RHE: Overview
Rhetorical Analysis
Introduction
The Rhetorical Analysis module introduces you to how speakers have used elements of rhetoric to persuade others throughout history. In the previous three modules, you have studied argumentation. Now, it’s time to look at how writers and speakers have used language itself to guide their audience. First, you will learn about speech, rhetoric, and the strategies and devices that are often used in both written and spoken contexts. You will then study pre-1900s rhetoric and the rhetoric of the 20th and 21st centuries by reading excerpts of famous speeches and essays from those time periods. Throughout this study, you will analyze the words of others and craft original work of your own!
Module Objectives
- Identify and describe components of the rhetorical situation
- Explain how an argument demonstrates understanding of an audience’s beliefs
- Compose a speech that effectively uses rhetorical strategies
- Identify and describe rhetorical strategies and devices
Module Lessons Preview
Speech and Rhetoric: a lesson on the fundamentals of rhetoric
Rhetorical Strategies: a lesson on common (and some not so common) rhetorical strategies and devices and how they are used
Pre-1900s Rhetoric: a lesson on rhetoric before 1900s, focusing on figures such as Henry David Thoreau and Benjamin Banneker
The Rhetorical Analysis Essay Lesson: a lesson on the rubric that is used to score the AP English Language Rhetorical Analysis Essay
Rhetoric in the 20th and 21st Centuries: a lesson on rhetoric of the 1900s and 2000s, focusing on figures such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Ronald Reagan
Key Terms
- Rhetoric: the art of persuasive speaking or writing
- The Rhetorical Situation: includes the audience, writer, message, context, purpose, and exigence
- Exigence: the event or reason that gives rise to an argument
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