What is a Rhetorical Choice

When writing a rhetorical analysis essay, one of the most common points of confusion for students is the difference between a rhetorical device and a rhetorical choice. A rhetorical device is a noun, such as metaphor or juxtaposition. It describes what the author uses in their writing. A rhetorical choice is a verb, such as compares or juxtaposes. It describes what the author is doing in their writing.

What is a Rhetorical Strategy

If you’ve looked at some older AP® Lang rhetorical analysis prompts, you might have noticed that some of those prompts contain the phrase rhetorical strategy, not rhetorical choice. Starting with the 2020 exam, The College Board will no longer use the phrase rhetorical device or rhetorical strategy. Instead, all prompts will ask about how a writer makes rhetorical choices to convey a message, achieve a purpose, or develop an argument.

Simply put, a rhetorical strategy is like a rhetorical device: it’s a word or phrase that helps convey meaning. While there is nothing wrong with analyzing rhetorical strategies or rhetorical devices in a rhetorical analysis essay, many rhetorical strategies or devices are nouns. When students write about them, they often include weaker phrases, such as “uses a metaphor” instead of “compares.”

Because a rhetorical choice focuses on what a writer is doing, not what they are using, writing about rhetorical choices typically leads to a stronger essay.

When writing about rhetorical choices, you want to ask yourself, “What is the writer doing in this text?” Then, you want to describe the author’s choices using rhetorically accurate verbs. These rhetorically accurate, strong verbs should be used in your thesis and throughout the analysis in your body paragraphs.

Rhetorical Choice List

Now that you understand the difference between rhetorical devices and choices, let’s look at the common types of choices and how to analyze them effectively.

How Do You Analyze Diction

Every author uses diction, so it’s important to specify which type of diction. Add a verb in front of diction to specific – scientific diction, patriotic diction, etc. Then look for words that show this type or word choice. Start by asking the following:

How does the author choose these words for this audience?
What tone do these words create?
How would you describe or classify the word choice?

For more information about how to write about diction, check out this video here!

Is Tone a Rhetorical Choice

Tone, or the writer’s attitude toward a subject, is created through word choice, description, and/or imagery. While it might not technically be a “choice,” it is still worth analyzing.

Tone can be analyzed in two ways. First, you can analyze tone throughout an essay as you discuss other writing choices and how these choices create a specific tone. This is the more advanced approach. Alternatively, you can write a specific paragraph about tone. Either choice is fine – choose which one best fits the text you are analyzing. As you analyze tone, ask yourself:

Which words/appeals/choices create this tone?
Why is this tone effective for this audience or occasion?
What does the tone suggest about the writer and/or his/her attitude toward the subject?

What Are the 4 Rhetorical Appeals

If you notice a rhetorical appeal, ask yourself how the author is creating that appeal. Chances are how they are creating the appeal is the major choice you’ll want to analyze, and the rhetorical appeal is actually a complementary choice. Let’s break down each appeal, and questions you can use to analyze them:

Logos – Logos will show up as facts, statistics, examples, and more. You should ask: Why does the author want to appear reasonable? Why does the audience respond to this logic? What the author is trying to prove?
Pathos – With pathos, there will be a strong emotion the author is trying to create for a particular reason. How does the writer appeal to emotion? What does the writer gain by appealing to emotion? Why would a logical appeal be ineffective at this point?
Ethos – Ethos appeals to the ethics and credibility of writer. Why does the writer need to strengthen his or her credibility? Why is this an issue of morality or ethics? What does the writer hope to persuade the audience to consider?
Kairos – Kairos is an appeal to urgency or time. Why is the writer’s message or argument timely or urgent?

For more information about writing about rhetorical appeals, check out this blog post!

Analyzing Rhetorical Questions

Sometimes the writer or speaker will find a question in the passage. This is easy to spot with the punctuation, but students sometimes miss the mark with analysis. First, when discussing the question in your analysis, do not call it a rhetorical question (unless you know for certain that it is). Ask yourself:

Why are they posing that question?
Is the question meant to be answered?
Are they trying to drive the audience to a singular conclusion?

How to Analyze Repetition

Repetition can be easy to spot, but analysis takes a deeper look at asking why the author is using repetition. The author may be using repetition to emphasize their message, create a rhythm, or reinforce previously mentioned ideas. Make sure to include this reasoning in your analysis. You should ask:

Why is the author repeating this phrase or word?
What purpose does the repetition serve?

What is Juxtaposition

When looking at juxtaposition (a meaningful contrast,) you want to analyze why the contrast is meaningful and how it contributes to the message, purpose, or argument of the text. Once you have identified how the contrast is being used, ask yourself:

Why is the contrast meaningful?
How does the contrast contribute to tone or the overall message?

How to Analyze Comparison

Just like an author can include contrasts, the passage may also have meaningful comparisons. It’s not essential that you name the comparison, such as metaphor or allusion, although you certainly can. The important aspect is noting the comparison, telling what the author is doing, and why it is meaningful. You should ask:

What two things are being compared and why is it meaningful?
How is this helping the author further his/her message?

What Does Exemplification Mean

If the author includes an example to prove a claim, it may be worth analyzing it in your essay. Sometimes authors include one major example. Other times, they include multiple related examples to prove their claim. You want to make sure you discuss why the writer included these examples and how they help develop his/her argument. Ask yourself:

Why is this example relevant to the audience/occasion?
If there are multiple examples, why did the writer put them in that specific order?
Why is the example relevant to the purpose of the text?

Here are a few tips to remember when analyzing rhetorical choices:

Ask yourself what the writer is doing instead of what rhetorical choices they use. Describe what they are doing with rhetorically accurate verbs.
Avoid name dropping “fancy terms” or latin names. It doesn’t necessarily make your essay more impressive!
Read the passage and discover the different choices the author uses as opposed to searching for a rhetorical choice (which can be time consuming and may not be present).
If an author uses several rhetorical choices, analyze the most obvious or prevalent choices (or the ones you can discuss best). Avoid listing too many choices, just for the sake of showing what you know. Quality > quantity