line of argument speech analysis

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How To Write a Fully Developed Line of Argument

On essay exams, in papers and speeches, many people tend to list random assertions or factoids because they’ve never been taught to build a fully developed, cogent and coherent line of argument. In order to build a fully developed line of argument–after breaking the topic down into its natural parts (like a clever butcher !), make an assertion, support it, make a transition and move on. Be a lean, mean, writing machine!

Fully developed lines of support always make the following "moves":

Exemplification : Provide the reader with a specific quotation from the text under discussion

Elaboration : Discuss how the quote captures the essence of your assertion.

Illustration : Here is where creativity comes in. Think analogically so you can illustrate the point you are making and paint a picture in the mind of the reader. (Warning: make sure your illustration illuminates–as opposed to obfuscates!)

Application : Always conclude each line of argument with a sentence or two spelling out the link between your analysis and the question at hand. There is a danger common to all such writing and speaking: We often assume that the audience understands a given point because we have ourselves been so absorbed in the topic. So, to avoid this pitfall, make the application move, make a transition and move on to your next point.

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Argument Analysis

Sometimes, the best way to learn how to write a good argument is to start by analyzing other arguments. When you do this, you get to see what works, what doesn’t, what strategies another author uses, what structures seem to work well and why, and more.

Therefore, even though this section on argument analysis is one of the last lessons in this area, your professor may have you start here before you draft a single word of your own essay.

In the pages that follow, you will learn about analyzing arguments for both content and rhetorical strategies. The content analysis may come a little easier for you, but the rhetorical analysis is extremely important. To become a good writer, we must develop the language of writing and learn how to use that language to talk about the “moves” other writers make.

When we understand the decisions other writers make and why, it helps us make more informed decisions as writers. We can move from being the “accidental” writer, where we might do well but are not sure why, to being a “purposeful” writer, where we have an awareness of the impact our writing has on our audience at all levels.

Thinking About Content

Content analysis of an argument is really just what it seems—looking closely at the content in an argument. When you’re analyzing an argument for content, you’re looking at things like claims, evidence to support those claims, and if that evidence makes sense.

The Toulmin method is a great tool for analyzing the content of an argument. In fact, it was developed as a tool for analyzing the content of an argument. Using the different concepts we learn in the Toulmin model, we are able to examine an argument by thinking about what claim is being made, what evidence is being used to support that claim, the warrants behind that evidence, and more.

When you analyze an argument, there is a good chance your professor will have you review and use the Toulmin information provided in the Excelsior OWL.

However, the lessons you have learned about logical fallacies will also help you analyze the content of an argument. You’ll want to look closely at the logic being presented in the claims and evidence. Does the logic hold up, or do you see logical fallacies? Obviously, if you see fallacies, you should really question the argument.

Thinking Rhetorically

As a part of thinking rhetorically about an argument, your professor may ask you to write a formal or informal rhetorical analysis essay. Rhetorical analysis is about “digging in” and exploring the strategies and writing style of a particular piece. Rhetorical analysis can be tricky because, chances are, you haven’t done a lot of rhetorical analysis in the past.

To add to this trickiness, you can write a rhetorical analysis of any piece of information, not just an essay. You may be asked to write a rhetorical analysis of an ad, an image, or a commercial.

The key is to start now! Rhetorical analysis is going to help you think about strategies other authors have made and how or why these strategies work or don’t work. In turn, your goal is to be more aware of these things in your own writing.

When you analyze a work rhetorically, you are going to explore the following concepts in a piece:

Before you begin to write your research paper, you should think about your audience. Your audience should have an impact on your writing. You should think about audience because, if you want to be effective, you must consider audience needs and expectations. It’s important to remember audience affects both what and how you write.

Most research paper assignments will be written with an academic audience in mind. Writing for an academic audience (your professors and peers) is one of the most difficult writing tasks because college students and faculty make up a very diverse group. It can be difficult for student writers to see outside their own experiences and to think about how other people might react to their messages.

But this kind of rhetorical thinking is necessary to effective writing. Good writers try to see their writing through the eyes of their audience. This, of course, requires a lot of flexibility as a writer, but the rewards for such thinking are great when you have a diverse group of readers interested in and, perhaps, persuaded by your writing.

Rhetorically speaking, purpose is about making decisions as a writer about why you’re writing and what you want your audience to take from your work.

There are three objectives you may have when writing a research paper.

• To inform – When you write a research paper to inform, you’re not making an argument, but you do want to stress the importance of your topic. You might think about your purpose as educating your audience on a particular topic.
• To persuade – When you write a research paper to persuade, your purpose should be to take a stance on your topic. You’ll want to develop a thesis statement that makes a clear assertion about some aspect of your topic.
• To analyze – Although all research papers require some analysis, some research papers make analysis a primary purpose. So, your focus wouldn’t be to inform or persuade, but to analyze your topic. You’ll want to synthesize your research and, ideally, reach new, thoughtful conclusions based on your research.
• TIPS! Here are a few tips when it comes to thinking about purpose. 

You must be able to move beyond the idea that you’re writing your research paper only because your professor is making you. While that may be true on some level, you must decide on a purpose based on what topic you’re researching and what you want to say about that topic.

You must decide for yourself, within the requirements of your assignment, why you’re engaging in the research process and writing a paper. Only when you do this will your writing be engaging for your audience.

Your assignment or project instructions affect purpose. If your professor gives you a formal writing assignment sheet for your research paper, it’s especially important to read very carefully through your professor’s expectations. If your professor doesn’t provide a formal assignment sheet, be prepared to ask questions about the purpose of the assignment.

Once you have considered your audience and established your purpose, it’s time to think about voice. Your voice in your writing is essentially how you sound to your audience. Voice is an important part of writing a research paper, but many students never stop to think about voice in their writing. It’s important to remember voice is relative to audience and purpose. The voice you decide to use will have a great impact on your audience.

• Formal – When using a formal, academic or professional voice, you’ll want to be sure to avoid slang and clichés, like “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” You’ll want to avoid conversational tone and even contractions. So, instead of “can’t,” you would want to use “cannot.” You’ll want to think about your academic or professional audience and think about what kind of impression you want your voice to make on that audience.
• Semi-formal – A semi-formal tone is not quite as formal as a formal, academic or professional tone. Although you would certainly want to avoid slang and clichés, you might use contractions, and you might consider a tone that is a little more conversational. Students sometimes make errors in voice, which can have a negative impact on an essay. For example, when writing researched essays for the first time, many students lose their voices entirely to research, and the essay reads more like a list of what other people have said on a particular topic than a real essay. In a research essay, you want to balance your voice with the voices from your sources.

It’s also easy to use a voice that is too informal for college writing, especially when you are just becoming familiar with academia and college expectations. 

Ultimately, thinking about your writing rhetorically will help you establish a strong, appropriate voice for your writing.

Appealing to ethos is all about using credibility, either your own as a writer or of your sources, in order to be persuasive. Essentially, ethos is about believability. Will your audience find you believable? What can you do to ensure that they do?

You can establish ethos—or credibility—in two basic ways: you can use or build your own credibility on a topic, or you can use credible sources, which, in turn, builds your credibility as a writer.

Credibility is extremely important in building an argument, so, even if you don’t have a lot of built-in credibility or experience with a topic, it’s important for you to work on your credibility by integrating the credibility of others into your argument.

Aristotle argued that ethos was the most powerful of the modes of persuasion, and while you may disagree, you can’t discount its power. After all, think about the way advertisers use ethos to get us to purchase products. Taylor Swift sells us perfume, and Peyton Manning sells us pizza. But, it’s really their fame and name they are selling.

With the power of ethos in mind, here are some strategies you can use to help build your ethos in your arguments.

If you have specific experience or education related to your issues, mention it in some way.

Appealing to pathos is about appealing to your audience’s emotions. Because people can be easily moved by their emotions, pathos is a powerful mode of persuasion. When you think about appealing to pathos, you should consider all of the potential emotions people experience. While we often see or hear arguments that appeal to sympathy or anger, appealing to pathos is not limited to these specific emotions. You can also use emotions such as humor, joy or even frustration, to note a few, in order to convince your audience.

It’s important, however, to be careful when appealing to pathos, as arguments with an overly-strong focus on emotion are not considered as credible in an academic setting. This means you could, and should, use pathos, but you have to do so carefully. An overly-emotional argument can cause you to lose your credibility as a writer.

You have probably seen many arguments based on an appeal to pathos. In fact, a large number of the commercials you see on television or the internet actually focus primarily on pathos. For example, many car commercials tap into our desire to feel special or important. They suggest that, if you drive a nice car, you will automatically be respected.

With the power of pathos in mind, here are some strategies you can use to carefully build pathos in your arguments.

• Think about the emotions most related to your topic in order to use those emotions effectively. For example, if you’re calling for change in animal abuse laws, you would want to appeal to your audience’s sense of sympathy, possibly by providing examples of animal cruelty. If your argument is focused on environmental issues related to water conservation, you might provide examples of how water shortages affect metropolitan areas in order to appeal to your audience’s fear of a similar occurrence.
• In an effort to appeal to pathos, use examples to illustrate your position. Just be sure the examples you share are credible and can be verified.
• In academic arguments, be sure to balance appeals to pathos with appeals to logos (which will be explored on the next page) in order to maintain your ethos or credibility as a writer.
• When presenting evidenced based on emotion, maintain an even tone of voice. If you sound too emotional, you might lose your audience’s respect.

Logos is about appealing to your audience’s logical side. You have to think about what makes sense to your audience and use that as you build your argument. As writers, we appeal to logos by presenting a line of reasoning in our arguments that is logical and clear. We use evidence, such as statistics and factual information, when we appeal to logos.

In order to develop strong appeals to logos, we have to avoid faulty logic. Faulty logic can be anything from assuming one event caused another to making blanket statements based on little evidence. Logical fallacies should always be avoided. We will explore logical fallacies in another section.

Appeals to logos are an important part of academic writing, but you will see them in commercials as well. Although they more commonly use pathos and ethos, advertisers will sometimes use logos to sell products. For example, commercials based on saving consumers money, such as car commercials that focus on miles-per-gallon, are appealing to the consumers’ sense of logos.

As you work to build logos in your arguments, here are some strategies to keep in mind.

• Both experience and source material can provide you with evidence to appeal to logos. While outside sources will provide you with excellent evidence in an argumentative essay, in some situations, you can share personal experiences and observations. Just make sure they are appropriate to the situation and you present them in a clear and logical manner.
• Remember to think about your audience as you appeal to logos. Just because something makes sense in your mind, doesn’t mean it will make the same kind of sense to your audience. You need to try to see things from your audience’s perspective. Having others read your writing, especially those who might disagree with your position, is helpful.
• Be sure to maintain clear lines of reasoning throughout your argument. One error in logic can negatively impact your entire position. When you present faulty logic, you lose credibility.
• When presenting an argument based on logos, it is important to avoid emotional overtones and maintain an even tone of voice. Remember, it’s not just a matter of the type of evidence you are presenting; how you present this evidence is important as well.

You will be thinking about the decisions an author has made along these lines and thinking about whether these decisions are effective or ineffective.

The following page provides a sample rhetorical analysis with some notes to help you better understand your goals when writing a formal rhetorical analysis.

This content was created by Excelsior Online Writing Lab (OWL) and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-4.0 International License . You are free to use, adapt, and/or share this material as long as you properly attribute. Please keep this information on materials you use, adapt, and/or share for attribution purposes. 

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• Knowledge Base
• How to write a rhetorical analysis | Key concepts & examples

How to Write a Rhetorical Analysis | Key Concepts & Examples

Published on August 28, 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on July 23, 2023.

A rhetorical analysis is a type of essay  that looks at a text in terms of rhetoric. This means it is less concerned with what the author is saying than with how they say it: their goals, techniques, and appeals to the audience.

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Table of contents

Key concepts in rhetoric, analyzing the text, introducing your rhetorical analysis, the body: doing the analysis, concluding a rhetorical analysis, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about rhetorical analysis.

Rhetoric, the art of effective speaking and writing, is a subject that trains you to look at texts, arguments and speeches in terms of how they are designed to persuade the audience. This section introduces a few of the key concepts of this field.

Appeals: Logos, ethos, pathos

Appeals are how the author convinces their audience. Three central appeals are discussed in rhetoric, established by the philosopher Aristotle and sometimes called the rhetorical triangle: logos, ethos, and pathos.

Logos , or the logical appeal, refers to the use of reasoned argument to persuade. This is the dominant approach in academic writing , where arguments are built up using reasoning and evidence.

Ethos , or the ethical appeal, involves the author presenting themselves as an authority on their subject. For example, someone making a moral argument might highlight their own morally admirable behavior; someone speaking about a technical subject might present themselves as an expert by mentioning their qualifications.

Pathos , or the pathetic appeal, evokes the audience’s emotions. This might involve speaking in a passionate way, employing vivid imagery, or trying to provoke anger, sympathy, or any other emotional response in the audience.

These three appeals are all treated as integral parts of rhetoric, and a given author may combine all three of them to convince their audience.

Text and context

In rhetoric, a text is not necessarily a piece of writing (though it may be this). A text is whatever piece of communication you are analyzing. This could be, for example, a speech, an advertisement, or a satirical image.

In these cases, your analysis would focus on more than just language—you might look at visual or sonic elements of the text too.

The context is everything surrounding the text: Who is the author (or speaker, designer, etc.)? Who is their (intended or actual) audience? When and where was the text produced, and for what purpose?

Looking at the context can help to inform your rhetorical analysis. For example, Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech has universal power, but the context of the civil rights movement is an important part of understanding why.

Claims, supports, and warrants

A piece of rhetoric is always making some sort of argument, whether it’s a very clearly defined and logical one (e.g. in a philosophy essay) or one that the reader has to infer (e.g. in a satirical article). These arguments are built up with claims, supports, and warrants.

A claim is the fact or idea the author wants to convince the reader of. An argument might center on a single claim, or be built up out of many. Claims are usually explicitly stated, but they may also just be implied in some kinds of text.

The author uses supports to back up each claim they make. These might range from hard evidence to emotional appeals—anything that is used to convince the reader to accept a claim.

The warrant is the logic or assumption that connects a support with a claim. Outside of quite formal argumentation, the warrant is often unstated—the author assumes their audience will understand the connection without it. But that doesn’t mean you can’t still explore the implicit warrant in these cases.

For example, look at the following statement:

We can see a claim and a support here, but the warrant is implicit. Here, the warrant is the assumption that more likeable candidates would have inspired greater turnout. We might be more or less convinced by the argument depending on whether we think this is a fair assumption.

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Rhetorical analysis isn’t a matter of choosing concepts in advance and applying them to a text. Instead, it starts with looking at the text in detail and asking the appropriate questions about how it works:

• What is the author’s purpose?
• Do they focus closely on their key claims, or do they discuss various topics?
• What tone do they take—angry or sympathetic? Personal or authoritative? Formal or informal?
• Who seems to be the intended audience? Is this audience likely to be successfully reached and convinced?
• What kinds of evidence are presented?

By asking these questions, you’ll discover the various rhetorical devices the text uses. Don’t feel that you have to cram in every rhetorical term you know—focus on those that are most important to the text.

The following sections show how to write the different parts of a rhetorical analysis.

Like all essays, a rhetorical analysis begins with an introduction . The introduction tells readers what text you’ll be discussing, provides relevant background information, and presents your thesis statement .

Hover over different parts of the example below to see how an introduction works.

Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech is widely regarded as one of the most important pieces of oratory in American history. Delivered in 1963 to thousands of civil rights activists outside the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., the speech has come to symbolize the spirit of the civil rights movement and even to function as a major part of the American national myth. This rhetorical analysis argues that King’s assumption of the prophetic voice, amplified by the historic size of his audience, creates a powerful sense of ethos that has retained its inspirational power over the years.

The body of your rhetorical analysis is where you’ll tackle the text directly. It’s often divided into three paragraphs, although it may be more in a longer essay.

Each paragraph should focus on a different element of the text, and they should all contribute to your overall argument for your thesis statement.

Hover over the example to explore how a typical body paragraph is constructed.

King’s speech is infused with prophetic language throughout. Even before the famous “dream” part of the speech, King’s language consistently strikes a prophetic tone. He refers to the Lincoln Memorial as a “hallowed spot” and speaks of rising “from the dark and desolate valley of segregation” to “make justice a reality for all of God’s children.” The assumption of this prophetic voice constitutes the text’s strongest ethical appeal; after linking himself with political figures like Lincoln and the Founding Fathers, King’s ethos adopts a distinctly religious tone, recalling Biblical prophets and preachers of change from across history. This adds significant force to his words; standing before an audience of hundreds of thousands, he states not just what the future should be, but what it will be: “The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.” This warning is almost apocalyptic in tone, though it concludes with the positive image of the “bright day of justice.” The power of King’s rhetoric thus stems not only from the pathos of his vision of a brighter future, but from the ethos of the prophetic voice he adopts in expressing this vision.

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The conclusion of a rhetorical analysis wraps up the essay by restating the main argument and showing how it has been developed by your analysis. It may also try to link the text, and your analysis of it, with broader concerns.

Explore the example below to get a sense of the conclusion.

It is clear from this analysis that the effectiveness of King’s rhetoric stems less from the pathetic appeal of his utopian “dream” than it does from the ethos he carefully constructs to give force to his statements. By framing contemporary upheavals as part of a prophecy whose fulfillment will result in the better future he imagines, King ensures not only the effectiveness of his words in the moment but their continuing resonance today. Even if we have not yet achieved King’s dream, we cannot deny the role his words played in setting us on the path toward it.

If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

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The goal of a rhetorical analysis is to explain the effect a piece of writing or oratory has on its audience, how successful it is, and the devices and appeals it uses to achieve its goals.

Unlike a standard argumentative essay , it’s less about taking a position on the arguments presented, and more about exploring how they are constructed.

The term “text” in a rhetorical analysis essay refers to whatever object you’re analyzing. It’s frequently a piece of writing or a speech, but it doesn’t have to be. For example, you could also treat an advertisement or political cartoon as a text.

Logos appeals to the audience’s reason, building up logical arguments . Ethos appeals to the speaker’s status or authority, making the audience more likely to trust them. Pathos appeals to the emotions, trying to make the audience feel angry or sympathetic, for example.

Collectively, these three appeals are sometimes called the rhetorical triangle . They are central to rhetorical analysis , though a piece of rhetoric might not necessarily use all of them.

In rhetorical analysis , a claim is something the author wants the audience to believe. A support is the evidence or appeal they use to convince the reader to believe the claim. A warrant is the (often implicit) assumption that links the support with the claim.

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• Social Sciences

How to Write and Format a Speech Analysis Essay (With Example)

• Author: Wendy Powell

Need help writing a speech analysis essay? Here are some tips and examples.

Photo by Ben Moreland on Unsplash

How to Write a Speech Analysis

When your professors ask you to write a speech analysis, most of them want references for the judgments, reasons, and arguments on which your analysis is based. These usually come from the course’s textbook. Below, I have referenced the Beebe’s Introduction to Public Speaking textbook on how to write an effective speech analysis:

• As in all papers, the analysis must include an introduction, body, and conclusion.
• Start your introduction paragraph with an attention-getter or hook.
• Make sure your introduction includes a thesis sentence or purpose and previews the main points covered in the body.
• State the type of speech being analyzed and where it took place.
• Be specific.
• Make informed judgments and critiques of the speech.
• Make smooth transitions from paragraph to paragraph.
• Perform a grammar and spelling check.

Use these tips and the sample essay below as an example only. I have submitted this essay on a speech by Elie Wiesel for a writing assignment, and it could be detected on turnitin.com or another plagiarism tracker.

Review a speech analysis example essay.

Image by Rudy and Peter Skitterians from Pixabay

Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel in 2010.

David Shankbone, CC-BY 2.0, from flickr

Speech Analysis Example Essay

[Author's note: To listen to the speech analyzed in this essay and read the official transcript, visit Elie Wiesel Buchenwald's Speech at American Rhetoric . Citations in this essay follow MLA format .]

Introduction

The following paragraph is the introduction to the analysis. It starts with a hook ("a passionate speech reminding the world of a horrific incident in history"), and it states where the speech took place. The introduction includes a thesis sentence (shown here in bold). It previews the main points covered in the body:

In the year 2009, at the Buchenwald concentration camp in Germany, former prisoner Elie Wiesel delivered a passionate speech reminding the world of a horrific incident in history. His purpose was to commemorate the lives lost at the Buchenwald camp during the torture and extermination of its prisoners over half a century ago. My analysis will focus on how Wiesel used the strategies of storytelling, intonation, articulation, pause, quotation, and redundancy to engage and maintain his audience’s interest, as well as evoke their sympathy. Utilizing the three major divisions of a speech, his introduction captured the audience’s attention; the body presented his position; and his conclusion summarized the theme he wanted to portray (Beebe 13).

Body Paragraphs

The next sections form the body of the analysis. They include specific details from the speech throughout, and they make informed judgments and critiques of the speech. Transitional sentences such as "As the speech moved ... " ensure a smooth flow between the paragraphs:

Wiesel opened his speech with a humble and clear tone—loud enough to be audibly heard, yet soft enough to portray the deep pain he still felt as he told the story of how his father called his name just before dying in the bunk bed above him. He explained that he was too afraid to go to his father’s deathbed for fear the German guards would see him. His opening story of his father’s death was a powerful attention-grabber (Beebe 189, 14). He also paused to add effect and used short, simple sentences in his introduction and throughout the speech to allow his audience to visualize his experience without any abstractions (Beebe 134,137). Without overloading the audience with long descriptive details of his horrific experience, he enabled them to feel his pain and perceive his honesty. He does not shy away from remorseful words of recollection, either (Beebe 19, 79). Using these tactics combined with direct eye contact, Wiesel stood erect before the audience with his hands held loosely together in a humble display of character and integrity (Beebe 142-143). To ensure a warm reception, Wiesel assessed his audience and appropriately referenced the current German Chancellor’s civic contribution and President Obama’s earlier speech on humanity (Beebe 43). He challenged the world’s claim of having learned from the historical atrocities of the past by referencing victims in Rwanda, Darfur, and Bosnia, selecting the examples that best suited his theme (Beebe 97, 118). Wiesel spoke with an intonation of measurable staccato, in addition to pausing to emphasize his dissatisfaction with what people have purportedly learned. In perfect pitch, he asked the crowd, “Will the world ever learn?” (Beebe 190). As the speech moved from the introduction, through the body, and onto the conclusion with carefully crafted verbal transitions, the speaker used an appropriate quotation to drive home the seriousness of his feelings (Beebe 111, 121). He closed his speech with a quote from the philosopher Albert Camus, author of The Plague.

“After all,” Wiesel said, quoting Camus, “after the tragedy, never the rest ... there is more in the human being to celebrate than to denigrate.”

The final section is the conclusion. It reviews the thesis and summarizes the analysis:

Elie Wiesel’s speech captures me and everyone else exposed to it from the beginning. Whether it be the heart-wrenching story of how he and others suffered at the hands of sadistic national socialists, or his repetitive claim and proof that the world hasn’t learned from their mistakes (Beebe 190), the speech is sure to affect a listener emotionally. Although he paced his speech so that every word could be heard and understood, at times, I found the pace to be a little too slow for my taste. However, I understand that the subject matter is very grave, and he didn't want to risk under-emphasizing his misery and disappointment with the atrocities of the past.

Warning! This essay may have been submitted to a plagiarism detector. Do not copy it. Using this article is absolutely permissible if you cite this page's URL.

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How to Write the AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Essay (With Example)

November 27, 2023

Feeling intimidated by the AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Essay? We’re here to help demystify. Whether you’re cramming for the AP Lang exam right now or planning to take the test down the road, we’ve got crucial rubric information, helpful tips, and an essay example to prepare you for the big day. This post will cover 1) What is the AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Essay? 2) AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Rubric 3) AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis: Sample Prompt 4) AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example 5)AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example: Why It Works

What is the AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Essay?

The AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Essay is one of three essays included in the written portion of the AP English Exam. The full AP English Exam is 3 hours and 15 minutes long, with the first 60 minutes dedicated to multiple-choice questions. Once you complete the multiple-choice section, you move on to three equally weighted essays that ask you to synthesize, analyze, and interpret texts and develop well-reasoned arguments. The three essays include:

Synthesis essay: You’ll review various pieces of evidence and then write an essay that synthesizes (aka combines and interprets) the evidence and presents a clear argument. Read our write up on How to Write the AP Lang Synthesis Essay here.

Argumentative essay: You’ll take a stance on a specific topic and argue your case.

Rhetorical essay: You’ll read a provided passage, then analyze the author’s rhetorical choices and develop an argument that explains why the author made those rhetorical choices.

AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Rubric

The AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Essay is graded on just 3 rubric categories: Thesis, Evidence and Commentary, and Sophistication . At a glance, the rubric categories may seem vague, but AP exam graders are actually looking for very particular things in each category. We’ll break it down with dos and don’ts for each rubric category:

Thesis (0-1 point)

There’s nothing nebulous when it comes to grading AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Essay thesis. You either have one or you don’t. Including a thesis gets you one point closer to a high score and leaving it out means you miss out on one crucial point. So, what makes a thesis that counts?

• Make sure your thesis argues something about the author’s rhetorical choices. Making an argument means taking a risk and offering your own interpretation of the provided text. This is an argument that someone else might disagree with.
• A good test to see if you have a thesis that makes an argument. In your head, add the phrase “I think that…” to the beginning of your thesis. If what follows doesn’t logically flow after that phrase (aka if what follows isn’t something you and only you think), it’s likely you’re not making an argument.
• Avoid a thesis that merely restates the prompt.
• Avoid a thesis that summarizes the text but does not make an argument.

Evidence and Commentary (0-4 points)

This rubric category is graded on a scale of 0-4 where 4 is the highest grade. Per the AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis rubric, to get a 4, you’ll want to:

• Include lots of specific evidence from the text. There is no set golden number of quotes to include, but you’ll want to make sure you’re incorporating more than a couple pieces of evidence that support your argument about the author’s rhetorical choices.
• Make sure you include more than one type of evidence, too. Let’s say you’re working on your essay and have gathered examples of alliteration to include as supporting evidence. That’s just one type of rhetorical choice, and it’s hard to make a credible argument if you’re only looking at one type of evidence. To fix that issue, reread the text again looking for patterns in word choice and syntax, meaningful figurative language and imagery, literary devices, and other rhetorical choices, looking for additional types of evidence to support your argument.
• After you include evidence, offer your own interpretation and explain how this evidence proves the point you make in your thesis.
• Don’t summarize or speak generally about the author and the text. Everything you write must be backed up with evidence.
• Don’t let quotes speak for themselves. After every piece of evidence you include, make sure to explain your interpretation. Also, connect the evidence to your overarching argument.

Sophistication (0-1 point)

In this case, sophistication isn’t about how many fancy vocabulary words or how many semicolons you use. According to College Board , one point can be awarded to AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis essays that “demonstrate sophistication of thought and/or a complex understanding of the rhetorical situation” in any of these three ways:

• Explaining the significance or relevance of the writer’s rhetorical choices.
• Explaining the purpose or function of the passage’s complexities or tensions.
• Employing a style that is consistently vivid and persuasive.

Note that you don’t have to achieve all three to earn your sophistication point. A good way to think of this rubric category is to consider it a bonus point that you can earn for going above and beyond in depth of analysis or by writing an especially persuasive, clear, and well-structured essay. In order to earn this point, you’ll need to first do a good job with your thesis, evidence, and commentary.

• Focus on nailing an argumentative thesis and multiple types of evidence. Getting these fundamentals of your essay right will set you up for achieving depth of analysis.
• Explain how each piece of evidence connects to your thesis.
• Spend a minute outlining your essay before you begin to ensure your essay flows in a clear and cohesive way.
• Steer clear of generalizations about the author or text.
• Don’t include arguments you can’t prove with evidence from the text.
• Avoid complex sentences and fancy vocabulary words unless you use them often. Long, clunky sentences with imprecisely used words are hard to follow.

AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis: Sample Prompt

The sample prompt below is published online by College Board and is a real example from the 2021 AP Exam. The prompt provides background context, essay instructions, and the text you need to analyze. For sake of space, we’ve included the text as an image you can click to read. After the prompt, we provide a sample high scoring essay and then explain why this AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis essay example works.

Suggested time—40 minutes.

(This question counts as one-third of the total essay section score.)

On February 27, 2013, while in office, former president Barack Obama delivered the following address dedicating the Rosa Parks statue in the National Statuary Hall of the United States Capitol building. Rosa Parks was an African American civil rights activist who was arrested in 1955 for refusing to give up her seat on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Read the passage carefully. Write an essay that analyzes the rhetorical choices Obama makes to convey his message.

In your response you should do the following:

• Respond to the prompt with a thesis that analyzes the writer’s rhetorical choices.
• Select and use evidence to support your line of reasoning.
• Explain how the evidence supports your line of reasoning.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the rhetorical situation.
• Use appropriate grammar and punctuation in communicating your argument.

AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example

In his speech delivered in 2013 at the dedication of Rosa Park’s statue, President Barack Obama acknowledges everything that Parks’ activism made possible in the United States. Telling the story of Parks’ life and achievements, Obama highlights the fact that Parks was a regular person whose actions accomplished enormous change during the civil rights era. Through the use of diction that portrays Parks as quiet and demure, long lists that emphasize the extent of her impacts, and Biblical references, Obama suggests that all of us are capable of achieving greater good, just as Parks did.

Although it might be a surprising way to start to his dedication, Obama begins his speech by telling us who Parks was not: “Rosa Parks held no elected office. She possessed no fortune” he explains in lines 1-2. Later, when he tells the story of the bus driver who threatened to have Parks arrested when she refused to get off the bus, he explains that Parks “simply replied, ‘You may do that’” (lines 22-23). Right away, he establishes that Parks was a regular person who did not hold a seat of power. Her protest on the bus was not part of a larger plan, it was a simple response. By emphasizing that Parks was not powerful, wealthy, or loud spoken, he implies that Parks’ style of activism is an everyday practice that all of us can aspire to.

AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example (Continued)

Even though Obama portrays Parks as a demure person whose protest came “simply” and naturally, he shows the importance of her activism through long lists of ripple effects. When Parks challenged her arrest, Obama explains, Martin Luther King, Jr. stood with her and “so did thousands of Montgomery, Alabama commuters” (lines 27-28). They began a boycott that included “teachers and laborers, clergy and domestics, through rain and cold and sweltering heat, day after day, week after week, month after month, walking miles if they had to…” (lines 28-31). In this section of the speech, Obama’s sentences grow longer and he uses lists to show that Parks’ small action impacted and inspired many others to fight for change. Further, listing out how many days, weeks, and months the boycott lasted shows how Parks’ single act of protest sparked a much longer push for change.

To further illustrate Parks’ impact, Obama incorporates Biblical references that emphasize the importance of “that single moment on the bus” (lines 57-58). In lines 33-35, Obama explains that Parks and the other protestors are “driven by a solemn determination to affirm their God-given dignity” and he also compares their victory to the fall the “ancient walls of Jericho” (line 43). By of including these Biblical references, Obama suggests that Parks’ action on the bus did more than correct personal or political wrongs; it also corrected moral and spiritual wrongs. Although Parks had no political power or fortune, she was able to restore a moral balance in our world.

Toward the end of the speech, Obama states that change happens “not mainly through the exploits of the famous and the powerful, but through the countless acts of often anonymous courage and kindness” (lines 78-81). Through carefully chosen diction that portrays her as a quiet, regular person and through lists and Biblical references that highlight the huge impacts of her action, Obama illustrates exactly this point. He wants us to see that, just like Parks, the small and meek can change the world for the better.

AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example: Why It Works

We would give the AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis essay above a score of 6 out of 6 because it fully satisfies the essay’s 3 rubric categories: Thesis, Evidence and Commentary, and Sophistication . Let’s break down what this student did:

The thesis of this essay appears in the last line of the first paragraph:

“ Through the use of diction that portrays Parks as quiet and demure, long lists that emphasize the extent of her impacts, and Biblical references, Obama suggests that all of us are capable of achieving greater good, just as Parks did .”

This student’s thesis works because they make a clear argument about Obama’s rhetorical choices. They 1) list the rhetorical choices that will be analyzed in the rest of the essay (the italicized text above) and 2) include an argument someone else might disagree with (the bolded text above).

Evidence and Commentary:

This student includes substantial evidence and commentary. Things they do right, per the AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis rubric:

• They include lots of specific evidence from the text in the form of quotes.
• They incorporate 3 different types of evidence (diction, long lists, Biblical references).
• After including evidence, they offer an interpretation of what the evidence means and explain how the evidence contributes to their overarching argument (aka their thesis).

Sophistication

This essay achieves sophistication according to the AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis essay rubric in a few key ways:

• This student provides an introduction that flows naturally into the topic their essay will discuss. Before they get to their thesis, they tell us that Obama portrays Parks as a “regular person” setting up their main argument: Obama wants all regular people to aspire to do good in the world just as Rosa Parks did.
• They organize evidence and commentary in a clear and cohesive way. Each body paragraph focuses on just one type of evidence.
• They explain how their evidence is significant. In the final sentence of each body paragraph, they draw a connection back to the overarching argument presented in the thesis.
• All their evidence supports the argument presented in their thesis. There is no extraneous evidence or misleading detail.
• They consider nuances in the text. Rather than taking the text at face value, they consider what Obama’s rhetorical choices imply and offer their own unique interpretation of those implications.
• In their final paragraph, they come full circle, reiterate their thesis, and explain what Obama’s rhetorical choices communicate to readers.
• Their sentences are clear and easy to read. There are no grammar errors or misused words.

AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Essay—More Resources

Looking for more tips to help your master your AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Essay? Brush up on 20 Rhetorical Devices High School Students Should Know and read our Tips for Improving Reading Comprehension . If you’re ready to start studying for another part of the AP English Exam, find more expert tips in our How to Write the AP Lang Synthesis blog post.

Considering what other AP classes to take? Read up on the Hardest AP Classes .

• High School Success

Christina Wood

Christina Wood holds a BA in Literature & Writing from UC San Diego, an MFA in Creative Writing from Washington University in St. Louis, and is currently a Doctoral Candidate in English at the University of Georgia, where she teaches creative writing and first-year composition courses. Christina has published fiction and nonfiction in numerous publications, including The Paris Review , McSweeney’s , Granta , Virginia Quarterly Review , The Sewanee Review , Mississippi Review , and Puerto del Sol , among others. Her story “The Astronaut” won the 2018 Shirley Jackson Award for short fiction and received a “Distinguished Stories” mention in the 2019 Best American Short Stories anthology.

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Organizing Your Argument

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How can I effectively present my argument?

In order for your argument to be persuasive, it must use an organizational structure that the audience perceives as both logical and easy to parse. Three argumentative methods —the  Toulmin Method , Classical Method , and Rogerian Method — give guidance for how to organize the points in an argument.

Note that these are only three of the most popular models for organizing an argument. Alternatives exist. Be sure to consult your instructor and/or defer to your assignment’s directions if you’re unsure which to use (if any).

Toulmin Method

The  Toulmin Method  is a formula that allows writers to build a sturdy logical foundation for their arguments. First proposed by author Stephen Toulmin in  The Uses of Argument (1958), the Toulmin Method emphasizes building a thorough support structure for each of an argument's key claims.

The basic format for the Toulmin Method  is as follows:

Claim:  In this section, you explain your overall thesis on the subject. In other words, you make your main argument.

Data (Grounds):  You should use evidence to support the claim. In other words, provide the reader with facts that prove your argument is strong.

Warrant (Bridge):  In this section, you explain why or how your data supports the claim. As a result, the underlying assumption that you build your argument on is grounded in reason.

Backing (Foundation):  Here, you provide any additional logic or reasoning that may be necessary to support the warrant.

Counterclaim:  You should anticipate a counterclaim that negates the main points in your argument. Don't avoid arguments that oppose your own. Instead, become familiar with the opposing perspective.   If you respond to counterclaims, you appear unbiased (and, therefore, you earn the respect of your readers). You may even want to include several counterclaims to show that you have thoroughly researched the topic.

Rebuttal:  In this section, you incorporate your own evidence that disagrees with the counterclaim. It is essential to include a thorough warrant or bridge to strengthen your essay’s argument. If you present data to your audience without explaining how it supports your thesis, your readers may not make a connection between the two, or they may draw different conclusions.

Example of the Toulmin Method:

Claim:  Hybrid cars are an effective strategy to fight pollution.

Data1:  Driving a private car is a typical citizen's most air-polluting activity.

Warrant 1:  Due to the fact that cars are the largest source of private (as opposed to industrial) air pollution, switching to hybrid cars should have an impact on fighting pollution.

Data 2:  Each vehicle produced is going to stay on the road for roughly 12 to 15 years.

Warrant 2:  Cars generally have a long lifespan, meaning that the decision to switch to a hybrid car will make a long-term impact on pollution levels.

Data 3:  Hybrid cars combine a gasoline engine with a battery-powered electric motor.

Warrant 3:  The combination of these technologies produces less pollution.

Counterclaim:  Instead of focusing on cars, which still encourages an inefficient culture of driving even as it cuts down on pollution, the nation should focus on building and encouraging the use of mass transit systems.

Rebuttal:  While mass transit is an idea that should be encouraged, it is not feasible in many rural and suburban areas, or for people who must commute to work. Thus, hybrid cars are a better solution for much of the nation's population.

Rogerian Method

The Rogerian Method  (named for, but not developed by, influential American psychotherapist Carl R. Rogers) is a popular method for controversial issues. This strategy seeks to find a common ground between parties by making the audience understand perspectives that stretch beyond (or even run counter to) the writer’s position. Moreso than other methods, it places an emphasis on reiterating an opponent's argument to his or her satisfaction. The persuasive power of the Rogerian Method lies in its ability to define the terms of the argument in such a way that:

• your position seems like a reasonable compromise.
• you seem compassionate and empathetic.

The basic format of the Rogerian Method  is as follows:

Introduction:  Introduce the issue to the audience, striving to remain as objective as possible.

Opposing View : Explain the other side’s position in an unbiased way. When you discuss the counterargument without judgement, the opposing side can see how you do not directly dismiss perspectives which conflict with your stance.

Statement of Validity (Understanding):  This section discusses how you acknowledge how the other side’s points can be valid under certain circumstances. You identify how and why their perspective makes sense in a specific context, but still present your own argument.

Statement of Your Position:  By this point, you have demonstrated that you understand the other side’s viewpoint. In this section, you explain your own stance.

Statement of Contexts : Explore scenarios in which your position has merit. When you explain how your argument is most appropriate for certain contexts, the reader can recognize that you acknowledge the multiple ways to view the complex issue.

Statement of Benefits:  You should conclude by explaining to the opposing side why they would benefit from accepting your position. By explaining the advantages of your argument, you close on a positive note without completely dismissing the other side’s perspective.

Example of the Rogerian Method:

Introduction:  The issue of whether children should wear school uniforms is subject to some debate.

Opposing View:  Some parents think that requiring children to wear uniforms is best.

Statement of Validity (Understanding):  Those parents who support uniforms argue that, when all students wear the same uniform, the students can develop a unified sense of school pride and inclusiveness.

Statement of Your Position : Students should not be required to wear school uniforms. Mandatory uniforms would forbid choices that allow students to be creative and express themselves through clothing.

Statement of Contexts:  However, even if uniforms might hypothetically promote inclusivity, in most real-life contexts, administrators can use uniform policies to enforce conformity. Students should have the option to explore their identity through clothing without the fear of being ostracized.

Statement of Benefits:  Though both sides seek to promote students' best interests, students should not be required to wear school uniforms. By giving students freedom over their choice, students can explore their self-identity by choosing how to present themselves to their peers.

Classical Method

The Classical Method of structuring an argument is another common way to organize your points. Originally devised by the Greek philosopher Aristotle (and then later developed by Roman thinkers like Cicero and Quintilian), classical arguments tend to focus on issues of definition and the careful application of evidence. Thus, the underlying assumption of classical argumentation is that, when all parties understand the issue perfectly, the correct course of action will be clear.

The basic format of the Classical Method  is as follows:

Introduction (Exordium): Introduce the issue and explain its significance. You should also establish your credibility and the topic’s legitimacy.

Statement of Background (Narratio): Present vital contextual or historical information to the audience to further their understanding of the issue. By doing so, you provide the reader with a working knowledge about the topic independent of your own stance.

Proposition (Propositio): After you provide the reader with contextual knowledge, you are ready to state your claims which relate to the information you have provided previously. This section outlines your major points for the reader.

Proof (Confirmatio): You should explain your reasons and evidence to the reader. Be sure to thoroughly justify your reasons. In this section, if necessary, you can provide supplementary evidence and subpoints.

Refutation (Refuatio): In this section, you address anticipated counterarguments that disagree with your thesis. Though you acknowledge the other side’s perspective, it is important to prove why your stance is more logical.  

Conclusion (Peroratio): You should summarize your main points. The conclusion also caters to the reader’s emotions and values. The use of pathos here makes the reader more inclined to consider your argument.  

Example of the Classical Method:  

Introduction (Exordium): Millions of workers are paid a set hourly wage nationwide. The federal minimum wage is standardized to protect workers from being paid too little. Research points to many viewpoints on how much to pay these workers. Some families cannot afford to support their households on the current wages provided for performing a minimum wage job .

Statement of Background (Narratio): Currently, millions of American workers struggle to make ends meet on a minimum wage. This puts a strain on workers’ personal and professional lives. Some work multiple jobs to provide for their families.

Proposition (Propositio): The current federal minimum wage should be increased to better accommodate millions of overworked Americans. By raising the minimum wage, workers can spend more time cultivating their livelihoods.

Proof (Confirmatio): According to the United States Department of Labor, 80.4 million Americans work for an hourly wage, but nearly 1.3 million receive wages less than the federal minimum. The pay raise will alleviate the stress of these workers. Their lives would benefit from this raise because it affects multiple areas of their lives.

Refutation (Refuatio): There is some evidence that raising the federal wage might increase the cost of living. However, other evidence contradicts this or suggests that the increase would not be great. Additionally,   worries about a cost of living increase must be balanced with the benefits of providing necessary funds to millions of hardworking Americans.

Conclusion (Peroratio): If the federal minimum wage was raised, many workers could alleviate some of their financial burdens. As a result, their emotional wellbeing would improve overall. Though some argue that the cost of living could increase, the benefits outweigh the potential drawbacks.

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10: Writing Argument Analysis

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Learning Outcomes 

• Write an analysis of an argument's appeal to emotion
• Write an analysis of an argument's appeal to trust
• Connect an assessment of an argument's logical structure to an assessment of the effectiveness of its rhetorical appeals
• Give constructive feedback on an argument analysis essay
• Describe how the visual features of an image can reinforce the message of a visual argument.
• 10.1: How Argument Analysis Essays are Structured An argument analysis should summarize the argument and discuss how well any appeals to trust and emotion are likely to work with readers.
• 10.2: Analyzing an Argument's Situation (Kairos, or the Rhetorical Situation) Examining the author, audience, context, purpose, constraints, and genre of the argument can help us understand what shapes it.
• 10.3: Generating Ideas for an Argument Analysis Paper We can generate material by asking ourselves questions about an argument's logical structure, its appeals to emotion, and its appeals to trust.
• 10.4: Reviewing an Argument Analysis Essay We can ask ourselves certain questions as we read and give feedback on an argument analysis essay.
• 10.5.1: Annotated Brief Sample Argument Analysis
• 10.6.1: Annotated Longer Sample Argument Analysis
• 10.8.1: Annotated Sample Visual Argument Analysis

Developing a line of argument

In an academic paper, an argument is the way in which you explain and develop your topic.

• A logical structure of your paper in which sometimes contradictory claims are discussed, and which enables the reader to follow, through signposting and headings, how you deal with the topic.
• Your critical analysis of existing literature from the viewpoint of your own experience and/or research.
• The development of your own stance, based on your literature review and your own experience/research.

Within your main line of reasoning/argument, are individual arguments.

This can be defined as “using reasons to support a point of view, so that known or unknown audiences may be persuaded to agree. An argument may include disagreement but is more than simply disagreement if it is based on reasons” (Cottrell, 2011, 52).

Planning your argument

• Try drawing your line of argument on paper to see how logical it looks
• Try putting your main points in a different order to see how it affects the line of argument
• Plan what will go where

What an argument isn't

An argument should not be confused with…

Position : It is an opinion. If there are no reasons it is not an argument

Agreement : Again, not an argument if there are no reasons

Disagreement : As above, simply to disagree with no reasons is not an argument

Description : An account of what something is like

Explanation : Why something is the way it is

Summary : Reduced version of longer text

• Cottrell, S. (2011) Critical thinking skills [ebook], 2nd edition. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

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IV. Types of Argumentation

4.1 Features of an Argument

Terri Pantuso

Argument is not the loud, assertive, unwavering statement of your opinion in the hopes of conquering the opposition. Argument is the careful consideration of numerous positions and the careful development of logically sound, carefully constructed assertions that, when combined, offer a worthwhile perspective in an ongoing debate. Certainly you want to imagine yourself arguing with others—and certainly you want to believe your ideas have superior qualities to theirs—but the purpose of argument in the college setting is not to solve a practical problem or shut down a conversation. Rather, it’s to illuminate, expand, and further inform a debate happening on a worthwhile subject between reasonable, intelligent people. In other words, calling the opposition stupid is not good argument, it’s an ad hominem attack. For a review of this and other logical fallacies, refer to section 3.6 of this text.

Some of the key tools of argument are the strategies that students are asked to consider when doing a rhetorical analysis. Before beginning an argument of your own, review the basic concepts of rhetorical appeals below. As you plan and draft your own argument, carefully use the following elements of rhetoric to your own advantage.

Rhetorical Appeals

The use of data, statistical evidence, and sufficient support to establish the practicality and rationality of your claims should be the strongest element of your argument. To have a logically sound argument, you should include:

• A debatable and supportable claim
• Logical reasoning to support your claim
• Sound evidence and examples to justify the reasoning
• Reasonable projections
• Concessions & rebuttals
• Avoid logical fallacies

The ethical and well-balanced use of all of the strategies above will help you to present yourself as trustworthy and intelligent in your consideration of the topic and in the development of your argument. This balance should include the use of credible, relevant sources which can be accomplished through research methods utilizing the strategies governing your discipline. Following those strategies will build your credibility as a writer of argument, particularly in the college setting, as you pay attention to the needs of the audience with regard to presentation and style. In college, this means that you have used the style manual (MLA, APA, Chicago, etc.) required for the assignment and appropriate to the audience. In so doing, make certain to cite the sources you have used according to the style manual you are using.

The use of examples and language that evoke an appropriate emotional response in your reader—that gets them to care about your topic—can be helpful in argument. For academic essays, pathos may be useful in introductory sections, concluding sections, or as ways to link various parts of the paper together. However, if your argument is based solely or primarily upon emotional appeals, it will be viewed as weak in an academic setting, especially when data or ethical sources can disprove your claims. Therefore, college writing often puts more emphasis on logos and ethos.

Approaches to Argument

A well-structured argument is one that is carefully and optimally planned. It is organized so that the argument has a continuous building of ideas, one upon the other or in concert with the other, in order to produce the most persuasive impact or effect on the reader. For clarity, avoid repeating ideas, reasons, or evidence. Instead, consider how each idea in your argument connects to the others. Should some ideas come before others? Should you build your reasons from simple to complex or from complex to simple? Should you present the counterargument before your reasons? Or, would it make more sense for you to present your reasons and then the concessions and rebuttals ? How can you use clear transitional phrases to facilitate reader comprehension of your argument? Consider these questions while constructing and revising your argument.

Simple to Complex/Complex to Simple

Whether structuring a paragraph or a research paper, the simple to complex (or reverse) method can be an effective way to build cohesion throughout your writing. Just as the phrase implies, simple to complex is when a writer introduces a simple concept then builds upon it to heighten interest. Sometimes, the opposite structure works to move the reader through your position. For example, if you choose to write on the topic of pollution as it impacts the world, you might begin with the concept of straws and sea turtles. Your simple topic of sea turtles swallowing straws thrown away might then move to the complex issues of consumption, consumerism and disposal. Conversely, if you begin with the broad, complex topic of consumerism, you could then move to the story of the sea turtles as a way of building pathos in the reader. Whichever method you choose, make sure that the relationship between the topics is logical and clear so that readers find validity in your position.

Cause/Effect

The cause/effect method is a way of establishing a reason, or reasons, why something has occurred. For example, if you live in south Texas, then you understand the problem that mosquitoes cause in the hot, humid summer months. While there is no way to eliminate all mosquitoes, there are ways to minimize their growth in your backyard. If you research the ways in which mosquitoes are born, you would understand the importance of things such as emptying containers of all stagnant water so that they cannot incubate or keeping your grass mowed to eliminate areas for them to populate. The process by which you go through to determine the cause of mosquito infestations is the cause and effect method. In argumentation, you might use this method to support a claim for community efforts to prevent mosquitoes from growing in your neighborhood. Demonstrating that process is effective for a logos based argument.

Chronological

Sometimes an argument is presented best when a sequential pattern is used. Oftentimes, that pattern will be based on the pattern of time in which the sequence occurs. For example, if you are writing an argumentative essay in which you are calling for a new stop light to be installed at a busy intersection, you might utilize a chronological structure to demonstrate the rate of increased accidents over a given period of time at that intersection. If your pattern demonstrates a marked increase in accidents, then your data would show a logical reason for supporting your position. Oftentimes, a chronological pattern involves steps indicated by signal words such as first, next, and finally. Utilizing this pattern will walk readers through your line of reasoning and guide them towards reaching your proposed conclusion.

Another method for organizing your writing is by order of importance. This method is often referred to as emphatic because organization is done based upon emphasis. The direction you choose to go is yours whether you begin with the strongest, most important point of your argument, or the weakest. In either case, the hierarchy of ideas should be clear to readers. The emphatic method is often subjectively based upon the writer’s beliefs. If, for example, you want to build an argument for a new rail system to be used in your city, you will have to decide which reason is most important and which is simply support material. For one writer, the decrease in the number of cars on the road might be the most important aspect as it would result in a reduction of toxic emissions. For another writer, the time saved for commuters might be the most important aspect. The decision to start with your strongest or weakest point is one of style.

Style/ Eloquence

When we discuss style in academic writing, we generally mean the use of formal language appropriate for the given academic audience and occasion. Academics generally favor Standard American English and the use of precise language that avoids idioms , clichés , or dull, simple word choices. This is not to imply that these tropes are not useful; however, strong academic writing is typically objective and frequently avoids the use of first-person pronouns unless the disciplinary style and conventions suggest otherwise.

Some writing assignments allow you to choose your audience. In that case, the style in which you write may not be the formal, precise Standard American English that the academy prefers. For some writing assignments, you may even be asked to use, where appropriate, poetic or figurative language or language that evokes the senses. Additionally, instructors should be cognizant of second language learners and the variations in style when writing in a non-native language.

In all cases, it is important to understand what style of writing your audience expects, as delivering your argument in that style could make it more persuasive.

This section contains material from:

“Arguing.” In A Guide to Rhetoric, Genre, and Success in First-Year Writing , by Melanie Gagich and Emilie Zickel. Cleveland: MSL Academic Endeavors. Accessed July 2019. https://pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu/csu-fyw-rhetoric/chapter/8-2-arguing/ . Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License .

Pronouncement, affirmation, or endorsement; a declaration or statement of belief, usually positive in nature.

An acknowledgement of at least one aspect of the other side of the argument  that admits or accepts validity or legitimacy.

A counterstatement or counterargument; to offer evidence that opposes the argument that is being made.

Motionless, inactive, idle, or sluggish; a lack of development, growth, or advancement.

A system involving rank. Hierarchical refers to a system that involves a hierarchy. For example, the military is a hierarchical system in which some people outrank others.

To take the position or side of the subject (rather than the object) which is the one doing the observing (rather than being observed); the belief, preference, or understanding of an individual.

A phrase that is not traditionally associated with the meaning that the words provide; idioms cannot be literally translated into another language. For example, when someone is “feeling under the weather,” they are feeling ill.

A stereotyped or corny phrase, expression, or idea that has lost its original meaning from overuse, usually over a long period of time. The saying “time flies when you’re having fun” is an example of a cliché.

A stereotypical or predictable literary convention or device such as a plot point (the damsel in distress), a figure of speech (metaphor, idiom, etc.), or theme or motif (red roses represent true love).

Impartiality or fairness; dispassionate or detached. Also refers to the goal, aim, or intention that someone or a group of people hope to achieve.

Having awareness.

4.1 Features of an Argument Copyright © 2022 by Terri Pantuso is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

Speech Analysis | Definition, Steps & Examples

Jennifer has taught at the college and high school levels for two decades. She has a Masters in English and a Bachelors in English and Spanish.

Kara Wilson is a 6th-12th grade English and Drama teacher. She has a B.A. in Literature and an M.Ed, both of which she earned from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

What is the importance of speech analysis?

Speech analysis is important because it teaches readers and listeners to understand and evaluate the rhetoric presented to them. It also helps them to become better communicators themselves.

How do you write a speech analysis?

When writing a speech analysis, the first step is to determine the purpose and audience of the speech itself. The next step will be to make a claim of effectiveness based on the speaker's credibility and the rhetorical choices made in the speech. A speech analysis could contain elements such as diction choices or types of evidence chosen by the speaker.

Table of Contents

What is speech analysis, how to analyze a speech, how to comment on a speech, examples of speech analysis, lesson summary.

A speech analysis is an evaluation of a speech. Whether the speech is meant to inform, persuade, or entertain, it can be analyzed for its rhetorical intent. When giving a speech analysis, it is important to identify the purpose and target audience. An insightful analysis also examines the rhetorical choices of the speaker as they play an important part in the success of a speech. This analysis is commonly used to improve the communication skills of both the speaker and the person analyzing the speech.

A speech will generally consist of three elements: the introduction, the body, and the conclusion. Outlining these three sections will inform any speech analysis.

Elements of a Speech

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• 0:01 Common Elements of a Speech
• 2:18 How to Analyze a Speech
• 2:48 Analyzing JFK's Civil…
• 9:55 Lesson Summary

Speech analysis can be simplified into three basic steps: analyzing the purpose, identifying the audience, and assessing the effectiveness of the rhetorical choices.

What Should be your First Step in Analyzing a Speech?

Identifying the purpose is the first step in speech analysis. Purposes can include informing, persuading, or entertaining the audience.

These purposes are centered on the effect they have on the audience. Thus identifying the purpose inherently involves identifying the target audience. Labeling a speech as informative, persuasive, or entertaining automatically calls into question the audience meant to be informed, persuaded, or entertained. The audience must be clearly pinpointed before moving on to the next step because the target audience will inform about the types of rhetoric that will or will not be effective.

What Should be Your Next Steps in Analyzing a Speech?

With the purpose and audience in mind, a speech analysis will move on to rhetorical choices. This involves evaluating the use of humorous anecdotes or statistical evidence as well as choices of diction and tone.

Diction , also called word choice, can create an intentional tone. Negative wording can create an intentionally negative tone for the speech, just as optimistic wording can create an intentionally optimistic tone. In addition to diction and tone, the body of a speech should be analyzed for credibility and type of evidence. Credibility is created through more than just choices of words. Credibility is achieved by the persona of the speaker as well as by the use of facts or other relevant content. A speaker might use statistics to provide a factual basis for an argument or use humorous examples to effect a more casual environment for the speech.

Finally, a speech analysis will draw a conclusion about the speech's effectiveness. A speech analysis will argue that the rhetorical choices did or did not make the speech effective for its intended audience and purpose.

To comment on a speech is to give feedback to the speaker. This process is important to the speaker because it identifies which speech elements are effective or ineffective. Thus, the speaker can improve communication skills based on the feedback.

A good set of feedback will comment on the use of certain types of evidence. For example, a speaker should gather the audience's response to statistics, examples, and expert testimony to learn which types of testimony worked to achieve the purpose of the speech. Analyzing rhetorical choices helps a speaker develop speech skills by recognizing which rhetorical moves work and which do not.

A less useful set of feedback will focus on agreement or disagreement rather than the structure of the speech itself. When analyzing a speech, it is important not to be influenced by whether the content is agreeable. This takes the focus off of the rhetorical choices made by the speaker and puts it on a debatable topic between the speaker and the person analyzing the speech.

Political speeches are often the subject of speech analysis. Here are examples of analysis using the works of John F. Kennedy and Abraham Lincoln.

Example Analysis of Kennedy's Civil Rights Speech

John F. Kennedy delivered his speech in 1963 after the United States Supreme Court ruled that the University of Alabama must desegregate. He delivered this speech to the population of the country through television and radio. The purpose of his speech is clearly to persuade, as his main argument lays out a path to support Civil Rights and social equality. In particular, he wants legislation that would protect the voting rights of all Americans.

In his introduction, Kennedy connects with his audience by describing the beginning sentiments of the United States when it was founded. Kennedy quotes the Declaration of Independence. Referencing the line, "that all men are created equal," builds credibility for him as a speaker . He then develops a deeper connection with his audience by using the pronoun "we." When speaking of race issues in the country and the world, Kennedy uses "we" in most references to "Americans." This simple choice of diction places him inside the group identity of his audience. The word "we" implies that he is involved, just like average Americans.

Rhetorical choices in the body of the speech include statistics and historical allusions. JFK references statistical data that illustrates American citizens' average income and life expectancy. Then, the historical allusions bring up negative images of a "caste system" and "master race." Using these references works to stir up urgent emotions in the audience. The audience, then, would follow the logic that supporting his Civil Rights legislation would help America avoid repeating the historical patterns of low income, shorter life spans, and brutal social injustice.

Kennedy's conclusion is open in his request when he states, "I am, therefore, asking Congress to enact legislation giving all Americans the right to be served in facilities which are open to the public" and "I ask the support of all our citizens." Appropriate for a persuasive speech, JFK offers a call to action for the audience.

Example Analysis of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address

Similar to Kennedy's speech, Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address opens with a reference to the formation of the United States. His speech was delivered at a burial ground, and his audience would be citizens of a country still being torn apart by the Civil War.

In his introduction, Lincoln uses "our" to form a connection with his audience. Thus his purpose is achieved as he inspires his audience to unite to end the war with triumph and valor. The body of his speech continues the use of inclusive pronouns as he tells the people, "we are engaged in a great civil war," again reinforcing the notion that he and the audience are "engaged" in the campaign together. In this section, Lincoln uses strong emotional wording to describe the "brave" ones who have given their lives to such a "nobly advanced work." He offers a sense of urgency as he encourages the people not to give up on "the great task remaining before us."

In Lincoln's conclusion, he gives a final word of encouragement to the people hoping for "a new birth of freedom." His last words leave the audience with pride and patriotism as the president projects a victorious nation that "shall not perish from the earth."

Importance of Speech Analysis

Speech analysis is important for both the speaker and the analyst. A speaker will receive feedback in order to better understand the effect a speech has on an audience. This can help a speaker make more audience-centered choices in future settings. It is also important for the analyst as the analyst learns by observing what is most effective in a speech example.

Some improvements that can be made based on a speech analysis include word choices and analyzing which words inspire or alienate certain audiences. Other improvements that can be learned from speech analysis can be within the structure of an argument as a whole. Arguments and counterarguments are both examined in an analysis, and a communicator can learn how to build credibility by effectively presenting an opposing opinion.

Speech analysis examines the elements that make up an effective speech. It involves identifying the target audience and purpose of the speech, assessing how the speech connects to that audience and evaluating the purpose of a speaker's rhetorical choices (the choices of wording, style, or type of evidence). The first step in a speech analysis is identifying the speech's purpose or intent. Speeches may be written for a variety of purposes, including to inform, persuade, or entertain. The speech can be evaluated for its effectiveness and validity based on its purpose. A proper speech analysis will examine the use of anecdotes (short personal stories), facts, statistics, examples, or expert testimony. A speech analysis should also include an evaluation of diction (choice of wording) and the inclusion of counterarguments, which is essential to an effective speech. Anticipating the opposing argument proves that a speaker has thought through both sides of the issue, thus strengthening the speaker's position.

For example, an analysis of President Kennedy's Civil Rights Speech would evaluate the use of the word "we" as it refers to Americans as a whole. This word choice created a connection with Kennedy's audience. It made the speech more personal to the listener and created a feeling of unity by implying that the president and the American people were all together in resolving the issue. Like most persuasive speakers, Kennedy ends with a call to action, meaning the speech motivates the audience to do something (for example, to vote a certain way or buy a certain product). Kennedy provides such a call for action when he asks Congress to enact legislation and American citizens to support the legislative action.

Video Transcript

Common elements of a speech.

Ted Sorensen, presidential adviser, lawyer, and well-known speechwriter for former president John F. Kennedy said, 'A speech can ignite a fire, change men's minds, open their eyes, alter their votes, bring hope to their lives, and, in all these ways, change the world.'

A speech is a formal address delivered to an audience. Speeches can be written to inform, persuade, or entertain. Humorous, entertaining speeches often include anecdotes (brief, amusing stories about real events). Entertaining speeches aren't teaching the audience anything like an informative speech given by a scientist or a historian. A speech written to persuade an audience might be a debate speech or a speech given by a president trying to encourage a nation to vote for something or take action.

When persuading an audience, it is important to focus on the audience members who are undecided on the issue. There's no need to work to persuade those who already agree, and those who adamantly disagree have already made up their minds.

While speeches can be written and delivered in many different ways, they generally share the same basic format. The Introduction contains a hook to grab the audience's attention, a preview of what will be talked about in the speech, why that topic is important, and why the audience should listen to him/her. A hook may be a personal story, a joke, or a startling statistic to spark the audience's interest.

The Body includes the speaker's main points supported by facts, details, examples, and/or statistics explained in a clear and concise manner, and counterarguments are made. By talking about their opposition's arguments and countering them with stronger points to support their position, the speaker creates a well thought out argument.

The Conclusion reminds the audience of the key points made and ends with a final, powerful thought or a specific call to action to motivate the audience to do something about this issue. When concluding a persuasive speech, it's important to articulate clear goals, whether the speaker wants a petition signed, a product bought or boycotted, or some other specific action taken.

In order to really pick apart and analyze a speech, we need to:

• Analyze the purpose of the text. Is it written to inform, persuade, or entertain?
• Note who the target audience is and how the speech connects to its audience through anecdotes, specific wording, and/or examples that relate to its audience.
• Assess its effectiveness and validity by noting whether or not it has relevant and supportable proof/evidence, such as facts, statistics, examples, or expert testimony.

Analyzing JFK's Civil Rights Speech

After a Supreme Court ruling that forced the University of Alabama to desegregate so that students of color could attend, President Kennedy delivered a civil rights announcement in 1963.

'This nation was founded by men of many nations and backgrounds. It was founded on the principle that all men are created equal, and that the rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened.'

'Today we are committed to a worldwide struggle to promote and protect the rights of all who wish to be free. When Americans are sent to Vietnam or West Berlin, we do not ask for whites only. It ought to be possible, therefore, for American students of any color to attend any public institution they select without having to be backed up by troops.'

President Kennedy's introduction starts with a powerful statement about the United States' foundation. In the second sentence he says that the country was founded on the principle of equal rights, so this tells us what his speech is going to be about. Now, do you think a speech that starts by talking about the topic of equal rights has the purpose to entertain, inform, or persuade? From that first sentence we know it's not to entertain, though it could be to inform or persuade. But President Kennedy states how he views this country, and then asserts his belief about everyone being equal. Although this may seem like an obvious fact to you, this is an opinion-based statement and it's his main argument, which was controversial to say at that time. Since he's stating his position, we know that his purpose is to persuade his audience, and now we want to see if he supports it in the body of his speech.

In the beginning of his speech's body, Kennedy talks about the worldwide struggle for freedom and states the fact that people from all different backgrounds fight for our country. He pushes this piece of evidence even further by saying that recognizing this fact means all American students should be able to attend any public institution without needing to be escorted by troops, since at that time that was what was happening to protect them against angry, racist mobs. Also, did you notice how he used the word 'we'? Why do you think he said that instead of using the word 'Americans'? Well, it personalizes it and tells us that his speech is directed at Americans. He also creates a sense of unity by including himself. He is not saying you need to be involved, he is saying we are all involved.

Kennedy's speech continues and states that all people are not treated equally. 'The Negro baby born in America today...has about one half as much chance of completing high school as a white baby born in the same place on the same day, one third as much chance of completing college, one third as much chance of becoming a professional man, twice as much chance of becoming unemployed, about one seventh as much chance of earning $10,000 a year or more, a life expectancy which is seven years shorter, and the prospects of earning only half as much.'

'This is not a sectional issue. Difficulties over segregation and discrimination exist in every city, in every state of the Union, producing in many cities a rising tide of discontent that threatens the public safety. Nor is this a partisan issue. In a time of domestic crisis men of goodwill and generosity should be able to unite regardless of party or politics.'

Kennedy continues to support his main argument with startling statistics. He then weaves in a counter argument by saying, 'This is not a sectional issue.' Remember that he is trying to persuade those who are undecided, so he anticipates an argument that people on the opposing side might make, which is to say that those statistics only apply to African Americans in certain areas. Kennedy further supports his position by stating that this is an issue that is escalating. He provides another counter argument saying, 'Nor is this a partisan issue.' This discounts any opposing statements that this is merely a political issue, and he tries to unite people from different backgrounds.

'We preach freedom around the world, and we mean it, and we cherish our freedom here at home; but are we to say to the world, and, much more importantly, for each other, that this is a land of the free except for the Negroes; that we have no second-class citizens except Negroes; that we have no class or caste system, no ghettos, no master race, except with respect to Negroes?...A great change is at hand, and our task, our obligation, is to make that revolution, that change, peaceful and constructive for all. Those who do nothing are inviting shame as well as violence. Those who act boldly are recognizing right as well as reality.'

Kennedy provides another important point to support his argument: that it's hypocritical of us to promote freedom for all when all our people don't have the same freedoms. He also uses terms like 'second-class citizens', 'caste system', 'ghettos', and 'master race'. These terms refer to countries and conflicts around the world such as the caste system in countries like India, the ghettos that Jewish people were forced into during WWII and the Nazi's idea of a master race. By using these powerful terms, Kennedy is urging his audience to see the similarities between the United States' civil rights issue and other issues involving inequalities and the violation of human rights. He pushes for change, saying it's our obligation to create change through a peaceful, constructive revolution. He directly addresses undecided audience members by saying, 'Those who do nothing are inviting shame as well as violence.' This is a strong statement to push apathetic people to take action. Let's see if he gets even more specific as to what he wants his audience to do in his conclusion.

'I am, therefore, asking Congress to enact legislation giving all Americans the right to be served in facilities which are open to the public...I have recently met with scores of business leaders urging them to take voluntary action to end this discrimination... But many are unwilling to act alone, and for this reason, nationwide legislation is needed if we are to move this problem from the streets to the courts. This is a matter which concerns this country and what it stands for, and in meeting it I ask the support of all our citizens.'

What does Kennedy specifically want to have happen? He wants Congress to enact legislation. He explains why national legislation and this issue are so important, restating his main ideas. He ends by asking for the support of all citizens, which is his call to action.

So, let's assess the speech's effectiveness and validity. Did Kennedy provide relevant and supportable evidence? Yes, he included specific facts and powerful statistics that were related to the issue and supported his position, and he had a specific call to action.

The Introduction contains a hook to grab the audience's attention, a preview of what will be talked about in the speech, why that topic is important, and why the audience should listen to him/her.

The Body includes the speaker's main points supported by facts, details, examples, and/or statistics explained in a clear and concise manner, and counterarguments are made.

The Conclusion reminds the audience of the key points made and ends with a final, powerful thought or a specific call to action to motivate the audience to do something about this issue.

In order to really pick apart and analyze a speech , we need to do a few things:

• Note who the target audience is and how the speech connects to its audience through anecdotes and/or examples that relate to its audience.
• Assess its effectiveness and validity by noting whether or not it has relevant and supportable proof or evidence, and support such as facts, statistics, examples, or expert testimony.

Learning Outcomes

Your goal when you finish the video should be to:

• List some of the common elements of a speech
• Demonstrate how to analyze a speech
• Examine JFK's civil rights speech and analyze it

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2.2 Explaining and analyzing the line of reasoning of an argument

8 min read • december 30, 2022

In this guide, we'll cover how to explain the line of reasoning for an argument. This is a concept that was first introduced in AP Seminar, but continues to be relevant for AP Research. Not only will you need to understand the line of reasoning for other people's arguments, you'll also need to understand your own line of reasoning in your paper. We're also gonna be talking about

Definitions and Information come from page 20 of the AP Research CED.

So, let's recap! What is a line of reasoning?

Line of Reasoning

A line of reasoning is defined by College Board as one or more claims justified through evidence (for an argument .)

Sometimes, the line of reasoning consists of only one piece of evidence and reasoning.

For a silly example, suppose you were arguing with a friend about if pineapple belongs on pizza. You argue yes (go with me) and your claim is that pineapple belongs on pizza because it's delicious. You know because you've had pineapple on pizza before.

In this example...

Your argument is that pineapple belongs on pizza.

Your claim is that pineapple on pizza tastes good.

Your evidence is that you've eaten pineapple on pizza before.

In this case, your line of reasoning is one claim-evidence pair long.

However, with more complicated arguments (like the thesis statement of a whole paper, or a section of a paper) the line of reasoning will be much longer.

What does a Line of Reasoning Look Like?

Not every line of reasoning is organized in the same way. They'll differ based on the purpose of the argument.

For example, if your argument is meant to show causality, you might start by defining the issue, then claiming A causes B, then give your reasons, and at the end explain why they matter.

However, if you want to propose a solution, you might present a shortened version of a causality essay so you have space for evidence that supports your solution.

So, how can you tell what the line of reasoning is? Start by looking at the argument's purpose! Ask yourself, what is this argument trying to do? Once you have the answer, look at how the paper attempts to accomplish its goal to establish causation or propose a solution or create a call to action... It will generally do this through a series of claims with (hopefully) evidence attached to said claims; that series is your line of reasoning.

It might help to understand what some types of reasoning are.

Types of Reasoning

The College Board wants you to at least be aware of two types of reasoning: Inductive and Deductive Reasoning . Inductive reasoning uses specific observations and/or data points to identify trends, make generalizations, and draw conclusions. You can think of it as "bottom up" reasoning; it takes examples to prove the rule. For example, in the pineapple on pizza argument, the specific fact that "I think pineapple on pizza is delicious" is used to come to the broad conclusion that "pineapple belongs on pizza."

With inductive reasoning , you want to watch out that your specific observations do lead to your larger conclusion. In my pineapple on pizza argument, you can easily argue against it by saying that just because I like pineapple on pizza doesn’t mean it belongs on pizza.

Deductive reasoning uses broad facts or generalizations to generate additional, more specific conclusions about a phenomenon. This is "top down" reasoning; it uses facts that are assumed to be true to come to specifics.

Let's look at an example from pop fiction! Famously, Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes was able to use deductive reasoning to deduce information about people. In the Red-Headed League, he deduces that his client has done a lot of writing because his sleeve cuffs are shiny from rubbing on a desk. This is an example of deductive reasoning because Holmes is taking a generalization ( a shiny sleeve cuff indicates that someone writes often) to generate specific conclusions ( my client has done a lot of writing recently.)

How could we make this a case of inductive reasoning ?

Imagine if Holmes's client says that he's done a lot of writing recently. Later, Holmes observes that his client has a shiny sleeve cuff. After seeing many writers with shiny sleeve cuffs, Holmes concludes that shiny sleeve cuffs are an indication that someone's a writer.

GIF from Giphy.com

With deductive reasoning , you want to watch out that the assumed facts are actually true (or as true as they can be.) If it can be proven that shiny sleeve cuffs don't indicate that someone writes often, or could indicate something different, then Holmes's specific deduction about his client wouldn't be true.

Validity of an Argument

It's important to understand the line of reasoning of an argument because once you do, you can tell if the argument is valid or not. People generally have a sense for lines of reasoning. We can tell if an argument isn't quite right or if there seems to be a hole in the logic. However, that sense isn't always well developed, and can be confused. A writer or speaker can deliver a message so dazzlingly well that they can conceal logical contradictions, errors, and just plain bad argumentation.

How do they do this? Have you ever heard the saying, "it's not what you say but how you say it?" Writers have a variety of rhetorical strategies to get their message across. Let's cover them briefly here.

Rhetorical Strategies

Here are some examples of rhetorical strategies :

word choice (ex: loaded language)

appeal to authority/emotion/logic (ex: appealing to the audience's compassion, appealing to one's wealth and success)

qualifiers (words like probably, mostly, and so on; these prevent arguments from sounding too conclusive if they're actually not.)

fallacies like No True Scotsman (only a fake pizza lover could stand pineapple on pizza!) or Slippery Slope (if we allow pineapple to be on pizza, it will cause a chain reaction that leads to the destruction of the pizza industry!)

emphasis words like absolutely, necessary, conclusively, highlight, emphasize, etc

With the exception of fallacies, these strategies are not by themselves bad things. In fact, they're efficient tools to get one's message across!

Rhetorical devices can be a tool for "evil" when they're used to manipulate, mislead or deceive an audience. In order to tell if an argument is valid, we need to look beyond flashy rhetorical strategies and focus on the meaning of the arguments we’re presented.

Looking for Logical Alignment

In short, an argument is valid when there is logical alignment between the line of reasoning and the conclusion. This means that you as the reader can understand how the line of reasoning naturally leads to the conclusion presented. You're looking to see...

Does the evidence makes sense?

• Does this evidence do what the author says it does?
• Is this really evidence or just a very strong opinion without anything to back it up? (This happens more often than you'd think.)

Of course, it's possible not to understand an argument that is still valid. Some arguments take time to work through, and sometimes you just don’t have the background understanding needed to tackle a certain argument.

However, if you detect misalignment between the line of reasoning and the conclusion, if you don't understand how the author got from point A to point B or you feel that point A doesn't lead to point B, it's perfectly healthy to doubt the conclusion you've been given.

Acknowledgement of Complexity

Another indicator of whether or not an argument is valid is if it acknowledges complexity or not. While not a dealbreaker, it's a red flag if the argument you're reading doesn't acknowledge its context , limitations , implications , or other arguments on the same topic. What does this look like?

Context : Generally, papers will have an introduction and/or a place for a topic overview, where the author discusses what's already been said and done about this subject. This context doesn't have to be all-inclusive — indeed, it's almost impossible to be — but the context should be at least acknowledged.

Limitations : No single research project or paper can cover everything, and papers should announce where the limits of their research are.

Implications : Why should we care about this conclusion or solution? We'll discuss more about implications here.

Other arguments: Effective arguments acknowledge opposing or qualifying arguments. They can just be accepted or they can be countered (such as refuting or rebutting them.) It doesn't make an argument weaker to say that not everyone agrees with it; on the contrary, it shows that the author acknowledges the complexity of the work they're handling.

Why Does This Matter?

If you don't understand an argument's line of reasoning, it can be hard to deal with its complexity as well. If you don't understand the complexity of an argument you want to use in your paper, you might oversimplify or generalize it in your writing. This will make your final paper weaker.

In this guide, we've covered lines of reasoning and ways to analyze the big-picture claims of an argument, paper or section of a paper. In the next guide, we'll be looking specifically at how evidence can be analyzed.

Key Terms to Review ( 9 )

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IOE - Faculty of Education and Society

Argument, voice, structure

Learn how to structure and present an argument in academic writing.

• Organise, structure and edit  
• Present an argument  
• Develop your academic voice  
• Add more explanation  
• State the relevance  
• Add your own comment  
• Add your own example  
• Clarify your writing  
• Definitions  
• Cautious language and hedging  
• Introductions  
• Conclusions  
• Linking and transitions  
• Paragraphs  

Tutor feedback on organisation

Organise, structure and edit.

Follow the basic steps below.

• First, make an outline plan for each paragraph, and then select the information, examples and comments for each point.
• Try to make sure you only have one main point per paragraph.
• Sometimes you will find that you need to delete some of the information. Just save it onto a different Word document, and perhaps you can use it in a different essay.
• Make sure this essay is focused on the title, with the main points discussed well and in detail, rather than many different minor points. Everything should be clearly relevant, and less is more!
• To see the structure, the reader also needs to know how each paragraph connects to the previous one. It can help to add transition phrases, to show how each idea flows from the previous one.

Back to top  

Present an argument

An argument, in simple terms, is a claim plus support for that claim. Make sure you use language that indicates that you are forming an argument. Compare the following simplified examples.

These three examples are claims, or series of claims, but they are not arguments.

• There is no single accepted definition of ethics.
• A new definition of ethics is needed. Here are some existing definitions of the concept of ethics. In addition, here is a suggested new definition.
• The existing definitions of the concept of ethics are too divergent to be useful. In addition, an updated definition of ethics is needed.

These three examples are arguments. Notice the linguistic indicator.

• The existing definitions of the concept of ethics are too divergent to be useful. Therefore, an updated definition of ethics is needed.
• The existing definitions of the concept of ethics are too divergent to be useful. This indicates that an updated definition of ethics is needed.
• A new definition of the concept of ethics is needed, because the existing definitions are inadequate for the current situation. Here are the existing definitions, and here is why they are inadequate. In conclusion, a new definition is required.

Sometimes, as in the simple examples above, the same information can be used either to construct an argument, or simply to write a description. Make sure you are using language that indicates that you are presenting an argument. Try using very direct language, at least in your first draft. This will help you to make sure that you really are constructing an argument.

• In this paper, the main claim I make is that a new definition of ethics is required. I support this claim with the following points. Firstly...
• In this paper, I argue that a new definition of ethics is required. I support this claim with the following points. Firstly...

NB: Argumentation can become complex. This section merely presents the difference between presenting an argument and a complete absence of argument.

Develop your academic voice

In an academic context, the concept of “voice” can mean different things to different people. Despite the variations in meaning, if you become more proficient at using language, you will find it easier to express more precise concepts and write with confidence. It is also worth asking your tutor for examples of writing where they feel the voice is clearly visible.

Add more explanation

Adding more explanation means writing down the reasons why something might be the way it is. These examples come from a discussion on ethics within a student proposal.

In Example A below, some claims are made without enough explanation. The writing appears vague, and the reader is left asking further questions about the claims. In Example B below, the student has added more explanation. This includes reasons why something might be the case.

The respondents may be worried about their responses, and there are various ethical considerations. Interviewing staff members also brings various ethical issues. Confidentiality will be central, and I will need to use pseudonyms for the participants.

As the respondents will be discussing changes within a small organization, any individuals they mention may be identifiable to other organization members. As a result, respondents may worry that they will be seen to be passing judgment on friends and peers. In terms of ethical issues, uncomfortable feelings may be provoked, both for respondents and possibly for non-participant staff or students. In addition, staff members may worry that if they speak freely about the small organization, some of their thoughts may be considered irresponsible, unprofessional, "discreditable or incriminating" (Lee & Renzetti, 1993:ix), for example if they were to talk about difficulties at work, or problems within the organization. This means that confidentiality will be central, to protect the respondents and to mitigate their concerns about speaking freely. I will ensure that the organisation is disguised in the way it is written up, and use pseudonyms chosen by the participants. I will also reassure the respondents about these measures before they participate.

State the relevance

State directly how each point, or each paragraph, is connected to the title or the overall argument. If you feel that a point is relevant, but you have received feedback that your tutor does not, you could consider adding more explanation as to how or why it is connected. Useful phrases include:

• This is important because...
• This is relevant to X because...
• In terms of [the main topic], this means...
• The significance of this is...

Add your own comment

In the example below, the student has added a comment as well as an example. A comment could be:

• To support the ideas.
• To suggest the ideas are not valid.
• To show how the ideas connect to something else.
• To comment on the context.
• To add another critical comment.

Make sure it is clear, through the language you use, which is your comment, and which are the ideas from your reference.

The responsibility for learning how to reference correctly and avoid plagiarism tends to be passed from the university to the students, as Sutherland-Smith (2010:9) found, through her study of eighteen policies on plagiarism from different universities. She points out that many universities provide self-access resources for students to try to learn more about this area. An example of this can be found on the website “Writing Centre Online” (UCL Institute of Education, 2019), which includes a “Beginners Guide” page with step-by-step instructions on avoiding plagiarism, as well as various links to referencing and plagiarism resources. Despite this type of provision, Sutherland-Smith observes, the support provided is, on the whole, inadequate. It is interesting to note that this inadequacy can be seen at both an institutional level and from a student perspective, which will have implications as discussed in the following section . Sutherland-Smith expands further to explain that this inadequacy is partly because the advice provided is not specific enough for each student, and partly because distance students will often receive even less support, possibly, we could note, as they are wholly reliant on online materials . She concludes that these issues carry implications for the decisions around plagiarism management, as some students may receive more assistance than others, leading to questions of inequity. It could be considered that inequities are a particularly important issue in discussions of plagiarism management, given that controls on plagiarism could be seen, in principle, as intended to make the system fairer .

• Sutherland-Smith, W. (2010). “Retribution, deterrence and reform: the dilemmas of plagiarism management in universities”, Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management , 32:1 5-16. Available at: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/13600800903440519 (Last accessed on 31 January 2020).
• UCL Institute of Education (2020). Writing Centre Online. Available at: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe-writing-centre (Last accessed on 31 January 2020).

Useful links

• Academic reading: Reading critically
• Academic writing: Writing critically

Add your own example

In the example below, the student has added an example from their own knowledge or experience. This can be a good way to start to add your own voice. You could add an example from:

• your own practice or professional experience
• from observations you have made
• from other literature or published materials.

Include an example with a phrase such as “To illustrate...” or “An example of this can be seen in...”. Include the reference if your example is from published materials.

The responsibility for learning how to reference correctly and avoid plagiarism tends to be passed from the university to the students, as Sutherland-Smith (2010:9) found, through her study of eighteen policies on plagiarism from different universities. She points out that many universities provide self-access resources for students to try to learn more about this area. An example of this can be found on the website “Writing Centre Online” (UCL Institute of Education, 2019), which includes a “Beginners Guide” page with step-by-step instructions on avoiding plagiarism, as well as various links to referencing and plagiarism resources. Despite this type of provision, Sutherland-Smith observes, the support provided is, on the whole, inadequate. Sutherland-Smith expands further to explain that this inadequacy is partly because the advice provided is not specific enough for each student, and partly because distance students will often receive even less support. She concludes that these issues carry implications for the decisions around plagiarism management, as some students may receive more assistance than others, leading to questions of inequity.

• Sutherland-Smith, W. (2010). “Retribution, deterrence and reform: the dilemmas of plagiarism management in universities”, Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 32:1 5-16. Available at: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/13600800903440519 (Last accessed on 31 January 2020).
• UCL Institute of Education (2020). IOE Writing Centre Online. Available at: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe-writing-centre (Last accessed on 31 January 2020).

Clarify your writing

Clarify means “make more clear”. In essence, look at your language choices, and also look at what you have not stated. If you are told to clarify a point, you could try to rewrite it in shorter sentences, as a starting point. Next, add more detail, even if it seems obvious to you. Compare these two sentences:

• The common myths are revisited in this paper.
• This paper includes a discussion of several contested areas, including X and Y.

The second sentence is (arguably) clearer, as it has replaced the word “myth” with “contested areas”, and instead of “revisited”, it uses “includes a discussion of”. Examples also help to clarify, as they provide the reader with a more concrete illustration of the meaning. 

Definitions

Providing a definition helps to make sure the reader understands the way that you are using the terminology in your writing. This is important as different terms might have more than one interpretation or usage. Remember that dictionaries are not considered suitable sources for definitions, as they will provide the general meaning, not the academic meaning or the way the term is used in your field.

If you can't find a precise “definition” as such in the literature, you can say that “the term is used to refer to XYZ”, and summarise or describe it in your own words. You can also use the phrase “For the purposes of this discussion, the term XYZ will be taken to refer to ...”.

The paragraphs below have an example of a definition with various interpretations. This level of discussion is not always necessary; it depends on how much agreement or disagreement there is on the meaning of the term.

This extract is from the “definitions” section of a Master’s assignment.

Purpose and definitions of coaching   It is worth outlining the boundaries and purpose of the term “coaching” before proceeding with the discussion. In general, “coaching” tends to be used within human resource management and organisational theory to refer to a particular type of helping relationship or conversation (Boyatzis, Smith and Blaize, 2006). The object of help in this context is subject to some divergences in interpretation. Indeed, one feature shared by articles about coaching seems to be that authors frequently point out how little agreement there is on the use of the term, and how inconsistently it is used (see, for example, Boyatzis, Smith and Blaize, 2006:12, or Gray and Goregaokar, 2010:526). Some go further, linking the widespread adoption of coaching to the range of interpretations, lamenting that "the very popularity of the approach has resulted in greater confusion" (Clutterbuck, 2008:9), or pointing out with apparent surprise that "despite its popularity, there is little consensus on the nature of executive coaching" (Gray et al, 2011:863). It has even been described as "a kind of “catch-all” concept, covering whatever you want to put under it" (Arnaud, 2003:1133). Variations appear in areas including the stated aims, the specific approach, the location of the meetings, or the techniques and methods used (ibid). Somewhat paradoxically, there appears to be a general consensus only on the lack of consensus.

In response to the lack of an accepted definition, some authors have attempted to clarify what the term “coaching” should refer to, and do so in particular by differentiating it from “mentoring”, a concept with which it is often associated. David Clutterbuck, who has been working in the field for at least 30 years, and who has published extensively on the topics of both coaching and mentoring, ( http://www.davidclutterbuckpartnership.com ), has frequently attempted to delineate the two activities. In a relatively recent article (Clutterbuck, 2008:8), he suggested that the term “coaching” should primarily be used when performance is addressed, rather than, say, holistic development, a recommendation which highlights that coaching takes place within the context of enhancing productivity at work. The focus on performance is echoed in more practical guidelines such as those written by Atkins and Lawrence (2012:44) in the industry publication IT Now, when they state "coaching is about performance, mentoring is personal".

Although it is often cited, this division between “performance” and “personal” could be considered slightly artificial, and even unnecessary. Indeed, as performance is “performed” by the person, it is interesting to notice what appears to be a denial of the potentially transformational aspect of conversations within a helping relationship. A full discussion of this denial is outside the scope of this short report, but it could be caused by various influencing factors. Those factors might include the wish to justify the allocation of resources towards an activity which should therefore be seen as closely related to profit and accountability, coupled with a suspicion of anything which might be construed as not immediately rational and goal-focused. In other words, to be justifiable within a business context, a belief may exist that coaching should be positioned as closely oriented to business goals. This belief could underlie the prevalence of assertions that coaching is connected more to performance management than to holistic development. However, this report takes the view that there may be a useful overlap, as described below.

Looking to research, the overlapping of personal development with performance management was recently addressed by Gray et al (2011), in a study which aimed to establish whether coaching was seen as primarily beneficial to the individual's development or to the organisation's productivity. In brief, Gray et al's (2011) paper indicates that although involvement in coaching might be experienced as therapeutic by many coachees, it is generally positioned in the literature and by companies which engage in it as something beneficial to the organisation, as mentioned above. The authors also concluded that coaching may enhance various management competencies. Overall, the study indicates that coaching may be of interest to organisations as something which may enhance staff performance and productivity. In addition, although it does not always appear as the primary focus, and is even denied as an intention by some authors as discussed above, it may be that participation in coaching could also bring developmental benefits to the individual.

In essence, this report takes the view that the term coaching refers to an arranged conversation or series of conversations within a work context, conversations which aim at allowing the coachee to discuss and gain clarity on various work-related challenges or goals. Although we will adhere to the general conception provided above of coaching as carrying the intention of enhancing performance or competencies, the potential for personal or holistic development will be acknowledged. Additionally, coaching is often linked in literature to leadership (Boyatzis, Smith and Blaize, 2006; Stern, 2004), yet this report does not adopt that pattern in a restrictive sense. In other words, we would either consider that participating as a coachee can be useful for any employee, not only leaders, or, alternatively, we would broaden the definition of “leadership” to include any colleague who may have an influence within the organisation: a description which could arguably include any staff member. Overall, therefore, the report and its recommendations will prioritise the potentially beneficial outcomes of conversations which fall within the realm of coaching, rather than restricting the discussion to whether or not any particular activity can legitimately be given this term. This may be a broader usage of the concept than that followed by some writers, but is grounded in the intention to provide a practicable analysis of the needs for coaching within an organisation. Within this context, this report is predominantly informed by psychoanalytic theory and practice, justified below.

Source: Anonymous UCL Institute of Education Student (2013)

Cautious language and hedging

Hedging is a type of language use which “protects” your claims. Using language with a suitable amount of caution can protect your claims from being easily dismissed. It also helps to indicate the level of certainty we have in relation to the evidence or support.

Text comparison

Compare the following two short texts, (A) and (B). You will notice that although the two texts are, in essence, saying the same thing, (B) has a significant amount of extra language around the claim. A large amount of this language is performing the function of “hedging”. How many differences do you see in the second text? What is the function/effect/purpose of each difference? You will probably notice that (B) is more “academic”, but it is important to understand why.

• A: Extensive reading helps students to improve their vocabulary. 
• B: Research conducted by Yen (2005) appears to indicate that, for a significant proportion of students, extensive reading may contribute to an improvement in their active vocabulary. Yen's (2005) study involved learners aged 15-16 in the UK, although it may be applicable to other groups. However, the study involved an opt-in sample, which means that the sample students may have been more “keen”, or more involved in reading already. It would be useful to see whether the findings differ in a wider sample.

(Please note that Yen (2005) is a fictional reference used only as an example).

Phrases for hedging

The section below provides some examples of language to use when making knowledge claims. Try to find examples of hedging language in your own reading, to add to these examples.

• a minority/majority of
• a proportion of
• to some extent.
• has the appearance of
• is similar to
• shares characteristics with
• appears to be in line with.
• has the possibility of
• has the potential to
• is able to.
• has a tendency to.
• in a simpler way than...
• more simply than…
• when compared to…
• in the context of…
• … in certain situations…
• within some households…
• as indicated by…
• according to…
• can be described as
• could be considered to be
• is sometimes labelled
• can be equated to
• the term is often used to mean
• the term is often used to refer to
• this may indicate that…
• this may suggest that…

Introductions

Basic components.

The introduction to your assignment is likely to require some of the following basic components. Note that the guidance below is particularly relevant to essays. Other types of assignments may include some but not all of these elements, or additional ones.

• Importance of the topic: Open the assignment by introducing the theme(s) or issue(s) you address. This element is sometimes referred to as “background” or “issue statement”. 
• Aim: Inform your reader of the purpose of your writing (e.g. This essay explores the concept of X in relation to Y, and critically evaluates.....).
• Thesis statement: This may not apply in all assignments, but, where appropriate, would indicate the line of argument or reasoning that the assignment takes. (e.g. It is argued/suggested that practitioners and policy-makers need to consider ...).
• Overview: Guide the reader as to how the work is organised; this is sometimes also referred to as a “synopsis”. (e.g. First, X is discussed, followed by Y...).

You may also need a brief definition of your terms. However, if the definitions are more complex or contested, you probably need a separate section after the introduction. See the section on Definitions above. It is advisable to write or edit your introduction last (not first), to make sure it matches the assignment you have written. If you prefer to draft your introduction first (e.g. as bullet points initially), be aware that you may choose to change it later. 

Example Introduction

Here is an example of the introduction from a report produced for a Master's module.

[Section 1:] Underlying this report is the assumption that organisations, and the individuals within them, hold the intention to do their job well, and, if possible, to do their job better, within the context of their particular situation, abilities and priorities. Creating and developing coaching relationships within the organisation can be described as one form of an attempt to move in this direction. [Section 2:] Accordingly, this report analyses the potential for an increase in coaching practice within one particular organisation. [Section 3:] It will be suggested that coaching might usefully be incorporated into certain areas of the organisation. [Section 4:] Coaching within organisations, for the purpose of this report, is taken to refer to a particular type of intentional conversation. This conversation may contribute to the development of the coachee while potentially enhancing the individual's work within the organisation (as discussed by Boyatzis, Smith and Blaize, 2006). [Section 5:] The report will first consider a more nuanced definition of coaching, along with an outline of current themes in the way coaching is discussed in the literature. This is followed by an explanation and justification of taking a psychoanalytically informed approach to an analysis of coaching within organisations (Arnaud, 2003). After that, the specific organisational context of the [XYZ workplace] will be analysed, together with an assessment of the need for coaching within this organisation, and an evaluation of the existing potential to facilitate such conversations. At the same time, a brief strategy and implementation plan that details how these needs could be met will be presented.

Source: Blackwell, J. (2013) Advancing coaching and mentoring in and across organisational contexts. Organisational Report. UCL Institute of Education: Unpublished MA Assignment.

Below, the elements of the example introduction are analysed in more detail.

Underlying this report is the assumption that organisations, and the individuals within them, hold the intention to do their job well, and, if possible, to do their job better, within the context of their particular situation, abilities and priorities. Creating and developing coaching relationships within the organisation can be described as one form of an attempt to move in this direction.

Comment : These two statements set out the importance of the topic. The way this is done, and the information that is needed, will vary depending on the topic. Please remember that this is only one example.

Accordingly, this report analyses the potential for an increase in coaching practice within one particular organisation. 

Comment : This sentence states the aim of the assignment, in the context of the abovementioned importance (Accordingly...). It also restates the assignment title/task.

It will be suggested that coaching might usefully be incorporated into certain areas of the organisation.

Comment : This is the thesis statement.

Coaching within organisations, for the purpose of this report, is taken to refer to a particular type of intentional conversation. This conversation may contribute to the development of the coachee while potentially enhancing the individual's work within the organisation (as discussed by Boyatzis, Smith and Blaize, 2006).

Comment : Here we have a brief definition of the key term, for the purpose of this assignment.

The report will first consider a more nuanced definition of coaching, along with an outline of current themes in the way coaching is discussed in the literature. This is followed by an explanation and justification of taking a psychoanalytically informed approach to an analysis of coaching within organisations (Arnaud, 2003). After that, the specific organisational context of the [XYZ workplace] will be analysed, together with an assessment of the need for coaching within this organisation, and an evaluation of the existing potential to facilitate such conversations. At the same time, a brief strategy and implementation plan that details how these needs could be met will be presented.

Comment : This final section provides the outline/structure/organisation, so that the reader knows what to expect.

Conclusions

As with introductions, conclusions vary according to assignment types. In general, your conclusion probably needs to include some or all of the following basic components. 

• An indication that this is the conclusion: If you are not using a subheading (e.g. “Conclusion”), you could start with a clear phrase that indicates this is the conclusion. (e.g. “In conclusion...”, “To conclude...” or “Overall...”). Such signposting can help the reader to understand that they have reached the concluding section of your assignment.
• Summary of the discussion: This could reflect the aim/purpose and/or organisation/outline indicated in the introduction. (e.g. “This essay has critically explored X in relation to Y...” or “This paper set out to examine the relationship between X and Y...”).
• Re-statement of the central argument(s): This might reflect the thesis statement in the introduction. (e.g. “The discussion has highlighted the main....”, or “It has been argued that the priorities for...”).
• Implications: You could make recommendations for research or practice, or answer the question “So what?”. (e.g. “It may be useful to investigate further...”, “One recommendation for classroom practice could be...”, or “The above discussion highlights the importance of ....”).

Further guidelines

You can include references in the conclusion, but it is advisable not to include any new references. This is because you do not have space in the conclusion to discuss any new references in enough detail. The conclusion is not generally the place for new ideas. Rather, it summarises what has already been stated. 

To sum up, this report has defined coaching as a conversation which can enhance performance at the same time as contributing to the development of the coachee (Boyatzis, Smith and Blaize, 2006). The report took a psychoanalytically informed approach to an analysis of coaching within organisations, and considered the associated benefits and the required resources. Applying the theory to the specific organisational context of the [XYZ Workplace], the need for coaching in this context was discussed, together with a strategy and implementation plan in order to facilitate the recommended coaching conversations. It was suggested that coaching could usefully be incorporated into certain areas of the organization.

Source: Anonymous UCL Institute of Education student (2013).

Linking and transitions

A clear structure is arguably half actual “organisation” and half “persuading the reader that your structure is logical”. You can do this through linking and transition language to show how the paragraphs and sections are linked. Read your draft and decide which of these to add:

• An introductory linking statement to the start of a paragraph/section (e.g. “Having outlined key theories in relation to X, I now consider these in relation to the context of...”). 
• A transition paragraph between paragraphs or sections. This is a short extra paragraph which explains the transition (example below).
• A linking statement to the end of a paragraph/section (e.g. “This can be viewed as linked to X, which will be further discussed in the next section”).

(Here is an example of a summary paragraph and transition paragraph, from a report produced for a Master's module. This appeared at the end of a section on the current state of knowledge in coaching.)

In sum, this section has outlined some key issues within the current state of knowledge in coaching. As was demonstrated, one precise definition does not exist, but a general convergence appears in that the term refers to a particular type of conversation which may contribute to the coachee's development while simultaneously enhancing their performance (Boyatzis, Smith and Blaize, 2006). The contributions of psychoanalytic theory and practice to coaching and to organisational consultancy were also briefly reviewed and justified, as this growing area may allow coaching to fully utilise the transformational potential of the one-to-one format. Conceptions of learning as non-linear and unpredictable were also delineated, as coaching has the potential to promote the learning of both the individual coachee and their organisation.

Having outlined briefly our understanding of “coaching” for the purposes of this report, and the recommended approach, it will be useful to map out in slightly more detail the resources required, before discussing the practical application of a coaching programme in one organisation.

Source: Blackwell, J. (2013). Advancing coaching and mentoring in and across organisational contexts. Organisational Report. UCL Institute of Education: Unpublished MA Assignment.

If your paragraphs are too long, it could make them more difficult for the reader to follow, and can also mean ideas merge together too much. However, if the main body paragraphs are too short, they may appear to lack depth. If you need to divide a longer paragraph, it could be acceptable to include two paragraphs on the same topic, focussing on two slightly different aspects of that topic. You could potentially link them with a transition phrase. If a main body paragraph is too short (fewer than 150 words), you may need to ask yourself the following questions:

• Could it fit somewhere else? Perhaps it links to another sub-theme elsewhere in the assignment.
• What does it add to the discussion? Perhaps state the significance, hence giving the paragraph more depth and making it longer.
• Does it need more detail and analysis? As stated above, perhaps make the significance explicit and answer the question “So what?”.
• Could it be removed? 

Note that shorter paragraphs may be acceptable in some instances; examples may include introductory paragraphs to chapters (e.g. in a report or dissertation) or transition paragraphs.

Here is an example of several paragraphs all on the same “topic” (definitions of the terms). Notice how the paragraphs are linked together.

(This extract is from the “definitions” section of a Master's assignment.)

Purpose and definitions of coaching

It is arguably worth outlining the boundaries and purpose of the term “coaching” before proceeding with the discussion. In general, “coaching” tends to be used within human resource management and organisational theory to refer to a particular type of helping relationship or conversation (Boyatzis, Smith and Blaize, 2006). The object of help in this context is subject to some divergences in interpretation. Indeed , one feature shared by articles about coaching seems to be that authors frequently point out how little agreement there is on the use of the term, and how inconsistently it is used (see, for example, Boyatzis, Smith and Blaize, 2006 or Gray and Goregaokar, 2010). Some go further, linking the widespread adoption of coaching to the range of interpretations, lamenting that "the very popularity of the approach has resulted in greater confusion" (Clutterbuck, 2008:9), or pointing out with apparent surprise that "despite its popularity, there is little consensus on the nature of executive coaching" (Gray et al, 2011:863). It has even been described as "a kind of 'catch-all' concept, covering whatever you want to put under it" (Arnaud, 2003:1133). Variations appear in areas including the stated aims, the specific approach, the location of the meetings, or the techniques and methods used (ibid). Somewhat paradoxically, there appears to be a general consensus only on the lack of consensus.

In response to the lack of an accepted definition, some authors have attempted to clarify what the term “coaching” should refer to, and do so in particular by differentiating it from “mentoring”, a concept with which it is often associated. David Clutterbuck, who has been working in the field for at least 30 years, and who has published extensively on the topics of both coaching and mentoring, (David Clutterbuck Partnership, no date), has frequently attempted to delineate the two activities. In a relatively recent article (Clutterbuck, 2008:8), he suggested that the term “coaching” should primarily be used when performance is addressed, rather than, say, holistic development, a recommendation which highlights that coaching takes place within the context of enhancing productivity at work. The focus on performance is echoed in more practical guidelines such as those written by Atkins and Lawrence (2012:44) in the industry publication IT Now, when they state "coaching is about performance, mentoring is personal".

Although it is often cited, this division between “performance” and “personal” could be considered slightly artificial, and even unnecessary. Indeed, as performance is “performed” by the person, it is interesting to notice what appears to be a denial of the potentially transformational aspect of conversations within a helping relationship. A full discussion of this denial is outside the scope of this short report, but it could be caused by various influencing factors. Those factors might include the wish to justify the allocation of resources towards an activity which should therefore be seen as closely related to profit and accountability, coupled with a suspicion of anything which might be construed as not immediately rational and goal-focused. In other words, to be justifiable within a business context, a belief may exist that coaching should be positioned as closely oriented to business goals. This belief could underlie the prevalence of assertions that coaching is connected more to performance management than to holistic development. However , this report takes the view that there may be a useful overlap, as described below.

In essence , this report takes the view that the term coaching refers to an arranged conversation or series of conversations within a work context, conversations which aim at allowing the coachee to discuss and gain clarity on various work-related challenges or goals. Although we will adhere to the general conception provided above of coaching as carrying the intention of enhancing performance or competencies, the potential for personal or holistic development will be acknowledged. Additionally, coaching is often linked in literature to leadership (Boyatzis, Smith and Blaize, 2006; Stern, 2004), yet this report does not adopt that pattern in a restrictive sense. In other words, we would either consider that participating as a coachee can be useful for any employee, not only leaders, or, alternatively, we would broaden the definition of “leadership” to include any colleague who may have an influence within the organisation: a description which could arguably include any staff member. Overall, therefore, the report and its recommendations will prioritise the potentially beneficial outcomes of conversations which fall within the realm of coaching, rather than restricting the discussion to whether or not any particular activity can legitimately be given this term. This may be a broader usage of the concept than that followed by some writers, but is grounded in the intention to provide a practicable analysis of the needs for coaching within an organisation. Within this context, this report is predominantly informed by psychoanalytic theory and practice, justified below.

Source: Anonymous UCL Institute of Education Student (2013).

Organisation

If the tutor says you need to improve your organisation or structure, you may need to rearrange the ideas in the essay quite considerably. This will take time. It may help to start on a new document rather than working from this original one, and only moving across the information that you really want to keep.

Try to start each paragraph with a transition phrase or topic sentence. Imagine if the paragraphs were all cut up and spread out on a table. Someone should be able to put them back together in the correct order, and they should be able to clearly see which paragraph comes next. Try to think of that as you are writing!

Analyzing Famous Speeches as Arguments

• Resources & Preparation
• Instructional Plan
• Related Resources

Traditionally, teachers have encouraged students to engage with and interpret literature—novels, poems, short stories, and plays. Too often, however, the spoken word is left unanalyzed, even though the spoken word has the potential to alter our space just as much than the written. After gaining skill through analyzing a historic and contemporary speech as a class, students will select a famous speech from a list compiled from several resources and write an essay that identifies and explains the rhetorical strategies that the author deliberately chose while crafting the text to make an effective argument. Their analysis will consider questions such as What makes the speech an argument?, How did the author's rhetoric evoke a response from the audience?, and Why are the words still venerated today?

Featured Resources

From Theory to Practice

Nearly everything we read and hear is an argument. Speeches are special kinds of arguments and should be analyzed as such. Listeners should keep in mind the context of the situation involving the delivery and the audience-but a keen observer should also pay close attention to the elements of argument within the text. This assignment requires students to look for those elements.

"Since rhetoric is the art of effective communication, its principles can be applied to many facets of everyday life" (Lamb 109). It's through this lesson that students are allowed to see how politicians and leaders manipulate and influence their audiences using specific rhetorical devices in a manner that's so effective that the speeches are revered even today. It's important that we keep showing our students how powerful language can be when it's carefully crafted and arranged.

Further Reading

Common Core Standards

This resource has been aligned to the Common Core State Standards for states in which they have been adopted. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, CCSS alignments are forthcoming.

State Standards

This lesson has been aligned to standards in the following states. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, standard alignments are not currently available for that state.

NCTE/IRA National Standards for the English Language Arts

• 3. Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).
• 4. Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.
• 5. Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.
• 7. Students conduct research on issues and interests by generating ideas and questions, and by posing problems. They gather, evaluate, and synthesize data from a variety of sources (e.g., print and nonprint texts, artifacts, people) to communicate their discoveries in ways that suit their purpose and audience.

Materials and Technology

• ReadWriteThink Notetaker
• Teacher Background and Information Sheet
• Student Assignment Sheet
• List of Speeches for Students
• Queen Elizabeth I’s Speech with Related Questions
• Historical Speech Research Questions
• Peer Response Handout
• Essay Rubric

This website contains audio of the Top 100 speeches of all time.

Included on this site is audio of famous speeches of the 20th century, as well as information about the speeches and background information on the writers.

The "Great Speeches Collection" from The History Place are available here in print and in audio.

This website includes information on finding and documenting sources in the MLA format.

Preparation

• Review the background and information sheet for teachers to familiarize yourself with the assignment and expectations.  Consider your students' background with necessary rhetorical terms such as claims, warrants, the appeals (logos, pathos, ethos), and fallacies; and rhetorical devices such as tone, diction, figurative language, repetition, hyperbole, and understatement. The lesson provides some guidance for direct instruction on these terms, but there are multiple opportunities for building or activating student knowledge through modeling on the two speeches done as a class.
• Check the links to the online resources (in Websites section) make sure that they are still working prior to giving out this assignment.
• Decide whether you want to allow more than one student to analyze and write about the same speech in each class.
• Look over the  List of Speeches for Students to decide if there are any that you would like to add.
• Look over the suggested Essay Rubric and determine the weights you would like to assign to each category.  For example, you might tell students that Support and Research may be worth three times the value of Style. Customize the Essay Rubric to meet the learning goals for your students.
• Reserve the library for Session Three so the students can do research on their speeches.
• President Obama’s Inauguration Speech.
• Former President Bush’s Defends War in Iraq Speech.
• Former President Bush’s 9/11 Speech.
• Former President Clinton’s “I Have Sinned” Speech.

Student Objectives

Students will

• analyze a speech for rhetorical devices and their purpose.
• identify an author’s purposeful manipulation of language.
• identify elements of argument within a speech.
• write an analysis of a speech with in-text documentation.

Session One

• Begin the lesson by asking students what needs to be present in order for a speech to occur. Though the question may seem puzzling—too hard, or too simple—at first, students will eventually identify, as Aristotle did, the need for a speaker, a message, and an audience.
• The class should discuss audience and the importance of identifying the audience for speeches, since they occur in particular moments in time and are delivered to specific audiences. This is a good time to discuss the Rhetorical Triangle (Aristotelian Triad) or discuss a chapter on audience from an argumentative textbook. You may wish to share information from the ReadWriteThink.org lesson Persuasive Techniques in Advertising and  The Rhetorical Triangle from The University of Oklahoma.
• Next distribute Queen Elizabeth’s speech to the troops at Tilbury and use the speech and its historical context as a model for the processes students will use on the speech they select. Provide a bit of background information on the moment in history.
• Then, as a class, go over  Queen Elizabeth’s speech and discuss the rhetorical devices in the speech and the purpose for each one. Adjust the level of guidance you provide, depending on your students' experiences with this type of analysis. The questions provide a place to start, but there are many other stylistic devices to discuss in this selection.

Discuss the audience and the author’s manipulation of the audience. Consider posing questions such as

• This is a successful speech.  Why?
• Elizabeth uses all of the appeals – logos, pathos, and ethos – to convince all of her listeners to fight for her from the loyal follower to the greedy mercenary.  How?
• The tone shifts throughout the selection.  Where?  But more importantly, why?

Martin Luther King, Jr. uses an appeal to pathos in his “I Have a Dream” speech through his historical allusion to Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation: “Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.” This is particularly effective for his audience of people sympathetic to the cause of African American men and women who would have been especially moved by this particular reference since it had such a significant impact on the lives of African Americans.

Session Two

• Continue the work from the previous session by distributing the  Analyzing Famous Speeches as Arguments handout and discussing the assignment and what it requires. See the  background and information sheet for teachers for more details.
• Tell students they will be getting additional practice with analyzing a speech as an argument by showing a short  10-minute clip of a presidential speech . Ask students to think about how the particular moment in history and the national audience contribute to the rhetorical choices made by the speaker.
• Lead a discussion of the speech as an argument with regard to purpose and intent. Work with students to identify warrants, claims, and appeals.
• Ask students to consider how the author manipulates the audience using tone, diction, and stylistic devices. What rhetorical devices aided the author’s manipulation of his audience? Discuss a particular rhetorical device that the President used and the purpose it served.
• Share the Essay Rubric and explain to students the expectations for success on this assignment.
• Allow students to select a speech from the List of Speeches for Students . If they wish to preview any of the speeches, they can type the speaker's name and the title of the speech into a search engine and should have little difficulty finding it.

Session Three

• Take the students to the library and allow them to research their speeches. They should locate their speech and print a copy for them to begin annotating for argumentative structure and rhetorical devices.
• What was the speaker up against?  What is the occasion for the speech?
• What did the author have to keep in mind when composing the text?  
• What were his or her goals?  
• What was his or her ultimate purpose?  
• What was his or her intent?
• Remind students that the writer of the speech is sometimes not the person who delivered the speech, for example, and this will surprise some students. Many people assume that the speaker (president, senator, etc.) is always the writer, and that’s not always the case, so ask your students to check to see who wrote the speech. (They might be surprised at the answer. There’s always a story behind the composition of the speech.)
• Help students find the author of the speech because this will challenge some students. Oftentimes, students assume the speaker is the author, and that’s sometimes not the case. Once the speechwriter is identified, it is easier to find information on the speech. Help students find the history behind the speech without getting too bogged down in the details. They need to understand the climate, but they do not need to be complete experts on the historical details in order to understand the elements of the speech.
• If they wish, students can use the ReadThinkWrite Interactive Notetaker to help them track their notes for their essays. Remind them that their work cannot be saved on this tool and should be printed by the end of the session so they can use it in future work.
• For Session Four, students must bring a thesis, an outline, and all of their research materials to class for a workday. Remind them to refer to the Analyzing Famous Speeches as Arguments , the Essay Rubric , and any notes they may have taken during the first two sessions as they begin their work.
• The thesis statement should answer the following question: What makes this speech an effective argument and worthy of making this list?

Session Four

• Set up students in heterogeneous groups of four. Ask students to share their outlines and thesis statements.
• Go around to check and to monitor as students share their ideas and progress. The students will discuss their speeches and their research thus far.
• Have students discuss the elements of an argument that they plan on addressing.
• Finally, have students work on writing their papers by writing their introductions with an enticing “grab” or “hook.” If time permits, have students share their work. 
• For Session Five, students should bring in their papers. This session would happen in about a week.

Session Five

• In this session, students will respond each other's drafts using the Peer Response Handout .
• Determine and discuss the final due date with your students. Direct students to Diana Hacker’s MLA site for assistance with their citations if necessary. 
• Remind students that their work will be evaluate using the essay rubric .  They should use the criteria along with the comments from their peer to revise and polish their work.
• During the process of analyzing  Queen Elizabeth I’s Speech , consider showing the related scene from the film Elizabeth: The Golden Age . Though the text of the speech is drastically cut and altered, seeing one filmmaker's vision for the scene may help reinforce the notion of historical context and the importance of audience.
• Allow students to read and/or perform parts of the speeches out loud. Then, they can share some of their thinking about the argumentative structure and rhetorical devices used to make the speech effective. This activity could happen as part of the prewriting process or after essays have been completed.
• Require students to write a graduation speech or a speech on another topic. They can peruse print or online news sources to select a current event that interests them.  Have them choose an audience to whom they would deliver an argumentative speech.

Student Assessment / Reflections

• After peer response has taken place, use the essay rubric to provide feedback on student work. You may change the values of the different categories/requirements to better suit the learning goals for your classroom.
• Calendar Activities
• Lesson Plans
• Student Interactives
• Strategy Guides

Students explore the ways that powerful and passionate words communicate the concepts of freedom, justice, discrimination, and the American Dream in Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech.

While drafting a literary analysis essay (or another type of argument) of their own, students work in pairs to investigate advice for writing conclusions and to analyze conclusions of sample essays. They then draft two conclusions for their essay, select one, and reflect on what they have learned through the process.

Useful for a wide variety of reading and writing activities, this outlining tool allows students to organize up to five levels of information.

This strategy guide clarifies the difference between persuasion and argumentation, stressing the connection between close reading of text to gather evidence and formation of a strong argumentative claim about text.

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Analyzing Rhetorical Style: Toward Better Methods

• First Online: 21 January 2021

Cite this chapter

• Jeanne Fahnestock 15  

Part of the book series: Argumentation Library ((ARGA,volume 36))

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The tools of linguistics and discourse analysis can produce an overwhelming amount of data on the language of a text. Given this richness, it is easy for analysts to select features that support a favored interpretation. How can stylistic analysis overcome selection bias, especially when examining the language of argument? Five methods for designing stylistic studies are worth considering. The first three involve making a principled selection from the text(s) under consideration: (1) If different versions or drafts of a text exist, the analyst can compare the changes the author considered critical. (2) If particular phrases or passages are widely quoted or re-circulated, they can provide evidence of noticed stylistic choices. (3) If similar texts exist, they can be examined for (in)consistent features. The final two methods triangulate using constructs from rhetorical theory: (4) The analyst selects and interprets language choices based on rhetorical features such as the line of argument used. (5) The analyst starts from a device identified in rhetorical stylistics (e.g. a figure of speech) and sees how this device is used across examples. This last option will help to ground studies conducted under the other four.

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Academic Style

The most complete compendium of such figures can be found in the appendices of Nancy Christiansen’s Figuring Style: The Legacy of Renaissance Rhetoric ( 2013 ).

It is of course not language which argues but humans who use language to argue, only one of the purposes and intentions they may have. Some rhetoricians demur from claims of intentionality for rhetors or their texts. The perspective on rhetorical stylistics offered here assumes that people have intentions, that they use language to realize those intentions, and that their intentions can be inferred from the language they use. This perspective is grounded in arguments for a “theory of mind” as a necessary constituent in human evolution and development.

For an overview of classical stasis theory see Kennedy ( 1983 : 73–86). Some classical sources add a fourth stasis questioning where an issue should be debated. Stasis theory has been revived in the last forty years, largely in the context of teaching argumentative writing in the undergraduate classroom. For revisions to stasis theory see Fahnestock and Secor ( 2004 ), Kock ( 2011 ) and Camper ( 2017 ) on the subset of “legal” stases concerned with disputes over written texts. The argument in this chapter is in the modern “proposal stasis,” identifying a problem and recommending a solution.

Toolan published a four-volume anthology of papers on precursors, founders, critics and exemplars of CDA analysis. For a trenchant review of the critiques see the review of this work by van Noppen ( 2004 ). See also criticisms of CDA collected and analyzed by Michael Stubbs who concludes that its problems with circularity cannot be entirely resolved ( 1997 ).

The hedging term apparent is applied here because Savoy added a “smoothing parameter” to get meaningful Z scores ( 2010 : 134–135), and because the entire enterprise of statistical significance calculated formulaically has come under intense criticism in the last few years, especially in the field of social psychology. The kind of word frequency analysis employed computationally in articles like Savoy’s has been practiced for decades as “content analysis” with more laboriously compiled data. See Leek and Peng ( 2015 ) on the current drawback and for the salutary effect of meta-analysis see O’Keefe ( 2011 ).

Patterned repetition, described in a suite of rhetorical schemes such as anaphora, or unpatterned repetition over a passage (ploche) can have rhetorical effects. Neither of these figures is the result of the frequency fishing under discussion here.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c8/Obama_healthcare_speech_draft.jpg .

Savoy’s analysis of the McCain/Obama speeches, discussed above, does this justifying explicitly: “Since the candidates’ speeches targeted the same election, and they expressed their views during the same period and concerned the same goals and related topics, we were thus able to compare the speeches more objectively….” ( 2010 : 123).

A lede is the opening sentence or paragraph of a news article. (The opening sentence is often punctuated as a paragraph.) The lede is understood to supply answers to the who, what, when, where, why , and how of the story.

Kennedy’s translation provides chapter headings that make the classifications of special topics under common topics especially clear.

Cicero’s De Inventione contains a full discussion of commonplaces defined as the “amplification of an undisputed statement” (II, xiv, 48). Cicero identifies classes of these according to the stasis of the argument and its type. So for the conjectural issue in forensic arguments he identifies, “one should and should not put confidence in suspicions, in rumors, in witnesses, in examinations under torture; one should and should not take into consideration a man’s past life” etc. (II, xvi, 50). The translator has in this case plausibly rendered loci communes as common topics. But in the Topica which genuinely deals with the highest level of common topics, Cicero tends to use only the word loci.

Concerns about the reliable identification of an argument would have to be addressed by designing studies where multiple readers’ judgements are pooled, a method already widely used.

“It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.”

The fullest version of these named devices categorized as phonetic, morphological, logical, discoursal, and qualitative can be found in the appendix to Nancy Christiansen’s Figuring Style: The Legacy of Renaissance Rhetoric ( 2013 ).

In the sentence just before the one quoted here, Panofsky also used an agnominatio to construct his contrast: “[I]s it still possible to distinguish…between the Renaissance with a capital “R” and the two medieval revivals that I propose to call ‘renascences’?” (Panofsky 1960 : 106).

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Fahnestock, J. (2021). Analyzing Rhetorical Style: Toward Better Methods. In: Boogaart, R., Jansen, H., van Leeuwen, M. (eds) The Language of Argumentation. Argumentation Library, vol 36. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-52907-9_5

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Speech analysis

Eine speech analysis ist eine Redeanalyse in Englisch. Hier findest du hilfreiche Tipps zum Aufbau und zum Inhalt deiner speech analysis .

Du willst dir schnell einen Überblick über das Thema verschaffen? Dann schau dir gleich unser Video an!

Was ist eine speech analysis?

How to analyse a speech, tipps und tricks , linking words.

Eine  speech analysis  ist eine besondere Form der Analyse in Englisch , bei der du verschiedene Aspekte einer Rede untersuchst. Meist handelt es sich dabei um eine politische Rede . Eine sogenannte  political speech  wird zu verschiedenen Anlässen (occasions) gehalten. Dazu gehören zum Beispiel:

• Wahlkämpfe (election campaigns)
• Ansprachen in Krisenzeiten (addresses in times of crisis)
• Gedenkfeiern (commemorations)
• Gipfeltreffen (summit meetings)
• Amtseintritte (inaugural addresses)

Unabhängig vom Anlass ist das Ziel  einer political speech in der Regel gleich: Der Redner will das Publikum darin von seiner Einstellung überzeugen und zu einem bestimmten Handeln auffordern.

Um die gewünschte Wirkung zu erzielen, halten sich politische Reden an einen klaren Aufbau aus Einleitung , Hauptteil und Schluss .

In deiner speech analysis arbeitest du heraus, wie der Redner in diesen drei Teilen an sein Publikum appelliert . Das heißt, du untersuchst, mit welchen sprachlichen Mitteln er seine Zuhörer anspricht und überzeugen möchte. 

Speech analysis – Vorbereitung

Um eine Rede in Englisch richtig zu analysieren, solltest du dich zuerst mit den wichtigen Informationen zur Rede beschäftigen. Dafür liest du dir die Rede aufmerksam durch. Dadurch kannst du Fragen zu der Rede, also der Redesituation (context)  beantworten. Dazu gehören: 

• speaker – Wer ist der Redner ?
• occasion – Was ist der Anlass ?
• time and place – Wie ist der Kontext ?
• (target) audience – Wer ist das (Ziel-) Publikum ?

Häufig geben dir diese Informationen bereits einen ersten Eindruck vom Thema und vom Ziel der Rede.

Speech analysis – Einleitung

In der Einleitung (introduction) deiner speech analysis benennst du die Redesituation und das Thema der Rede. Dafür erklärst du, mit welchem Problem oder mit welcher Frage sich die Rede hauptsächlich beschäftigt. Einen Hinweis darauf liefert dir in der Regel der Titel . Aber auch Schlüsselwörter und Wiederholungen geben darüber Aufschluss. 

Wenn du dir über das Thema im Klaren bist, schreibst du deinen Einleitungssatz. Der könnte zum Beispiel so aussehen: 

Speech analysis  – Beispiel: In his “ Victory Speech , “ given  on election night on 6 November 2012 in Washington, D.C. , Barack Obama addresses  the American people with one important message : They need to move forward!

Die englische Übersetzung von „eine Rede halten“ lautet to give a speech und nicht to hold a speech !

Speech analysis – Hauptteil

Der Hauptteil einer Rede in Englisch wird als argumentation bezeichnet. Darin beschäftigt sich der Redner (speaker)  ausführlich mit dem Thema seiner Rede.

Im Hauptteil (body) deiner speech analysis untersuchst du, wie der Redner dabei vorgeht. Dafür fasst du zunächst den Inhalt der Rede in einer kurzen Summary  zusammen. Danach untersuchst du die  Argumentationsstruktur und die  Sprache  der Rede. Außerdem machst du deutlich, wie der Redner  Kontakt zu seinem Publikum herstellt. 

Argumentationsstruktur

Indem du die Argumentationsstruktur der Rede analysierst, kannst du die Intention, also die Absicht des Redners, herausarbeiten. Dabei untersuchst du, wie er seine Argumente präsentiert. An seiner These (thesis) und seinen Argumenten (arguments) kannst du zum Beispiel ablesen, ob

• der Redner seine Beliebtheit steigern möchte,
• er über etwas aufklären möchte, 
• er seriös – also mit von Fakten und Expertenmeinungen – argumentiert 
• oder ob er unseriös – also mit Gefühlen und Vorurteilen – argumentiert. 

Sprachliche Analyse 

Noch wichtiger als die Argumentationsstruktur ist die Sprache , die ein Redner in seiner speech verwendet. Die sprachliche Gestaltung in einer politischen Rede ist häufig sehr subjektiv und anschaulich. Das erreicht ein Redner durch rhetorische Mittel  wie Metaphern (metaphors) , Vergleiche (comparisons) oder Wiederholungen (repetitions) . 

Speech analysis – Beispiel:   Using the climax “ to keep reaching, to keep working, to keep fighting, “  Obama emphasises the American Dream.

Es spielt auch eine Rolle, ob der Redner formelle   Sprache   (formal language) oder eher Umgangssprache   (colloquial language) verwendet. Dadurch kann er sich seinem Publikum gezielt anpassen.  

Wenn du die Möglichkeit hast, solltest du dir zusätzlich eine Videoübertragung der Rede ansehen. Dadurch kannst du auch den Tonfall (intonation) und die Betonung (stress) des Redners in deine speech analysis miteinbeziehen. Dasselbe gilt für seine Gestik (gestures) und Mimik (facial expression) .

Kontakt zum Publikum

In einer politischen Rede versucht der Redner meist, das Publikum direkt anzusprechen. Dafür benutzt er Personalpronomen   wie we und us (inclusive pronouns). So stellt er einen engen Kontakt zum Publikum her und gewinnt Einfluss auf seine Zuhörer. 

Speech analysis – Beispiel:   In his speech, Obama uses a lot of inclusive pronouns. For example, when he says: “ … we  know in our hearts that for the United States of America the best is yet to come. “

Speech analysis – Schluss 

Im Schluss fasst du die wichtigsten Ergebnisse deiner speech analysis knapp zusammen. In einem Fazit hebst du anschließend die Intention des Redners hervor. Du hältst also fest, was die Absicht des Redners ist und ob seine Rede die gewünschte Wirkung erzielt.

Speech analysis – Beispiel:   By describing a hopeful future for the United States, Obama creates confidence in the minds of the American people and encourages them to work hard to achieve their dreams. 

Um deine Redeanalyse in Englisch noch besser zu machen, kannst du die vorliegende Rede auch auf bestimmte Methoden  der Beeinflussung untersuchen. Diese verwenden Redner gezielt, um auf ihr Publikum einzuwirken.

• Um seine eigene Position aufzuwerten , stellt der Redner seine Meinung als den Standpunkt einer ganzen Gesellschaft dar. Dadurch erzeugt er ein Wir-Gefühl unter seinen Zuhörern. 
• Ein Redner kann seine eigene Position auch aufwerten, indem er einen gegnerischen Standpunkt abwertet . Dabei weist er auf Fehler oder Unstimmigkeiten in der Argumentation eines Gegners hin. 
• Indem der Redner einen Aspekt dramatisiert , beeinflusst er die Gefühle seines Publikums. So kann er Ängste schüren und dadurch seine Zuhörer zum Handeln aufrufen.
• Umgekehrt kann der Redner sein Publikum aber auch beschwichtigen . Dafür fokussiert er Erfolge und schwächt Misserfolge ab.

Um deine Analyseteile sinnvoll miteinander zu verbinden, verwendest du am besten linking words . Schau dir gleich unser Video dazu an!

Beliebte Inhalte aus dem Bereich Textarten Englisch

• Englisch Brief schreiben Dauer: 04:08
• Letter to the editor Dauer: 03:53
• Letter of application Dauer: 04:41

Weitere Inhalte: Textarten Englisch

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Stonewater Case Decided for Texas Department of Insurance and Against the Free Speech Arguments Which Would Have Gutted Public Adjusting Licensing Laws

The long-awaited and fiercely fought case involving a roofing contractor that challenged the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) regulations regarding public insurance adjusters and the Texas Insurance Code resulted in the Texas Supreme Court finding for TDI and against the roofing contractor’s First and Fourteenth Amendment arguments of free speech. 1 The bottom line result is that public adjuster licensing laws prevent non-licensed individuals from practicing public adjusting. The free speech arguments do not permit non-licensed restoration contractors to practice public adjusting.

Before analyzing the case, note that insurance restoration contractors can still explain their pricing and method of repair to insurance company adjusters. Indeed, insurance company and independent adjusters, as part of their obligation of good faith, should conduct a full investigation, which includes discussing the pricing and method of repair with the policyholder’s contractor. This activity has long been upheld as proper and is found in bulletins issued by Departments of Insurance and mentioned in this blog.

What is not allowed is for restoration contractors to adjust the claim for the policyholder, contract to provide claim adjustment services for the policyholder, or solicit to conduct public adjusting services. It should be noted that in Texas, public adjusters are prohibited from acting as the contractor and public adjuster on the same case.

The Texas Supreme Court’s analysis of this situation can be summarized as follows:

Court’s Analysis:

• Professional Conduct vs. Speech: The court held that the challenged laws regulate professional conduct, not speech. The licensing requirement and dual-capacity prohibition pertain to the role a person plays in the claims process, not the content of their communication.
• Nonexpressive Commercial Transaction: The statutes target nonexpressive commercial activities, such as acting on behalf of an insured in negotiating or effecting the settlement of a claim. These activities are inherently noncommunicative and thus not protected by the First Amendment.
• Speech Incidental to Conduct: The court emphasized that even if speech is involved in these activities, it is incidental to the nonexpressive conduct being regulated. As such, the regulations do not trigger First Amendment scrutiny.
• Fair Notice and Enforcement: A statute is unconstitutionally vague if it fails to give fair notice of what conduct is prohibited or if it allows for arbitrary enforcement. The court found that the statutes in question clearly proscribe the conduct of acting as a public adjuster without a license and of contractors adjusting claims on properties they are contracted to repair.
• Application to Stonewater: Stonewater’s contractual language and advertising materials explicitly authorized them to negotiate insurance claims on behalf of their customers, falling squarely within the statutory definition of a public insurance adjuster. Therefore, the statutes provided sufficient notice and were not vague in this context.

The Texas Supreme Court concluded that the regulations in question do not regulate speech but regulate professional conduct. Those regulations provide clear notice of what is required of them and what is regulated. Regulations that regulate professional conduct, even if they incidentally involve speech, do not implicate the First Amendment.

Further, regulations that prevent public adjusters and contractors from serving in dual roles are reasonable and are designed to prevent conflicts of interest. The court further noted that these public adjusting licensing regulations are not unconstitutionally vague. Instead, they provide clear guidance as to what is allowed and what is not allowed.

I first noted this case over two years ago in “ Can Texas Roofing and Restoration Companies Advertise That They Are Insurance Specialists and Can Negotiate on the Policyholder’s Behalf? ” I updated the case in a post,  Update on the Texas Contractor vs. Unauthorized Practice of Public Adjusting Case , where I stated:

Americans hate to be told that we cannot do something. I feel the same way. Yet, most states regulate who can fix roofs, who can provide engineering services, who can practice law, and who can practice public adjusting to protect our fellow citizens from those who do not have the credentials. TDI and all departments of insurance have an obligation to protect policyholders and the public. The interpretation of insurance policy terms, benefits that are available, and various legal obligations of policyholders are complex and significant. Many of those issues have nothing to do with the cost of fixing a roof. Having credentialed individuals who are experts in those areas is certainly the business of regulatory bodies, and it is in the public’s interest to prevent those without those credentials from potentially harming the public. Public adjusting and insurance restoration construction are both very important to the public. The interplay between the two and the role of the regulator is what this case is about.

The current Texas decision resolved these issues by returning to how the insurance and public adjusting laws have been interpreted for quite some time in most jurisdictions, with Illinois being the most significant exception because most public adjusters in Illinois can also legally act as contractors.

Thought For The Day

We do not believe that in this country, freedom is absolute. We do not believe that the individual is absolutely free to do anything he wants. —Franklin D. Roosevelt

1 Texas Dept. of Ins. v. Stonewater Roofing, Ltd. , No 22-0427 (Tex. June 7, 2024) .

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Trump and Allies Assail Conviction With Faulty Claims

After former President Donald J. Trump was found guilty, he and a number of conservative figures in the news media and lawmakers on the right have spread false and misleading claims about the Manhattan case.

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By Linda Qiu

Reporting from Washington

After former President Donald J. Trump was found guilty of all 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, he instantly rejected the verdict and assailed the judge and criminal justice system.

His loyalists in the conservative news media and Congress quickly followed suit, echoing his baseless assertions that he had fallen victim to a politically motivated sham trial.

The display of unity reflected the extent of Mr. Trump’s hold over his base.

The former president and his supporters have singled out the judge who presided over the case, denigrated the judicial system and distorted the circumstances of the charges against him and his subsequent conviction.

Here’s a fact check of some of their claims.

What Was Said

“We had a conflicted judge, highly conflicted. There’s never been a more conflicted judge.” — Mr. Trump in a news conference on Friday at Trump Tower in Manhattan

This is exaggerated. For over a year, Mr. Trump and his allies have said Justice Juan M. Merchan should not preside over the case because of his daughter’s line of work. Loren Merchan, the daughter, served as the president of a digital campaign strategy agency that has done work for many prominent Democrats, including Mr. Biden’s 2020 campaign.

Experts in judicial ethics have said Ms. Merchan’s work is not sufficient grounds for recusal . When Mr. Trump’s legal team sought his recusal because of his daughter, Justice Merchan sought counsel from the New York State Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics, which said it did not see any conflict of interest .

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The last words: What each side said in closing arguments for Trump's New York trial

Ximena Bustillo

Former President Donald Trump leaves Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City at the end of the day's proceedings Tuesday during his criminal trial for allegedly covering up hush money payments. Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

NEW YORK — Lawyers gave their final arguments Tuesday in their effort to convict or acquit former President Donald Trump of 34 felony counts of falsified business records as the historic trial pushes closer to an end.

A 12-person jury, which has listened to 22 witnesses and over six hours of arguments, is set to begin deliberating Wednesday. It could be hours or days or weeks before they have a decision. A unanimous jury is needed to either convict or acquit Trump.

The 3 ways Trump's hush money trial could end, as jury deliberations begin soon

Trump, who has pleaded not guilty, frequently called the trial “election interference” for preventing him from campaigning for president, falsely claiming a partisan conspiracy against him.

On Tuesday, Trump was joined in court by more family members than usual. Children Donald Jr., Eric and Tiffany were present in the courtroom, as well as son-in-law Michael Boulos and daughter-in-law and RNC co-chair Lara Trump.

As Trump lawyer Todd Blanche was beginning his closing arguments, the Biden-Harris campaign held an event outside the courthouse in Manhattan featuring actor Robert De Niro and U.S. Capitol police officers Harry Dunn and Michael Fanone.

Trump gets by with a little help from his friends during New York hush money trial

Prosecutors allege that Trump knew about a settlement negotiation with adult film actor Stormy Daniels to keep her allegations of an affair out of the press ahead of the 2016 election and that Trump directed his former “fixer” Michael Cohen to make a settlement payment of $130,000 to her. Prosecutors argue that the falsified business records, in part labeled as "legal retainers," are a paper trail for Cohen.

Trump has long argued he was only paying his lawyer.

The defense gave closing arguments first, focusing on Michael Cohen

As is New York law, Trump’s defense gave the first set of closing arguments, which lasted over two hours. Blanche focused on the credibility issues surrounding Cohen.

Here are four highlights from his summary of their defense:

1. Who didn't testify

The defense spent time pointing out potential witnesses the jury did not hear from — specifically Allen Weisselberg, Don Jr. or Eric Trump, who were Trump Organization executives at the time; Dylan Howard, a former editor of the National Enquirer; Gina Rodriguez, who managed Daniels; or Trump bodyguard Keith Schiller.

2. The documents

Blanche argues Trump’s sons signed two checks that constitute some of the felony counts. And he also told the jury that Cohen was the one who generated the 11 invoices that make up 11 of the felony counts on Trump.

He maintained that the allegedly false retainer was a legitimate retainer of services — especially because Cohen billed himself as Trump’s personal lawyer.

“You shouldn’t think the word ‘retainer’ differentiates from the reason for the payment — it's just a single word,” Blanche said.

3. Cohen's credibility

Blanche attempted to cast doubt on various conversations Cohen recalled having with Trump, including at the White House, allegedly about the deal to silence Daniels. But the defense also argued that Cohen lied on the stand, answering questions one way to the prosecution but a different way with the defense.

“Cohen lied to you,” Blanche claimed repeatedly to hammer the point home to the jurors at various stages of his speech.

Michael Cohen, Trump's ex-fixer, testifies about hush money payment to Stormy Daniels

He also spent time casting doubt on the secret recording Cohen made of a conversation with Trump that allegedly confirms knowledge of the payment and settlement to former Playboy model Karen McDougal.

4. Election influence

Blanche reiterated one of the points he made in openings: It doesn’t matter if there was a conspiracy to try to affect the election. “Every campaign is a conspiracy to promote a candidacy,” Blanche said.

It is commonplace, Blanche said, for celebrities and candidates to work with media organizations, such as tabloids, to promote themselves and their campaigns.

Away from his New York trial, Donald Trump's campaign rallies are business as usual

Blanche argued that it “makes no sense” that Trump, Cohen and former publisher David Pecker genuinely believed they could influence the 2016 election through the use of the National Enquirer tabloid.

“There is nothing wrong with President Trump wanting to get positive news stories,” said Blanche. But he added: ”The idea that sophisticated people believed positive stories in the National Enquirer could influence the election is preposterous.“

Blanche said the reach of the tabloid was far below what would have ever been needed to swing the election.

The prosecution pushes back

Prosecutors spent six hours walking the jury through every part of their case and refuting claims made by the defense. Prosecutor Josh Steinglass walked the jury through all their evidence: of the 2006 sexual encounter described by Daniels, saying that Cohen knew what happened in that hotel room “and that goes to motive.” Steinglass told the jury of Daniels' testimony: “That is the display the defendant didn’t want the public to see.”

Here are four highlights from their closing arguments:

1. The 1 minute and 36 second phone call 

Steinglass took out his own phone, set the timer and reenacted a call that was at the center of Cohen’s cross and direct examination two weeks ago. Cohen testified that in a phone call, he had both spoken with Trump’s bodyguard about a harassing teen and separately with Trump about the payment to Daniels. Trump’s lawyers aimed to discredit Cohen’s memory of that conversation — arguing that it would be hard to broach both subjects in that short time.

Starting with, “Hey, Keith, how’s it going?” Steinglass went through a simulated phone call where he discussed the issue of a teenage prankster who had been harassing Cohen, and then said, “Can I talk to the boss?” Then Steinglass simulated a brief conversation about taking care of “that thing,” and a little small talk.

“And all that took 49 seconds,” about half the time of the call in question, Steinglass said, adding that this was just one of 20 calls Cohen had.

2. The validity of witnesses

Steinglass told the jury that in order to acquit Trump, they would have to disregard several witnesses’ testimony — not just Cohen's — including that of former Trump Organization controller Jeffrey McConney, and other pieces of evidence like handwritten notes on bank statements that detailed the math of how the payments would be made.

Ex-National Enquirer publisher says he pledged to be Trump's 'eyes and ears'

Steinglass referenced various witnesses who came to testify, including current and former employees of Trump’s business and administration. He also referred to the witnesses who work for companies that published Trump’s books about his business philosophy.

Rereading paragraphs from the books, Steinglass doubled down on Trump’s “frugality” and reminded the jury of Pecker’s testimony, where Trump was also described as frugal.

2. Trump's business practices

Steinglass once again went through the specific checks and invoices in question and how Deborah Tarasoff, the accounts payable supervisor at the Trump Organization, packaged them together to send to Trump even after he went to the White House.

Prosecutors pushed that even the chief financial officer, Weisselberg, could only approve invoices up to $10,000.

“Despite his frugality, and attention to detail, the defendant didn't ask any questions, 'cause he already knew the answers,” Steinglass argued, asking the jury to not believe the “bogus narrative that the defendant was too busy” while at the White House to notice the large sums of money was being spent.

There were two documents that showed handwritten notes from Trump’s chief financial officer and his comptroller that clearly lay out the reimbursement scheme: 130 times two, to cover taxes, plus another expense, plus a bonus, for a total of $420,000. Steinglass said, “They are the smoking guns.”

“They completely blow out of the water the defense claim that these were for legal work,” he said, adding, “I am almost speechless that they are still trying to make this argument that this was for legal retainer.”

3. Election concerns

Steinglass focused on the concerns he said Trump had about how the story of the alleged affair with an adult film star could hurt his 2016 presidential run. He argued that Trump himself told Pecker and Cohen to handle quashing negative media — specifically allegations from women about Trump in the leadup to 2016.

The prosecutor said that it all started at that August 2015 meeting in Trump Tower with the National Enquirer publisher, Pecker. Steinglass said: “Once money starts changing hands, that’s a federal election law violation.”

Adult film star Stormy Daniels testifies against Trump in New York trial

He doubled down that Trump’s concern was not his family, but the election, and the deal with the tabloid shows that was the motivation for a settlement 10 years after the alleged encounter.

“This is buying a story that you do not intend to print, so that no one else can print it,” Steinglass said, referencing Blanche’s argument that tabloids often purchase stories and then choose not to run them.

Tying this to the Daniels payment, Steinglass reminded jurors of the timing — how the deal to have Daniels sign a nondisclosure agreement came after the Access Hollywood tape became public.

“Stormy Daniels was a walking and talking reminder that the defendant was not only words,” Steinglass said.

NPR's Andrea Bernstein contributed to this report.