Rhetorical analysis
A rhetorical analysis is an explanation of how a writer, author or speaker influences his or her audience by changing their mind toward a particular topic or issue. A successful rhetorical analysis depicts a deeper understanding of the techniques a rhetorician uses to make his point. You can write rhetorical analysis for a text, speech, painting, movie or commercial. Commercials largely use rhetorical appeals to woo potential buyers or consumers of certain products and services. When analyzing an advert, the principle is the same; understand the rhetorical tools. To find more on how to write a rhetorical analysis essay on a commercial, continue reading this guide.
Leads on how to write a rhetorical analysis essay on a commercial
Commercials are all over the place. They dominate every media channel, whether TV, radio or in print, making it impossible for media consumers to escape them. As a lucrative source of revenue for media houses, advertisers are always working hard to outshine each other with creative and more appealing commercials to command consumer acceptance in the market.
A successful commercial has a target audience – i.e. it targets a segment of consumers likely to buy or use a particular service or product. This is important because products serve individual customers.
Designers of commercials work hard to establish what the public wants to meet existing needs. However, the biggest challenge is in packaging a commercial that will have a desired impact in the market.
On your part, as you write a rhetorical analysis essay on a commercial, you will endeavor to find out these techniques and bring out their effectiveness in wooing consumers. This may sound pretty complex and unbearable. Yes it is. However, with these tips on how to write a rhetorical analysis essay on a commercial, you will soon find similar assignments to be a walkover.
How a good rhetorical analysis for a commercial looks like
Your rhetorical analysis should focus on the tactics, which the designer of the advert uses to support or advance his argument in winning potential buyers. To achieve this, build your analysis around the rhetorical triangle. This is an illustration of how the author, audience and subject matter interact.
Author – this is the creator of the commercial or the company advertising a particular product. Commercial authors could be individuals or a group of people or a corporation. Always state the advertiser to develop a coherent and credible rhetorical analysis.
Audience – These are the people the advertiser targets while making the commercial. In most cases, they are users of the product, buyers or potential users and buyers. Ensure that you identify the various groups that the ad targets as you do your analysis.
Subject – What is the commercial advertising? Bring out the message of the advertiser, including the product or service in the advert. Also, say how the author makes his point through the advert. Does the commercial reveal any advantages of the product? How does the author appeal to the personal watching, reading or listening to the commercial? Does he talk about competitors?
Once you master these three elements, your task becomes lighter because they form the basis of analyzing commercials rhetorically. However, this is not enough; the following section will give you more hints on how to write a rhetorical analysis essay on a commercial.
The truth about rhetorical analysis essay on a commercial plus how to do yours
Commercials inform every aspect of our lives. They dominate the media. Even when you switch off your TV, radio or stop buying newspapers, billboards color every street, company logos flush all over, adverts infiltrate music and oftentimes, we find ourselves analyzing how that ad is stupid or quite appealing.
When you are writing a rhetorical analysis for an advert, you must engage critical thinking to understand the author’s message. Remember that adverts are not always the genuine means of making a purchase. Today, advertisers use a lot of rhetoric in commercials that it has become an art, with its own language and effective persuasion.
Here are some questions to ask yourself as you do a rhetorical analysis on a commercial:
- Who appears in the commercial? – Reveal the identities of people featuring in the advert. Are they celebrities or unknown images? How do the other people in the ad express themselves?
- What is the setting of the commercial and what does this say about the message?
- Who is the target audience for this commercial?
- How does the advertiser use language and commercials?
With the above discussion on how to write a rhetorical analysis essay on a commercial, let us consider an example.
Example: Rhetorical Analysis Essay
Dove’s Commercial
A good example to drive the point of rhetorical analysis in commercials is Dove’s ad in the Real Beauty campaign. The writer says:
“The video starts with a woman with no makeup and with unkempt hair. Later in the film, more people join the scene and begin to work on the woman’s hair…
Everyone is happy with the woman. She goes for a photo shoot and her photo edited. Here, we see how companies alter the appearance of models to win the audience…
The main strategy of Dove Company is compare and contrast. They message is also more vivid through the film…Dove uses pathos by listening to their buyers…”
Adapted from http://courses.rhetorike.org/sherrill2/system/files/Rhetorical%20Analysis%20of%20a%20Digital%20Artifact.pdf
From this excerpt, the writer contextualizes the commercial and proceeds with rhetorical analysis, revealing how Dove Company uses various strategies to appeal to its target audience. You too can do a rhetorical analysis of that commercial that always comes on your screens every evening before news. You do not need any magic; simply follow this guide.
Introduction Part: How to write a rhetorical analysis essay on a commercial
Like when writing any essay, your rhetorical analysis must have a catchy introduction to hold the attention of your readers. Start with something interesting, which will leave the audience longing to read the rest of the paper.
As part of the guidelines on how to write a rhetorical analysis essay on a commercial, this section will help you discover how to piece together an appealing introduction paragraph for your essay.
What to say in your intro:
Identify the context of the commercial. The reader wants to know more about the advert. For example, is it seasonal? When does it run on TV or radio? Is it a new commercial in the media? To this, you may also find out why the company is running the advert. Is it countering its competitors or introducing a new product in the market? This will form a good basis for your rhetorical analysis.
Where does the commercial appear? In your intro, state which media carries the advert. If it is TV, bring out the exact time it runs. In print, indentify the type of publication e.g. fashion magazine, daily newspaper or a company newsletter. Also, find out how the same commercial is done in different languages, especially for multinationals. This will help you to know the company’s target audience.
Restate the claim– Bring out the assumptions, which the advertiser is making in the commercial. What are the implied shared assumptions? For example, a commercial promoting smooth skin assumes that wrinkles are undesirable and signs for aging. Also, remember to state your thesis statement as you move to the body of your essay.
How to craft the body of your rhetorical analysis essay
This section carries the weight of your analysis. Focus on the strategies or the appeals, which the advertiser uses in the commercial to influence the target audience. While every part of this guide is important, understanding ethos, pathos and logos forms the basis of how to write a rhetorical analysis essay on a commercial.
Pathos, logos and ethos work together in commercials. However, pathos, which is the appeal to our emotions, is always strongest. Look at how an ad uses visual elements to evoke feelings. Common elements you should examine are pictures, color and design. A group of people smiling or looking healthy is appealing as the audience wants to in the same way. Show how the commercial appeals to reason.
Concluding your essay – As you conclude your essay, revisit the main ideas in the paper and the evidence you used to support your thesis statement. Give a call for action to challenge the reader to act after reading your essay.
This guide is a must have tool on how to write a rhetorical analysis essay on a commercial. It is all you need to enhance your rhetorical analysis writing. Hope you do well. Cheers!
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http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/members/courses/teachers_corner/32181.html
http://writingcommons.org/index.php/open-text/information-literacy/visual-literacy/ad-analysis
http://www.mscc.edu/WritingResources/Guidelines%20for%20Rhetorical%20Analysis.pdf
http://www.uwec.edu/Blugoldseminar/testout/upload/Sample-Rhetorical-Analysis.pdf
http://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Rhetorical-Analysis
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/725/03/
www.classroom.synonym.com/rhetorical-essay-format-3629.html