Rhetorical Analysis

In addition to analyzing articles for content, as students might do in the reading journal, teachers can also ask students to look specifically at professional articles for rhetorical issues:

• Scope and focus
• Organization (conventional headings)
• Arrangement
• Level of detail
• Kinds of evidence required
• Uses of citations
• Style

Small-group or full-class discussion of these analyses will help students understand the critical approaches professionals in the field typically adopt as well as the writing conventions accepted by major journals in the field.