A rhetorical analysis essay helped me win an argument with my dad

[MateoBrown]

So my dad and I have this ongoing debate about politics. It usually goes nowhere—we both get emotional, we talk past each other, we hang up frustrated. But last week I was visiting home after finishing a big rhetorical analysis essay project, and we started going at it again.

And something in my brain just... switched. Instead of getting defensive, I found myself analyzing his rhetoric. Not in a mean way, but in a "I'm curious how he's trying to persuade me" way. I noticed he uses a lot of "we" statements to create shared identity. He uses hypotheticals that play on fear. He repeats certain phrases for emphasis. And because I could see the moves he was making, I didn't get as emotional. I could respond to the content instead of the delivery. And for the first time in years, we actually had a conversation instead of a fight. He even said "you're really listening to me" and I was like...

I mean I'm kind of analyzing you but sure, let's call it listening. Rhetorical analysis essay: unexpectedly improving family relationships.

 

[JoanaPhillips]

Rhetorical awareness is literally the ability to see how communication works in real time.

The thing you experienced—not getting as emotional because you could see the moves—is so real. When you recognize someone using pathos (emotional appeal), you can acknowledge the emotion without being controlled by it. When you spot ethos (credibility moves), you can evaluate whether the authority is real. When you see logos (logical structure), you can follow the argument on its own terms.

Your dad said you were listening, and in a way you were! Just at a meta-level. You were hearing not just what he said but how he was saying it.