Summary:
Everything we see is rhetoric and everything rhetoric, we analyze. When we analyze something, we take it in and it makes us act or think in a particular way. Rhetorical analysis is how we can use “meta thinking” in order to think outside of the box about a subject in order to figure out how it works. The author of the section “Tools for Analyzing Texts” wants the reader to learn that with analysis, we can learn how a text makes us feel a certain way whether it be sadness or happiness or any other type of reaction. There are certain lenses for analysis which can be applied in the text’s context such as: audience, purpose, genre, and media. These four categories are important rhetorical concepts that are essential in analyzing a text. Using these lenses to analyze a text, we can come up with different theories and intentions of our own.
Response:
After reading this section of the book, I was surprised to see how many techniques there are in analyzing texts. It was very informative and taught me that analysis is not only in text and reading but is in our daily lives. When I thought of analysis, I thought of school and how in english class we would analyze a text or in science class we would analyze a concept. However, after this reading I learned that analysis is used in situations we encounter, on advertisements on the subway, on labels on products, and more. This is interesting because if I can learn to expertize how to analyze something, everything would be much more awakening.
Question:
Is there such thing as too much analysis?