YOUR OWN RHETORICAL STRATEGIES
Develop your paragraphs using a variety of rhetorical strategies. Use what seems appropriate for the
text. In other words, you can’t force something that doesn’t work. Here are a few basic ways that you can
argue your point.
Exemplification—Use examples from the text to prove your point. Of course, you will
want to choose the best examples for your purpose.Process analysis—If you recognize a process (how something works or operates) in a
text, you can identify it and analyze its elements.Comparison and contrast—Often, you will be asked to do this as your main task (such as
compare two poems), but even if you aren’t, you may have a reason to show
similarities and differences in another type of question.Cause and effect analysis—Show why something happens, the series of events leading
to or causing a concluding event.