Rhetorical Analysis free essay sample

Melissa Felder an author with a hearing disability who attended Yale University explains her experience at Yale in her article, â€Å"How Yale Supports Students With Disabilities†; along with how other students with disabilities are treated as well. Although she does touch some on other students she focuses more on her hearing disability. Felder goes in to detail on her experience inside of the classroom along with outside they classroom. She compares how it was at first when she began at the university compared to how it changed over the course of her time there. Felder’s goals out of this article are to educated others simply on how students with disabilities have it at universities and how these universities help make these students fit right in. Not to say that all Universities provide the exact same resources as Yale does; some may have better while others worst. Overall Felder helps show the audience her goals by giving us more of an understanding of college life with a disability, what the campus does offer and does not offer as far as resources, and how students with disabilities are affected. 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. Spatial 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 otentially order your essay by analyzing the document’s use of logos, ethos, and pathos in different sections. Conclusion 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 an d explain why they are important; restate your thesis; and outline further research or work you believe should be completed to further your efforts.