When you’re assigned a rhetorical analysis, it’s easy to only focus on ethos, pathos,

and logos.

These are important elements of how an argument is constructed, but they’re far from the

whole story.

One of the easiest ways to approach an analysis is to consider what an author chooses to emphasize

or include in their argument and what they exclude and therefore deemphasize.

Let’s look at how Bernie Sanders responds to a question on the Late Show during the

2016 presidential primaries.

Colbert: But there are people who are trying to choose between you and Trump.

Why would that be?

You don’t seem like two sides of the same coin.

Sanders: Well, I think a lot of Donald Trump supporters are angry.

They, are in many cases people who are working longer hours for lower wages.

They’re people who are really worried about what’s going to happen to their kids.

My view is that yes people have a right to be angry.

You have a right to be angry when we are the only major country on Earth that doesn’t

provide paid family or medical leave, when we have more people living in poverty today

than almost any time in the history of this country.

People have a right to be angry, but what we need to be is rational in figuring out

how we address the problems and not simply scapegoating minorities.

Look at how much Sanders packed into that answer—wage stagnation, children’s futures,

paid family and medical leave, growing poverty—and he finishes by framing his policies as “rational”

contrasted by Trump who he says is “scapegoating minorities.”

In doing so, he emphasizes the shared concerns of his and Trump’s supporters, and deemphasizes

things that might make him less appealing like the tax increases his policies would

require.

That’s straightforward rhetoric that almost anyone can recognize, but let’s take a closer

look at Sanders’ word choice—specifically, his use of pronouns.

When referring to Trump supporters, he uses the pronoun “they,” which places them

in a group he’s not a part of, but he quickly softens this distancing by sympathizing with

their anger.

He then directly engages “you,” making sure the audience understands he is really

talking to them, not Colbert, and from there, he begins discussing problems and solutions

using “we.”

By starting off at “they,” Sanders acknowledges the divisions in the U.S., but by shifting

to the word “we,” he deemphasizes divisions and instead, emphasizes the shared nature

of our problems.

His argument is we need to find “rational” solutions to our problems together, and by

accusing Trump of “scapegoating,” he takes a not-so-subtle jab at his opponent, alleging

Trump has no effective solutions for Americans’ problems and framing Trump as divisive while

Sanders is unifying.

Another useful approach is to consider the elements of the rhetorical situation: author,

subject, audience, context, genre, and medium.

The genre is a late-night talk show.

All kinds of people watch late night shows, so the audience is big and diverse.

Sanders knows that, and his answer fits the situation perfectly.

By emphasizing shared concerns that cross party lines and sympathizing with the anger

of his opponent’s supporters,

[crowd chanting: "Lock her up!"]

he presents himself as someone who cares about addressing problems, not partisanship.

That’s a pretty standard move made by politicians,

Clinton: We must work together

Trump: Cooperation

Obama: We can come together

but it’s particularly effective in the context

of the 2016 election, which was even more hostile and divisive than past elections.

Clinton: Basket of deplorables

Trump: I'd like to punch him in the face, I'll tell ya

Keep in mind that a rhetorical analysis is not about making an argument about

the subject of the text.

I’m not picking a side here between Sanders and Trump.

What I’m doing is analyzing how Sanders constructs his argument

and showing why its effective.

There’s a lot of different ways you can do this in your own assignments.

If you want to know more, you can check out the Writing & Speaking Centers resources on

the Dramatistic Pentad, Terministic Screens, and the Rhetorical Situation.