The 15 Best Rhetorical Analysis Essay Topics For High School


A rhetorical analysis essay has a different approach from other essays. It looks into the meaning behind the words that are chosen instead of the words themselves. It looks to find that underlying reason why the author chose one word or adjective over another. This essay describes the main reasons why things were discussed in the order they were.

One of the easiest type of topic that you can choose for this type of essay is to choose a topic that deals with a famous speech. The main reason why you would choose a speech over another written source is because the speech was written with a deeper meaning in mind. You can write this type of essay on a book, movie, song, or any other written piece of work. I just find it easier to write it on a speech.

  1. “I Have a Dream” Speech by Martin Luther King, Jr.
  2. President Kennedy’s Inaugural Address
  3. Emma Goldman’s Address to the Jury
  4. League of Nations Final Address by Thomas Woodrow Wilson
  5. “Every Man a King” by Huey Pierce Long
  6. “The Evil Empire” by Ronald Reagan
  7. “Mercy for Leopold and Loeb” by Clarence Seward Darrow
  8. “A Time for Choosing” by Ronald Reagan
  9. “The Struggle for Human Rights” by Anna Eleanor Roosevelt
  10. 40th Anniversary of D-Day Address by Ronald Reagan
  11. Cuban Missile Crisis Address by John Kennedy
  12. “The Four Freedoms” by Franklin Roosevelt
  13. “Black Power” by Stokely Carmichael
  14. Eulogy for Robert Francis Kennedy by Edward Moore Kennedy
  15. Cambodian Incursion Address by Richard Nixon

The idea now is to write your paper with the idea that you are not writing about the words but the meaning behind the words. This is one of the hardest essays to write because most writers get caught up and start discussing the actual things that the writer wrote about instead of the reasons why they choose to add dialogue in this chapter.

It is a unique kind of writing style that most students loathe. However, if you start off with a good topic, it will be a lot easier than you think and the struggle will be minimal. Read through or listen to a few of these speeches to get an idea of the one that moves you the most. Start thinking about how the writing style moved you and not the words.

 
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