What does analyze a text mean?
When you analyze a text, you give it meaning beyond what the text tells you directly. What is analysis? Analysis is the breaking down of something into its component parts. When that something is a text, the reader is examining different aspects of the text.
What does it mean to analyze a text rhetorically?
Definition: A rhetorical analysis requires you to apply your critical reading skills in order to “break down” a text. In essence, you break off the “parts” from the “whole” of the piece you’re analyzing. The goal of a rhetorical analysis is to articulate HOW the author writes, rather than WHAT they actually wrote.
What is the point of rhetorical analysis?
Instead, the purpose of a rhetorical analysis is to make an argument about how an author conveys their message to a particular audience: you’re exploring the author’s goals, describing the techniques or tools used and providing examples of those techniques, and analyzing the effectiveness of those techniques.