Rhetorical Analysis Thesis Statements



Rhetorical Analysis Thesis Statements

A strong thesis statement…

➢ Avoids using the first person or phrases like “I believe” or “I think”

➢ Serves as a guide to your essay for your reader

➢ Asserts your conclusion and takes a stand on the author’s rhetorical strategies

➢ States what techniques you will be analyzing, and the impact of these techniques on the effectiveness of the text.

Examples of strong thesis statements:

← Jones effectively convinces his audience that ---- through the use of statistics and surveys paired with emotional stories.

← Although Myers includes many convincing logical arguments through the use of historical facts, her readers may doubt her objectivity because of her sarcastic tone.

← Thompson uses personal stories and tells of his extensive research in the area to make his readers believe in his credibility. These appeals to ethos, combined with his friendly tone, creates an effective argument for ----.

← Roberts employs the rhetorical appeals of pathos and ethos effectively. However, his use of unsupported logical appeals causes his readers to doubt his claim that ---- is supported by research.

← Mitchell’s attempt to convince the audience that ----- is unsuccessful because of his insensitive word choice and angry tone.

Note: The above thesis statements all include the original author’s purpose/thesis. Your thesis does not have to include this in your thesis statement as long as it appears in the introduction.

A strong thesis statement is NOT…

➢ a simple statement of your topic

➢ a broad statement

➢ a statement of facts or statistics

➢ a summary of the author’s essay you are analyzing

➢ a statement of what your going to do in the essay

Examples of weak thesis statements:

← Abortion is a big issue in the United States.

← The author claims abortion is a big issue in the United States.

← I’m going to examine how this author uses pathos, ethos, and logos to convince his audience.

← The author uses pathos, ethos and logos.

Revising your Rhetorical Analysis Thesis Statement

-----------------------

Step 1: Gather information about what you want to say about this essay.

What strategies and techniques are you discussing?

How effective or ineffective are these techniques?

Why are these techniques effective or ineffective?

Step 2: Write down the draft of your thesis statement.

Step 3: Compare what your draft contains compared to the information you gave in Step 1. Are each of them present? Are they clear in your thesis statement?

Step 4: Compare you thesis statement with examples of strong and weak thesis statements. Does yours resemble any of the weak thesis statements?

Step 5: Revise your thesis statement.

Step 6: After you have written your essay, revisit your thesis statement and repeat steps 1-4.

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download