Rhetorical Analysis Essay Outline
Introduction: Use the SPACE part of SPACE CAT to write your introduction.
●Speaker/writer:
●Purpose:
●Audience:
●Context/Exigence:
Now try this basic format for your thesis sentence:
In his/her ________________ format of the piece: speech, novel,
essay, etc. ___________________ + title of piece, author’s first and last name + strong verb + purpose or message.
Example: In her essay “Stone Soup,” writer Barbara Kingsolver argues that a happy and whole family is not limited to the
generic “Family of Dolls” nuclear family. To make your thesis/introduction more sophisticated, you could add: Through
the use of various pertinent examples, both anecdotal and historical, supplemented by thought-provoking rhetorical
questions and effective references to outside literature, she writes to abolish the irrational thinking of how a families who
do not fit the traditional mold are “broken” and “failed” in order to rectify society’s perception of these “broken homes.”
Body Paragraphs:
●Work chronologically through the text. Analyze what the writer does at the beginning, in the middle, and at the
end of the piece. Use your structure verbs!
●Claim: identify which section of the speech you are discussing & state the main ideas of that section.
Format:
Writer’s last name + structure verb + his/her + type of text + by + strong verb + the main idea of
this section.
1. Ex. Reagan begins his tribute to the Challenger
astronauts by acknowledging that the shuttle accident has
appropriately postponed his planned State of the Union address and by expressing the depth of his and
his wife’s personal grief.
●Evidence: Identify & provide a specific example for one rhetorical strategy used by the writer.
2. Ex. He appeals to the mournful emotions of the audience by admitting that he and his wife are “pained to
the core,” that this day is rightfully a “day for mourning and remembering,” and the accident is “truly a
national loss.”
●Analysis: Explain HOW the rhetorical strategy helps the writer achieve the purpose and state what its EFFECT is
on the audience.
3. Ex. He joins in this time of mourning in order to unify the nation and humbly admits that “we share this
pain with all of the people of our country.” This outpouring of emotion from the president conveys a
calming tone that reassures the nation that their grief is both understandable and proper.
NOTE: Repeat formula as needed for each body paragraph.
●Most body paragraphs should have at least 2 examples.
●It’s a good idea to have 3 body paragraphs: one for the beginning of the piece, one for the middle of the piece, and
one for the end.
Conclusion:
●Restate the main points of your thesis--but NOT word-for-word.
●Or, if you didn’t get to discuss in a body paragraph how the writer concluded, put that analysis here.
●Universal Idea: Include any contextual information to explain why the idea(s) in this piece were important for
that time. Contextualize why this piece was impactful for when it was written/spoken.