Critical Analysis Analyzing a Text

Rhetorical Context • Background of the author–What makes the author reliable or credible? – Is the writer writing within his or her area of expertise? –Does the author identify with a particular group or set

of beliefs?–What experience does he or she have?– Is the author a writer by profession?

• Why is that significant?

• Type / Genre of the Source– Is it a researched and documented essay

by a specialist?– Is it the text of a speech delivered to a

specific audience?– Is it an editorial or an op-ed piece? – Is it a syndicated column, political

cartoon, or comic strip?

• Why is that significant?

Rhetorical Context

• Intended Audience– Who was the article meant for? – Does the author expect a popular audience? A general but

educated audience? A specialist audience of shared expertise?

– Does the author anticipate an audience that share cultural, political, or religious values?

– What type of audience was it? Supportive? Sympathetic? Skeptical? Hostile?

• Why is that significant?

Rhetorical Context

• Primary Purpose– Is the work primarily informative or persuasive in intent? – Is it designed to entertain or be inspiring? – Does it narrate, describe, illustrate, define, compare, or

offer analysis?– What goals does the author identify in his/her thesis

statement?

• Why is that significant?

Rhetorical Context

• Sources of Information– Where was the information obtained? – Are the sources clearly identified?• Beware of “unnamed” or “reliable” sources

– What kind of sources does the author use?– Does he rely on facts and figures? Personal

experience? Anecdotal evidence?

• Why is that significant?

Rhetorical Context

Style

• Diction and Tone– Is the writer using a

conversational tone or a more formal style of writing?

– Does the writer use slang words or technical words?

– Is the word choice concrete and vivid or abstract and intellectual?

• Why is that significant?

• Sentence Structure– Are the sentences generally long or

short, or varied in length?– Does the writer use sentence

fragments (incomplete sentences)?– Does the writer seem to be using an

overly simplistic style? If so, why? – Does the writer use parallelism

(coordination) or antithesis (contrast)?

• Why is that significant?

Style

• Figurative Language– Does the author make use of

metaphors or similes?– What are the items being

compared?– What is the point of comparison?– What is the emotional impact of

the figurative comparison?

• Why is that significant?

Style

• Organization– Where are the ideas placed? The beginning, middle,

end?– What does the placement say about the importance of

the idea?– What parts of the discussion are developed at length? – What points are treated only briefly?

• Why is that significant?

Style

Style

• Other things to pay attention to:– Hyperbole (exaggeration),

understatement, or irony– Quotation marks, italics, or capital

letters – Repetition– Examples