Preparing for the Rhetorical Essay
Starting your AP English rhetorical analysis begins with careful prompt analysis. First, identify the SOAP elements: Speaker, Occasion, Audience, and Purpose. These elements provide critical context for understanding the rhetorical situation.
Next, determine both the "big" and "small" meaning of the prompt. Frame the big meaning as a question to guide your analysis. The small meaning remains consistent: identifying what rhetorical choices the speaker uses to achieve their purpose.
When approaching the passage itself, limit yourself to just 7 minutes of reading time. Efficient annotation is crucial - write the main idea in the margins using just a few words. Underline key lines that explain important points or clarify the rhetorical situation.
💡 Don't try to annotate everything! Focus on selecting lines from different parts of the passage that reveal the writer's purpose, audience, and message.
As you read, identify how the passage is structured by looking for shifts in subject matter, attitude, or tone. These shifts typically occur at the beginning, middle, and end of a passage. For example, a text might move from discussing America's global position to examining women's roles, or shift from a cautious tone to an inspirational one.