In writing the effective rhetorical essay, it is often necessary to use more than one strategy. The essay must inform and convince the reader. Doing so using only one essay strategy is quite difficult-even unnecessary. Essay writers usually use more than one strategy without realizing it. The writer may begin with a narrative followed by a compare and contrast strategy to show the merits of one argument over another, while division and classification, definition or description is used to further explain the finer points of the issues. Whatever the strategy combination used, a multiple-strategy essay must always deliver the central argument without a disjointed text.
Instructions
1. Determine the audience for the essay. Carefully read the assignment instructions given to you for clues about your intended audience. Look for readership data if you are writing for a print publication, or ask the client for information on the intended audience.
2. Create an outline for the essay. Write the main point or argument of the essay next to Roman numerals. Write a phrase or sentence. Indent the next line and write the supporting evidence next to lower case letters of the alphabet, one letter per evidence, one piece of evidence per line. Leave a space for the strategy. Repeat this until all of the arguments are recorded.
3. Review your outline. Look for patterns in the supporting evidence and the argument. Find a relationship that determines the strategy for delivering that evidence. The evidence may lend itself better to cause and effect strategy for one argument, while another is best relayed in a narrative manner.
4. Write your determined strategies in the lines you left for them. Review the entire outline once more, adjusting strategy to make sure that the arguments all work to persuade the reader.
5. Write the first draft of the essay. The arguments may become single paragraphs or their own sections, depending on the length of the essay. Follow the outline, using the supporting evidence and the strategy.
6. Read the essay to ensure cohesiveness. Adjust the strategy as needed to make the essay one continuous argument. Some adjustments to transitional sentences and paragraphs may be necessary.
