When you think of rhetorical analysis, you think of another literary skill that we’re going to have to learn to use in this class. But upon reading this article, I’ve learned that it’s prominently used throughout our everyday lives. Whether it comes from politicians and their campaigns, advocacy about environmental reforms, or from the ads we see online, rhetoric surprises us in the different shapes and forms it comes in. Rhetorical analysis is used just as often. It took me reading this article to figure out that I wasn’t the only one doing it. When we’re presented with something or someone unfamiliar, we as humans inherently try to analyze a situation before it’s fully presented to us whether we’re aware of it or not. We often do this when we’re presented with things we’re unfamiliar with like meeting someone for the first time or trying foods you’ve never tried before.

A prime example of this in my life is every time I’m about to read a book. “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” Even though this is an important principle to follow through, I often judge things based on my first impressions. So whenever I read a book, I read the title, the author, and the synopsis at the back of the book. When I was handed the book, Hamlet, I thought it’d be boring since it was written by Shakespeare but his name itself has its credibility so I gave reading the synopsis a shot. The cover page looked dramatic but it also looked like there was something more to the book than just the play. And as it turns out, the book has an amazing plot and it was worth the time to read it. I continue to use rhetorical analysis everytime I’m given the opportunity to read a book to see if it’s worth my while.