A rhetorical analysis essay is a type of analytical essay that examines how an author uses language and persuasion to get their message across.

It involves analyzing speeches or essays to understand how authors use strategies within the rhetorical triangle to influence their intended audience. These techniques usually involve logical appeal, moral argument, and vivid imagery that appeals to the listener. 

Key Elements to Analyze

In a rhetorical analysis essay, you would be analyzing the text keeping these key rhetorical concepts in mind:

• Ethos: This concerns the credibility of the author or speaker.
• Logos: This focuses on the logical aspects of the argument.
• Pathos: Pathos explores the emotional appeal of the discourse.
• Style and Tone: This involves analyzing the author's writing style and the overall tone of the text.

These elements provide a structured approach to rhetorical analysis, revealing how effective communication is achieved.

Why Create a Rhetorical Analysis Essay Outline?

Writing a rhetorical analysis essay requires a writer to draft a structured piece of writing. This essay type is one of the most challenging tasks students are assigned to do for their academics. 

Apart from conducting a strong analysis, a rhetorical analysis essay depends on how perfectly the essay outline is drafted. 

An outline organizes the raw information and makes it understandable for the readers. It serves as your compass, ensuring you stay on course throughout the rhetoric essay. It helps you structure your ideas and arguments, adding clarity to your essay writing process. 

Moreover, an outline works as a checklist for your essay. It assures you that nothing important is missed in the content.

Components of a Rhetorical Analysis Outline

Now that we've explored why creating an essay outline is essential, it's important to explore the different components of a rhetorical analysis outline. 

Here’s a detailed rhetorical analysis essay outline:

Each element plays a crucial role in crafting a well-structured and persuasive analysis, so let's explore them in detail:

Introduction

The introduction of your rhetorical analysis essay serves as the gateway to your analysis. It's where you captivate your reader's interest, provide essential background information, and present your thesis statement. 

Here are the elements typically included in an introduction paragraph:

• Hook The " hook " is a sentence or two designed to grab the reader's attention. It could be a thought-provoking quote, a surprising fact, or a compelling question. The purpose is to make your reader interested in what you're about to discuss—how an author uses rhetorical devices.
• Background Information After the hook, provide some context. Here, you briefly introduce the text you're analyzing, the author or speaker, and the overall topic. It's like giving your reader a map to navigate through your analysis.
• Thesis Statement The thesis statement is the main argument, your "claim." This concise sentence outlines what you'll be analyzing and what your main points will be. Your thesis should tell the reader what to expect in your analysis.

The body of your essay is where you dissect the author's persuasive techniques and reveal their impact on the audience. It contains sections dedicated to each rhetorical strategy you're examining. 

In these sections, you'll explain the strategies, provide evidence from the text, and offer your insightful analysis of their effectiveness. 

Section for Each Rhetorical Strategy

In the body paragraphs, you'll have sections dedicated to each rhetorical strategy you're analyzing. These sections each will focus on a different aspect of the text. For each strategy, you'll do three things:

• Explanation of the Strategy Start by explaining what the rhetorical technique is. Define it clearly for your reader. This is like providing a dictionary definition.
• Examples from the Text Next, provide examples from the text you're analyzing. These are specific quotes or passages where the author or speaker uses the strategy you're discussing. It's like showing your reader the evidence.
• Analysis of the Effectiveness Finally, analyze how effective the strategy is. This is where you dive deep into the text and explain how and why the strategy persuades the audience. 

The conclusion should leave your readers with a sense of closure and a clear understanding of your analysis. 

You don't introduce new information or arguments in this section; instead, you tie everything together. Here are the three essential elements of an impactful essay conclusion:

• Restate Thesis Start by restating your thesis to remind readers of your main argument. Repeating your main argument clearly helps the reader tie in all they have read in your essay.
• Summarize Main Points Summarize the main points from each section of your analysis. This serves as a reminder of the highlights of your arguments made throughout the essay.
• Final Thoughts Conclude by sharing your thoughts on how the author's strategies affect the audience and the text's broader importance. Encourage readers to consider these strategies' impact and the text's relevance.

This structure in your rhetorical analysis outline ensures that your analysis is clear, well-organized, and persuasive. Each component plays a crucial role in guiding your reader through your analysis.

Steps to Create a Rhetorical Analysis Essay Outline

Creating an essay outline is a crucial step in organizing your thoughts and effectively analyzing a piece of rhetoric. Here are the steps to craft an outline for a rhetorical analysis essay:

Step 1 - Choose the Text

Select the piece of rhetoric that you will be analyzing. It could be a speech, a written essay, an advertisement, a political campaign, or any other form of communication.

Step 2 - Identify Rhetorical Devices and Rhetorical Appeals

Look for rhetorical devices such as metaphor, simile, analogy, hyperbole, and alliteration. Analyze how these devices contribute to the message. Identify any repetition, parallelism, or rhetorical questions used in the text.

Moreover, look for common rhetorical appeals i,e., ethos, pathos, and logos.

Step 3 -  Analyze Appeals and Strategies in Each Section

For each argument, dedicate a body paragraph that will analyze how the author/speaker uses ethos, pathos, and logos.

Note the specific rhetorical devices used in each section and their impact.

Step 4 -  Consider the Effect on the Audience

While outlining the last body paragraph, add points that analyze how the appeals are intended to affect the audience.

Consider whether the author/speaker is trying to persuade, inform, entertain, or provoke a specific emotional response. Include specific examples and quotations from the text to support your analysis.

Step 5 -  Filter Out Extra Information

It's important to know what parts of the arguments should be included and which should be filtered out. 

After having a sketch of the introduction and body paragraphs, remove any information that might feel irrelevant.

Step 6 -  Conclude and Summarize

For the ending, make sure to restate your thesis statement. Include points that directly support your arguments and sum up your analysis.

These steps help you plan your essay for a well-structured, clear, and cohesive essay.

Here's a sample rhetorical analysis essay outline template that analyzes ethos, pathos and logos :

Here’s a practice outline:

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Outline Fill In The Blanks

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Outline Examples

Here are some rhetorical analysis essay outline pdf that you can use as reference outlines:

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Outline Ethos Pathos Logos

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Outline Ap Lang

Visual Rhetorical Analysis Essay Outline

Comparative Rhetorical Analysis Essay Outline

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Introduction Outline

Need more help getting started? Check out these expert rhetorical analysis essay examples to get inspired!

In conclusion, you've got the tools and examples you need to ace your rhetorical analysis essay. The steps we've gone through provide a strong starting point for your academic journey into analyzing persuasive writing. 

But if you ever hit a wall or need help with tight deadlines, don't forget our essay writing service . Our skilled writers have helped lots of students like you get top-notch essays.

So, why wait? Place your order now and set yourself up for academic success!

Nova A. (Literature, Marketing)

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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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.

This resource covers how to write a rhetorical analysis essay of primarily visual texts with a focus on demonstrating the author’s understanding of the rhetorical situation and design principles.

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.

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• Essay Database >
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• Essay on Appeal

Example Of Essay On Rhetorical Analysis Of Advertisements

Type of paper: Essay

Topic: Appeal , Basketball , Audience , American Sports , Middle East , Sports , Public Relations , Advertisement

Words: 2500

Published: 02/18/2020

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Advertisement refers to a form of communication and marketing strategy employed to manipulate, persuade, and convince consumers or a particular group of people to adapt a new course of action or continue with their previous behavior. The main goal of employing advertisement is to change consumer behavior, beliefs, and values towards a particular product or service with the aim to increase the sales volume, profit margin, and market niche. In most cases, people presume that advertising/advertisement means to sell, but this is not the case because advertisements inform and notifies consumers about various products available in the market. However, how do advertisers persuade, convince, encourage, and appeal consumers/ audience to purchase particular products/services or pursue a given course of action? Before answering this question, it is worthy acknowledging that advancement in science and technology has transformed the world of advertisement largely. Advertisers not only use media such as televisions and radios to air their commercial advertisements, but also employ internet, facebook, twitter, and other form of social networking sites. Technology also allows advertisers to design and create appealing and catchy 3-Dimension advertisements, which have high graphic resolutions, and incorporate animated advertisements. Although advertisers use media, internet, and social media to appeal, persuade, and convince the audience, they include various rhetoric tools/means namely: pathos, logos, ethos, kairos, examples, comparison-contrast, and cause-effect in the advertisement in order to elicit the intended effect on the audience. The paper discusses the use and analysis of rhetoric tools (pathos, logos, ethos, and kairos in these two advertisements: “Maybe it’s my fault- Jordan commercial-become a legendary”, and TNT NBA playoffs open 2009: Games of Kings.

Aristotle refers rhetoric as the available tools of persuasion that one uses to appeal, persuade, and convince others to undertake a particular course of action. Most advertisements mainly focus on the use of various means of persuasion when attracting, luring, and appealing consumers to purchase certain products and services; an idea that increases sales volume and profit margin of the business (Hesford & Brueggemann, 2007). Broadly speaking, rhetoric tools are not only used in advertisements, but also in other areas as envisioned on the advertisements of TNT NBA playoffs open 2009: Games of Kings, and Maybe it’s my fault-Jordan commercial-become a legendary. The advertisement entitled, “Maybe it’s my fault-Jordan commercial-become a legendary”, starts with Michael Jordan (a renowned and famous legendary in basketball) holding a basketball in his hands and in an anticipation to score. In the advert, one can see Michael Jordan advising, talking, coaching, and appealing the audience (in this case, a group of young boys with the desire and passion in basketball) to learn tactic, skills, and expertise required to become a legend in basketball. The theme of the advertisement appeals to the youths to value, appreciate, and work hard towards achieving their goals in life and become a legendary in basketball. The advertisement features Michael Jordan narrates his personal experience, victory, drawbacks, and suffering while striving to become a basketball legend. The audience can see the narrators suffering, mastering of skills, drawbacks, and personal resilience towards playing basketball through the use visual rhetoric means, especially the use of 3-Dimension media. The advertisers have used modern media and technology to appeal the youths to play basketball, built their resilience, determination, power, energy, and confidence towards the game. During the narration, Michael Jordan posses a series of rhetoric questions (maybe I) coupled with body movements to elicit a conviction effect that is evident through facial expression of the audience. In the narration, Michael Jordan concludes that he maybe changed the game or the “boys,” are making excuses about the same.

Rhetoric analysis of Michael Jordan advertisement

While analyzing this advertisement, it remains clear that the concept of ethos has been used effectively to appeal and persuade the target group. Ethos means the fundamental ability and art to use another person’s character and credibility to persuade others (Rosengren, 2013). In other words, one uses his/her character to win the consumers trust and authority over a given concept. In most cases, the target group or consumers tend to believe a character who demonstrates high level of expertise, skills, and knowledge, and good will than a character with low level of knowledge about a given concept. In this scenario, ethos emanate from the people behind the advertisements especially the players and narrators, who show that they understand, have skills, competences, and knowledge needed to play basketball. In the case Jordan-commercial advertisement, Michael Jordan (the narrator) uses the words, “Maybe it’s my fault that I changed the game,” to affirm his mastery of basketball. This aspect convinces the audience that when they follow the words and advice of Michael Jordan they will become legendaries in basketball; an aspect that prevail in narrator’s voice. In essence, the narrator persuades the audience by justifying his words through a personal experiences thus winning trust and authority over the target group. In the advertisement, it is evident that the audiences (young players) are attentive to the narrator’s advice because the former believe they will become basketball legends when they follow Michael Jordan advice. Based on this assertion, players tend to believe on the narrators words, experiences, personal observation, and reflections because Michael Jordan remains a legend in basketball. The advert has also integrated the concept of logos in the analysis. Logos refers to presentation of facts, counter claims, logic reason, and evidence in an argument. In the case of Jordan-commercial advertisement, the narrator poses a premise, “Maybe it’s my fault that I made you believe that it was easy when it was not,” but Michael Jordan persuades the audience by providing personal accounts to substantiating this predisposition. In this scenario, the narrator concludes that t-shirts he wore, but rather on hard word, resilience, and determination did not determine his legend. The players (audience) tend to believe on the narrator because facts, evidence, and logic reasoning are embodied in the advertisement. The audience can connect ideas, thoughts, predisposition presented by the advertisers to evaluate logic, and facts associated with the advertisements, and influence their decision towards basketball. The advertisement embodies logical and rational narrations, facts, and evidence to support claims raised by Michael Jordan in the advertisement thus persuading the audience effectively. It is imperative for advertisers to support their argument, presentation, and claims by providing concrete and reliable evidence; an idea that prevails in this advertisement. Pathos is one of the rhetoric tools, which is envisioned and embodied in Michael Jordan advertisement. Pathos refers to emotions and values of the target group and efforts of the character/rhetoric to elicit the emotions on the audience and acknowledge the values. For instance, in the case of Michael Jordan advertisement, the narrator persuades the audience using compassion and love feelings. The narrator states that, “your focus, determination, and resilience speak louder about your achievements and success on the game.” This shows that the narrator is concerned and compassionate over the audience and urges them to inculcate these characters. In the analysis, the narrator portrays basketball as a game that requires players’ to hold and subscribe to certain principles, values, and characters; an idea that promotes professionalism. In normal scenario, audiences are easily convinced and persuaded when they watch an advert that conveys values, principles, and characters, which they treasure and value. In the same breath, audience focus on advertisements, which elicits compassionate emotions to their audience; an aspect that prevails in this advertisement. Kairos remains embodied in the advertisement as illustrated in Michael Jordan narration. Kairos refers to the opportune or correct time and place to strike an argument. In other words, a persuasive argument may not yield positive results because it is not timely and suitable for a given place. In this scenario, the advertisement has considered these features as envisioned in the analysis and narration. The advertisers provide a historical background that sets the premise and favorable environment to persuade the audience. In the advertisement, the narrator strikes a persuasive argument with the audience/players in a basketball pitch because the narrator (Michael Jordan) holds the view that audience would connect with his idea, advice, and predisposition while playing the game. This aspect promotes relevance of the advertisement and persuades the audience. This fact allows the audience to relate the past events with the current aspects and weight over the significance on each event. Other development strategies including comparison-contrast have been used to design the advertisement. The idea behind comparison-contrast strategy is to reveal the uniqueness of the object in question over the other, and in this case, it focuses on basketball and chase games. In the case of Jordan advertisement, the narrator echoes the words, “failure you gave me strength, my pain you gave me motivation.” Such words contradict each other in meaning, but they appeal and persuade the audience to be confident and patient while playing basketball; an idea that is evident in commercial advertisements.

Analysis of advertisements on Games of kings

The advertisement of TNT NBA playoff opens 2009: Games of Kings, features players playing chase and basketball, which are referred as “games of kings.” The advert reveals determination, resilience, skills, competences, and techniques required to emerge a win in chase and basketballs. The advert elaborates on technical skills, which players need to use to attack their opponents. The advertisement articulates that winning “games of kings” need combination and mastering skills, rules, and exhibition of high level of confidence and determination. The narrator urges players to balance their emotion because emotions either exalts or lowers a man’s spirit to win the game In the advertisement, the advertisers have incorporated various rhetoric tools including ethos, pathos, logos, and kairos, to persuade, convince, and appeal to the audience. In the advertisement, the concept of ethos is evident when the narrator states that the first moment does not require movement, but a look on the opponent’s eye; an idea that portrays the narrator as a competent, experienced, and skillful of the game. In this aspect convinces players to maintain an eye contact with the opponents to facilitate one’s chance to become a winner. The narrator uses tonal variation to create different effects and elicit emotions on the audience; an idea that enables the audience trust and believes that, indeed, chase and basketball are games of kings. Additionally, the advertisement portray ethos by using energetic, determined, and confident players who confirm that chase remains a game of kings thus changing character of the game in question. All the players featuring on the advertisement are portrayed as being strong, stern, focused, and determined; an idea that makes the audience believe that anyone playing the games of kings should posses these characters and personality traits. This aspect appeal and persuade the audience because they believe and trust the advertisers as being genuine and trustworthy. The advertisement embodies the concept of logos in its analysis. In this scenario, the narrator appeals to the audience by showing crowds of spectators watching and cheering players play chase and basketball. This creates emotions and reveals that indeed chase and basketball remain games of kings; played by competent, skilled, and experienced players. The narrator use real life examples to show the outcome of mastering various skills of the game by using the words such as “attack, retract, and employ tactics hence persuading the players to remain focused when playing games of kings; a move that further appeals and convinces the audience. Eliciting positive or negative emotions on the audience remains an imperative component in advertising. This aspect is embedded in the manner in which, the advertisers integrate concept of pathos in narration and analysis. The narrator uses negative feelings including anger and fear to persuade the players. This is evident when the narrator states that, “emotions can raise a man or can lower a man.” This means that players/audience needs to maintain a balance their emotion to avoid downfall and propel their victory. Normally, players/ audiences who would not maintain their emotional balance would be destined to a downfall in the game. In the business arena, advertisers use fear and negative emotions to urge consumers to continue purchasing and using particular products/services by conveying negative effects that results from using certain products/services. The advert has integrated the concept of kairos to appeal, persuade, and convince the audience. In the advertisement, the narrator explains the importance of focusing on time when playing the game; an aspect that is evident when the author states, “be mindful of time and do not clock authority over your reason.” This move encourages the players to pay attention to the time aspect prior launching an attack towards the opponent to avoid poor calculation and defeat. The narrator articulates that failure to observe time may affect the outcome of the game and de-motivates players/audience. Advertisers should consider time factor when appealing and convincing their consumers/ audience to create immerse impacts on the intended target population. Narration remains an indispensible component in advertisement as illustrated in the advertisement. The audience and purpose of the advertisement determined the type of voice or tonal variation that the narrator employs in appealing the audience. In the advertisement, the advertisers use calm, stern, and low voice to advise, persuade, and appeal the players to master skills of playing basketball and chase game. In the same breath, the narrator uses the tool of tool variation to elicit feelings, shared values, and compassion to connect with the audience and appeal them to value chase and basketball. The advertisement embodies pictorial and graphical illustrations to reinforce the effects of the words and tonal variation employed by the narrator; an idea that is evident from the audience facial expression. In conclusion, it is clear that rhetoric tools of persuasion play a crucial role in appealing, convincing, and encouraging the target group takes a course of action as envisioned in these two advertisements.

Works cited

. Hesford, W. S., & Brueggemann, B. J. (2007). Rhetorical visions: reading and writing in a visual culture. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson/Prentice Hall. MAYBE IT'S MY FAULT - Jordan Commercial - Become Legendary - YouTube. (2012, February 4). YouTube. Retrieved October 16, 2013, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-EyRUgp9Mk TNT NBA Playoffs Open 2009: Game of Kings - YouTube. (n.d.). YouTube. Retrieved October 16, 2013, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwPk9_TEdaQ Rosengren, S. (2013). Advances in advertising research. Wiesbaden: Springer Gabler

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Rhetorical Analysis Essay

Want a sweet date? Get Corolla!

            Advertisement is a handy tool for companies or organizations to promote their products, service or ideas, etc. Image advertisement may include a lot of information into one piece of flyer. Besides creative promoting ideas, target audience and values companies or organizations trying to share to their viewers are also important elements of an advertisement.

While I was doing my research online, an interesting TOYOTA image advertisement caught my attention. The only image in the advertisement is a white female who is about twenty-five to thirty years old. The image only shows her face and her shoulder. It seems like she is sitting and putting her arms on a desk while her hands are holding her face. Her face expression shows that she enjoys taking this photo because she is smiling gently. There are two messages with big and bold letters around her image saying “I once kissed a guy on the first date” and “I drive a Corolla.” There is also a message with smaller letters at the left bottom corner saying “Interesting cars for interesting people” and a TOYOTA logo on the right bottom corner.

The thesis of this car advertisement is that TOYOTA is trying to promote people to buy their Corolla because it is a nice and interesting car. The support of the thesis would be the text and the image showed in the advertisement. “I once kissed a guy on the first date” shows that the woman is brave and decisive. She is the type of person who is not afraid to take the risk to grip what he/she wants. Now she drives a Corolla. Similar to her date, she takes a risk now to try Corolla. By looking at the woman’s face expression, we can tell she is satisfied about what she gets – her date and Corolla. Her smile indirectly proves TOYOTA’s claim. The woman is not regretting buying a Corolla, and you will not regret if you get one as well. By saying “Interesting cars for interesting people”, TOYOTA categorizes Corolla as interesting and special cars. If you own a Corolla, you are fashionable, special, and you have a good taste. So why not get one?

The warrants of this advertisement would be spirit of adventure and fun. The warrants are not directly stated in the advertisement. However, since TOYOTA believes that kissing a guy on the first date is a good try, we can imply that TOYOTA believes their consumers like to take risks to experience new products as well. Customers are excited to try exciting stuff and have fun. TOYOTA also assumes that people like to be considered interesting and special. If majority of the population just want to be “normal” not “interesting”, then the text “Interesting cars for interesting people” will be pointless. TOYOTA is selling a typical adventurous life style.

The qualifier of this advertisement can be an issue. This advertisement gives people a sense that this car is only for those people who like to take a risk. However, from our common knowledge, we know TOYOTA is a famous Japanese brand and is well know for its good product quality. For those of people who do not know much about TOYOTA, about Corolla, this advertisement could be misleading. Some potential customers may be scared away just by reading this advertisement. On the other hand, the image of the woman enlarges the range of potential consumers. The woman in the advertisement is pretty, but not as sexy as many other female images we see from other advertisements today. Comparing to other super models, this woman is a “normal” person, just like you and me. It is trying to promote an idea that Corolla can be for anyone.

More and more advertisements today start to use the idea of sex to attract people’s attention on their products. Does driving a car necessarily have a connection with having a date? Probably no. However, when I first read this advertisement, I felt it was so reasonable, and the message really made sense to me. Why? One may argue that because this is what is happening in the reality and this is the truth. However, did people accept the same idea twenty years ago? Fifty years ago? A hundred years ago? The idea in the advertisement itself could be a qualifier. Older people may not accept this idea at all. Even my dad has concern about “kissing a guy on the first date”, and he is just 53 years old. Thus, this advertisement is limited to target fairly young population by its own promoting idea.

Some people may not agree on taking a risk. They may value safety and their lives on the first place instead of fun while driving. One indirect rebuttal in this advertisement would be the use of a female image. Female are usually characterized as loving and caring. Female drivers often drive carefully, slowly and safely. If Corolla can satisfy her, then there should be no problem for those who do not like taking risk to try Corolla. There is not really a backing in this advertisement. However, one possible backing TOYOTA could add into this advertisement would be safety measurement. Giving statistics to show customers that their cars are safe is the most direct and efficient way to back up possible safety concerns. Customers can have fun and be safe at the same time. Adding statistics will also make this advertisement more competitive. Consumers can quickly compare Corolla to other cars and make their decisions.

People view tons of advertisements every day on newspaper, magazines and Internet, etc. It is important for people to understand the elements of an advertisement and the tricks it is using. People should beware of details and not be bamboozled.

* References will be provided under tab “Works Cited”.

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Rhetorical Analysis Essay

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example

Top 15+ Rhetorical Analysis Essay Examples for Students

Published on: Mar 10, 2023

Last updated on: Oct 30, 2023

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How To Write A Rhetorical Analysis Essay That Stands Out

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Rhetorical Analysis Essay Outline - Tips & Examples

Understanding Ethos, Pathos, Logos - The Three Rhetorical Appeals

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Writing a rhetorical analysis essay can be tough. You want to engage your reader, but you also need to provide clear and concise analysis of the text. 

It's hard to know where to start, what information is important, and how to make your argument clear. 

Don't fret! We've got you covered. 

In this blog post, we'll give you 15+ Rhetorical analysis essay examples to help you craft a winning essay. Plus, we'll give you some tips on how to make your essay stand out.

So without a further delay, let's start!

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Good Rhetorical Analysis Essay Examples

Examples help the readers to understand things in a better way. They also help a writer to compose an essay just like professionals.

Here are some amazing rhetorical analysis examples on different topics. Use them as a helping hand to understand the concept and write a good essay.

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example: AP Language

Rhetorical analysis done in AP Language and Composition is one of the biggest tasks a student can ever get. On the same hand, drafting it in a proper way is also necessary to get good grades.

Look at these rhetorical analysis essay example AP language given below to see how a well-written rhetorical essay is written.

AP Rhetorical analysis essay example

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example Ap Lang 2020

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example Ap Lang 2021

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example AP Lang 2022

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example AP Lang 2023

These rhetorical analysis essay example college board will help you to win over your panel in no time!

Want to start from the basics? Head over to our Rhetorical essay guide to solidify your base.

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example: Ted Talk

A rhetorical analysis can be done on nearly anything. Here is a good example of a rhetorical essay in which a ted talk is being analyzed.

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example: Ethos, Pathos, Logos

The first impression of these three terms sounds just like a conjuration in some kind of a magical story. But in fact, these elements of persuasion were created by Aristotle and have been used for a very long time.

According to Aristotle, they were the primary persuasive strategies that authors should use in their papers. These elements are further elaborated as follows:

• The ethos appeals to ethics.
• Pathos appeals to emotions.
• Logos mean the use of rational thinking.

Here is an example of a rhetorical essay written using these elements.

Understand Ethos,Pathos and Logos to write a compelling essay.

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example for College

College students often get to write a rhetorical analysis essay. They find it hard to write such an essay because it is a bit more technical than other essay types.

Here is an example of a well-written rhetorical essay for college students.

Comparative Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example

A rhetorical analysis essay can be written to show a comparison between two objects. Here is a compare-and-contrast rhetorical analysis essay example.

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Visual Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example

The visual rhetorical essay determines how pictures and images communicate messages and persuade the audience. Usually, visual rhetorical essays are written for advertisements. They use strong images to convince the audience to behave in a certain way.

Visual Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example Pdf

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example: Letter from Birmingham Jail

Here is another good example of a rhetorical essay. Most of us know about the history of “letter from a Birmingham jail”. Read the given example to see how rhetorical analysis is done on it.

Struggling for a similar good topic? Check out our amazing rhetorical essay topics to select the perfect theme for your essay.

Great Influenza: Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example

Influenza has been one of the scariest pandemics the world has faced in history. Here is a rhetorical essay on great influenza.

Great influenza: Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example

Condoleezza Rice Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example

The speech given by Condoleezza Rice has become a classic example of effective oratory. Here is an example of a rhetorical analysis essay on the speech given by Condoleezza Rice at a commencement ceremony.

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example: Condoleezza Rice’s Commencement Speech

This example explores the effectiveness of Rice's speech and features an in-depth analysis. 

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example High School

High school essays involve the analysis of different texts and the application of rhetorical tools to those texts. Here is an example that focuses on a high school essay about the effects of television on society. 

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example (Pdf)

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example MLA

MLA format is one of the most commonly used formats for essays. Here is an example of a rhetorical essay written in MLA format that focuses on the effectiveness of advertisements. 

MLA Rhetorical Analysis Essay PDF

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example Outline

Outline helps to organize the ideas and arguments that you want to present in your essay. Here is a sample outline that can help you write an effective rhetorical analysis essay.

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example Outline sample

Hop on to our rhetorical essay outline guide to learn the step-by-step process of crafting an exemplary outline.

How to Start a Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example

When starting a rhetorical analysis essay, it is important to provide a brief overview of the topic that you are analyzing. This should include the overall message being conveyed, the target audience and the rhetorical devices used in the text. 

Here is a rhetorical analysis introduction example for your ease.

Thesis Statement Example for Rhetorical Analysis Essay

The thesis statement of a rhetorical analysis essay should explain the primary argument being made in the text. Here is an example of a thesis statement for a rhetorical analysis essay for your ease.

Example of Rhetorical Analysis Thesis Statement

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example Conclusion

The conclusion of a rhetorical analysis essay is an important part of the overall essay. It should summarize your main points and provide some final thoughts on the topic. 

Here is an example of conclusion for a rhetorical analysis essay for your ease.

Download this  Rhetorical Analysis Essay Writing Manual to help gather all the relevant guidance for your rhetorical essay.

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Writing Manual (PDF)

Watch this video to understand how to select Rhetorical analysis essay evidences.

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Writing Tips

To write a rhetorical analysis essay, you must have good writing skills. Writing a rhetorical essay is a technical task to do. This is why many students find it really difficult.

There are the following things that you should do to write a good rhetorical analysis essay. Those important things are as follows:

• Determine the Rhetorical Strategy

To write a rhetorical essay, the writer needs to follow a specific method for research. The typical research methods used for this particular essay are as follows:

• Choose a Topic

For any essay type, it is very important to have a good topic. A good topic seeks the readers of attention and convinces them to read the complete essay.

• Create a Rhetorical Analysis Outline

An outline is an essential part of essay writing. The outline provides a definite structure to the essay and also guides the reader throughout the essay. A  rhetorical analysis outline  has the following elements in it:

• Introduction
• Body paragraphs

These three elements let you describe the entire idea of your rhetorical analysis essay. These three elements are further written with the help of sub-elements.

• Develop a Thesis Statement

The  thesis statement is yet another important part of essay writing. It is the essence of the entire essay. It may be a sentence or two explaining the whole idea of your essay. However, not give background information about the topic.

• Proofread and Edit

The formal terminology used for essay revision is known as proofreading. To make sure that your essay is error-free, repeat this process more than once.

Now let's wrap up , shall we?

So far we have provided you with the best rhetorical analysis examples that are sure to win over your panel. With our help, you can surely sfe guard your academic success journey in no time!

In case you think you can not write such an essay on your own, consult an essay writing service.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What are the 3 parts of rhetorical analysis.

The three parts of rhetorical analysis are: 

• Ethos 
• Logos 
• Pathos 

What are the elements of a rhetorical analysis?

The main elements of a rhetorical analysis essay are: 

• Situation 
• Audience 
• Purpose 
• Medium 
• Context 

Is there any difference between AP lang rhetorical analysis essay example 2020 and AP lang rhetorical analysis essay example 2021?

Yes, there are differences between 2020 and 2021 AP Language and Composition rhetorical analysis essay examples.

• In 2020 the essay prompts revolved around various social issues related to public discourse. In 2021 they mainly focused on the ideas of justice or progress. 
• In 2020 students were encouraged to write a multi-paragraph essay shifting back and forth between creative devices of rhetoric. While in 2021 more emphasis was placed on analyzing how well an author's argument is structured.

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Rhetorical Analysis Definition and Examples

The analysis can be used on any communication, even a bumper sticker

• An Introduction to Punctuation

Sample Rhetorical Analyses

Examples and observations, analyzing effects, analyzing greeting card verse, analyzing starbucks, rhetorical analysis vs. literary criticism.

• Ph.D., Rhetoric and English, University of Georgia
• M.A., Modern English and American Literature, University of Leicester
• B.A., English, State University of New York

Rhetorical analysis is a form of criticism or close reading that employs the principles of rhetoric to examine the interactions between a text, an author, and an audience . It's also called rhetorical criticism or pragmatic criticism.

Rhetorical analysis may be applied to virtually any text or image—a speech , an essay , an advertisement, a poem, a photograph, a web page, even a bumper sticker. When applied to a literary work, rhetorical analysis regards the work not as an aesthetic object but as an artistically structured instrument for communication. As Edward P.J. Corbett has observed, rhetorical analysis "is more interested in a literary work for what it does than for what it is."

• A Rhetorical Analysis of Claude McKay's "Africa"
• A Rhetorical Analysis of E.B. White's "The Ring of Time"
• A Rhetorical Analysis of U2's "Sunday Bloody Sunday"
• "Our response to the character of the author—whether it is called ethos, or 'implied author,' or style , or even tone—is part of our experience of his work, an experience of the voice within the masks, personae , of the work...Rhetorical criticism intensifies our sense of the dynamic relationships between the author as a real person and the more or less fictive person implied by the work." (Thomas O. Sloan, "Restoration of Rhetoric to Literary Study." The Speech Teacher )
• "[R]hetorical criticism is a mode of analysis that focuses on the text itself. In that respect, it is like the practical criticism that the New Critics and the Chicago School indulge in. It is unlike these modes of criticism in that it does not remain inside the literary work but works outward from the text to considerations of the author and the audience...In talking about the ethical appeal in his 'Rhetoric,' Aristotle made the point that although a speaker may come before an audience with a certain antecedent reputation, his ethical appeal is exerted primarily by what he says in that particular speech before that particular audience. Likewise, in rhetorical criticism, we gain our impression of the author from what we can glean from the text itself—from looking at such things as his ideas and attitudes, his stance, his tone, his style. This reading back to the author is not the same sort of thing as the attempt to reconstruct the biography of a writer from his literary work. Rhetorical criticism seeks simply to ascertain the particular posture or image that the author is establishing in this particular work in order to produce a particular effect on a particular audience." (Edward P.J. Corbett, "Introduction" to " Rhetorical Analyses of Literary Works ")

"[A] complete   rhetorical analysis requires the researcher to move beyond identifying and labeling in that creating an inventory of the parts of a text represents only the starting point of the analyst's work. From the earliest examples of rhetorical analysis to the present, this analytical work has involved the analyst in interpreting the meaning of these textual components—both in isolation and in combination—for the person (or people) experiencing the text. This highly interpretive aspect of rhetorical analysis requires the analyst to address the effects of the different identified textual elements on the perception of the person experiencing the text. So, for example, the analyst might say that the presence of feature x will condition the reception of the text in a particular way. Most texts, of course, include multiple features, so this analytical work involves addressing the cumulative effects of the selected combination of features in the text." (Mark Zachry, "Rhetorical Analysis" from " The Handbook of Business Discourse , " Francesca Bargiela-Chiappini, editor)

"Perhaps the most pervasive type of repeated-word sentence used in greeting card verse is the sentence in which a word or group of words is repeated anywhere within the sentence, as in the following example:

In quiet and thoughtful ways , in happy and fun ways , all ways , and always , I love you.

In this sentence, the word ways is repeated at the end of two successive phrases, picked up again at the beginning of the next phrase, and then repeated as part of the word always . Similarly, the root word all initially appears in the phrase 'all ways' and is then repeated in a slightly different form in the homophonic word always . The movement is from the particular ('quiet and thoughtful ways,' 'happy and fun ways'), to the general ('all ways'), to the hyperbolic ('always')." (Frank D'Angelo, "The Rhetoric of Sentimental Greeting Card Verse." Rhetoric Review )

"Starbucks not just as an institution or as a set of verbal discourses or even advertising but as a material and physical site is deeply rhetorical...Starbucks weaves us directly into the cultural conditions of which it is constitutive. The color of the logo, the performative practices of ordering, making, and drinking the coffee, the conversations around the tables, and the whole host of other materialities and performances of/in Starbucks are at once the rhetorical claims and the enactment of the rhetorical action urged. In short, Starbucks draws together the tripartite relationships among place, body, and subjectivity. As a material/rhetorical place, Starbucks addresses and is the very site of a comforting and discomforting negotiation of these relationships." (Greg Dickinson, "Joe's Rhetoric: Finding Authenticity at Starbucks." Rhetoric Society Quarterly )

"What essentially are the differences between literary criticism analysis and rhetorical analysis? When a critic explicates Ezra Pound's Canto XLV , for example, and shows how Pound inveighs against usury as an offense against nature that corrupts society and the arts, the critic must point out the 'evidence'—the 'artistic proofs' of example and enthymeme [a formal syllogistic argument that is incompletely stated}—that Pound has drawn upon for his fulmination. The critic will also call attention to the 'arrangement' of the parts of that argument as a feature of the 'form' of the poem just as he may inquire into the language and syntax. Again these are matters that Aristotle assigned mainly to rhetoric...

"All critical essays dealing with the persona of a literary work are in reality studies of the 'Ethos' of the 'speaker' or 'narrator'—the voice—source of the rhythmic language which attracts and holds the kind of readers the poet desires as his audience, and the means this persona consciously or unconsciously chooses, in Kenneth Burke's term, to 'woo' that reader-audience." (Alexander Scharbach, "Rhetoric and Literary Criticism: Why Their Separation." College Composition and Communication )

• Audience Analysis in Speech and Composition
• Definition and Examples of Ethos in Classical Rhetoric
• A Rhetorical Analysis of U2's 'Sunday Bloody Sunday'
• Invented Ethos (Rhetoric)
• Rhetoric: Definitions and Observations
• What Is Phronesis?
• Feminist Literary Criticism
• Deliberative Rhetoric
• An Introduction to Rhetorical Questions
• Use Social Media to Teach Ethos, Pathos and Logos
• Enthymeme - Definition and Examples
• Persuasion and Rhetorical Definition
• Pathos in Rhetoric
• Definition and Examples of Rhetorical Stance
• Definition and Examples of Analysis in Composition
• The 10 Best Literary Theory and Criticism Books

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Rhetorical Analysis of Ad

The power of an advert is its ability to convince the audience to believe its message. Advertisers employ pathos, ethos, and logos to persuade their audience to buy their products. The effectiveness of these appeals determines the power of an advert to persuade the audience believes whichever information is being given. One of the brands that try to make their ads as persuasive as possible is Red Bull, a manufacturer of an energy drink consumed in various countries worldwide. The Red Bull ad below has a statement, “MINDS, LIKE PENCILS, WORK BETTER WHEN SHARP,” and a sketch of a human with a bull’s head flying while seated on a pencil. Based on the features of the ad, it appears that the author used ethos and pathos effectively but did not employ logos, making it less persuasive to the audience.

(Kastner and Partners 1)

The advert has features that provide an idea about the target audience. The target audience for the Redbull advert is scholars or students. The slogan on the advert is “MINDS, LIKE PENCILS, WORK BETTER WHEN SHARP .”The man is seated on a pencil with a sharp end, and his hand is holding a book and in front of him is what looks like a computer (Kastner and Partners 1). All the items suggest that he is a student or a scholar. Students and scholars or scholars need pencils, books, and laptops.

The advert also employs pathos. Pathos is used in advertisements or other public announcements to evoke the audience’s emotions (Copper and Rosemary 38). An example of pathos is when the pursued says, “It is very exciting to enjoy a can of Red Bull when doing your study” or “It is so sad to see parents allowing children to play in the cold. In the image, the sitting position of the man with the bull’s head creates a sense of comfort while the smile evokes happiness in the audience. Imagining that the bull is smiling is alone enough to evoke happiness in the audience. The sense of motion in the graphic evokes excitement in the audience. Pathos makes the audience believe the message and want to be associated with it. It can also create a sense of pity and make the audience sad about an issue (Copper and Rosemary 38). In the case of the Red Bull advert being analyzed, pathos is employed to evoke happiness and a sense of comfort. Everyone would need a drink that brings about happiness. The sense of happiness evoked by the image is reinforced by the writings below saying, “RED BULL GIVES YOU WINGS” (Kastner and Partners 1). The statement makes the audience understand why the man with the bull’s head is laughing. The graphic and the writing works together to convince the audience that Red Bull is the best energy drink for someone who wants to win.

The advert also employs ethos. It involves the use of credibility or the authority of the persuader to convince the audience (Cooper and Rosemary 38). A good example of ethos is when one says, “As an experienced doctor, I can assure you that this medication will clear your illnesses within a week. The mention of the words “experienced doctor” makes the audience believe what one is saying because one is an expert in the field. Another example of ethos is when one says, “The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that every person above the age of sixteen should be vaccinated against COVID-19. Here, the mention of WHO gives the whole statement credibility and can convince the audience to believe in whatever one is saying. In the case of the Red Bull advert, the words “MINDS, LIKE PENCILS, WORK BETTER WHEN SHARP” (Kastner and Partners 1). This statement is authoritative because of how it is written with confidence. The confidence in the statement is reinforced by the fact that it is written in capital letters.

The advert being explored does not employ logos making it less effective in persuading the audience to believe that the brand sharpens the mind. Logos is an appeal to logic or reason and may involve using evidence to support the persuader’s statement (Cooper and Rosemary 39). An example of using a logo in persuasion is when someone says,” The census data clearly shows that that the number of women in the country was double that of men .”Here, the census data shows that the number of women is higher than that of men. The appeal to reason in the advert is not apparent, but the two cans of Red Bull make the audience understand what it is all about. In addition, the man featured in the advert has a reddish head of a bull. This, together with the statement at the bottom, “RED BULL GIVES YOU WIIINGS,” makes it clear that the advert is for the brand. However, having Red Bull at the bottom of the advert makes the audience associate it will all the good things about it written at the top and relate it to the graphic.

The genre in which the advert belongs is not specific, but it was retrieved from Kastner and Partners advertisement agency. The advertisement made by the agency targets different groups depending on the brand they feature. In the case of the Red Bull advert, the most probable target group is young people, especially those still in school. It associates the brand with a sharp mind (Kastner & Partners 1). The fact that this advert is on the website for Kastner and Partners advertisement agency may not have impacted its content because the firm does not deal with specific types of advertisement. It advertises different brands from different manufacturers.

In conclusion, the Red Bull advert employed only pathos and ethos but not logos, making it less effective in convincing the audience about the brand. The audience would have wanted to know how the brand sharpens the mind like a pencil and how many people use it in the US or elsewhere. In other words, it was important for the advert to have a credible source of evidence to support its claims. The persuader should have included statements such as “Over eighty percent of athletes love Red Bull .”Such a statement would appeal to logic better than what is given in the advertisement. Such a statement would convince the audience that the brand is good because many people are already using it. Although the ad did not employ logos, it included elements to let the audience know the advertised brand.

Works Cited

Cooper, Sheila, and Rosemary Patton.  Writing Logically, Thinking Critically . , 2015. Print.

Kastner and Partners.Red Bull Energy Drink – “Study 1”. 2020. Accessed on September 5, 2022, from,https://www.adforum.com/creative-work/ad/player/12656264/study-1/red-bull-energy-drink

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How to Write a Rhetorical Analysis Essay

What Is a Rhetorical Analysis Essay: Definition

If you're tasked with defining -'what is a rhetorical analysis essay?', our dissertation service provides a thorough explanation of the topic.

A rhetorical analysis essay requires you to analyze a piece of writing, speech, or another form of communication to determine how effectively the author or speaker has used rhetorical strategies to convey their message. A rhetorical analysis aims to identify the techniques used by the author or speaker to persuade their audience and evaluate the effectiveness of those techniques in achieving the intended goal.

One rhetorical essay example might be an analysis of a political speech. In this case, you would examine how the speaker uses language, tone, and other rhetorical strategies to appeal to their audience. You would also evaluate how successfully those strategies convey the speaker's message. Another example of rhetorical analysis essay might be analyzing a piece of advertising. Here, you would examine how the advertiser uses visual and verbal cues to persuade their audience to buy a particular product or service, and you would evaluate the effectiveness of those cues in achieving that goal.

In short, a rhetorical analysis essay analyzes how language and other persuasive strategies are used to achieve a particular goal. By carefully examining the techniques used by an author or speaker, you can gain a deeper understanding of how language and persuasion work and develop your skills as a communicator.

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Prompt

When given a rhetorical analysis essay prompt, it is important to carefully analyze the prompt to understand the assignment's expectations. The prompt will typically provide you with a text to analyze and a set of specific questions or tasks to guide your analysis.

Here are two different prompts for rhetorical analysis examples:

• Analyze the use of rhetorical strategies in Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'I Have a Dream' speech. Identify at least three specific rhetorical strategies used by King, and evaluate their effectiveness in achieving his goal of promoting civil rights for African Americans.
• Analyze the use of visual rhetoric in a recent political advertisement. Identify the specific visual and verbal cues used by the ad's creator, and evaluate how those cues are used to persuade the viewer. Consider the ad's intended audience and the creator's goal in shaping the viewer's perception.

In both of these prompts, the key to a successful rhetorical analysis essay is to carefully analyze the text or visual rhetoric to identify the specific strategies used to persuade the audience and to evaluate the effectiveness of those strategies in achieving the intended goal.

Rhetorical Analysis Strategies

There are three universal methods of persuasion—also called rhetorical strategies. To handle the task, you need to have a good understanding of these strategies and their use.

So, what are the 3 rhetorical strategies? Let’s define each and look closer at their key attributes with our dissertation service :

The ethos rhetorical device is what establishes the author’s credibility in a literary piece. Simply put, the skillful use of this strategy is what helps readers determine whether or not a particular author can be trusted on a specific matter. Credibility is defined by the author’s expertise, knowledge, and moral competence for any particular subject. According to Aristotle, there are three categories of ethos: arete (virtue, goodwill), phronesis (useful skills & wisdom), and eunoia (goodwill towards the audience).

For example, when the author of a book is a well-known expert in a specific subject, or when a product is advertised by a famous person – these are uses of ethos for persuasion. 

According to the pathos literary definition, this Greek word translates to “experience,” “suffering,” or “emotion” and is one of the three methods of persuasion authors are able to use to appeal to their readers’ emotions. In a nutshell, the key goal of this strategy is to elicit certain feelings (e.g. happiness, sympathy, pity, anger, compassion, etc.) in their audience with the sole goal of persuading them of something. The main goal is to help readers relate to the author’s identity and ideas.

Some of the common ways to use pathos in rhetoric are through:

• Storytelling;
• Personal anecdotes, etc.

Just to give you an example, when you see an advertisement that shows sad, loveless animals and it asks you to donate money to an animal shelter or adopt an animal – that’s clear use of emotional appeal in persuasion.

According to the logos literary definition, this word translates from Greek as “ground,” “plea,” “reason,” “opinion,” etc. This rhetorical strategy is solely logical; so, unlike ethos or pathos that rely on credibility or emotions, the logos rhetorical device is used to persuade readers through the use of critical thinking, facts, numbers and statistics, and other undeniable data.

For example, when the author of a literary piece makes a statement and supports it with valid facts – that’s logos.

These three strategies: logos, ethos, and pathos play an essential role in writing a rhetorical analysis essay. The better you understand them, the easier you will be able to determine how successful the author of the assigned text was in using them. Now, let’s take a look at how to start.

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example

For a better understanding, take a careful look at our analysis sample essay. This will serve as an inspiration for your assignment.

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example:

Get a better idea of what’s needed to master this type of writing. Take a look at our rhetorical analysis essay example, which was written by one of our professional writers.

Choosing Rhetorical Analysis Topics

Choosing a rhetorical analysis topic can be a challenging task, but there are several strategies you can use to identify a suitable topic.

• Consider your interests and passion. Think about the texts that have had the most significant impact on you and that you feel passionate about analyzing. This can include speeches, essays, advertisements, or even social media posts.
• Explore current events or issues that are relevant to your life or the lives of those around you . Analyzing a timely and relevant text can add depth and meaning to your analysis and may also make it more engaging to your audience.
• Look for texts that have had a significant impact on society or culture. This could include classic speeches, historical documents, or even popular cultural texts such as music videos or movies.
• Reflect on the scope of your analysis once you have identified a few potential topics. Make sure the text is complex enough to analyze in detail but not so dense or lengthy that it becomes overwhelming. Additionally, ensure enough information is available to support your analysis and provide context for your arguments.

Unique Rhetorical Analysis Essay Topics

Now if you're wondering - 'what is a rhetorical analysis essay example that stands out?', consider the following rhetorical analysis essay topics from our ' write my paper for me ' expert writers:

• The rhetorical strategies used in a political speech
• The effectiveness of an advertisement in persuading its target audience
• The use of figurative language in a poem or song
• The rhetorical techniques used in a famous historical document, such as the Declaration of Independence or the Gettysburg Address
• The use of social media to convey a message or persuade an audience
• The use of humor in a comedic TV show or movie
• The rhetorical devices used in a TED talk or other popular talk
• The use of imagery in a work of literature, such as a novel or short story
• The persuasive techniques used in a persuasive essay or editorial
• The use of language in a product review or critique of a work of art or literature.

High School Rhetorical Analysis Essay Topics

With these high school rhetorical analysis essay topics, you can start your analysis and produce a strong and effective essay.

• The use of persuasive techniques in a political campaign ad
• The rhetorical strategies used in a famous speech, such as Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'I Have a Dream' speech
• The use of imagery and symbolism in a work of literature, such as William Golding's 'Lord of the Flies.'
• The persuasive techniques used in a college application essay
• The rhetorical devices used in a poem, such as Robert Frost's 'The Road Not Taken.'
• The use of humor in a satirical TV show or movie
• The rhetorical strategies used in a popular YouTube video or podcast
• The use of emotional appeals in a charity or non-profit advertisement
• The rhetorical devices used in a historical document, such as the Constitution or the Bill of Rights
• The persuasive techniques used in a personal essay or memoir.

College Rhetorical Analysis Essay Topics

Here are ten college-level topics you can use for your ap rhetorical analysis essay:

• The use of persuasive techniques in a political speech delivered by a contemporary leader
• The rhetorical strategies used in a famous literary work, such as Toni Morrison's 'Beloved.'
• The use of figurative language and literary devices in a contemporary poem or song
• The persuasive techniques used in a corporate advertising campaign or public relations effort
• The rhetorical devices used in a contemporary work of art, such as a painting or sculpture
• The use of emotional appeals in a documentary or film exploring a social issue
• The rhetorical strategies used in a scientific research paper or article
• The use of humor and satire in a contemporary TV show or movie
• The persuasive techniques used in a political opinion editorial published in a major newspaper or online media outlet
• The rhetorical devices used in a speech delivered at a significant historical event, such as the Stonewall Riots or the March on Washington.

2023 Rhetorical Analysis Essay Topics

Here are some unique rhetorical analysis essay topics for 2023 from our essay writing service :

• The use of rhetorical strategies in a popular TikTok video or trend
• The persuasive techniques used in a social media influencer's sponsored post
• The rhetorical devices used in a podcast episode exploring a current social issue
• The use of visual rhetoric in a contemporary art exhibit or installation
• The rhetorical strategies used in a political satire TV show, such as 'The Daily Show with Trevor Noah.'
• The persuasive techniques used in a climate change awareness campaign
• The use of rhetorical devices in a contemporary speech given by a notable public figure, such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez or Greta Thunberg
• The rhetorical strategies used in popular video games, such as 'Fortnite.'
• The use of emotional appeals in a recent documentary film, such as 'The Social Dilemma.'
• The persuasive techniques used in a contemporary marketing campaign for a popular fashion brand.

How to Write a Rhetorical Analysis: Step-by-Step

Writing a rhetorical analysis essay can be a valuable skill for students of all disciplines, as it requires various forms of critical thinking, analysis, and evaluation of communication. Whether you are analyzing a political speech, a work in academic writing, or a visual advertisement, following these steps can help you write a compelling and insightful rhetorical analysis essay.

• Analyze the Text : The first step in writing a rhetorical analysis is carefully reading and analyzing the text. Look for the author's purpose, the target audience, and the text's context. Take note of any rhetorical devices, such as metaphors, repetition, or appeals to ethos, pathos, or logos, that the author uses to convey their message.
• Organize Your Analysis: After the actual analysis, organize your thoughts into an outline or structure for your analysis. Begin with an introduction that provides some background information on the text and the author's purpose. Then, break down the text into smaller sections and analyze each in detail. Use specific examples from the text to support your analysis.
• Write Your Analysis : With your outline or structure in place, you can begin writing your analysis. Start with an attention-grabbing introduction that sets the tone for your analysis. Then, work through your analysis, using specific examples from the text to support your arguments. Provide the summary in your rhetorical analysis conclusion and a final statement about the author's effectiveness using key rhetorical concepts.

If you need extra help with the proper way to cite in MLA or understanding how to title an essay , contact our team of skilled writers.

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Rhetorical Techniques 

You'll need to employ some rhetorical techniques to write good rhetorical analysis essays. These are persuasive strategies used to appeal to an audience and effectively communicate a message. Three of the most commonly used techniques, otherwise known as the rhetorical triangle, are ethos, pathos, and logos.

Ethos refers to the credibility and authority of the speaker or writer. It involves establishing oneself as a trustworthy and knowledgeable source to persuade the audience through ethical appeal. Ethos can be established through professional credentials, moral argument, personal experience, or other forms of expertise.

Pathos refers to the use of emotional appeals to persuade an audience. This can be accomplished through vivid imagery, powerful language, and relatable stories or experiences. The goal of pathos is to evoke strong emotional reactions in the audience, such as empathy, compassion, or outrage.

Logos refers to the use of logic and reason to persuade an audience. It involves providing factual information, statistics, and other evidence to support the arguments presented. Logos uses logical appeal and effectively convinces them to adopt a particular viewpoint.

Rhetorical Essay Outline

Here is a detailed outline for writing a rhetorical essay, along with examples:

I. Introduction

A. Background information on the topic

B. Rhetorical analysis essay thesis statement

C. Brief overview of the rhetorical analysis

Rhetorical analysis introduction example: The concept of freedom has been a fundamental aspect of American society since its inception. In the speech 'I Have a Dream' delivered by Martin Luther King Jr. in 1963, the issue of freedom and equality for African Americans is passionately addressed through the use of rhetorical devices. This essay will analyze King's use of ethos, pathos, and logos to persuade his audience and convey his message of equality and freedom.

A. Explanation of ethos and its importance

B. Examples of ethos in the text

C. Analysis of the effectiveness of ethos in the speech

Example: King establishes his credibility as a speaker through ethos by referencing his role as a Baptist minister and a leader in the civil rights movement. He also appeals to the authority of the founding fathers and the Constitution to support his argument for equality. By using these sources of authority, King gains the trust and respect of his audience, making them more likely to accept his message.

III. Pathos

A. Explanation of pathos and its importance

B. Examples of pathos in the text

C. Analysis of the effectiveness of pathos in the speech

Example: King uses pathos by employing emotional language and vivid imagery to elicit strong emotions from his audience. For example, he uses phrases like 'sweltering heat of injustice' and 'the quicksands of racial injustice' to create a sense of urgency and desperation in his listeners. By tapping into their emotions, King is able to create a powerful connection with his audience and inspire them to take action.

A. Explanation of logos and its importance

B. Examples of logos in the text

C. Analysis of the effectiveness of logos in the speech

Example: King also uses logos by presenting logical arguments and evidence to support his message. For instance, he references the Emancipation Proclamation and the Declaration of Independence to argue that the American promise of freedom and equality should apply to all citizens. He also uses statistics to highlight the economic and social disparities faced by African Americans. King reinforces his message and persuades his audience to take action by presenting a logical and well-supported argument.

V. Conclusion

A. Restate thesis statement

B. Summarize the main points

C. Concluding thoughts

Example: In conclusion, Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'I Have a Dream' speech is a powerful example of effective rhetoric. By using ethos, pathos, and logos, King is able to persuade his audience and convey his message of freedom and equality for all. His speech continues to inspire people today and serves as a reminder of the power of rhetoric to effect change.

Meanwhile, if you'd like a perfect literary analysis in APA essay format done by expert writers, reach out to us for help.

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To ensure that you complete the outline correctly

Feel free to ask one of our writers for help.

Steps to Polish Your Rhetorical Analysis

Here are some steps you can take to polish your rhetorical analysis. By following these steps, you can improve the quality and effectiveness of your rhetorical analysis.

• Re-read the text: To ensure that you have a comprehensive understanding of the text, read it several times. Pay attention to the language, structure, and overall tone of the text.
• Identify the author's purpose : Determine the author's main goal in writing the text. Are they trying to inform, persuade, or entertain? Understanding the author's purpose will help you analyze the text more effectively.
• Analyze the rhetorical situation: Consider the context in which the text was written. Who is the intended audience? What is the author's background, and how might that influence their writing? Understanding the rhetorical situation will help you understand the purpose and effectiveness of the rhetorical techniques used in the text.
• Identify the rhetorical techniques used: Look for specific techniques used by the author to persuade or convey their message. These might include appeals to ethos, pathos, or logos, as well as the use of figurative language, repetition, or rhetorical questions.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of the techniques: Once you have identified the rhetorical techniques used, evaluate their effectiveness in achieving the author's purpose. Consider how the techniques affect the audience's perception of the message and whether they are persuasive.
• Revise and edit : Once you have completed your analysis, revise and edit your essay to ensure your argument is clear and well-supported. Pay attention to the organization of your essay, the clarity of your language, and the coherence of your analysis.
• Get feedback : Ask a peer, instructor, or tutor to read your essay and provide feedback. Consider their suggestions for improvement and revise accordingly.

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Introduction

Women have always been limited in what they can or can not do, even though the two highest IQ scores in recorded history belong to women (“FactsRetriever,” 2017). History shows us that women were slaves to their own families. Gender inequality has been a major issue in American history, and it makes women work even harder to be successful in life because of the stereotypes that women can not get the job done like men. By limiting women’s choices in their lifestyles and deciding that they should choose what they are meant to do, we are creating a social phenomenon of sexism.

Historical Context and Target Audience

Emotional appeal and social commentary.

Additionally, Hardee’s is a successful and well-known chain restaurant, and the viewing of this advertisement likely caused an increase in customers. Women back then were expected to do chores, cook for their families, and take care of the children. Nobody saw anything wrong with it because it was the American way. The advertisement emphasizes this by displaying “Women don’t leave the kitchen!” in big letters. Feminists who would read this would feel emotionally hurt by this because it disrespects women and tells them that they are nothing more than a slave to their own family. It would also change people’s views towards Hardee’s being a successful restaurant and not being sexist. The words that are used in the ad, like “a little miss” and “…know a woman’s place…”, suggest details on the social position of women in the family and how they were viewed by society.

Furthermore, the advertisement was published back in the 1940s, when it was the American way for women to stay at home and cook and clean while the man provided for the family. The culture of America back then did not approve of women taking men’s jobs or feeling the need that they could do whatever they wanted. They wanted to keep women in their kitchens while the men provided the money. Men did not like the fact that women wanted to branch out and become more of themselves than a housewife. They felt like if a man can do it, then I can, too. This caused a major change in gender inequality, with more women having men’s jobs like construction, doctor, being in the military, etc. Women still did not get the respect they deserved, still being limited on what to do even while working men’s jobs. For example, women in the military were still treated like they could not do anything because men did not like the fact of them being in charge. America needed to realize that women are not made for just cooking and cleaning but can also provide money for the family just like men do.

Reflections on Gender Empowerment

The advertisement can also appeal to Kairos. Kairos is knowing what to say at the right time. During the 1940s, women started to have more to say and be more than just a housewife and started to help the men in the war by being nurses and working in the factories. The workforce started to increase rapidly with women because of the need for them during World War II. Women viewing this advertisement may have given them the courage to go out and do men’s jobs and speak up for themselves. The 1940s was a sense of belonging for women and not limiting them to one role. Before this time, men were the only providers for the family, but now women are, which caused a change in the workforce with men feeling that they do not have control and women are taking their jobs. Rosie the Riveter and Eleanor Roosevelt were some of the role models for women during this time and inspired them to be more of themselves and that women should be treated just like men and no different. Even with women having men’s jobs, it still was gender inequality with how much money they got. Because America did not accept that women have men’s jobs, they would pay men more than women. This advertisement was published at the right time, especially how America viewed women’s roles and what they should be doing instead of trying to take men’s jobs.

In conclusion, my analysis of this advertisement from Hardee’s shows how women have been liked throughout history and how it has changed views toward gender inequality. It showed the position women had in their families and in life. It gave an emotional appeal to every woman who has looked at this ad and gives them a different meaning of their value to society. It showed how society expects women to act and their limits on what they can do. It gave a different meaning to the way women should view businesses, jobs, and military positions and that if a man can do it, so can they. Women should not feel as if they are too emotional or naive or not built for this. Today, there are a lot of women who are taking over jobs that supposedly were men because women’s empowerment is still growing, and women want their voices to be heard. Hardee may have thought that they were being creative with this ad. However, it really had a different impact on how women should feel about themselves.

“The Role of Gender Stereotypes in Advertising and Its Effects on Consumers”

“Gender Stereotypes in Advertising: An Analysis of Popular Culture”

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"Rhetorical Analysis of an Advertisement: Analyzing Stereotypes and Inequality." PapersOwl.com , 26 Aug 2023, https://papersowl.com/examples/rhetorical-analysis-of-an-advertisement-analyzing-stereotypes-and-inequality/

PapersOwl.com. (2023). Rhetorical Analysis of an Advertisement: Analyzing Stereotypes and Inequality . [Online]. Available at: https://papersowl.com/examples/rhetorical-analysis-of-an-advertisement-analyzing-stereotypes-and-inequality/ [Accessed: 16 Nov. 2023]

"Rhetorical Analysis of an Advertisement: Analyzing Stereotypes and Inequality." PapersOwl.com, Aug 26, 2023. Accessed November 16, 2023. https://papersowl.com/examples/rhetorical-analysis-of-an-advertisement-analyzing-stereotypes-and-inequality/

"Rhetorical Analysis of an Advertisement: Analyzing Stereotypes and Inequality," PapersOwl.com , 26-Aug-2023. [Online]. Available: https://papersowl.com/examples/rhetorical-analysis-of-an-advertisement-analyzing-stereotypes-and-inequality/. [Accessed: 16-Nov-2023]

PapersOwl.com. (2023). Rhetorical Analysis of an Advertisement: Analyzing Stereotypes and Inequality . [Online]. Available at: https://papersowl.com/examples/rhetorical-analysis-of-an-advertisement-analyzing-stereotypes-and-inequality/ [Accessed: 16-Nov-2023]

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