Language Analysis: The Visuals

Clips from the music video below are frozen and discussed using rhetorical devices to model the kind of close reading and critical thinking you should be doing as you learn to analyse and craft your own arguments.

While there are many resources helping students gain skills in analysing written articles, few are specifically focused on cartoons. Below are 10 things you should look for in cartoons. These are common techniques used by illustrators and are a fantastic starting point in cartoon analysis.

This is a rhetorical analysis of the CocaCola Super Bowl commercial, aired in 2016, with particular emphasis on the use of pathos, anadiplosis.

Below is an example of a very effective persuasive speech given by actress Emma Watson to the United Nations on gender equality.

While you watch, take note of the following:-

• The way Watson speaks - loudly, clearly and not too fast, despite her nervousness;
• Her use of subtle persuasive techniques such as inclusive language, statistics, rhetorical questions and repetition of certain words or phrases;
• The way she makes eye contact with the audience and does not read from notes or cue cards (clearly she has rehearsed and memorised her speech)

All of these things contribute to making her speech a very persuasive and memorable one.

The video below is a rhetorical analysis of Ed Sheeran's song "Thinking Out Loud." It analyses Sheeran's purpose in crafting his love song and discusses it through a rhetorical lens.