Always Analyzing

Rhetorical analysis is breaking down a pre-made argument piece by piece to identify what the argument is and what is used to build it up. It is also a technique used to create your own argument through utilizing the elements of the rhetorical triangle in a perfected and convincing way.

Analysis is depicting individually each particle of an article! But rhetorically analyzing is breaking it down through means of logos, pathos, and ethos. The purpose behind any such analysis is to identify the truth and believe it. Without first solidifying the truth of a piece through rhetorical analysis you will simply fall numb to believe any and everything you see.

By not weighing the emotional draws you could fall victim to being manipulated by your emotions. By clearly marking the logical appeals you can more readily study and assure that the statistics given or promises made are indeed as logical as an instant commercial may want to you buy in to for their products benefit. Lastly by scrutinizing the ethical appeals you can arm yourself to not invest into someone or something simply because it states it is endorsed by a celebrity or certain group.

Although each piece of text should and often do contain each element of the rhetorical triangle, through analyzing the text you can better decipher how each element is used and better understand what is truly being conveyed. As the analyst you should equally develop a keen sense of logos, ethos and pathos and dissect each one in your analysis. If the observed text is lacking in an area than do not hesitate to still mention that area and how the article was in need of its appeal. It is always key to include personal opinion but also researched facts to back up you analysis. In order for you to create a strong argument through the rhetorical triangle you must be sure to be devoted to a distinct position, not be fearful of offending others and encompassing all three elements, logos, ethos and pathos creatively and convincingly.

Every text makes an argument and every texts argument can be analyzed. One must never hesitate to analyze but must also be sure to do it respectfully and appropriately. Do not avoid controversy and do not overstate the obvious, dig deep and search hard. Look beyond the articles initial impression. Organize your analysis of an argument into paragraphs each paragraph being one of the three elements. Then expand on the emotional appeals, how it draws you in emotionally and makes you feel something for the person or thing in the article whether it be sympathy or anger or love, the logical appeals, how it convinces your mind it is the only logical thing to believe or follow because of the facts or statistics mentioned, then the ethical appeals, how it may appeal to your own personal beliefs or how a notable endorser establishes a false reliability.

Rhetorical analysis is a powerful method of defending your own mind from falling captive to a seemingly convincing or crafty text.