Composing the AP Analysis Essay



The AP Style Analysis Essay (Rhetorical Analysis Essay)

What is rhetorical analysis?

Rhetorical analysis is a close reading of a text to find the argument in the text and HOW the author creates that argument. When performing a rhetorical analysis you analyze how well the components of an argument work together to persuade or move an audience.

When asked to compose a rhetorical analysis (or just in case you actually want to be a critical thinker) you should consider the following as you read…

1. What is the purpose of the argument? What does it hope to achieve?

2. Who is the audience for the argument? (Some of you may have used SOAPStone- same thing)

3. What appeals or techniques does the argument use (emotion, logic, credibility, ethical)

4. What is the genre of the argument (editorial, work of literature, political statement, bumper sticker, advertisement)

5. What values does the argument evoke? Do these values add credibility?

6. What authorities does the argument rely on or appeal to?

7. What facts reasoning and evidence appear in the argument and how are they used?

8. What issues are raised, ignored or evaded?

9. What are the social, political, historical and cultural contexts? Whose interests does it serve?

10. How is the argument organized or arranged?

11. How does the language or style of the argument work to persuade and audience? (this is where all those AP language terms come into play)

Obviously, one cannot address all of these in an AP essay written in approximately 40 minutes so it is up to the writer to consider which issues are most important to address- these issues may be the ones that most support the overall argument. DO NOT SUMMARIZE THE TEXT!

A workable strategy for the AP essay- to use in 40 minutes:

• 1 minute reading and working the prompt

• 5 minutes reading and making annotations regarding the passage

*Isolate two/three references or moments that strike you. These may contribute to opening/closing lines or other key moments in your response

• 5 minutes preparing to write (Underlining, mapping, charting, key words/quotes)

• 25-30 minutes writing your essay, based on your preparation

• 3 minutes proofreading

Rhetorical strategies to look for include:

Comparison/Contrast Use of logic

Cause and effect Inductive or Deductive argument

Different types of irony Choice of Examples

Diction Selection of Detail

Syntax Juxtaposition

Parallelism Analogy

Antithesis Extended Metaphor

Concrete, Specific Words Hyperbole

Imagery (Sensory Appeals) Allusion

Personification Onomatopoeia

Tone Pacing

Oxymoron Alliteration, Assonance, Consonance

Point of view Organization

Appeals to authority Appeals to credibility

*Be able to explain why the speaker selected these strategies for the particular audience, occasion, and purpose. This is the analysis part.

Essay Structure Options:

Opening Paragraph:

o Hook (Maybe). Use brevity.

o Reference the author and title of the work as well as any important historical, cultural or social connections you may have made.

o Establish the rhetorical triangle. Who is the speaker? Who is his or her audience? What is the purpose of the speech/essay? Generally speaking, how is the writer trying to sway his or her audience?

o Use strong verbs/adjectives.

o Address the author’s argument

o Address the author’s view or attitude of the subject (you may want to identify the tone of the work).

o Specifically mention the rhetorical elements you will explore in your essay and how they apply to the essay prompt. (Thesis)

Body:

• The Basic Paragraph: Identify a choice the writer makes. Follow by quoting direct evidence. End by answering these important questions: WHY did the writer make this choice? HOW does this choice work to move the audience towards thinking or acting in the manner that the writer wants? (The more time answering/explaining the WHY and HOW questions, the higher your score!) You may even take these sentence stems and use them in your body paragraphs (The writer made this choice because…. OR…This choice allows the audience to begin to see/think/understand/visualize….)

• A good strategy: Sometimes a writer presents a series of examples in support of one idea. Briefly quote these examples and link them together when making your point. Example: In the second and third paragraphs, Don Juan presents a series of economic consequences (“lower wages”; “reduced savings”; “higher taxes”) to frighten his audience, turning them against….” IDENTIFYING CONNECTIONS OR PATTERNS ACROSS THE TEXT is characteristic of high-scoring papers.

Option 1: work chronologically through the text line by line or section by section. As you do this identify key rhetorical devices that support the author’s argument.

Option 2: Break the text into sections based on rhetorical strategies used. Discuss the effectiveness of the author’s style and strategies as well as HOW the style and strategies support the author’s argument.

General Do’s and Don’ts in the body of the essay:

o Don’t discuss every strategy, do identify and discuss the strongest strategies that are most critical to the meaning of the piece.

o Use specific references and details from the given passage. This is your evidence.

o Refer directly to material using short quotes, even if it’s just one or two words. Quote phrases, not sentences. Weave them into your discussion.

o Show connection throughout your essay by continually reiterating key ideas from the prompt and from your opening paragraph. Stay connected with the prompt and your thesis.

o Use transitions (begins, opens, shifts to, juxtaposes, contrasts, moves into, closes . . .)

Conclusion:

• End by analyzing the writer’s final paragraph. No summative conclusions! As you analyzing the writer’s final paragraph, explain how all of the author’s choices build to these final words, which are intended to hang in the audience’s mind saying, “Yes! YES! YEEESSSS! You are right!”

o Use the final paragraph from the passage in your final paragraph. Generally the author says something important in the concluding statement- you can use this to rap your essay up by analyzing how and what the author says and how it further supports their argument.

o Avoid, “In conclusion . . .” or “In summary . . .”

o Make a final statement to “so what” your analysis

o Link your ideas to a particularly effective line or image from the passage

o Be witty and clever. Save one last bit of analysis, one more thoughtful take, that ties together the speaker’s style and their purpose.

Words that help in Analysis: Say you want to state, “ The author uses parallelism…..” Instead try replacing uses with….

1. Portray 8. Assert 15. Repudiate 22. Construct 29. construes

2. Depict 9. Embody 16. Refute 23. Create 30. constructs

3. Convey 10. Elucidate 17. Dispel 24. Transcend 31. propose

4. Manipulate 11. Clarify 18. Regale 25. Deconstruct 32.hint

5. Reveal 12. Enhance 19. Revert 26. Concede 33. suggest

6. Demonstrate 13. Imply 20. Empower 27. Pervade 34. predict

7. Exemplify 14. Inspire 21. Constrain 28. sustain

General No-No’s

1. No “the imagery creates a vivid picture because…” or other cliché statements.

2. No need to know that a specific form of parallelism is polysyndeton- BUT you should know when and why the author uses parallelism.

3. No “in conclusion”

4. No need to bring in outside sources- your analyzing.

5. No need to be overly creative.

6. Do NOT offer your own opinion—this prompt is pure analysis. Caveat: Twice in twenty five years students have been asked to analyze and then offer their own evaluation as to whether the argument would be successful. Do read the prompt—if you opinion is asked for, then make it so. BUT—this has not happened in 10+ years.

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Rubric

|Score |What the Rubric Says |What This Means |

|9 |Essays earning a score of 9 meet the criteria for the score of 8 and, in |You achieved everything an 8 essay did, but the quality of either your |

| |addition, are especially sophisticated in their argument, thorough in their |argument or your writing is exceptional. |

| |development, or impressive in their control of language. | |

|8 |Essays earning a score of 8 effectively analyze the rhetorical strategies |You successfully and persuasively analyzed the rhetoric of the excerpt in|

| |used by the author to develop his/her argument. They develop their analysis |a way that is strongly supported by specific examples in the text. Your |

| |with evidence and explanations that are appropriate and convincing, referring|writing is versatile and strong. |

| |to the passage explicitly or implicitly. The prose demonstrates a consistent | |

| |ability to control a wide range of the elements of effective writing but is | |

| |not necessarily flawless. | |

|7 |Essays earning a score of 7 meet the criteria for the score of 6 but provide |You achieved everything a 6 essay did, but your argument was either |

| |more complete explanation, more thorough development, or a more mature prose |better explained or supported or your writing was of a higher caliber. |

| |style. | |

|6 |Essays earning a score of 6 adequately analyze the rhetorical strategies used|You successfully analyzed the rhetoric of the excerpt, using appropriate |

| |by the author to develop his/her argument. They develop their analysis with |references to the text. Your writing was generally understandable.   |

| |evidence and explanations that are appropriate and sufficient, referring to | |

| |the passage explicitly or implicitly. The essay may contain lapses in diction| |

| |or syntax, but generally the prose is clear. | |

|5 |Essays earning a score of 5 analyze the rhetorical strategies used to develop|You analyzed the rhetoric of the excerpt, although evidence from the |

| |the author’s argument. The evidence or explanations used may be uneven, |passage may have been poorly used or deployed. Your writing is mostly |

| |inconsistent, or limited. The writing may contain lapses in diction or |understandable but may have errors. |

| |syntax, but it usually conveys the student’s ideas. | |

|4 |Essays earning a score of 4 inadequately analyze the rhetorical strategies |You did not analyze the rhetoric in the passage in a reasonable way. You |

| |used by the author to develop his/her argument. These essays may |may have misread the passage or misidentified the author’s rhetorical |

| |misunderstand the passage, misrepresent the strategies the author uses, or |strategies, or you may simply not have supported your argument enough. |

| |may analyze these strategies insufficiently. The evidence or explanations |Textual evidence may not be appropriate to the task at hand. Your writing|

| |used may be inappropriate, insufficient, or unconvincing. The prose generally|is not consistently clear. |

| |conveys the student’s ideas but may be inconsistent in controlling the | |

| |elements of effective writing. | |

|3 |Essays earning a score of 3 meet the criteria for the score of 4 but |A 3 essay has similar weaknesses to a 4 essay, but displays less |

| |demonstrate less success in analyzing the rhetorical strategies the author |understanding of the passage or the author’s intent. The writing may also|

| |uses to develop his/her argument. They are less perceptive in their |be even more inconsistent or basic. |

| |understanding of the passage or the author’s strategies, or the explanations | |

| |or examples may be particularly limited or simplistic. The essays may show | |

| |less maturity in control of writing. | |

|2 |Essays earning a score of 2 demonstrate little success in analyzing the |You barely analyzed the passage. You may have misunderstood the assigned |

| |rhetorical strategies used by the author to develop his/her argument. These |task, seriously misread the passage or the author’s intent, or responded |

| |essays may misunderstand the prompt, misread the passage, fail to analyze the|to something other than the prompt. Writing is consistently weak. |

| |strategies used, or substitute a simpler task by responding to the prompt | |

| |tangentially with unrelated, inaccurate, or inappropriate explanation. The | |

| |essays often demonstrate consistent weaknesses in writing, such as | |

| |grammatical problems, a lack of development or organization, or a lack of | |

| |control. | |

|1 |Essays earning a score of 1 meet the criteria for the score of 2 but are |A 1 essay is has similar weaknesses to a 2 essay, but is even more poorly|

| |undeveloped, especially simplistic in their explanation, or weak in their |supported or poorly written. |

| |control of language. | |

|0 |Indicates an off-topic response, one that merely repeats the prompt, an |You made no attempt to respond to the prompt. |

| |entirely crossed-out response, a drawing, or a response in a language other | |

| |than English. | |

|- |Indicates an entirely blank response. |You didn’t write anything! |

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