11.1: Thesis Statements and the Rhetorical Analysis Paper -- Reading
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\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)You’ve spent time enhancing your critical reading skills in these past chapters and learning how to identify an author’s claim (argument), as well as reading a student sample Rhetorical Analysis Paper. Now it is time to learn how to construct your own thesis statement. This section will demonstrate the structure of a general thesis statement and demonstrate how a thesis statement may work in multiple writing genres.
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Remember from “Introduction to Genres”: |
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· Writing genres will have specific patterns, language, techniques and conventions that are recognizable for that type of writing. · A Rhetorical Analysis is a type of writing genre. · For example, a Rhetorical Analysis has different patterns, language, techniques and conventions than a Persuasive Essay, even if they may have some conventions in common. · A Rhetorical Analysis is a paper that asks you to consider the rhetorical tools (logos, ethos, pathos, Kairos) that an author or speaker uses in their article/speech/video/etc. and whether the author used them effectively for the point they were trying to make. |
What is a thesis statement?
In short, a thesis statement is a one to two sentence statement that briefly states your claim (argument) and the analysis of your paper.
Why is a thesis statement important?
A thesis statement helps guide your reader, so that they understand your essay’s content and structure. A thesis statement is also a great way to make sure you understand what you are writing about. If you can sum up your essay’s argument in one sentence and make sure that your body paragraphs connect back to that one sentence argument, then you are more likely to have a well-organized and cohesive paper.
What makes a strong thesis statement?
A strong thesis statement:
· Is specific
· Is arguable
· Expresses one idea
· Invites discussion rather than simply make an observation on a topic
· Has support
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To learn more about the basics of thesis statements, watch this following 3-part video series: |
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The following videos from the UCLA Library will guide you over the basics of tailoring a thesis statement for most essays. Keep in mind that sometimes you may have to tailor your thesis statement to different writing genres. |
“How to Write a Thesis Statement: Introduction 1/3” by UCLA Library, YouTube, used under CC BY. 3.0 Unported.
“How to Write a Thesis Statement: Looking for Sources 2/3” by UCLA Library, YouTube, used under CC BY. 3.0 Unported.
“How to Write a Thesis Statement: Relate Prompts to Interests 3/3” by UCLA Library, YouTube, used under CC BY. 3.0 Unported.
Thesis Statements and the Rhetorical Analysis Paper
Compared to a Research Paper where you have a lot more freedom about what you may want to argue in your thesis statement, a Rhetorical Analysis requires your thesis statement to have a much narrower focus.
A Rhetorical Analysis requires you to argue whether an author or speaker effectively met their article’s purpose based on the rhetorical tools that they used. You are not taking your own stance on the topic that the author wrote about, but rather evaluating the rhetorical strategies that they used.
In other words, the thesis statement of a Rhetorical Analysis should argue:
· Yes, the author effectively carried conveyed their message
OR
· No, the author did not effectively convey their message
A thesis statement of a Rhetorical Analysis should also offer support for the claim you make:
· Yes, the author effectively conveyed their message through their appeal to reason and emotion.
OR
· No, the author did not effectively convey their message, as they lacked enough scientific evidence and relied too much on tugging at reader’s heartstrings.
Example Thesis Statement in a Rhetorical Analysis:
The following thesis statement is taken from the student sample paper “Not Quite a Clean Sweep: Rhetorical Strategies in Grose’s ‘Cleaning: The Final Feminist Frontier’” by Rebecca Winter that you read and used to complete a Reverse Outline.
“Grose begins building her credibility with personal facts and reputable sources, citing convincing facts and statistics, and successfully employing emotional appeals; however, toward the end of the article, her attempts to appeal to readers’ emotions weaken her credibility and ultimately, her argument.”
Consider the following:
· What is the student arguing in this thesis statement?
o Winter argues that while Grose effectively used ethos to establish her argument, she ultimately missed the mark by relying too much on pathos. This in turn made Grose’s initial argument weak.
· How does the student support their argument within the thesis statement?
o Winter gives specific examples, such as “personal facts and reputable sources.”
What is a Working Thesis Statement?
During the drafting stages of your Rhetorical Analysis, you shouldn’t feel like you are stuck to the first thesis statement that you wrote. A working thesis statement is a version of your thesis that may change a bit as you continue to shape the rest of your essay. Just like your essay can go through multiple stages of drafting, so can your thesis statement.
Connect Back to Your Thesis Statement Throughout Your Paper:
One important thing to keep in mind is that as you outline and draft the rest of your Rhetorical Analysis, the main points in your body paragraphs should connect back to your thesis statement. This helps keep your argument organized and clear.