The Advanced Placement English tests--AP Literature and AP Language and Composition--both ask students to write a synthesis essay, a persuasive essay, and a rhetorical analysis essay.
Synthesis essays are document-based questions (DBQ’s); they ask the writer to construct an argument that’s supported by evidence from three out of six documents.
Persuasive essays ask students to develop an argument and support it with facts and examples.
Rhetorical analysis essays focus on how the writer makes what he or she is saying persuasive.
Today I want to concentrate on the rhetorical analysis essay because many students have trouble understanding exactly what they are being asked to do.
Rhetoric is the art of thinking and speaking persuasively, so anything done for persuasive purposes can be called a rhetorical device. Rhetorical devices are the tools writers use to guide readers to the writer’s intended conclusion.
There are dozens of rhetorical devices, and many AP English students receive lists of them that they are told to memorize. However, simply being able to point them out when they occur isn’t enough to earn your essay a top score. The trick is to select the ones that contribute most to the passage as a whole. To do that, you need to understand how the writer’s rhetorical choices strengthen his or her main point--and to do that, you need to understand both what the writer is saying and how he or she is saying it. Otherwise, you risk “cherry-picking,” latching on to the first two or three strategies you notice without considering their importance to the passage as a whole. For example, many writers use historical allusions. They are easy to spot, but they lose their relevance if you don’t explain why a specific allusion is a good choice for that particular passage. For example, the rhetorical analysis essay from the 2018 AP Lang test is taken from a speech by Madeleine Albright. She refers to the fall of the Berlin Wall, a particularly joyous moment at the end of the Cold War, and the allusion can be read as celebratory. However, Albright uses it to remind her audience that the work of defending democracy is never done and that it would be a mistake for the United States to rest on the laurels of its past achievements.
Also, remember that some “literary devices” are so common that pointing them out is essentially meaningless. Saying that an author uses diction, for example, is simply saying that the author chose some words instead of others. To discuss an author’s diction effectively, a student must identify how it connects to the main point of the passage. For example, a student might notice that an author uses the collective “we” to create a sense of community with his or her readers, but an essay that considers why the author wants to create this community or whom that community consists of will earn a higher score. In other words, try to extend what you say beyond the obvious first point that everyone else will make.
Instead of approaching a passage you have to write about as a treasure hunt for rhetorical techniques, let the ideas it expresses guide your choice of what to write. For example, if a writer begins a character analysis by comparing that character to sparkling lights but then turns critical, you should consider whether the light imagery remains positive throughout the passage, since sparkly things are pretty but can also distract one’s attention from flaws or a lack of depth.
Consider the context in which the quotes you select occur. Reread from the beginning of the paragraph to be certain that you are understanding the quote correctly. Many students only consider the words within the quote, but their meaning is often affected by their context in the passage. Students who don’t consider context risk missing irony and other textual nuances that are often essential to the writer’s main point.
I often get the feeling that students feel like deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming truck when they approach a rhetorical analysis essay. Cherry-picking and forgetting to read in context are common mistakes, but they can be avoided by remembering to let the writer’s ideas guide you.
Elizabeth Breau, Ph.D., is a private English tutor and the author of History According to SAT: A Content Guide to SAT Reading and Writing. Her website ishistoryaccordingtosat.com. She can be reached at elizabeth.breau@gmail.com. She is currently accepting new students.
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