Don’t Make These Mistakes in Your AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Essay

These three tempting mistakes will hurt your score.

For many students, “analyze the speaker’s choices” is a confusing new task.

In previous English classes, they were graded for how well they could figure out the correct meaning of a passage. They were graded for how well they could remember a list of rhetorical device names. And whenever asked why a device was used, something as simple as “to paint a picture” would suffice.

But here, you need to select strong evidence of a speaker’s strategic moves, and you need to provide commentary relating it to the rhetorical situation. Some teachers think these instructions speak for themselves. They really don’t.

To get a clearer idea of what the graders expect, know these common mistakes to avoid.

1. Summarizing Instead of Analyzing

“Martha Stewart’s cake recipe is delicious! How does it achieve such a deliciously distinct buttery flavor with such a moist texture?”

“Well, first it calls for preheating the oven to 325 degrees, and then…[proceeds to paraphrase and quote the whole recipe, even though the asker can easily read it himself, without explaining the function of any of the steps]”

That wouldn’t be a helpful answer. The asker wants to know which culinary techniques and ingredients made the most impactful contribution and why they work. If Martha’s recipe skipped or replaced them, the final product wouldn’t have turned out so special, even if it were still acceptable as a cake.

Similarly, in the passage you’re analyzing, if the speaker had used different techniques and “ingredients” to get the point across, it wouldn’t have the same effect, even if the same message were conveyed. The point is not to show you understand what’s being said (although you definitely shouldn’t show you misunderstand it). It’s to show you understand what makes it work.

2. Picking Easily Identifiable Devices That Don’t Add Much

Look, a simile!

You’re right; that line is a simile. Now, can you write a whole substantial paragraph about the function of that little simile in the greater context of the passage? Is that really what you want to spend a whole paragraph on?

Of course, knowing the names of rhetorical devices helps you more readily identify a device when you see it — just like music critics can readily point out a technique in music composition when they hear it, or food critics can readily point out a culinary technique by name. But this is isn’t a “show you know the names of the devices” activity. (In fact, the multiple choice section no longer has questions like that!)

When reading the passage, do note the devices you find, but also look for rhetorical strategies that go beyond a single line:

• How is the message tailored to a specific audience? How are this specific audience’s fears, hopes, or values addressed?
• What is the speaker’s tone? Are there any shifts or contrasts?
• Why does it start a certain way? Why does it end a certain way?
• Are there any sections that are so stylistically different that they attract your attention, suggesting the speaker is specially emphasizing something?

3. Ascribing Vague Motives to the Speaker

A successful rhetorical analysis recognizes how the specific speaker’s background, the specific audience’s background, the specific occasion, and the specific subject of the text call for specifically chosen rhetorical strategies.

Yet lower-scoring essays assume broad reasons that could fit many rhetorical situations:

• “To sound more proper/formal/educated” — The speaker isn’t necessarily doing this on purpose. He/she might just be speaking in the typical way for his/her time and genre. But notice if any section sticks out as particularly more formal or less formal than the rest — given the subject matter of that section, could there be a rhetorical reason for that?
• “To paint a picture in the reader’s mind” — The speaker isn’t just trying to get artsy. The “picture” surely serves a greater message. How does it reveal the speaker’s attitude toward something? How does the speaker’s choice of details and comparisons suggest how he/she wants us to view it? And how does our attitude toward that thing connect to the greater meaning of the whole piece?
• “To appeal to emotion” — Which emotion is the speaker appealing to, and how does this reveal his/her values? Even better, how does it reveal that the speaker understands his/her audience’s values? How might it add depth to the message and persuade an audience member who didn’t already agree?

If you think carefully about the techniques that matter most and what they accomplish in context, your essay won’t be formulaic and shallow. It’ll be distinct and insightful— just like the rich, challenging texts you’re being trained to analyze.