Writing a Rhetorical Critique
Audience and Purpose
Who is the intended audience?
What is the writer’s purpose?
How well does the text suit the particular purpose?
Influence of Genre on the Shape of the Text
How has the genre affected the author’s style, structure, and use of evidence?
Author’s Style
How do the author’s language choices and sentence length and complexity contribute to the impact of the text?
Appeal to logos, the logic of the argument
How well has the author created a reasonable, logically structured argument?
Use of evidence
How reputable, relevant, current, sufficient, and representative is the evidence?
Appeal to ethos and the credibility of the author
How well does the author persuade readers that he/she is knowledgeable, reliable, credible, and trustworthy?
Appeal to pathos
How well does the author appeal to readers’ emotions, sympathies, and values?
Author’s angle of vision
How much does the author’s angle of vision or interpretive filter dominate the text, influencing what is emphasized or omitted?
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