Your essay will include the message and a summary of the
text, but the focus is on the author’s rhetoric. Does the author target a
particular audience, a timely concern, or social context?
What kinds of choices does the author make to achieve their
purpose? If you are analyzing a song, you will consider the singer’s voice as
well as the lyrics. If there is a music video, you will consider the visual
storytelling or images. You will look at “appeals to authority” (an example
would be using Dr. Fauci or a narrator/singer/speaker who has credibility with
the audience). Does the text use data and statistics? Does it use narrative?
Does it appeal to emotion or to reason? And HOW does it do these things. This
is what you will focus on.