Text Analysis Strategies
Learn
This lesson focuses on advanced strategies for analyzing rhetorical texts, including identifying rhetorical devices and understanding their effects.
Common Rhetorical Devices
- Anaphora: Repetition of words at the beginning of successive clauses
- Antithesis: Contrasting ideas in parallel structure
- Rhetorical questions: Questions asked for effect, not answers
- Parallelism: Similar grammatical structures for emphasis
- Allusion: References to well-known people, events, or works
- Hyperbole: Exaggeration for emphasis
Analyzing Effect
- How does the device create emphasis?
- What emotions does it evoke?
- How does it support the author's purpose?
- What makes it memorable?
Examples
See how rhetorical devices work in famous texts.
Example: Anaphora in "I Have a Dream"
"I have a dream that one day... I have a dream that one day..."
Effect: Creates rhythm, builds emotional intensity, makes the vision memorable.
Example: Antithesis in John F. Kennedy's Inaugural
"Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country."
Effect: Creates memorable contrast, emphasizes civic responsibility.
✏️ Practice
Test your understanding with these practice questions.
Practice Questions
0/3 correctWhat is the main idea of a passage?
An inference is:
Context clues help you:
Check Your Understanding
Test yourself with these review questions.
1. What is anaphora?
Show Answer
The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or sentences for emphasis.
2. What effect does antithesis create?
Show Answer
Antithesis creates a memorable contrast between opposing ideas, emphasizing the difference and making the point more striking.
3. Why do authors use rhetorical questions?
Show Answer
To engage the audience, encourage reflection, emphasize a point, or lead readers to a predetermined conclusion without directly stating it.
4. What is parallelism?
Show Answer
Using similar grammatical structures in related words, phrases, or clauses to create rhythm, emphasis, and clarity.
5. How does allusion enhance rhetoric?
Show Answer
Allusions connect the text to shared cultural knowledge, adding depth and allowing authors to convey complex ideas efficiently.
6. When analyzing a rhetorical device, what should you explain?
Show Answer
What the device is, how it creates a specific effect, and how that effect supports the author's overall purpose.
7. What is hyperbole and why is it used?
Show Answer
Hyperbole is deliberate exaggeration used for emphasis, humor, or to make a point more memorable and impactful.
8. How does repetition function rhetorically?
Show Answer
Repetition emphasizes key ideas, creates rhythm, builds emotional intensity, and makes messages more memorable.
9. What makes a rhetorical device effective?
Show Answer
A device is effective when it supports the author's purpose, resonates with the intended audience, and enhances the message's impact.
10. How should you write about rhetorical devices in an analysis?
Show Answer
Name the device, provide a quote or example, explain how it works, and connect it to the author's purpose and effect on the audience.
Next Steps
- Review any concepts that felt challenging
- Move on to the next lesson when ready
- Return to practice problems periodically for review